June 2, 2015
President John Garvey announced today that he has appointed Andrew V. Abela as the new University Provost, effective June 3.
Abela has been a member of the University's faculty since 2002. Currently he is dean of the School of Business and Economics. In 2009, he was appointed chair of the then-Department of Business and Economics. In January 2013, shortly after the creation of the University's School of Business and Economics, Abela was named as its first dean.
His scholarship in the areas of marketing effectiveness, marketing ethics, internal communication, and Catholic social doctrine has been widely published and cited. He is the co-editor (with Joseph Capizzi of the School of Theology and Religious Studies) of A Catechism for Business , from CUA Press. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice , a Vatican organization entrusted with the promotion of the social doctrine of the Church; was chairman of the Ethics Committee of the American Marketing Association; and won the 2009 Novak Award, a $10,000 prize given by the Acton Institute for "significant contributions to the study of the relationship between religion and economic liberty."
"The process of searching for a new provost yielded a number of fine candidates," said University President John Garvey. "I was resolved to fill the provost position with an individual who would be the best fit for The Catholic University of America - a charismatic figure with an accomplished academic record, excellent leadership skills, and a passion for the University's mission, who would command the respect of the board, the cabinet, the deans, the faculty, and the student body. Andrew Abela meets all those qualifications. He has done a superb job as the dean of our new School of Business and Economics. Under his leadership, in less than three years the school has experienced rapid growth in both students and faculty; this fall School of Business and Economics students will represent about 22% of our total incoming freshman class. He has established a board of visitors composed of top-notch business executives and entrepreneurs who are providing strategic support for the school. Dean Abela has also succeeded in attracting a number of substantial new grants to support the hiring of additional faculty," said Garvey.
Abela holds a B.Sc. from the University of Toronto, an M.B.A. from the Institute for Management Development in Switzerland, and a Ph.D. in marketing and ethics from the Darden Business School at the University of Virginia.
He has also provided consulting and training in internal communications to numerous organizations, including Microsoft Corporation, JPMorganChase, ExxonMobil, HJ Heinz and the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Prior to his academic career, he served as a brand manager at Procter & Gamble, management consultant with McKinsey & Company, and managing director of the Marketing Leadership Council of the Corporate Executive Board.
Abela is married, and he and his wife, Kathleen, have six children. He was born and raised on the island of Malta.