Michael Soto, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs, will be “departing his role,” according to an announcement Monday, Jan. 6, by President Brussalis.
Soto’s position will be temporarily filled by Dr. Shari Payne, who previously served as dean of the School of Education.
Payne’s position will be filled in the interim by Dr. Ginny Chambers, an associate professor of education.
“Please join me in thanking Dr. Soto for his many contributions to our institution, including his dedication to advancing academic excellence and supporting our students and faculty,” Brussalis said in the announcement. “We wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”
Soto’s staff profile was erased from Point Park’s website Saturday prior to the announcement.
His departure and its accompanying fallout along with the recent Conservatory of Performing Arts restructure leaves Point Park with nine interim hiring positions.
Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, department chair of Natural Sciences and Engineering, director of the modern unit in the School of Dance, program director of Strategic and Sports Communication and program coordinator of Broadcasting and Digital Journalism in the School of Communication, director of cinema production in the Cinema Arts Department, the aforementioned provost and dean of School of Education positions are all listed as “interim” on Point Park’s faculty list.
Dean of the new School of Theatre, Film and Animation and its associate position were noted as being filled in the interim as well.
Those positions are temporarily filled by current faculty while the administration looks for new hires.
“We will conduct national searches this spring for both the provost and dean positions to identify permanent leaders who will continue to drive Point Park’s mission forward,” Brussalis said.
The provost position oversees all academic programs, including faculty and courses. Soto had served as provost since May of 2021.
Prior to his time at Point Park, Soto was a teaching fellow at Harvard University, a member of the Texas State Board of Education and a professor of English and associate vice president of academic affairs at Trinity University.
Soto earned a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University.
He has written publications on literature and teaching literature.
