The Honorable Mark R. Hornak (JD' 81) to serve as Pitt Law's 2023 Commencement Speaker
The Honorable Mark R. Hornak (JD' 81), Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, will deliver the keynote address at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law's commencement ceremony on May 5, 2023.
President Obama appointed Judge Hornak as a United States District Judge on October 19, 2011. He became Chief Judge of the Court on December 7, 2018. Judge Hornak is also a Judge of the Court's "Veterans Court" and "BRIDGES Court" Reentry Court programs.
Judge Hornak received his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh in 1978. He was a National Merit Scholar and a James Fulton Congressional Intern with Hon. William S. Moorhead (PA-14). Judge Hornak received his law degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1981 and was named a University Scholar by the Chancellor of the University. While in law school, he served as editor-in-chief of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review. Upon graduation, he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as a law clerk to Hon. James M. Sprouse of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. From 1989 to 1993, he served as an Adjunct Professor at Pitt Law, teaching employment litigation.
Pitt Law's 2023 Commencement will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 5, 2023, at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum. Read Judge Hornak's full bio here <link>. Click here for more information on the 2023 Commencement ceremony.