Ira J. Gumberg Appointed Commonwealth Trustee of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees

PITTSBURGH—Ira J. Gumberg, president and CEO of J.J. Gumberg Co., a nationally ranked real estate investment and development company headquartered in Pittsburgh, has been appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell to be a Commonwealth trustee on the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees. Gumberg's appoinment was announced by Pitt Board Chair Ralph J. Cappy, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, at the board's annual meeting this morning.

An alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh who earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in the College of Arts and Sciences in 1975, Gumberg is a member of the board of visitors of Pitt's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. He is a 1984 alumnus of the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

"Ira Gumberg is one of this region's most respected business leaders and is a distinguished graduate of our University," said Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg. "We are grateful to Governor Rendell for making this appointment to our board."

Gumberg also is a member of the Carnegie Mellon University Board of Trustees and the boards of Mellon Financial Corporation; Jo-Ann Stores, Inc.; Allegheny Conference on Community Development; and The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Founded in 1927 by Joseph J. Gumberg, J.J. Gumberg Co. is a fully integrated company that focuses on the acquisition and development of investment-grade real estate within the retail and commercial sectors. It maintains a portfolio of more than 30 retail centers in multiple states and is consistently ranked as one of the largest shopping center companies in the United States and the largest shopping center organization in Western Pennsylvania. J.J. Gumberg's centers host more than 2,000 retailing establishments generating aggregate sales in excess of $2 billion annually.

###

6/24/05/tmw