Joan T.A. Gabel (right) was named to serve as Pitt's new chancellor on Monday; Douglas Browning (left) is the university's board chair.
Sarah Schneider / 90.5 WESA
University of Pittsburgh names Joan T.A. Gabel as chancellor, first woman to hold role
-
Sarah Schneider/WESA
Sarah Schneider / 90.5 WESA
Joan T.A. Gabel (right) was named to serve as Pitt's new chancellor on Monday; Douglas Browning (left) is the university's board chair.
For the first time since its founding in 1787, a woman will lead the University of Pittsburgh’s five campuses.
Joan T.A. Gabel, the current president and chief executive of the University of Minnesota, was appointed in an unanimous vote with two abstentions Monday by the university’s Board of Trustees. She will lead the system and oversee 14,000 staff who educate 34,000 students.
Gabel’s predecessor Patrick Gallagher announced last spring that he planned to leave in summer 2023 after nine years at the helm. Gabel says she is humbled to direct the system.
“I am excited and filled with optimism when I think of leading this institution into its important next chapter — to take leaps when needed, and incremental steps as necessary, to ensure that every step we take, however large or small, moves us forward,” she said in a release.
Gabel is expected to begin her tenure July 1.
Gallagher said he expects to transition to Pitt faculty as a professor in the department of physics and astronomy.
A new chapter
From leading rebuilding efforts after the university’s campus was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1845 to making big decisions and quick adjustments during a pandemic, the chancellor sets the tone for the university system.
Gallagher called Gabel the right leader to shape the university’s future.
“She has successfully led one of America’s top research universities and dedicated her career to supporting a university’s fundamental mission of creating and leveraging knowledge for society’s gain,” he said in a statement. “I am confident that, under her guidance, Pitt’s brightest days lie ahead.”
Gabel began her teaching career in 1996 at Georgia State University before joining Florida State University where she chaired the department of risk management/insurance, real estate and legal studies.
She went on to lead the College of Business at the University of Missouri for five years and then was the executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina from 2015 to 2019 before she landed in Minnesota.
Under her leadership, the University of Minnesota developed its first systemwide strategic plan and the completion of a 10-year, $4 billion capital campaign.
Sometimes, your mornings are just too busy to catch the news beyond a headline or two. Don’t worry. The Morning Agenda has got your back. Each weekday morning, host Tim Lambert will keep you informed, amused, enlightened and up-to-date on what’s happening in central Pennsylvania and the rest of this great commonwealth.
