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<H3 align=center>Patricia E. Beeson Elected Pitt's New Provost and Senior Vice
Chancellor by the University's Board of Trustees</H3>
<H4 align=center>“Her abilities, commitment, and experience best position Dr.
Beeson to contribute to Pitt's continued rise within the ranks of the country's
top public research universities as provost,” Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg
stated in recommending her election<BR><BR>Beeson, currently Pitt's vice provost
for graduate and undergraduate studies, will assume her new duties Aug. 15</H4>
<P>PITTSBURGH-Patricia E. Beeson was elected provost and senior vice chancellor
of the University of Pittsburgh by the University's Board of Trustees at its
annual meeting this morning. Dr. Beeson, currently Pitt's vice provost for
graduate and undergraduate studies, was recommended for the position of provost
by Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg.<BR><BR>“My recommendation of Dr. Beeson
is grounded in her 27-year record of achievement and impact as a faculty member
and administrator at the University of Pittsburgh and my assessment that her
abilities, commitment, and experience best position Dr. Beeson to contribute to
Pitt's continued rise within the ranks of the country's top public research
universities as provost,” said Chancellor Nordenberg. <BR><BR>“I feel privileged
and am delighted to have been selected as the next provost of this great
University, which has been my professional home for the past 27 years,” said Dr.
Beeson. “During those years, I have come to know, respect, and enjoy the
faculty, staff, students, and alumni who make up our University community and
have felt fortunate to contribute to an institution that has been so good to me
in so many ways. The considerable progress we have made in recent years, led by
a strong chancellor/provost partnership, has been the result of our working
together to achieve our common goals. I look forward to the opportunity to work
with the Chancellor, and with all of the dedicated and talented people at Pitt,
to continue to advance the University.”<BR><BR>In her new position, which she
will assume on Aug. 15, Dr. Beeson will serve as the University's chief academic
officer, exercising general oversight over academic affairs on all five Pitt
campuses. Working closely with the Chancellor and other members of the
University's senior leadership team, including the senior vice chancellor for
the health sciences, the provost plays a key role in developing and advancing
the University's academic vision and plans, in enhancing the University's
commitment to excellence in education and research, and in building strong
University partnerships in community and economic development. Among many other
responsibilities, the provost also plays a key role in efforts to continually
improve the quality of student life, chairs the University Planning and
Budgeting Committee, and is a leader in the development and implementation of
technology transfer policies.<BR><BR>The continuing progress of the University,
the Chancellor noted in his recommendation of Dr. Beeson, depends upon the
contributions of a provost who possesses both the academic vision and the fiscal
discipline to foster future success in a world that is characterized not only by
nearly limitless opportunities but also by clearly limited resources; who is
energized by Pitt's momentum, believes in its still-untapped potential, and will
work tirelessly to advance its collective efforts to realize that potential; who
is committed to fundamental academic values and to the highest academic
standards; who can communicate effectively with the many constituent groups
whose support will be essential to its continuing progress; who can earn the
confidence of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends, as well as
trustees; and who will work productively as part of an accomplished leadership
team. <BR><BR>The Chancellor said that Dr. Beeson has the ability, ambition,
experience, and values to serve as provost as Pitt continues its never-ending
quest to “clearly and consistently demonstrate that this is one of the finest
and most productive universities in the world.” <BR><BR>When James V. Maher
announced last year his decision to step down from his current position as
provost and senior vice chancellor after more than 15 years of acclaimed service
in the role, Chancellor Nordenberg convened a search committee and charged it to
identify qualified candidates for this key position. As a first step in its
dedicated efforts, which spanned several months, the committee attracted more
than 150 applications and nominations. From that large list, a number of
particularly promising candidates were invited to Pittsburgh for personal
interviews with the committee. Based on those interviews, as well as its review
of the written records and reference checking, the committee submitted the names
of unranked recommended candidates to the Chancellor. <BR><BR>Each of the
Committee's recommended candidates was brought to the University for extensive
interviews with the Chancellor and members of his senior leadership team. At
that point, the list was further narrowed, and finalist candidates were brought
back to the University for additional meetings with the Chancellor and for
interviews with representatives of the Council of Deans, members of the
professional staff in the Office of the Provost, representatives of Equipoise
and the Provost's Advisory Committee on Women's Concerns, and other members of
the University's central leadership team. After careful consideration of all of
the information generated through this exhaustive process, Chancellor Nordenberg
made his recommendation of Dr. Beeson.<BR><BR>“Patty Beeson is one of the most
impressively capable people I have worked with during my career,” commented Dr.
