Dr. Shari Payne, who was promoted to the position of interim provost near the start of this semester, says she has thrown her hat in the ring for consideration as the permanent provost.
“I am interested in being a candidate for the position full time,” Payne, the former School of Education dean, said. “There will be a search and I will have to go through that process just like any other candidate.”
Point Park’s provost is responsible for oversight of curriculum across schools.
“Dr. Payne has demonstrated exceptional leadership in her roles as dean of the School of Education and the School of Continuing and Professional studies and brings a wealth of experience in higher education administration to this role,” Brussalis said in his announcement of former provost Soto’s departure.
Dr. Ginny Chambers, the former School of Education professor turned interim dean, said she is looking forward to filling Payne’s shoes.
“I feel fortunate to work alongside such a talented and collaborative team of faculty and staff in the School of Education,” Chambers said. “Together, we are committed to innovation and continually enhancing the excellence of our undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs.”
Payne discussed her efforts to overhaul School of Education classes after she was appointed as the dean in May of 2024.
She and a team of higher education professionals built a new alternative teaching program at Point Park to allow paraprofessionals to pursue teaching degrees while they work, a first for Pennsylvania.
“I don’t know if you know this, but there’s a large teacher shortage in Pennsylvania,” Payne said. “So we really dove in to try to solve that problem.”
The successes of the School of Education made Payne stand out, she says. However, she added that she had received help.
“There are a lot of talented faculty members spearheading that,” Payne said, “and I was leading and managing it, but I do want to give all the credit to them.”
First beginning her career as a reporter for the Latrobe Bulletin, Payne was laid off and returned to the University of Pittsburgh, her alma mater, for work.
Pitt was the catalyst of Payne’s 30 year career in higher education after she was given the job of admissions and financial aid counselor.
Since she first started, Payne has worked at Robert Morris University, where she spent 17 years, Shepherd University in West Virginia and Waynesburg University serving as vice president of enrollment.
Payne has been at Point Park since May of 2023, when the university initially brought her on as dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
“[Higher education] is the passion of my life,” Payne said. “It’s been my life’s work. I’m not new to higher education even though I’m new to Point Park University.”
The growing number of interim positions does not alarm Payne, she said.
“Sometimes an interim position is really just to buy time for a search to complete the process,” Payne said. “It’s a neutral term. It’s not good or bad. It’s just really buying time for the search to complete its process. And at the conclusion of an interim process, a person can be chosen as the permanent position. There could be an external person chosen for that role.”
In the meantime, Payne says she encourages students to come to her with suggestions while she serves as provost.
“It’s really important to me that I pack my schedule with meetings with folks to listen and hear what they have to say before jumping in and making any changes,” Payne said.
