Joan Gabel

Joan Gabel
Born	Joan T. A. Gabel
Birthplace	New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Academic administrator
Title	Chancellor and CEO of the University of Pittsburgh
Known for	First woman president of the University of Minnesota; 19th Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh
Education	Haverford College (BA) University of Georgia (JD)

Joan T. A. Gabel is an American academic administrator serving as the 19th chancellor and CEO of the University of Pittsburgh since July 2023. She previously served as the 17th president of the University of Minnesota from 2019 to 2023, where she became the first woman to hold that position in the university's more than 150-year history. Born in New York City, Gabel built her academic career as a scholar of risk management and insurance law before ascending to senior administrative roles at the University of South Carolina and the University of Missouri. Her tenure at both the University of Minnesota and the University of Pittsburgh has been marked by efforts to navigate complex institutional challenges, from budget constraints to questions of university governance. In January 2026, she was named chair of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Board of Directors for the year.

Early Life

Joan T. A. Gabel was born in New York City. Details about her family background and upbringing have not been extensively documented in public sources. She grew up in the northeastern United States and pursued her undergraduate education at Haverford College, a small liberal arts institution located outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Education

Gabel earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Haverford College. She went on to obtain a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the University of Georgia School of Law. Her legal training informed much of her subsequent academic research, which focused on areas at the intersection of law, business, and risk management. In addition to her JD, Gabel developed expertise in insurance law, commercial law, and legal aspects of risk management throughout her academic career.

Career

Academic Career and Early Administrative Roles

Gabel built her academic career as a professor specializing in risk management, insurance, and business law. She held faculty positions at multiple institutions, establishing herself as a scholar in legal studies within business school settings.

Gabel served on the faculty of the University of Missouri's Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business, where she was recognized as a notable member of the Columbia, Missouri, academic community. During her time at Missouri, she was profiled by the Columbia Business Times as a person of note in the region, reflecting her growing prominence in both academic and community circles.

University of South Carolina

Gabel joined the University of South Carolina, where she served on the faculty of the Darla Moore School of Business. She rose through the ranks at South Carolina, eventually being appointed as the university's executive vice president for academic affairs and provost in August 2015. As provost, Gabel served as the chief academic officer of the university, overseeing academic programs, faculty affairs, and strategic academic planning across the institution.

Her time at the University of South Carolina was noted for her administrative capabilities, and she was recognized among other notable university figures in 2018. Gabel's role as provost at a major research university positioned her as a candidate for university presidencies, and her administrative experience at South Carolina was instrumental in her selection as the next president of the University of Minnesota.

President of the University of Minnesota (2019–2023)

On December 18, 2018, the University of Minnesota Board of Regents voted to appoint Gabel as the 17th president of the University of Minnesota system, making her the first woman to lead the institution in its history dating back to 1851. She succeeded Eric Kaler, who had served as president since 2011.

Gabel officially took office on July 1, 2019. Her appointment was covered extensively by Minnesota media, with the Minnesota Daily and other outlets reporting on her background and plans for the university.

During her tenure as president, Gabel led the University of Minnesota system, which includes the flagship Twin Cities campus and several regional campuses across the state. Her presidency coincided with significant challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which required rapid adaptation of university operations, teaching modalities, and campus life.

Controversies at Minnesota

Gabel's presidency at the University of Minnesota was not without controversy. In January 2023, she resigned from the board of directors of Securian Financial Group following criticism over the outside appointment. The board position had drawn scrutiny regarding potential conflicts of interest, and Gabel stepped down from the Securian board amid the mounting pressure.

Separately, controversy arose in 2022 when Board of Regents member Ken McMillan left the board and subsequently sought an interim chancellor position at the University of Minnesota Duluth campus, raising questions about conflicts of interest in university governance. McMillan denied any conflict in the matter.

In April 2023, it was announced that Gabel would leave the University of Minnesota to become the chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh. Jeff Ettinger was subsequently named as interim president of the University of Minnesota following Gabel's departure on June 9, 2023.

Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh (2023–present)

Gabel became the 19th chancellor and CEO of the University of Pittsburgh on July 17, 2023, succeeding Patrick D. Gallagher, who had led the institution since 2014. As chancellor, Gabel serves as the chief executive of one of the largest public research universities in the northeastern United States.

Budget and Institutional Challenges

In her first two years as chancellor, Gabel has overseen the university during a period of fiscal constraint. In a December 2025 interview with The Pitt News, she reflected on the challenges of her tenure, stating that the university has "had to tighten our belts" amid broader financial pressures facing higher education institutions. The interview highlighted her efforts to manage university operations while navigating unprecedented challenges in the higher education sector.

Compensation Controversy

In December 2025, a group of University of Pittsburgh trustees voted to increase Gabel's base annual salary by approximately 32–33%, raising it to $1.25 million. The raise was described by trustees as an effort to retain Gabel, who they said had accomplished significant goals during her tenure.

Gabel announced that she would donate the additional compensation to student and faculty causes at the university. Despite her pledge to redirect the funds, the raise generated both support and criticism. Members of Pitt's Faculty Union expressed mixed reactions, with some professors supporting the raise as a retention measure while others criticized the decision in the context of broader budget constraints at the university.

Administrative Appointments

In November 2025, Gabel named Kimberlee Eberle-Sudré, who had previously served as senior director of strategic initiatives, as her chief of staff. Eberle-Sudré holds a graduate degree from Pitt's School of Education.

Recognition

In January 2026, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) announced that Gabel would serve as chair of its 2026 Board of Directors. APLU is one of the principal advocacy and policy organizations for public research universities in the United States, and the chairmanship is a prominent leadership position within the American higher education community.

Also in January 2026, Gabel was named to the Pittsburgh Business Times 2026 Pittsburgh Power 100 list, a compilation of the most influential individuals in the Pittsburgh region. She was one of 20 people affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh—including both current leaders and alumni—to be included on the list.

Gabel's appointment as the first woman president of the University of Minnesota in 2018 was itself a notable milestone, covered by major Minnesota and national media outlets including the Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio, and the Wall Street Journal.

During her time at the University of South Carolina, Gabel was included among the university's notable figures in its "20 in 18" feature in December 2018, which highlighted 20 people who made a significant impact on the university community that year.

Legacy

Joan Gabel's career trajectory from law school graduate to business school professor to provost to university president and chancellor traces a path through several tiers of American higher education administration. Her appointment as the first woman to serve as president of the University of Minnesota in December 2018 was a milestone for one of the largest public university systems in the United States, an institution that had been led exclusively by men for more than 160 years.

At the University of Pittsburgh, Gabel has positioned herself as a leader focused on institutional efficiency and fiscal responsibility during a challenging period for public higher education. Her election as chair of the APLU Board of Directors in 2026 indicates her standing among peers in public university leadership nationally.

Her decision to donate her 2025 salary increase to student and faculty causes drew attention as an unusual gesture among university leaders, though it also renewed debate about executive compensation in higher education relative to faculty salaries and institutional budgets.

Gabel's career has spanned roles at institutions across the United States—from the University of Missouri to the University of South Carolina to the University of Minnesota to the University of Pittsburgh—reflecting a pattern of progressively larger leadership responsibilities in the American public university system.