Pennsylvania presidential election narrowed to three candidates

The search for a leader who could quell enrollment and financial woes at western Pennsylvania's largest state university has narrowed it down to three people.

The following candidates are still in the running for president of Western University of Pennsylvania:

• John Anderson, provost and vice president/professor for academic affairs at Southern Utah University (Cedar City, Utah);
• Philip Cavalier, Interim President, University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, Tennessee;
• Wade West, founding dean of the College of Arts at Georgia State University (Atlanta).

Penn State announced the names of the three students late Friday ahead of their scheduled campus visits next week. They will replace Dale Elizabeth Parson, who will resign effective February 2023 and will leave campus for 14 months with interim president.

The investigation committee reviewed 35 applications and conducted 11 interviews.

“The search committee worked diligently from a strong pool of applicants to identify three highly qualified and experienced leaders who are ready to move our institution forward.”Search Committee said committee chairman Larry McGee.

The 26-member search committee is comprised of representatives from PennWest's student body, faculty, staff, alumni, and other stakeholders. Since beginning work in January, the committee has gathered input from a wide range of university stakeholders, reviewed 35 applications and conducted 11 interviews.

Campus visits starting Monday will allow students, faculty, staff and community members to meet each candidate and provide feedback. Details of the campus visit and information about the candidates are posted on the President's website.

Two of the three finalists will be forwarded to the state higher education system by the PennWest Board of Trustees. The goal is to name a new president by the end of June.

PennWest University was formed in July 2022 through the merger of universities from separate state systems of higher education in California, Clarion, and Edinboro.

With a history dating back a century and a half, the three schools fully integrate courses offered both in-person and online, and offer student advising and other services at three campuses separated by hundreds of highway miles. We are working hard to strengthen it.

Last month, PennWest posted a 27-page presidential prospectus on its website outlining the characteristics needed in what leaders say is a pivotal leadership quest for the agency.

Its new leader will be tasked with navigating Pennsylvania's soft higher education market, particularly campuses in the Northeast and Midwest with fewer high school graduates. Add to that concerns about rising prices, student loans, and the benefits of a four-year education versus vocational school, and student numbers are sluggish.

As of last fall, Penn State enrolled 11,305 students, 22% or 3,172 fewer students than the 14,477 students the pre-merger universities of California, Clarion University and Edinboro University attracted in 2021. .

Statewide enrollment is about 83,000, down from about 120,000 in 2010.

But like other state systems, Pennsylvania has recently gained price advantages. For the past six years, tuition for Pennsylvania residents has remained at $7,716 in the state and across the state, about one-third the cost of tuition at state-affiliated universities such as the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State University.

R. Lorraine “Laurie” Barnotsky, interim president of the University of Pennsylvania, will step down in July to become president of West Chester University.

In addition to Penn West University and West Chester University, the 10 state universities include Indiana University and Slippery Rock University in Western Pennsylvania, Cheyney Commonwealth University (Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield), East Stroudsarg University; Includes Kutztown University, Miller Civil University, and Shippensburg. University.