Less than two years after the last person started in the role, a new associate vice provost and dean of students has been named.
Mike Giancola will be joining the University of Pittsburgh effective Nov. 9. He replaces Marlin Nabors, who started as associate vice provost and dean of students in January 2025 and left in March 2026 for personal reasons, according to a Student Affairs spokesperson.
As associate vice provost and dean of students, Giancola will serve on the Student Affairs Strategic Leadership Team and will play a key role in advancing the Division of Student Affairs' mission and the University's Plan for Pitt, according to an announcement from Carla Panzella, vice provost for student affairs.
Giancola comes to Pitt from nearly 30 years at North Carolina State University, most recently as assistant vice chancellor and student ombudsperson. He previously served as associate vice provost for student leadership and engagement, and as director of the Center for Student Leadership, Ethics & Public Service. Earlier in his career, he worked and taught at Kent State (Ohio) and Ball State (Indiana) universities before moving to Raleigh, and he has also taught undergraduate courses on leadership and social responsibility at N.C. State.
He co-founded Feed the Pack, N.C. State's campus food pantry, and went on to develop the Pack Essentials initiative and Student Emergency Fund to support students facing food and housing insecurity, helping raise more than $5 million for those efforts. He created NC State's Alternative Service Break program and, over 25 years, helped build service-learning partnerships in more than a dozen countries focused on areas like housing, healthcare, water quality, and education access.
Giancola, a native of Pittsburgh, holds a master of education in higher education administration from Kent State University and a bachelor of science in industrial/organizational psychology from John Carroll University in Ohio. He will be joined by his wife, Jenn, and two college-aged children, Megan and Sam.
“Returning to the city that raised me to serve as associate vice provost and dean of students is both a deeply personal homecoming and a profound honor,” he said in an announcement. “I step into this role with immense gratitude for the Pitt community, ready to listen, learn and lead. Everything truly is Possible at Pitt, and I look forward to working alongside the campus community and our partners as we explore those possibilities together.”
Over the next eight weeks, Giancola will make a few visits to campus to begin meeting students and staff, easing into his transition.
— Susan Jones
Have a story idea or news to share? Share it with the University Times.
Follow the University Times on Facebook.