By SUSAN JONES
Kevin Washo, Pitt’s senior vice chancellor for university relations and chief of staff to Chancellor Joan Gabel, is one of the few people from Western Pennsylvania on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s new state Board of Higher Education.
The board — which includes college officials and students, business and labor leaders and members of the state legislature and the Shapiro administration — is part of the higher education reforms the governor signed into law as part of the 2024-25 state budget.
Washo said each of the state-related schools selected their representative to the new board. “I am, as you might expect, deeply honored to have been formally appointed to the state Board of Higher Education by Governor Shapiro, and I look forward to working with each of my colleagues on the board, as well as the chair, Cindy Shapira, who I have known and respected for a long time,” Washo said.
“We are tasked to develop a comprehensive performance-based funding system that supports student success, ensures institutional accountability, and helps drive Pennsylvania’s economy. We have a unique opportunity to make meaningful recommendations that will positively impact Pennsylvania, and the University of Pittsburgh, for generations to come.”
In his 2023 budget address, Shapiro said the state’s higher education system was broken and set up a task force to develop a new plan for the state-owned and state-related schools, of which Pitt is one. This new board is one of the outcomes from the task force.
The board will develop a strategic plan for higher education to make it more accessible and affordable for students, and ensure the state’s higher education institutions are “training students with the skills and credentials needed to fill critical workforce shortages and power our economy for generations to come,” a statement from the governor said.
Additionally, the board will create a new council that will also make recommendations for a performance-based funding formula for the state-related institutions — Pitt, Penn State, Temple and Lincoln
Some of the metrics the council will consider include: Two-year and four-year graduation rates; student retention rates; net tuition and fees; and post-graduation employment rates and salaries.
Pitt Chancellor Joan Gabel said Pitt is “very much in support” of developing these metrics. She said she’s seen these work best when they reflect the specific institutions and are developed collaboratively. The bill provides for each school to submit its own metrics.
Board of Higher Education
Washo, who is a Pitt alum and has worked at the University since 2017, will be joined by a couple other Western Pennsylvanians appointed by Shapiro:
Cynthia Shapira, chairwoman of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s (PASSHE) Board of Governors, who will serve as the Board of Higher Education’s chair. Shapira is from Pittsburgh and has served on Point Park University board and board of the Allegheny County Airport Authority. She also has chaired the Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Center for Women In Politics at Chatham University and served on the boards of the Pittsburgh Promise, United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and WQED Pittsburgh.
Bobbie Jo Zapor, library assistant at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 763, which represents staff employees at IUP.
The other Shapiro appointments are:
Brenda Allen, president of Lincoln University, who will be vice chair
Ann Bieber, president of Lehigh Carbon Community College.
Sean Eden, a student at Pennsylvania State University.
Richard Englert, retired and now interim president of Temple University.
Kara Laskowski, professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Shippensburg University and a member of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF).
Kenneth Long, president of East Stroudsburg University.
Cheryl McConnell, president of Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia
Pedro Rivera, president of Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Lancaster
Andrea Shirk, president and CEO of Rock Lititz, Lancaster County
Michael Wade Smith, senior vice president and chief of staff at Penn State
Michael Warfel, vice president of governmental affairs at Highmark, Inc., based in Camp Hill
The General Assembly also made four appointments to the new board:
Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny
Sen. Wayne Langerholc, R-Cambria and Centre counties
Rep. Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh
Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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