The University’s Board of Trustees ended June with a busy meeting that, in addition to announcing a new provost (see related story), included naming two other officers of the University and five new members to the board, re-electing the board’s chair and honoring the outgoing provost and chief financial officer.
New financial team
The board approved Greg Schuler as Pitt’s new chief investment officer (CIO) and Paul Lawrence as treasurer to replace Amy K. Marsh, former CIO and treasurer, who retired March 31.
Schuler, who was not present at the meeting, has served as CIO and treasurer for BJC HealthCare, a nonprofit health care integrated delivery organization in St. Louis, Missouri, since 2011. He managed investment activities covering $8 billion in assets and oversaw treasury activities related to debt, derivatives and cash management. As CIO at Pitt, Schuler will oversee investment and management of the University’s consolidated endowment.
“Greg is arriving at an exciting time in the University of Pittsburgh’s history,” said Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. “I am confident that he will excel as our next chief investment officer and eager to watch him leverage his leadership and expertise to spur growth at Pitt for decades to come.”
Lawrence, a 1993 graduate of the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, has served as Pitt’s managing director of investments since 1999 and assistant treasurer since 2000 and has worked for the University since 1994. As treasurer, he will be responsible for the management of the University’s financial assets and liabilities, excluding the consolidated endowment.
“For more than two decades, Paul has expertly managed a variety of financial responsibilities for the University of Pittsburgh,” said Gallagher. “He is perfectly suited to serve as our treasurer and will — I am certain — extend his record of success in this new role.”
New Trustees
In addition to re-electing chairwoman Eva Tansky Blum and five current board members to new terms, the board also elected five new members.
Gary T. Brownlee serves as a business adviser for the Indiana Small Business Development Center at Purdue University Northwest. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in 1974 and his MBA from the University’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business in 1978. Brownlee also co-founded the Pitt Club of Chicago Scholarship Fund and has served as an officer of the Pitt Alumni Association for more than 15 years.
Vaughn Clagette is a practicing physician with the Southeast Permanente Medical Group in Atlanta. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Pitt’s Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in 1989 and his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1993. He is an active member of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s alumni community. He also is actively involved in the University’s African American Alumni Council, where he previously served as president.
David J. Morehouse serves as the chief executive officer and president of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Morehouse joined the Penguins following a career in national politics, including the White House, the Pentagon, Capitol Hill and key roles in two presidential campaigns. He attended the Community College of Allegheny County and Duquesne University and received a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Michael G. Wells is the founding managing director of the venture capital firm Princeton Biopharma Capital Partners, LLC, based in New Jersey. He also was the founder and chief executive officer of Aton Pharma, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, and co-founded Lathian Systems Inc. Wells and his family have a long history of affiliation with the University of Pittsburgh: His grandfather graduated from the University’s School of Dental Medicine in 1927, and his father graduated from the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in 1957. Wells holds two degrees from the School of Education, a Bachelor of Science in 1990 and a Master of Science in 1992, and he also holds an MBA from The Wharton School. Since 2011, he has endowed three scholarships at the University including the Michael G. Wells Entrepreneurial Scholars Fund, which sponsors an annual business plan competition for health care ventures created by University students and faculty.
Marna Cupp Whittington has served as a director of Oaktree Capital Management, a leading global alternative investment management firm, since June 2012. Whittington was the chief executive officer of Allianz Global Investors Capital, a diversified global investment firm, from 2001 until her retirement in January 2012. Earlier in her career, she served as deputy secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education; as secretary of finance for the state of Delaware; and later, as executive vice president and chief financial officer of the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her master’s degree in psychology in 1970 and a Ph.D. in psychology in 1974 at the University of Pittsburgh, and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at the University of Delaware. Whittington also serves as a director of Macy’s, Inc., and Phillips 66.
Honoring outgoing leaders
The Board of Trustees also honored two outgoing senior vice chancellors, Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Patricia E. Beeson and Chief Financial Officer Arthur G. Ramicone.
Beeson was elected provost in 2010 and will serve through the end of August, when she will return to the economics faculty in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. She came to Pitt as an assistant professor of economics in 1983.
“In my view, she has completely transformed the academic framework here at Pitt to fully embrace the latest opportunities, and that includes the technology, data and innovation,” Gallagher said, citing Beeson’s involvement in establishing the first new school at Pitt since 1995 (the School of Computing and Information) and the Innovation Institute.
“Patty, you have made Pitt a much better university than when you found it,” Gallagher said at the board meeting.
Ramicone is retiring in August after 30 years at the University. He began his career at Pitt in 1988 as a manager of internal audit. During the next three decades, he rose through the ranks and became chief financial officer in 2010. His responsibilities were expanded in 2015 when he was appointed to also serve as senior vice chancellor.
“I cannot exaggerate how dramatically improved Pitt’s financial position has been (under Ramicone’s leadership),” Gallagher said. “I have no doubt that Art’s work to place the university in a position of enviable financial strength will continue to benefit all of us for years to come.”
The fall meeting of the Board of Trustees will be on Sept. 28.