Westinghouse executive nominated to serve as chair of trustees

Members of Pitt’s Board of Trustees have nominated Westinghouse executive Stephen R. Tritch to serve as their chairman.

The board’s nominating committee announced its selection this morning, and the full board will vote when it meets June 26.

If selected, Tritch, a Pitt alumnus and trustee, will replace former state Supreme Court justice Ralph Cappy, who died of cornory artery disease last month.

“My own career grew out of the education that I received at Pitt, and I always will be grateful to the University for that,” Tritch said in a news release. “If elected chair, I will look forward to working with the other members of the board, and with the University’s senior leadership team, to build on the remarkable pattern of progress that has come to characterize today’s Pitt.”

Tritch graduated from Pitt with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1971 and went on to work as an engineer in Westinghouse Electric Company’s Power Circuit Breaker Division.

Tritch earned his masters of business administration from Pitt’s Katz Graduate School of Business in 1977. He rose through the ranks of Westinghouse, retiring as the president and CEO in July 2008. He continues to serve as the company’s chair.

Westinghouse produces nuclear power plant products and consumer electronics.