Molloy College in Rockville Centre names new vice president of academic affairs

After an extensive search, Dr. Michelle Piskulich was selected to the position of provost and vice president of academic affairs at Molloy College and will begin her appointment on Aug. 23. Piskulich was previously a senior associate provost at Oakland University, and the college’s search committee was assisted by the Storbeck Search firm, in selecting her out of nearly 100 applicants.

Piskulich has extensive experience in leading and managing faculty initiatives and academic programs, overseeing areas that include faculty affairs, governance, online learning, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, academic human resources, academic space planning, outreach, professional and continuing education and summer programs for a campus of 19,000 students and 2,500 faculty and staff.

She impressed the search committee with her breadth of experience in academic affairs and her collaborative and interactive manner of engagement. Michael Torres, vice president for technology & institutional effectiveness and chair of the Search Committee, said Piskulich was a great fit.

“Michelle Piskulich demonstrates a career of successful academic leadership that will assist Molloy College in achieving its goals,” he said, according to a Molloy College news release, “and does so with direction and purpose, carried out with a sense of humor and good will.”

In addition to her experience as senior associate provost, Piskulich has held a range of leadership assignments, including Interim executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, with direct reports including academic deans in schools in the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business Administration, School of Education and Human Services, School of Engineering and Computer Science, School of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, university libraries, graduate school, honors college, director of the Eye Research Institute, vice president of research, director of the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, and the executive director Macomb Community College outreach, among others.

Piskulich previously served as associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, director of the Master of Public Administration program and chair of the Department of Political Science, where she held a tenured faculty appointment. She was also president of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), an organization that is the accreditation body for master’s degree programs in public policy, affairs and administration for 318 colleges and universities in 25 countries.

Courtesy Molloy College; compiled by Mike Smollins