Villanova B-School Dean Gets Provost Job

Patrick G. Maggitti was dean of Villanova’s business school

Villanova University today (April 7) named the dean of its business school as the university’s first provost. The Aug. 1 appointment of Dean Patrick Maggitti, who has served as dean for nearly three years, was chosen for the post after a national search led by a committee of Villanova faculty, trustees, students and administrators.

In his new job, Maggitti will serve as the Chief Academic Officer and the second ranking officer of the University directly under President Rev. Peter M. Donohue. The university said that Maggitti “brings a breadth of experience to this new role, melding wide-ranging knowledge in the academic, business and administrative arenas.”

“We sought a visionary, integrative thinker with strong academic values dedicated to collaboration, teaching, service and scholarly research activities for our first Provost,” said President Donohue in a statement. “Dr. Maggitti possesses all these qualities and is also intimately familiar with Villanova University and our Augustinian mission. He has distinguished himself as a leader who will provide energetic, intellectual leadership to Villanova’s academic community, and I am very much looking forward to working with him in this new role.”

“I am honored to serve as Villanova’s first Provost and have the opportunity to collaborate with my academic colleagues to foster creative and innovative approaches to enhance Villanova’s educational offerings, our research productivity and our intellectual climate,” added Maggitti in a statement. “I consider myself fortunate to serve among such a strong, talented group of faculty, staff, and students and I am excited to have this opportunity to work together to build and achieve even greater academic success for our institution.”

As the University’s Chief Academic Officer, Maggitti will oversee the academic enterprise. To that end, he will play a major role in the development of the University’s vision and strategy for more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students. He will have oversight of the University’s six colleges, which include the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the College of Engineering, the School of Law, the College of Nursing and the College of Professional Studies. He will also oversee all other academic areas, including Graduate and Undergraduate Research, Falvey Memorial Library, the Honors Program, Enrollment Management, and Planning and Research, among others.

A scholar in the areas of entrepreneurship and strategic management, Maggitti has authored numerous publications for premier journals such as Research Policy, Journal of Management Studies and the Academy of Management Journal, widely considered the field’s most elite research publication. Maggitti’s research interests focus on dynamic processes, including strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship, and market- and non-market-based competition. His research is highly cited by other scholars, and a 2008 article he coauthored was identified by the Academy of Management as among the best papers for thought leadership in the field of entrepreneurship.

He is an award-winning teacher and scholar committed to both undergraduate and graduate education. An entrepreneur himself, he founded two successful companies. He has also consulted with a variety of international organizations—including several Fortune 500 companies—on various aspects of strategy and entrepreneurial thinking.

In addition to serving as the Helen and William O’Toole Dean of the Villanova School of Business, Maggitti has been a member of the Business School faculty since 2008. He is an associate professor of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship and the founder and former Carmen and Sharon Danella Director of the Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship. Maggitti received a BS in Chemistry from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia; an MBA with high honors from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and a PhD in Strategic Management from the University of Maryland, College Park.