President Barack Obama has nominated Penn alumnus Joseph M. Torsella to be the Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform, with the rank of Ambassador, pending Senate approval.
 
Torsella is currently Chairman of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education. He was formerly the founding President and CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Torsella also served in the mayoral administration of then Philadelphia Mayor and now Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell, becoming the youngest Deputy Mayor in City history.
 
A 1986 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the College with a degree in economics and history, Torsella also did graduate work as a Rhodes Scholar at New College, Oxford University following his years at Penn.
 
“I am delighted that Joe will have an opportunity to put his exceptional leadership skills to work on a global level,” says Penn President Amy Gutmann. “We congratulate him on his nomination.”