University Times

Jack L. Daniel, vice provost for Undergraduate Studies, will resign from that post Dec. 31.

Daniel will remain a professor of communication in the School of Arts and Sciences. He teaches in the area of African-American communication.

“Dr. Daniel has concentrated on continuous improvement of undergraduate education, facilitating efforts to provide students with exemplary educational opportunities,” said Provost James V. Maher. “He entered the world of academic administration because of an abiding interest in effecting social change, committed to working from a position of strength to encourage success for all students. In recent years, Dr. Daniel helped to build upon and solidify the necessary connections between student and academic life.”

Daniel is a Pitt alumnus, earning a B.S. in psychology at Pitt-Johnstown in 1963 and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in communication at the Pittsburgh campus in 1965 and 1968, respectively. He was an American Council on Education Fellow at Stanford University in 1973-74 and is a 1986 alumnus of Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management.

Daniel began his Pitt career as assistant professor of communication in 1968 and rose to the rank of associate professor a year later, serving as chair of the Department of Black Studies, 1969-74; associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, 1974-78; associate dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 1978-84; assistant provost for undergraduate programs, 1984-87; associate provost for undergraduate programs, 1987-92; vice provost for academic affairs, 1992-2002. Promoted to professor in 1999, he was named vice provost for Undergraduate Studies in 2002. Daniel added the role of dean of students to his responsibilities from September 2002 through June 2005. He served as interim dean of the College of General Studies, 1997-99, and was interim dean of students, 2001-02.

In his administrative role, Daniel has served as chair of the enrollment management steering committee, coordinating activities related to student recruitment, retention, satisfaction, graduation and placement. Also among his responsibilities have been new undergraduate academic programs and work on issues relating to diversity.