Janice Cervelli, president of St. Mary’s College in Indiana, has recently announced her resignation. The college’s provost, Nancy Nekvasil, will take over as interim president, effective immediately. St. Mary’s College enrolls slightly more than 1,500 women undergraduate students and more than 100 graduate students.
Cervelli became president in 2016. Prior to coming to St. Mary’s, she was dean of the College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape at the University of Arizona for eight years. She served as dean of the College of Architecture, Arts, and Humanities at Clemson University in South Carolina from 2002 to 2007. Earlier, she was associate dean for undergraduate studies and director of the teaching and learning center at the University of Kentucky from 1991 to 2002.
Cervelli holds a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from Purdue University and a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Guelph in Ontario.
Upon Cervelli’s retirement, chair of the Board of Trustees, Mary Burke, stated, “We appreciate all that she has contributed to Saint Mary’s during her tenure here and we wish her the best. We are grateful for her leadership and devotion to the Belles. Her on-campus camaraderie and interactions will be missed.”
Dr. Nekvasil has served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at St. Mary’s since 2017. In addition to her administrative roles, she also serves as professor and chair of the biology department. She has been a faculty member at the college for the past 34 years.
The college will not begin their search for a permanent president until summer 2019. Therefore, Dr. Nekvasil will serve in her new role as interim president until summer 2020.
Dr. Nekvasil holds a bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame.