New Provost Robin Cautin Excited for SHU’s Future
Cautin will work to improve academic experience and elevate Sacred Heart’s national profile
Sacred Heart University announced Thursday that Robin Cautin will be the next provost of the University. Cautin had served as acting provost since the beginning of May. Before that, she was dean of the College of Arts & Sciences for seven years. Cautin was selected after a comprehensive nationwide search and an extensive interview process.
As University provost, Cautin will serve as Sacred Heart’s chief academic officer, responsible for every aspect of academic and faculty affairs, with the charge to ensure the quality of, and to guide the reinvigoration of, the University’s academic enterprise. After the president, the provost is the senior member of the University’s executive leadership team and serves as strategist, advocate, manager and spokesperson for academics.
In her prior role as dean of the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), Cautin was successful in expanding and strengthening the college through the addition of new undergraduate and graduate degree programs, the expansion and development of the faculty and the establishment of several new schools. She oversaw the implementation of the University’s new core curriculum and the development of several new master’s degree programs, including social work, public administration, industrial-organizational psychology, strategic communication & public relations and journalism & media production. New undergraduate majors were also added during her tenure, including neuroscience, molecular and cellular biology and immersive media & mixed reality. Under her leadership, the CAS established the School of Communication, Media & the Arts in 2015; the School of Computer Science & Engineering in 2017 (now part of the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology); and the School of Social Work in 2019. She also oversaw the SHU in Dingle Program, which has steadily increased its reach and relevance over the past several years.
“While serving as acting provost, Robin has demonstrated her grasp of the issues facing higher education and has promoted a renewed focus on academics that will be critical to the enhancement of SHU’s reputation and national presence. She is a passionate advocate for the faculty, a strong leader and a visionary,” said SHU President John J. Petillo.
“It’s humbling to be entrusted with the extraordinary opportunity to serve as provost of Sacred Heart, an institution deeply committed to a holistic, values-based education in a way that is bold, ambitious and relevant.” Cautin said. “It’s wonderful to know that I have the support and confidence of Dr. Petillo, the trustees and the SHU community.”
Cautin is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate in psychology and philosophy from the University of Delaware, holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from Case Western Reserve University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Columbia University. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of New York. She is the co-editor-in-chief of the five-volume Encyclopedia of Clinical Psychology, published by Wiley in 2015. She is currently under contract with Oxford University Press to author a book on the history of psychotherapy in the United States.
Cautin lives in Fairfield County with her husband and two children. She is actively involved in the community and serves on the board of a number of local charitable organizations.