“I write to you as I step into the role of interim provost at the request of the president,” said Michael Larobina, Sacred Heart University (SHU) general counsel and university secretary in his email to faculty and staff on Jan. 26.
Melady Hall, where both the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost are located on campus.
Source: Madeleine Medeiros, News Editor
On Friday, Jan. 9, SHU President Dr. John Petillo announced to faculty that Dr. Robin Cautin, SHU’s provost since 2021, will be leaving on a year-long sabbatical starting Feb. 1. Following Cautin’s leave Larobina will fill her shoes as interim provost.
“Robin is taking this time to finish her writing projects and prepare for future opportunities,” said Petillo in his email to faculty.
According to the Department of Marketing and Communications, a search committee for a new provost is already in the works, consisting of faculty, including deans, and students. The committee members will identify the strongest candidates to fill the role.
“We will appoint an associate general counsel to manage the day-to-day operations, allowing Michael to focus primarily on responsibilities of the provost’s office,” said Petillo.
Serving as general counsel since February 2012, Larobina has managed Sacred Heart’s legal affairs. As a tenured professor starting in the 1990s at SHU’s Welch College of Business and Technology (WCBT), he led the college through its Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation, according to Petillo and the Department of Marketing and Communications. Only six percent of institutions with business degrees in the world have AACSB accreditation, according to the AACSB website.
“My career at Sacred Heart has included service as a faculty member, department chair, program director, associate dean, interim dean and, most recently, as general counsel and university secretary,” said Larobina.
“Under [Cautin’s] guidance, the University made meaningful progress, and her work has provided a strong and durable foundation for the future,” said Larobina. “In the coming months, my initial priority will be to listen and learn.”
Prior to her time at Sacred Heart, Cautin was the associate provost and dean of undergraduate education at Manhattanville College, according to Sacred Heart University’s website. She served as the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) dean at SHU from 2014 until 2021, when she was named provost. She holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Case Western Reserve University and has numerous published research papers.
In his email, Petillo noted some of Cautin’s past initiatives as provost aimed at growing SHU’s academic portfolio, and expressing gratitude for her work.
“She led initiatives to strengthen academic infrastructure, enhance student support and faculty development and successfully managed the decennial NECHE review and the development of the 2024-2029 strategic plan,” said Petillo.
As for Larobina, stepping into this new role of provost involves being “focused on supporting faculty and creating the conditions necessary for success in their work,” prioritizing leadership in “class size policy, curriculum development, budget allocation and tenure and promotion processes,” according to the Department of Marketing and Communications.
Moreover, academic affairs and the provost’s office is responsible for overseeing “the advising and registration of our students, academic mentoring and tutoring and study abroad opportunities,” according to the Sacred Heart University website.
Cautin did not respond to a request for comments.
