Villanova University on Tuesday appointed its first provost, Patrick G. Maggitti, who currently serves as dean of the business school. Maggitti will take over on Aug. 1 as the university’s chief academic officer and second-in-command of the Main Line Catholic university, which enrolls more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students. His selection follows a national search to fill the new position; in the past, the university had a vice president for academic affairs, whose responsibilities were not as vast.