University of Pennsylvania trustees on Monday sent the names of two presidential candidates, one from Utah and one from Tennessee, to the state system of higher education, and the university's next president will be chosen later this month. be done.
they are:
- John Anderson, provost and vice president/professor for academic affairs at Southern Utah University (Cedar City, Utah);
- Philip Cavalier, interim president of the University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, Tennessee;
They were the remaining candidates out of 35 candidates considered by the search committee, 11 of whom were interviewed. A third finalist, Wade West, founding dean of the School of the Arts at Georgia State University (Atlanta), also visited campus for interviews.
Pennsylvania Board of Supervisors Chair Kathy Pape said the names are now being sent to the system Chancellor Daniel Greenstein and ultimately the system's Board of Governors, with a decision expected in the coming weeks. It is said that it will be handed down.
Monday's special meeting of the Pennsylvania Board of Regents lasted about 10 minutes. There was no discussion before the unanimous vote.
Officials hope to choose a replacement for Dale Elizabeth Parson, who resigned in February 2023, by June 30. Since then, the school has had an interim president, R. Lorraine “Laurie” Barnotsky, who will take over at a later date. West Chester University's next president will take office in July.
PennWest is almost two years old. The university was created in July 2022 through the merger of separate state universities in California, Clarion, and Edinboro.
As of last fall, Penn State had 11,305 students enrolled. This is 3,172 students, or 22%, and fewer than the 14,477 students the University of California, Clarion University, and Edinboro University attracted in 2021 before the merger.
At Monday's special management committee convened to select both names, Pape noted that 40% of the candidates were from underrepresented groups.
In addition to Penn West and West Chester universities, the 10 state universities include Indiana University and Slippery Rock University in Western Pennsylvania, Cheyney Commonwealth University (Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield), East Stroudsburg University; Kutztown University, Millersville University, and Shippensburg University.
Bill Schackner is a TribLive reporter covering higher education. Raised in New England, he joined the Trib in 2022 after 29 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team. So far, he has written for newspapers in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Contact him at bschackner@triblive.com.