Joan Gabel is chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, leading a community of more than 34,000 students and 16,000 faculty, researchers and staff across five campuses with an annual operating budget exceeding $3 billion. She has guided Pitt through a comprehensive, metrics-driven strategic plan that has delivered growth in enrollment, postgraduation placement, research expenditures, invention disclosures and industry partnerships, while elevating the University’s reputation with designations such as a New Ivy and Best-In-State Employer.
Previously, Gabel served as president of the University of Minnesota System and Twin Cities campus, where she launched the system’s first strategic plan, catalyzing record philanthropic investment and next-generation health sciences education and strengthening the regional agro-food economy. Her previous leadership roles include executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of South Carolina; business dean at the University of Missouri; and faculty positions at Georgia State University and 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.
Gabel serves on the boards of UPMC, the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education and the Pittsburgh Symphony. She also holds leadership positions with the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and Fulbright Scholar Advisory Board (CIES).
Gabel has been recognized by The Wall Street Journal as a “shining star,” elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and named to the Pittsburgh Business Times’ Power 100. She is a sought-after national and international speaker and adviser on leadership, risk management, insurance and governance for industry and government.