Messenger - Vol. 3, No. 3, Page 11
Spring 1994
Melvyn D. Schiavelli named new provost

     Melvyn D. Schiavelli, former Chancellor Professor of Chemistry,
former provost and former interim president at the College of William
and Mary, is the  University of Delaware's new provost. Schiavelli,
51, also has been appointed a tenured professor in the Department of
Chemistry and Biochemistry, a recognition taken upon vote of the
department faculty.
     "The clear consensus view of our campus is that Mel Schiavelli
should serve as University provost," President David P. Roselle said
when announcing his appointment. "Indeed, his appointment was urged by
unanimous vote of the members of the search committee in attendance at
their final meeting, by unanimous vote of the academic deans who
attended a meeting to discuss the candidates, by unanimous support of
the vice presidents and members of the provost's staff and by the
overwhelmingly favorable comments forwarded to the search committee
and to me from a broad cross-section of the University community.
Accordingly, I was pleased to join with the majority and also make him
my first choice for the position." In the search committee's
recommendation to the president, chair Daniel Rich, dean of the
College of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, wrote: "Members of the
search committee and many others sensed in Dr. Schiavelli a deep
commitment to excellence in teaching, research and service; to
responsiveness to the educational needs of both undergraduate and
graduate students; and to the continued development of a talented and
dynamic faculty."
     In all, three finalists were selected from 175 candidates for the
provost position, and they visited the campus in the spring, each
meeting over two days with individuals and groups representing
faculty, staff and students.
     The search committee, Rich said, was "impressed with Dr.
Schiavelli's exceptional insight and his good sense, as well as his
intelligence. We are equally impressed by his personal qualities and
excellent interpersonal skills. His warmth, even temperament and sense
of humor, diplomatic and consensus-building abilities and empathic
qualities were well-recognized and appreciated by the diverse
constituencies that comprise our community."
     As provost, Schiavelli serves as the University's chief academic
officer and provide academic leadership for 10 colleges as well as
research, extension programs, graduate studies, continuing education,
the library, international programs and several interdisciplinary
research centers and academic support units, including admissions and
financial aid.
     Schiavelli had been at the College of William and Mary since
1968, serving over the years as provost, interim president, dean of
the faculty of arts and sciences and chairperson of the department of
chemistry. The college enrolls 5,300 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate
students in a full-time, primarily residential setting in
Williamsburg, Va.
     At William and Mary, Schiavelli was responsible for strengthening
graduate education, including the introduction of new doctoral
programs, establishing an endowed center for interdisciplinary
curriculum development, expanding study-abroad programs, enhancing the
writing program, introducing new international studies initiatives,
improving the admissions and advisement systems and implementing new
programs to encourage undergraduate research activity in the
humanities and social sciences.
     As provost and chief academic officer there, he was responsible
for an annual budget of $136 million. In addition, he was responsible
for the creation of a faculty senate model of governance,
strengthening the library and enhancing faculty programs of summer
research grants and sabbatical leaves. As interim president, he guided
a $150 million capital Campaign for the Fourth Century.
     Co-author of numerous articles and chapters in scholarly journals
and books, he has received several research grants and has given many
presentations and talks at other universities in America and abroad on
his research in organic chemistry.
     Schiavelli served for several years as a member of the
Instructional Programs Advisory Committee of the State Council of
Higher Education for Virginia and chaired the Virginia Task Force on
Career Planning and Placement for Undergraduates.
     Among his many awards are the College of William and Mary Thomas
Jefferson Award, DePaul University Distinguished Alumni Award and Phi
Beta Kappa Faculty Award for the Advancement of Scholarship.
     A native of Chicago, Schiavelli holds a bachelor's degree in
chemistry from DePaul University and a doctorate in organic chemistry
from the University of California at Berkeley. A visiting lecturer and
a senior research fellow at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and
a visiting professor at the University of Utah, Schiavelli was a
research associate at Michigan State, and he received fellowships from
the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
     He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Royal
Society of Chemistry in London and the Sigma Xi research honorary, and
he is a trustee of the Southeastern Universities Research Association.
     Schiavelli and his wife, Virginia, have two children.