UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 33, Page 3
May 26, 1994
Ready to go; New provost to focus on challenges, opportunities

   It was in 1966, while Mel and Ginny Schiavelli were on their
honeymoon in Williamsburg, Va., that the current Chancellor Professor
of Chemistry and former provost of the College of William and Mary
first saw the campus where he would work for more than 25 years.
   This July, the Chicago native and father of two, will make a major
move, becoming provost at the University of Delaware and a tenured
professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
   As the University's chief academic officer, he will provide
leadership to Delaware's 10 colleges and oversee research, extension
programs, graduate studies, continuing education, the library,
international programs and interdisciplinary research centers.
Admissions and financial aid also will be included among his
responsibilities.
   Schiavelli comes to a position that, over the past several years,
has been filled twice by Richard B. Murray. R. Byron Pipes served as
provost for two years before resigning in 1993 to assume the
presidency of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The subsequent
nationwide search and recent selection process from 175 candidates
created high interest and involvement among faculty, staff and
students.
   Severing his long relationship with William and Mary will not be
that difficult, Schiavelli said.
   "I had done practically everything I could do at William and Mary,"
Schiavelli explained. "I wanted to do something challenging, to be
part of a place that wants to be better than it is now. We have a lot
of friends in Williamsburg, and my wife is active in volunteer
activities. That makes it hard, leaving these people. But, I've
effectively exhausted the challenge. The only reason I stayed there so
long is because I had an opportunity to do a different job every five
or six years."
   While there, Schiavelli served as provost, interim president, dean
of the faculty of arts and sciences and chairperson of the department
of chemistry. He was responsible for introducing new doctoral
programs, establishing an endowed center for interdisciplinary
curriculum development, expanding study-abroad programs, enhancing the
writing program, improving the admissions and advisement systems and
implementing new programs to encourage undergraduate research.
   Delaware, Schiavelli said, will present enough challenges and
opportunities to keep him busy for some time. "One reason I wanted
this job is that people appear ready to go forward," he said.
   His association with the Newark campus and Delaware is long-
standing and varied. He taught chemistry to the daughter of John
Burmeister, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and
Biochemistry at Delaware. He worked on projects with members of the
Gore family, owners of W. L. Gore and Co. and long-time University
benefactors. His former colleague, Thomas Graves, left the presidency
of William and Mary to become director of the Winterthur Museum from
1985-1992, and President David P. Roselle and Schiavelli met when they
both were new provosts-Roselle at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University and Schiavelli at William and Mary.
   The incoming provost said he considers Delaware and William and
Mary to be strikingly similar in their efforts to achieve excellence,
the neighborhood character of their colleges and their desire to
attract exceptional students.
   Commenting on his personal philosophy, Schiavelli said all
decisions must be made with quality in mind. "People don't want to be
associated with mediocrity," he said. "You should keep an eye on the
way any activity takes place with this in mind. If a first-rate
institution is your goal, you'll know where you are and where you fall
short. And, if you don't achieve your goals in a legitimate amount of
time, you may begin to think about doing something different. You may
even sense that is not you want to do."
   Alumni involvement in the everyday life of the institution is
critical to its success, Schiavelli said. A regular speaker at alumni
meetings throughout the country, he said, "I'm amazed at how starved
alumni are to hear more about the institution as it is today. We
should give them an opportunity to reconnect with the institution.
What we want from our alumni, parents and friends is a commitment of
their time, talent and/or resources. We want people out there saying
how good things are at Delaware. They are the ones with the ultimate
credibility."
   While he was interim president at William and Mary, Schiavelli
managed a successful $150 million capital campaign. He knows his way
around the fund-raising circuit and considers faculty an important
part of any development campaign.
   "The first development officer that all future alumni meet is a
faculty member on the first day of class," he said, emphasizing the
continuing relationship between students and faculty. "The larger the
institution, the more that is true. They remember that person forever.
When they come back for homecoming, they seek out that mentor and ask
questions about their department."
   Although he met a number of people during his earlier visits and
interviews, the new provost intends to spend time on campus prior to
his official arrival July 1.
   "I don't like to sit in my office and push papers a lot,"
Schiavelli said. "I'm going to make time to meet people."
   How that occurs, he conceded, will take some organizational
efforts. When he was provost at William and Mary, he attended a
meeting of every department on the campus, providing the faculty an
opportunity to discuss their strengths and weaknesses. However, he
said, it took two years to complete the circuit.
   In Schiavelli's mind, there are two universities on every campus,
the one where the administration lives and the one where the faculty
and students reside. "And," he added, with a smile, "occasionally they
encounter each other and are surprised at what they discover."
   He became particularly aware of this situation when he returned to
the classroom. "A lot of the way administrators spend their time," he
said, "has little effect on the quality of the institution. They are
involved in reacting to crises and concentrating on things that have
to be done immediately. They don't spend enough time on strategic
planning and what is needed four or five years from now.
   "I've been able to see things from both perspectives. It's like
looking through a pair of binoculars from both sides, first with the
regular wide-angle lens and then turning it around and looking at a
more narrow view. With each, you can see things a different way."
   Schiavelli identifies himself as an early riser, a walker and a
bird-watcher. He also acknowledges his reputation as one who enjoys a
joke. "I have a good sense of humor," he said. "I have to, being a
follower of the Cubs for more than 40 years."
   He also said he believes in handling conflicts straight on. "I like
to hear both sides of an argument in the same room at the same time,"
he said.
   In emotional situations, he explained, he's found that each side
often resorts to overstatement when allowed to present a case alone.
He believes there is more opportunity to reach an accord when everyone
is working together, hearing the same things at the same time.
   "I try to look for common ground," he said. "And, as I told them in
the provost's office, 'Life is too short to drink bad coffee.' They
assured me their office has the best coffee on campus."
                                       -Ed Okonowicz and Cornelia Weil