University Times

Michael A. Worman, president of Pitt’s Titusville campus for 16 years, will step down from that position, effective Aug. 31, 2005.

Worman, 60, said, “I’ve been in senior management positions for 35 years, and I just think it’s time.” Worman plans to retire to the Harrisburg area, where he grew up. “I want to pursue other things. Those things are not really specific right now, but evolving,” he told the University Times last week.

“I feel very honored and privileged to be associated with the University of Pittsburgh for so long. I’ve met so many people and seen so many success stories of students who come to us and eventually go up on the podium and get a diploma.”

Worman said the Titusville campus is on solid footing. “It’s been sometimes a difficult environment, but we expanded our physical campus, with the generous help of [donors such as] Jim Duratz and the Broadhursts. And we’ve enhanced our academic programs and added some programs, with more to come, such as our new nursing program,” he said.

Under Worman’s stewardship, UPT has seen construction of the Broadhurst Science Center and the Helene Barco Duratz Plaza. During his tenure, UPT also has expanded its academic programs in health care, added associate degrees in the liberal arts and natural sciences, introduced several certificate programs and, in collaboration with Pitt’s Bradford campus, established a bachelor’s degree in business program. Worman also helped establish the George J. Barco Center for Continuing Education, which has trained more than 15,000 individuals.

As UPT’s president, Worman led an annual giving campaign that has raised $1 million in unrestricted funds.

Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg praised the commitment and contributions Worman has made at Pitt-Titusville in a statement released last week.

“Dr. Worman’s long and very productive term of service as the president of our Titusville campus has been distinguished by his vision, dedication and warm human touch. Both the University and the Titusville community have benefited greatly from his many important contributions,” Nordenberg stated.

Worman received a B.S. in sociology from Grove City College and both an M.A. in international affairs and a Ph.D. in political science from Florida State University. He also attended Harvard’s Institute for Educational Management.

Before joining the faculty and administration of the University in 1988, he served as executive deputy secretary of education for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, where he assisted in the formulation and execution of commonwealth educational policies. He helped draft the governor’s response to “A Nation at Risk.”

He also previously served as dean of institutional advancement and adjunct associate professor of political science at Philadelphia University and as associate professor of political science at Elizabethtown College.

Provost James V. Maher is expected to name a search committee to identify Worman’s successor.

-Peter Hart