December 20, 2012

PASSHE Chancellor Dr. John C. Cavanaugh accepts position with Washington, D.C.-based higher ed consortium

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

Harrisburg – The Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) has accepted the resignation of Chancellor Dr. John C. Cavanaugh, who has accepted an offer to lead the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area based in Washington, D.C. Dr. Cavanaugh will leave PASSHE at the end of February.

Board of Governors Chairman Guido M. Pichini issued the following statement on Dr. Cavanaugh’s planned departure:
“We are sorry to see Dr. Cavanaugh leave the State System. He is one of the brightest minds in higher education today.
"As Chairman of the PASSHE Board of Governors, I join my fellow Board members in wishing him great success in his new venture. All of us in the State System, and, most importantly, our almost 115,000 students, have benefitted from his efforts to bring new ideas and high standards to all we do.
“The Board, Office of the Chancellor staff and our university presidents remain committed to our major initiatives, none more important than completing our final collective bargaining agreement with our faculty, preparing for the upcoming legislative session and our appropriations hearings in March and ensuring our students have every opportunity for success in their academic work and their careers.”
Under the Board's succession plan, PASSHE Executive Vice Chancellor Dr. Peter H. Garland will serve as acting chancellor upon Dr. Cavanaugh’s departure. Dr. Garland has held several senior level leadership positions with PASSHE since first being appointed executive associate to the chancellor in January 2002. He was named to his current position, in which he serves as PASSHE's chief operating officer, overseeing the major functional areas in the Office of the Chancellor, in October 2006.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with about 115,000 students. The 14 PASSHE universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. About 500,000 PASSHE alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.
The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. PASSHE also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Freeport, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg.