Carnegie Mellon University
January 20, 2015

James Rohr To Become Chairman of Carnegie Mellon's Board of Trustees

By Ken Walters / 412-268-1151                       
  
Jim RohrJames Rohr, the former chairman and CEO of PNC Financial Services Group, has been elected to succeed Raymond Lane as chairman of Carnegie Mellon University's Board of Trustees, effective July 1. Rohr also will serve as chair of the board's Executive Committee.

A member of the board since 1992, Rohr has played an active role in supporting CMU through a variety of endeavors. He has served as the board's vice chairman since 2012, and currently chairs its Nominating and Governance Committee. He also serves on the Finance Committee of which he was vice chair from 2007-2012. He chaired CMU's Presidential Search Committee from 2012-2013. Rohr has supported a variety of educational initiatives and played a key role in establishing the PNC Center for Financial Services Innovation and a PNC Professorship in Finance at CMU.

Named PNC chief executive officer in 2000, Rohr oversaw the company's expansion from an institution that served customers primarily in two states to one of the largest regional banks in the country, with a footprint covering one-third of the U.S. population. Rohr was named American Banker's Banker of the Year in 2007 and Pittsburgh Magazine's Pittsburgher of the Year in 2011.

He has played a prominent role in supporting civic, cultural and educational institutions around Pittsburgh, and served on various boards that enhance the economic and cultural vibrancy of the region. As chairman of PNC, Rohr provided the vision for PNC Grow Up Great, the company's $350 million, multi-year, bilingual initiative to support early childhood education. More than two million children have benefited from the initiative over the past decade.

Over the years, Rohr has earned numerous industry and community awards. In 2006, he received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship and in 2007, the Sesame Workshop Corporate Honoree Award. In 2008, he was honored with the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) Hero Award from the Heinz Family Philanthropies. The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans also named Rohr a Horatio Alger Award recipient for 2011. In December 2014, he received the Pennsylvania Society's Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement, given in recognition of leadership, citizenship and contributions to the arts, science, education and industry.

"As one of America's most successful business leaders, Jim Rohr has provided insightful guidance and service to Carnegie Mellon as a member of the board of trustees for 22 years," said CMU President Subra Suresh. "I look forward to working with him in his new role as chairman as he continues his long and rich collaboration with the university."

"Carnegie Mellon is a tremendous asset to Western Pennsylvania, the nation and the world," Rohr said. "I am honored to be elected to serve as chairman of CMU's board and to work with Dr. Suresh and his administration, fellow board members, the faculty, and students to grow this unique university and take advantage of its extraordinary areas of expertise."

"It was one of the greatest honors of my life to have served as chairman of Carnegie Mellon's board for the last six years," said current chair Ray Lane. "The university has never been in better shape as it has transitioned from the Cohon presidency to Dr. Suresh's leadership. I look forward to working with Dr. Suresh and CMU's next chairman, Jim Rohr, on the university's next phase of growth."

Lane, partner emeritus at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, has been CMU's chairman of the board and its Executive Committee since 2009. A life trustee of the university, Lane will remain a member of the board, which he joined in 1994, and will continue to serve on the Executive Committee.

"Ray Lane has been an outstanding and inspiring chairman of the board, guiding it effectively during a period of transition at the university," Suresh said. "We are deeply grateful to Ray and his wife, Stephanie, for their tireless service to advance the university and its mission."
      
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A member of the board since 1992, James Rohr (pictured above) has served as the board's vice chairman since 2012, and currently chairs its Nominating and Governance Committee. He also serves on the Finance Committee of which he was vice chair from 2007-2012. He chaired CMU's Presidential Search Committee from 2012-2013.