Pitt's new chancellor defends million-dollar salary and talks tuition, state aid and academic freedom
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Joan Gabel, the next chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, does not take office until July 1.
In an exclusive interview with KDKA-TV on Wednesday, Gabel said she can't wait to get started.
"When I'm feeling focused on what I'm working on, when I feel passionate about the work we're doing, I can really go all in," she said. "I think that is necessary to do this kind of work. And fortunately, that is something that I come to easily."
Gabel, Pitt's first woman chancellor, says she's energized and ready to roll at Pitt. She is currently the president of the University of Minnesota.
KDKA-TV's Jon Delano: "Do you think it makes a difference, your gender?"
Gabel: "Yes and no. On the yes side, I think we have to acknowledge important historical moments. Representation is important. But no because at the end of the day, you do the work, right? You either do the work or you don't, and nobody really cares."
With a son in his junior year at Pitt, Gabel knows all about the university's high tuition, now well over $20,000 for Pennsylvania students.
Delano: "What can you do about the tuition problem?"
Gabel: "I'll start by saying, I'm paying full out-of-state tuition."
"The question we have to ask ourselves is, what does it cost to create quality and is it worth the investment and is the university doing everything it can to hold costs flat or when possible down?" she added.
Gabel says a Pitt education must be worth the tuition paid and that financial aid be available to many. Pitt depends on support from the legislature, which has flat-lined in recent years. Gabel hopes to see that increase.
KDKA-TV also asked the new chancellor about academic freedom at a time when some students and faculty try to shut down speakers from the left and right with whom they disagree.
"We live in a society where we very much hold dear the First Amendment in the United States Constitution, which guarantees the right to free speech, and you can say whatever you want," Gabel said. "But another right that you have is that you can also say that you don't like it. You can react to it, you can respond to it, you can protest it."
Gabel, who is an attorney, says that hateful free speech can be painful to some but is allowable unless it violates the law.
"We can respect the Constitution without endorsing the words that come out of the mouths of those speakers," she said.
KDKA-TV asked Gabel about her new salary at Pitt, which is $950,000 with bonuses that will go well over $1 million. The salary was set by the Board of Trustees
Delano: "Do you think a university president is worth $1 million plus?"
Gabel: "I don't know if there is any way for me to answer that question."
Gabel added it's the marketplace that dictates salary for multi-billion dollar operations like Pitt.
"It's good management for the board to look at the marketplace and expect that the chancellor at the University of Pittsburgh would make what the market dictates, and I think that's where we landed," she said.
Finally, it's hard to think of legacy when you're just starting, but Gabel hopes people will say one thing after her tenure at Pitt.
"What you want is that students feel well-served in the classroom and beyond the classroom, that faculty were in an environment where they could be their full creative self," she said. "And that we all got better."
