UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 26, Page 1
April 7, 1994
Melvyn D. Schiavelli named next provost

     Melvyn D. Schiavelli, Chancellor Professor of Chemistry, former
provost and former interim president at the College of William and Mary,
will assume the position of University of Delaware provost July 1,
President David P. Roselle announced March 29.
     Schiavelli, 51, also has been appointed a tenured professor in the
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, a recognition taken upon vote of
the department faculty.
     "The clear consensus view of our campus is that Mel Schiavelli should
serve as University provost," Roselle said. "Indeed, his appointment was
urged by unanimous vote of the members of the search committee in
attendance at their final meeting, by unanimous vote of the academic deans
who attended a meeting to discuss the candidates, by unanimous support of
the vice presidents and members of the provost's staff and by the
overwhelmingly favorable comments forwarded to the search committee and to
me from a broad cross-section of the University community.
     "The many qualities cited by those who participated in interviews with
Dr. Schiavelli are all confirmed by his distinguished service on behalf of
the College of William and Mary. Accordingly, I was pleased to join with
the majority and also make him my first choice for the position. I am
delighted that he has accepted our offer and will serve as University
provost."
     "I welcome the opportunity to work with Mel Schiavelli at Delaware,"
Roselle said. "In addition to his demonstrated academic and administrative
accomplishments, he is regarded by those who know him as a man of
integrity, enthusiasm and dedication, possessing superb interpersonal
skills. These qualities will stand him in good stead on our campus and in
our state."
     In the search committee's recommendation to the president, chair
Daniel Rich, dean of the College of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, wrote:
"Members of the search committee and many others sensed in Dr. Schiavelli a
deep commitment to excellence in teaching, research and service; to
responsiveness to the educational needs of both undergraduate and graduate
students; and to the continued development of a talented and dynamic
faculty.
     "The search committee values the quality and magnitude of Dr.
Schiavelli's past achievements," Rich said, "and it anticipates that his
best achievements are yet to come."
     In all, three finalists for the provost position visited the campus
this spring, each meeting over two days with individuals and groups
representing faculty, staff and students. The other two were Anne H.
Hopkins, vice president for arts, science and engineering and professor of
political science at the University of Minnesota, and Derek J. Hodgson,
vice president for research and professor of chemistry at the University of
Wyoming.
     The search committee was "pleased to have presented three candidates
of high caliber to the University community," Rich said.
     In recommending Dr. Schiavelli for the position, Rich said the
committee took note of his record of accomplishments at the College of
William and Mary, achievements that "have provided him with a wealth of
experience, contributing to an extraordinary understanding of the
challenges and opportunities facing higher education."
     The search committee, Rich said, was "impressed with Dr. Schiavelli's
exceptional insight and his good sense, as well as his intelligence. We are
equally impressed by his personal qualities and excellent interpersonal
skills. His warmth, even temperament and sense of humor, diplomatic and
consensus-building abilities and empathic qualities were well-recognized
and appreciated by the diverse constituencies that comprise our community."
     In his new position, Schiavelli will serve as the University's chief
academic officer and provide academic leadership for 10 colleges as well as
research, extension programs, graduate studies, continuing education, the
library, international programs, and several interdisciplinary research
centers and academic support units, including admissions and financial aid.
     Schiavelli has been at the College of William and Mary since 1968,
serving over the years as provost, interim president, dean of the faculty
of arts and sciences and chairperson of the department of chemistry. The
college enrolls 5,300 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students in a
full-time, primarily residential setting in Williamsburg, Va.
     At William and Mary, Schiavelli has been responsible for strengthening
graduate education, including the introduction of new doctoral programs,
establishing an endowed center for interdisciplinary curriculum
development, expanding study-abroad programs, enhancing the writing
program, implementing new international studies initiatives, improving
admissions and advisement systems and introducing new programs to encourage
undergraduate research activity in the humanities and social sciences.
     As provost and chief academic officer there, he was responsible for an
annual budget of $136 million. In addition, he was responsible for the
creation of a faculty senate model of governance, strengthening the library
and enhancing faculty programs of summer research grants and sabbatical
leaves. As interim president, he guided a $150 million capital Campaign for
the Fourth Century.
     Schiavelli served for several years as a member of the Instructional
Programs Advisory Committee of the State Council of Higher Education for
Virginia and chaired the Virginia Task Force on Career Planning and
Placement for Undergraduates.
     Among his many awards are the College of William and Mary Thomas
Jefferson Award, DePaul University Distinguished Alumni Award and Phi Beta
Kappa Faculty Award for the Advancement of Scholarship.
     A native of Chicago, Schiavelli holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry
from DePaul University and a doctorate in organic chemistry from the
University of California at Berkeley. A visiting lecturer and a senior
research fellow at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and a visiting
professor at the University of Utah, Schiavelli was a research associate at
Michigan State, and he received fellowships from the National Science
Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
     He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Royal Society of
Chemistry in London and the Sigma Xi research honorary, and he is a trustee
of the Southeastern Universities Research Association.
     Schiavelli and his wife, Virginia, have two children.
     For the position of University provost, nominations were sought from
the campus community, and national advertising was placed in The Chronicle
of Higher Education and Black Issues in Higher Education. A substantive
review by the search committee of the credentials of more than 175
candidates began in mid-November.
     Richard B. Murray, professor of physics and astronomy, currently
serves as interim provost. He replaced R. Byron Pipes, who left the
University last spring to assume the presidency of Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute in Troy, N.Y.
     In addition to Rich, members of the provost's search committee were
Pamela B. Beeman, nursing; John Edward Burke, Delaware Undergraduate
Student Congress; John L. Burmeister, chemistry and biochemistry; Maxine R.
Colm, employee relations; Katherine S. Conway-Turner, individual and family
studies; Joan DelFattore, English; J. Robert R. Harrison, treasurer;
Saundra Jenkins, graduate student; Edgar N. Johnson, intercollegiate
athletics; Peter R. Kolchin, history; Kenneth A. Lewis, economics; Kenneth
M. Lomax, agricultural engineering; Carole C. Marks, Black American
Studies; Stanley I. Sandler, chemical engineering; William B. Stanley,
educational development; and Carolyn A. Thoroughgood, marine studies.