Dear colleagues,
I am excited to announce that Dr. Jayne Pizzuto has accepted our offer to join the Division of Student Affairs as Director of New Student Programs, effective August 21.
In this role, she will lead the office of New Student Programs in planning and executing Welcome Week, Panther Connect, and Online Orientation, and will serve as a key leader on Team Student Experience, partnering with Residence Life, the Office of Off-Campus Living, and Parent and Family Programs. As Director, Dr. Pizzuto will also coordinate and oversee the First Six Weeks programming for new and transfer students and will support and lead a staff of student affairs professionals and New Student Ambassadors.
Dr. Pizzuto comes to the University of Pittsburgh from Slippery Rock University (SRU), where she most recently served as Assistant Director of Student Engagement and Leadership. In that role, she had direct oversight of fraternity and sorority life, student organizations, and major campus programming, including Week of Welcome and Homecoming. Some of her key accomplishments at SRU included developing a five-year strategic growth plan for the fraternity and sorority community, designing an annual Leadership Abroad program, implementing a comprehensive online student engagement platform, and expanding Week of Welcome programming to 14 days.
Dr. Pizzuto earned her PhD in Higher Education Administration from West Virginia University, her MA in Student Affairs in Higher Education at Slippery Rock University, and her BA in Elementary Education at Westminster College, PA. Her areas of interest in research and practice include strategic planning of large-scale programming and creating trauma-informed transition programming for students of all identities, as informed by her research into college transitions for survivors of school shootings.
I also want to add a warm thanks to Janine Fisher, Director of Marketing and Communications, for chairing the Welcome Week committee, and to those of you who served on that committee, for supporting Welcome Week and student transition efforts in the absence of a director. We would not have been able to plan such a wonderful program for 2023 without their hard work and creativity!
Jayne has a passion for creating a welcoming campus environment. Please join Kenyon and me in giving her a warm welcome to the Division!
Sincerely,
Carla