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.