In an email to the Seton Hall community on Feb. 14, the University announced that Dr. Katia Passerini was named as Provost and Executive Vice President.
Dr. Passerini comes from St. John’s University. The Distinguished Chair and Dean of the Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, Passerini visited campus on Jan. 23 and 24 to speak with students and faculty. Each of the visits consisted of an Open Forum to meet with students and a faculty meeting.
Dr. Passerini will be replacing Dr. Karen Boroff, who has served as interim provost since October 2016.
“My greatest attention now is to pave the runway of success over the next few months for Provost Passerini,” Boroff said. “We know that she has incredible talents and experiences that will advance the spectacular upward trajectory of Seton Hall University.”
Boroff said that when she was asked to be interim provost by former President Gabriel Esteban, she was not expecting to serve as long as she did. The original appointment was supposed to last six months, from January 1, 2017 to July 1, 2017.
“I have been blessed to work with a terrific team within the Office of the Provost and the decanal team has been outstanding,” she said. “The members of the Executive Cabinet and our Board of Regents and Trustees have been strong colleagues, as has been the Faculty Senate. The students with whom I have worked likewise have been terrific and I hope that all our students get the opportunity to work in such a rewarding environment as they develop their own career paths.”
She added that she hopes Seton Hall students “never lose their hustle.”
“…a trait that typifies the energy, work ethic, and persistence of Setonians since 1856,” she said.
Dr. Passerini said that she was “delighted to have an opportunity to return to New Jersey and work in such an outstanding institution.” Passerini previously served as the Dean of the Albert Dorman Honors College at the New Jersey Institute of Technology from 2003-2016.
She says that she believes Seton Hall has been “growing immensely” over the past few years and “offers rigorous and relevant academic programming focused on educating students for tomorrow’s challenges.”
She said that she would like Seton Hall students to know that she is “passionate about learning and innovation" and she "enjoys brainstorming about new ideas and possibilities.”
“Students can expect that I will carefully listen and try to identify ways to lead to a desired outcome by looking at many different ways to get to the same shared goal,” Passerini said.
Dr. Jonathan Farina, chair of the Search Committee for Provost and Executive Vice President, spoke to The Setonian on behalf of the faculty saying that they are looking forward to collaborating with Dr. Passerini, who Farina says “brings experience, creativity, intelligence, and a wonderfully positive, engaging attitude.”
“In her brief visits with faculty last month, she shared smart ideas about how we can make our study abroad options more affordable and intensive, how we can promote cross-disciplinary study, how we can amplify the intellectual culture of campus, and how we can better support faculty research and grant support,” Farina said.
He said that Dr. Passerini hopes to foster an inclusive and innovative culture at Seton Hall.
Isabel Soisson can be reached at isabel.soisson@student.shu.edu.Find her on Twitter @IsabelSoisson.
