ADAPTED FROM PITT MAGAZINE
Dave DeJong, who was honored by the Board of Trustees on Sept. 26, will serve as senior advisor to Chancellor Joan Gabel until December 2024 and build a steering committee to help Pitt prepare to celebrate in 2026 the centennial of the Cathedral of Learning groundbreaking.
ODE TO PITT
DeJong is known for beginning events with a custom-made haiku for the occasion, so Pitt Magazine asked him to write one as he begins this next chapter of his career.
Wise and glorious
Community united
Climb ever higher
DeJong served four years as senior vice chancellor for business and operations until this summer, when Dwayne Pinkney was named to the combined job of executive senior vice chancellor for administration and finance and chief financial officer, which eliminated the separate business and operations position.
The centennial committee will be co-chaired by Kevin Washo, the chancellor’s chief of staff and senior vice chancellor for university relations, and will work with Christopher Drew Armstrong, an associate professor in history of art and architecture.
After his stint as advisor to the chancellor, DeJong will prepare to return to the classroom as a tenured economics professor. He first joined the University in 1989 as an assistant professor in the Department of Economics in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. He was promoted to professor in 2001 and served as department chair from 2006 to 2010.
“His love for economics and for his job as a professor were contagious,” said Marla Ripoll, professor and chair of the Department of Economics. “He took every aspect of his job at heart. He was a phenomenal teacher, very dedicated to the students and really going all the way to make students excited about economics.”
All along, he readily participated in shared governance. The more he gave to the University, he said, the more he got. “So, it’s a nice virtuous circle.”
“Dave never forgot what it was like to work as a faculty member at Pitt and he brought that perspective to every administrative role he had,” said Senate President Robin Kear. “He made things happen that I thought wouldn’t be possible.”
DeJong served in the provost’s office for eight years. He was originally appointed in 2010 as vice provost for academic planning and resources management.
“Since the time he first agreed to join me in the provost office, Dave has been instrumental in envisioning and building an environment that supports the best work of our faculty, staff and students,” said Provost Emerita Patricia Beeson.
DeJong eventually became executive vice provost before being asked to take over the Office of Human Resources in 2019 and later Business and Operations by then-Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. During his time as head of Human Resources, he helped begin the compensation modernization project and steered HR through remote work and the flexible work policies of the COVID-19 pandemic. He stepped in as acting vice chancellor for business and operations in 2020, while keeping his role in HR. In early 2021, he was named to a senior vice chancellor position.
As leader of the central operational functions of the University, DeJong oversaw key projects across campus including the groundbreaking of the new Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, renovations to Hillman Library, the acquisition of the former Pittsburgh Athletic Association building and the early stages of Pitt BioForge.
As he’s moved around, DeJong said, he’s been amazed by “the opportunity to learn more about how the University works, to really appreciate what it takes to keep our buildings running smoothly, to make our campus look so beautiful, to keep the University population safe, and to provide students the support they need outside the classroom.
“All those things that I was doing in business and operations, (those are) things that are easy to take for granted unless you are there with those professionals who are doing that day to day and supporting them,” he said. “Those are things that you realize just how professional they have to be, how excellent they have to be to do their jobs well, safely, to keep the community safe.”
For the past two years, DeJong has chaired Pitt’s United Way campaign. In 2023, the University exceed its goal by $20,000.
“Service is my core value,” he said, “I believe in making a place better than what I found it.”
In honoring DeJong at its annual meeting, the Board of Trustees cited his work throughout the University, including initiating updates to the Campus Master Plan and effectively navigating the University’s operational response to the COVID-19 pandemic.