Pitt names four Dean candidates

Pitt will begin introducing and interviewing candidates today for the open vice provost and dean of students position.

Pitt initially considered eight candidates for the job, but only invited four of them to campus this week for interviews and public meetings. Students, professors and other Pitt staff can attend the four open meetings, which begin today and end Friday, according to an email Vice Provost Juan Manfredi sent to members of the Pitt staff. The search committee will lead the open meetings, which Manfredi heads.

University spokesperson Ken Service said Pitt’s search committee plans to make its recommendations for finalists to Provost Patricia Beeson next week.

The dean of students position has been open since Chancellor Patrick Gallagher promoted Kathy Humphrey, who was the former dean, to senior vice chancellor and chief of staff last January. Kenyon Bonner, former associate dean and director of student life, is filling the role in the interim.

Bonner is also a candidate for the position, but was out of his office Monday and unavailable for comment.

The four candidates on campus this week — Bonner, Joanne Vogel, William Stackman and Cara Appel-Silbaugh — will all meet privately with Student Affairs staff before their public meetings, according to Manfredi’s email. Service did not respond to a question asking when the search committee would name the other four candidates or announce public meetings for them.

Bonner’s public meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the University Club.

Vogel, who currently serves as interim vice president for student affairs at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, will attend an open meeting 11 a.m. Wednesday in the University Club.

Stackman, who currently serves as the associate vice president for student services at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, will attend an open meeting 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the University Club.

Appel-Silbaugh, who currently serves as the associate dean of students at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, will attend an open meeting 3 p.m. Friday in the University Club.

Pitt officially began its search for a new dean in October after it posted an opening for the job online.

Two Pitt students, Student Government Board President Nasreen Harun and Graduate and Professional Student Government President Joseph Kozak, serve on the search committee to represent the student body in the private meetings, Service said.

According to the job description for the position, the vice provost and dean of students oversees the division of student affairs and “plays a pivotal and supportive role in the achievement of the University’s broader educational goals.”

In that role, the vice provost and dean of students coordinate various offices including the Offices of Student Affairs and Residence Life, as well as the University Counseling Center and Student Health Service.

Editor’s Note: In a previous version of this story, the Pitt News states that Pitt was considering eight candidates for the vice provost and dean of students position. This was unclear. Pitt chose four candidates as finalists after initially considering eight. The story has been updated.