Chiaravalle named to new administrative positions
New V. P. sets sights on fund-raising for college’s expansion
By Jill Helmer
Assistant Editor

     Paul Chiaravalle made the decision to come to Columbia after receiving a phone call from his longtime friend, Columbia President Warrick L. Carter, asking him to become the associate vice president and chief of staff at the college.

     Chiaravalle was named to the position officially on July 9.

     In the first five weeks that he's been at Columbia, Chiaravalle has been helping Carter to better serve students and staff.

     "Both students and staff have been seeing more of Carter and myself," said Chiaravalle. Students and faculty should expect to see Chiaravalle and Carter to at popular hangouts such as the Hokin Center and the Underground Café, as they are planning to make frequent appearances around campus.

     In his pre-Columbia days, Chiaravalle served in the U.S. Army for 21 years. Throughout much this time, he was a band director, once touring the world with jazz festivals for six-month stretch.

     Chiaravalle also had other duties during his time in the Army.

     "I served for eight years at the military academy at West Point, and the rest in Washington, D.C.-as an escort for the president of the United States during Gerald Ford's administration during the Bicentennial," Chiaravalle said.

     After he retired from the Army in 1986, Chiaravalle went to work for a private millionaire in Jacksonville, Fla., and was the director of his personal band.

     Chiaravalle also worked for a period of time at the University of Northern Florida, working on starting a music program there. It was after this position that Chiaravalle went on to work at Disney.

     Chiaravalle worked for Disney Corp. for 14 years, hiring all the talent for the Disney theme parks. He also hired talent for Disney's shows and special events.

     Chiaravalle left Disney to work as the CEO of United Arts, an organization that raises funds for opera and theater, but was there less than a year when he got a call from Carter asking him to come work as the chief of staff at Columbia.

     "I've known Carter for 23 years," Chiaravalle said. Carter worked as the director of entertainment arts for Disney. The two were also connected through the field of jazz, which has always been a big part of Chiaravalle's life.

     In his first weeks here at the college, Chiaravalle said that he has run into some stumbling blocks.

     "If students and faculty have problems that, at some point, aren't resolved, they come to me. It's not always glamorous to deal with negative situations, but it's important," said Chiaravalle.

     Another challenge Chiaravalle foresees is fundraising for the new student center, which Columbia plans to build on the land at Wabash Avenue and 8th Street. The college acquired the site-now home to Buddy Guy's Legends-more than a year ago from an anonymous donor.

     "It's not necessarily a problem, but it's something we need to put a lot of time toward," Chiaravalle said. Students from different majors "need that focal point, where they can come together. It's a way to exchange ideas and cross-cultivate."

     Despite the challenges Chiaravalle knows lie ahead, he hopes to make a difference at Columbia.
"I hope to help see the vision that Carter has established this past year-or Columbia College being the absolute best media and arts school in the world by 2010," Chiaravalle said.


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