University of Pittsburgh

Campus Call for Free Expression Participating President:

University of Pittsburgh

Joan T.A. Gabel, Chancellor

About the President

Joan T.A. Gabel will become the 19th chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh in July 2023. She currently serves as the president and chief executive of the University of Minnesota System and Twin Cities campus. 

Under Gabel’s leadership, the University of Minnesota developed the University’s first comprehensive systemwide strategic plan that resulted in record-setting graduation rates and annual research expenditures, as well as unmatched start-ups, patents, and private giving, including the completion of a $4 billion capital campaign that exceeded its goal by 10%. Transformational partnerships, such as the NXT GEN MED program between the University, Mayo Clinic and Google, have led to reimagined research and student opportunities.   

Prior to joining the University of Minnesota System, she served as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina and as dean of the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business at the University of Missouri. Gabel began her teaching career at Georgia State University, and then joined Florida State University where she was the DeSantis Professor of Legal Studies and Chair of the Department of Risk Management and Insurance, Real Estate and Legal Studies Director in International Relations. 

Gabel is the recipient of numerous research, service and teaching awards, including as a Fulbright Scholar. She currently serves as Vice Chair for the Council on Competitiveness and on the boards of the American Council on Education, the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, and Fulbright (CIES), among others. She holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Haverford College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law. 

The Campus Call for Free Expression is a commitment by a diverse group of college presidents to urgently spotlight, uplift, and re-emphasize the principles of critical inquiry and civic discourse on their campuses. The Campus Call is centered on a coordinated set of presidential and campus activities focused on free expression that collectively amplify higher education’s role in preparing young people to be the empowered citizens our democracy needs.