Pitt’s Board of Trustees Names Residence Hall After Pitt–Bradford President

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh’s Board of Trustees passed a resolution formally naming the Livingston Alexander House, Residence Hall at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. The move recognizes the leadership and service of Livingston Alexander, the current president of Pitt–Bradford and Pitt–Titusville, who announced his retirement in June.

“I am both humbled and honored beyond measure by this extraordinary moment,” said Alexander. “When I assumed the presidency at Pitt–Bradford, I regarded the appointment as the opportunity of a lifetime. Now that I am reflecting on my time at Bradford and Titusville, I consider myself fortunate to have served this noble network of institutions that have given so much back to me and my family.”

Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said that “over the course of his 15-year career at Pitt, Livingston’s inspired and ambitious vision has shaped every facet of learning and leading at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. The Livingston Alexander House, Residence Hall will stand as a lasting tribute to this impact, which will benefit both our students and broader University community for generations to come.”

In April 2003, Alexander was named the third president of Pitt–Bradford. He assumed the presidency of Pitt–Titusville — in an administrative realignment under which he has served as president of both institutions — in May 2012. Through his leadership, Pitt’s Titusville campus has seen student enrollment stabilize and student retention and graduation rates increase.

At Pitt–Bradford, Alexander’s success in the areas of academic excellence, campus development and fiscal prosperity has been significant. Notable achievements in these areas include:

• Academic excellence: Development of 16 new majors, increases in student enrollment and retention and a steady rise in national visibility, evidenced by national rankings including those from The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report.

• Campus development: Construction of five new residence halls and a nondenominational chapel, major renovations to two academic buildings and the acquisition of the facility in downtown Bradford that now houses the Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center.

• Fiscal prosperity: Completion of capital campaigns totaling $33 million and increases in endowment and foundation assets of more than 250 percent. Alexander also led efforts to secure federal grants to serve students who are disabled or from underrepresented populations as well as first-generation students.

Prior to coming to Pitt, Alexander served as the provost and vice president for academic affairs and a professor of psychology at Kean University in New Jersey. He also was the vice president for academic affairs at Troy State University–Montgomery and associate vice president for academic affairs and director of graduate studies at Western Kentucky University. Alexander began his higher education career as a professor of psychology at Western Kentucky in 1977.

Throughout his academic and administrative career, Alexander has focused his research pursuits in the areas of cognition, teaching and learning, and leadership. His findings have been published in such notable academic publications as Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development and the Journal of Educational Psychology.

A native of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, Alexander earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy at St. Joseph Seminary College in Washington, D.C., a Master of Education in curriculum and a Doctor of Education in educational psychology at the University of Houston.

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