Pitt–Bradford and Titusville President Announced

April 1, 2019

Dear Colleagues,

As you know, we have been conducting a national search to identify an outstanding educational leader to serve as President of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville.  This has been a transitional time for both campuses and I am very grateful for the leadership that Larry Feick has provided during this academic year.  He has provided excellent continuity and a forward trajectory since Livingston Alexander retired. 

Today, I am delighted to announce that Dr. Catherine Koverola has been named President, of Pitt-Bradford and Pitt-Titusville, effective June 1, 2019.  She will also join the faculty as a full professor in Psychology at Bradford. 

Catherine’s exceptional experience in the needs of students and of rural communities, as well as relationship building and innovation within those spaces, is as impressive as it is substantive. From start to finish, she possesses the leadership qualities that can both continue the successes of the campuses at Bradford and Titusville and propel them forward in a time of transformation.

Over the past two decades, Catherine has held leadership positions at large and small institutions in both urban and rural locations.

In Mauritius, she served as inaugural provost and senior advisor at the African Leadership University, and worked to establish a university system designed to deliver academic programs on a mass scale across the African continent.  Prior to that appointment, she served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Cambridge College. As well, she served as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences at Lesley University. In addition, she served as Dean of Psychology and Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs at Antioch University Seattle.  She began her professional career and served in administrative posts—including as Director of PhD and MA Psychology Programs, Director of the Alaska Rural Health Training Academy, and Chair of the Department of Psychology—at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. An inter-culturally minded program innovator, she has led the development of a doctoral program in Clinical, Community, and Cross-Cultural Psychology as well as graduate programs in Drama Therapy, Eco-Psychology, Mindfulness Studies, and Trauma-focused Interdisciplinary Studies that integrate the Expressive Arts.

Catherine is an internationally recognized scholar in the area of interpersonal victimization in cross-cultural contexts. She has developed culturally relevant programs that serve victims of violence in locations as varied as urban medical centers and remote indigenous communities in Canada and Alaska.  Globally she has provided clinical consultation to a wide range of practitioners including those serving Syrian refugee populations in Jordan; victims of the armed conflict in Colombia; and vulnerable children in Guyana, Nicaragua, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Norway, and Finland.

Having specialized in serving traumatized youth, specifically inner-city African American and Latino youth, as well as rural Canadian First Nations and Alaska native youth, Catherine is equipped to address the pressing issues college students face today.  Her work has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, and many private foundations.

As a steadfast advocate of faculty development, she was the recipient of the American Council of Education Massachusetts Women's Network Leadership Award in 2014.

Catherine earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology and a Master of Arts degree in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. She also holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of British Columbia.

I am incredibly appreciative of the diligent work of the search committee—chaired by our Vice Provost for Student Affairs Kenyon Bonner—and of the patience of all our community members as this process has unfolded.  Everyone’s collective and dedicated work has made this appointment a reality.

Best,

Ann E. Cudd
Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor
Professor of Philosophy