Beeson named new Pitt provost

The search for Pitt’s new provost is over.

On Friday, Chancellor Mark Nordenberg… The search for Pitt’s new provost is over.

On Friday, Chancellor Mark Nordenberg named Patricia Beeson, current vice provost of graduate and undergraduate studies, as Pitt’s next full provost and senior vice chancellor.

Beeson will replace current provost James V. Maher, who is returning to a faculty position after 15 years of acclimated service, on Aug. 15.

“This is a momentous occasion in Pitt’s 223-year history,” Nordenberg said following the announcement, which came during the annual board of trustees meeting. “Dr. Beeson has made tremendous strides for our undergraduate and graduate students here at Pitt, and her nomination as provost will certainly continue that legacy.”

Nordenberg selected Beeson from a list of six final nominees. Five of those nominees were from institutions and positions outside of Pitt, Nordenberg said.

Beeson was the only candidate from Pitt.

“It’s an honor to have been chosen to succeed someone who has been such a terrific provost at such a terrific university,” Beeson said upon accepting the new position, following a standing ovation from the trustees. “We have a wonderful future ahead of us here at Pitt, and I’m thrilled to have an opportunity to contribute even further.”

Beeson, for her part, has already contributed more than 27 years of service to Pitt, where her fiery red hair and friendly demeanor set her apart as one of the University’s top administrators.

“Patty is one of the most impressively capable people I have ever worked with during my career,” Maher said. “I’m positive that legacy will continue.”

Beeson joined the Pitt community as an assistant professor in the department of economics in 1983, where she achieved a tenured position in 1990. She also held a visiting faculty position at the University of Michigan and research support from various institutions across the country.

The provost search started in November 2009, when Maher first announced his intentions to return to a faculty position in the physics and astronomy department.

The process began with a pool of 150 applicants and nominees, compiled by a special search committee commissioned by Nordenberg. Through a process of interviews and resume consideration, that group was eventually narrowed to six finalists, Beeson among them.

The final decision was up to Nordenberg. It was a tough one, he said, but Beeson’s skill as a high-level administrator, combined with her unquestionable dedication to the University, set her apart from the other candidates.

“Under Patty’s watch we have continually increased both graduate and undergraduate retention and graduation rates,” Nordenberg said. “We have seen our average SAT scores climb, and today over half of our undergrads come from the top 10 percent of their class. I am sure that Dr. Beeson has the ability, ambition, experience and values to serve as Pitt continues its never-ending question to define itself a the finest and most productive universities in the world.”