More pragmatic engineer than passionate ideologue when it came to politics, Thornburgh—a Pitt Law alumnus—maintained a largely untainted reputation that won the trust both of voters who elected him Pennsylvania’s chief executive from 1979 to 1987 and of multiple presidents who tapped him for key roles before and after his governorship.
Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said, "Dick Thornburgh stood in rare company as a leader, colleague and friend, and we're indisputably better off—as a university and a society—due to his incomparable integrity, ingenuity and dedication to serving others."