Penn's new executive vice president, Craig Carnaroli, has already established himself as a critical administrative link during his first three weeks on the job.
He is focusing on increasing collaboration among the University's top officials and securing open modes of communication with the undergraduate student body.
Appointed by President Amy Gutmann on Sept. 8, Carnaroli said he would like to incorporate the perspectives of his undergraduate constituency into his decision-making process.
"I'd like sort of a student advisory council," he said, noting that he is seeking a diverse and representative group, "not the sort of standard student-leader types."
"I think that would be useful feedback," he said of his hopes to engage a wide range of the undergraduate community.
The former senior vice president for finance and University treasurer is also working on filling several vacant administrative positions. Simultaneously, he is in the process of transitioning and learning each department's specific needs, desires and unique characteristics.
"We've been meeting weekly and talking about a variety of operational issues," he said of the group of eight vice presidents he is in charge of monitoring. Carnaroli said he has been learning about the goals of each department with the intention of creating a collective spirit among the entire group.
"I've been trying to foster [collaboration] by bringing more issues forward and encouraging more open communication," Carnaroli said. "It's going to be sort of a slow process, because it's a different way to do business."
But Gutmann, along with many of the vice presidents, expressed confidence in Carnaroli's approach.
"I think it's a real advantage that Craig had prior experience in the Penn administration," Gutmann said, citing her own work with Carnaroli on a recent initiative to increase graduate student stipends as evidence of their strong, positive working relationship.
Carnaroli now reports directly to Gutmann, and tries to integrate the vice presidents' projects with Gutmann's overall vision for the University.
"I have to be sure we're aligning how we're running the administrative side with [Gutmann's] academic priorities," Carnaroli said. He described Gutmann as "very supportive," and noted her balanced leadership style as she settles in to her role.
"She kind of gives me some insights that I haven't thought about, but at the same time she gives me the latitudes to make my own decisions," he said.
Similar to the way Carnaroli described his relationship with Gutmann, Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said she was "enjoying reporting to Craig."
"He likes to put his arms around the big picture," Rush said of Carnaroli's analytical style.
Before Carnaroli assumed the role of EVP in mid-September, the position had been vacant for almost a year.
"When we didn't have an EVP, that was an opportunity to grow even stronger in our collaborative schools and kind of pull together," Vice President for Information Systems and Computing Robin Beck said, but it put a demand on the University President.
Without an executive vice president, the vice presidents were "all reporting to [Gutmann] for one-on-ones," Rush said. "I'm sure it was extremely taxing on her schedule."
While noting that she is still going to be accessible to the vice presidents, Gutmann highlighted the importance of having a "senior manager ... responsible on a day-to-day basis for coordinating groups of higher-level administrators."
