Lina D. Dostilio serves as the vice chancellor for external relations at the University of Pittsburgh, where she acts as deputy and strategic adviser to Senior Vice Chancellor for External Relations Kevin Washo. In this role, she ensures alignment and cohesion across the University’s outward-facing functions, including Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement, Engagement and Community Affairs, Government Relations and Advocacy, and Communications and Marketing. In addition, she oversees cross-functional efforts in community engagement, economic development, and storytelling that elevate Pitt’s public impact. She also works closely with Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement to align philanthropic strategy with External Relations’ broader mission and public impact priorities, including initiatives such as the Community Engagement Centers, regional impact partnerships, and economic development efforts.
With more than 20 years of experience in higher education, Dostilio has led work across institutional strategy, academic leadership, and co-curricular domains. She has cultivated strategic partnerships across sectors and within institutions to expand universities’ public reach and relevance. She joined Pitt in 2017 to start the Community Engagement Centers initiative and founded the Office of Engagement and Community Affairs in 2020. She played a key role in helping Pitt earn the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement and maintain its Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU).
She holds an academic appointment as associate professor of practice in the School of Education, where she teaches and advises doctoral students in educational leadership. Her research explores the professionalization of community engagement professionals, universities’ response to societal challenges, and cross-sector partnerships.
She currently serves as vice-chair of the Commission on Economic and Community Engagement for APLU and co-chair of the national Chief Engagement Officers Forum. She has held fellowship roles with Campus Compact and the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities and is on the advisory board of Advancing Research Impacts in Society (ARIS). Locally, Lina is on the board of directors of Family House and serves as Pitt’s United Way Campaign chairperson.
Dostilio earned her Ed.D. in educational leadership at Duquesne University. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from The Pennsylvania State University and certificates in qualitative research methods and human-centered design.