Maher. “She has contributed in important ways to the progress the University has
made in recent years, and I am confident that as provost she will apply her
considerable talent very effectively to moving the University up to an even
higher level of attainment.”<BR><BR>Patricia E. Beeson earned the Bachelor of
Science degree in economics from Oregon State University and the Ph.D. in
economics from the University of Oregon. She joined the University of Pittsburgh
as an assistant professor in the Department of Economics in 1983. In 1990, she
was tenured and promoted to the rank of associate professor, and in 2000, she
was promoted to the rank of professor. She also has held a visiting faculty
appointment at the University of Michigan and has received research support from
the Sloan Foundation, the Ameritech Foundation, and the Federal Reserve Bank of
Cleveland. <BR><BR>Dr. Beeson's scholarly focus is on regional and urban
economics. Many of her publications-in such peer-reviewed journals as the
“Review of Economics and Statistics”, the “Journal of Urban Economics,” and the
“Journal of Regional Science”-have focused on issues of direct relevance to an
institution like Pitt, which is situated in a region that continues to move
through a process of economic transformation. Examples include such articles as
“Source of the Decline of Manufacturing in Large Metropolitan Areas,” “Amenities
and Regional Differences in Returns to Worker Characteristics,” “The Effects of
Colleges and Universities on Local Labor Markets,” and “Industrial Change and
Wage Inequality: Evidence from the Steel Industry.” <BR><BR>Much of Dr. Beeson's
most recent work was devoted to a major research project undertaken in
collaboration with colleagues from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, where
she served as a research associate for nearly a decade and as a visiting scholar
on two separate occasions. That work was tied to amendments to the federal
Housing Mortgage Disclosure Act that generated a very large body of new data,
with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland charged to examine the full universe
of national data to assess what could be learned about lender practices,
particularly with respect to issues of regulatory concern, such as the role of
race in the initiation and outcome of the home loan application process.
<BR><BR>Even more recently, Dr. Beeson has been involved in another
data-intensive collaboration. This project examines the nature and growth of
U.S. counties from 1840 to 1990. A distinguishing feature of this work is that
it, too, is based on a huge database - location characteristics developed on a
county-by-county basis and covering an expansive period of 150 years. Through
this work, she and her collaborators examine fundamental questions related to
the establishment and subsequent growth of cities, such as the importance of
natural advantages and the persistence of population centers over time.
<BR><BR>During her years as a faculty member, Dr. Beeson made important
contributions beyond her own teaching and scholarship to the advancement of both
her department and the School of Arts and Sciences. Those contributions included
service as director of graduate studies for the Department of Economics and as a
member of the College of Arts and Sciences Council, the College of General
Studies Council, and the Provost's Advisory Committee on Women's Concerns.
<BR><BR>In 2001, Dr. Beeson assumed the first of a succession of important
administrative appointments when she was named associate dean for undergraduate
studies in the School of Arts and Sciences. Among other contributions she made,
she is credited with guiding the implementation of a new undergraduate
curriculum that has further developed an academic culture in which students are
more fully engaged with faculty in the scholarly activities of the University.
She also directed a team of assistant deans and other professionals directly
engaged in delivering student services, including the Arts and Sciences Advising
Center, the Academic Resource Center, the Office of Experiential Learning,
Student Records, and Freshman Programs. <BR><BR>In 2004, Dr. Beeson joined the
Office of the Provost as vice provost for graduate studies. Two years later, she
also assumed responsibility for undergraduate studies, which traditionally had
been a separate position, and since then has served as vice provost for graduate
and undergraduate studies. In that role, Dr. Beeson has been responsible for
graduate and undergraduate studies across the University's 16 schools and four
regional campuses-encompassing more than 400 academic programs and nearly 35,000
undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. She has served as chair of
both the University Council for Graduate Studies and the Provost's Advisory
Committee for Undergraduate Programs. <BR><BR>Within the Office of the Provost,
Dr. Beeson has played a lead role in the University's assessment efforts and has
been deeply engaged in strategic planning. Working with the director of
admissions and financial aid and the dean of students, she has helped lead
Pitt's enrollment management efforts, as well as initiatives to increase student
retention, graduation, and satisfaction. She also has been actively engaged at
national and statewide levels on issues of assessment and accountability and is
widely regarded as a leader in those areas. From each of the positions she has
held and as chair of the Provost's Advisory Committee for Women's Concerns, she
has contributed to the creation of a more diverse University community.
<BR><BR>In her assessment and planning efforts, Dr. Beeson has worked closely
with the Office of Institutional Research. She also has served as the Office of
the Provost's principal contact person for the School of Arts and Sciences, the
Swanson School of Engineering, the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business
and College of Business Administration, the University of Pittsburgh Press, the
Office of Measurement and Evaluation of Teaching, the Office of the Registrar,
and the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. <BR></P></FONT></DIV>
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