Pina, a Rhode Island native, will begin his role on June 13 after originally applying and failing to get the same position nearly four years ago.
Jason Pina was both excited and nervous when he found out he would finally be coming to Ohio University to serve as the next vice president for Student Affairs.
Pina, a Rhode Island native, will begin his role on June 13 after originally applying and failing to get the same position nearly four years ago.
The position was vacated in July by Ryan Lombardi, who took a job as vice president for Student and Campus Life at Cornell University in New York. Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones has served in an interim capacity since July 1.
“What I hope to bring is my whole self,” Pina said. “So I hope that OU is the type of environment that allows me to be me.”
Currently, Pina serves as the vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, which had a little over 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students for fall 2015, according its website.
Last year, Bridgewater State came under scrutiny after a student-worker allegedly sexually assaulted children at the university’s daycare center. The director of the center, Judith Ritacco, reported to the then-assistant vice president of Student Affairs directly beneath Pina, according to the Taunton Daily Gazette. She was arrested in April on charges that she failed to report abuse, among other charges.
“Given the on-going nature of the litigation, I am not at liberty to comment on the Children’s Center,” Pina said in an email.
Bridgewater State University President Frederick Clark Jr. said Pina is a “valued, trusted and well-respected colleague.”
“We wish Jason all the best in his new role,” Clark said in an email. “Our loss is Ohio University’s gain.”
Pina has previously worked at the University of Rhode Island, Roger Williams University, Stonehill College and Babson College.
He earned a bachelor’s in economics from Occidental College in California, a master’s in educational leadership from the University of Northern Colorado and a doctorate in higher educational leadership from Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island.
“Really for me I wanted my next stop to be, where working in Student Affairs, you are working 24/7 basically, but I also wanted a place where my family felt part of the community,” Pina said.
During a visit to Athens for his interview, Pina said he encountered “genuine friendliness.”
“I would say that the way people interacted with me in between the interviews (and) in between the questions made me fall in love with the community,” Pina said.
This was Pina’s second time applying for the vice president of Student Affairs position at Ohio University. He previously sought the job out about four years ago when the position was given to Lombardi.
While it is unclear how much Pina will be compensated at OU, Lombardi’s salary for the 2014-15 academic year was $213,262, according to a public records request.
Hall-Jones, who met Pina a couple of years ago, said she is excited to welcome him as a new Bobcat.
“I was impressed with him then, and am excited to learn from him now,” Hall-Jones, who will work directly under Pina, said in an email.
Student Senate President Gabby Bacha, who often works with Student Affairs, served on the search committee for the new position.
“I really like Jason. I think he brings a great level of professionalism to the division,” Bacha said. “I see a lot of qualities in Jason that are similar to Dr. Lombardi in terms of professionalism and keeping that cool head, so I think he’ll fare very well here.”
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Pina has been married for 22 years and has two children: a 10-year-old son and a 18-year-old daughter. His daughter has been accepted to OU for the fall, but has yet to make an enrollment decision, he said.
“I want to build a relationship with people in the division and across campus so we can examine what we can do better for our students ... and how are we going to leverage all of our human and fiscal resources to take advantage of opportunities to help our students,” Pina said.
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