The Opportunity

Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) invites inquiries, nominations, and applications for the position of senior director of student conduct. This experienced individual will provide leadership for student conduct processes and code of conduct for the 24 campuses of the system and will be based on the University Park campus.

As Pennsylvania’s sole land-grant institution and its largest public university, Penn State has a broad mission of teaching, research, and public service that provides opportunity and enriches the quality of life for the residents of the Commonwealth and beyond. Founded in 1855 as one of the nation’s first colleges of agricultural science, Penn State is currently comprised of 16 academic colleges and schools which offer degrees in many areas, including agricultural science, arts, architecture, business, communications, earth and mineral sciences, education, engineering, health and human development, information sciences and technology, international affairs, law, liberal arts, medicine, nursing, and science. The University’s total enrollment is currently 89,816 across 24 campuses and online through its World Campus. The University Park campus is located in State College Borough, a site historically chosen to highlight the geographic center of the state of Pennsylvania.

 

The Position

Role of the Senior Director of Student Conduct for The Pennsylvania State University

Reporting to the assistant vice president for student affairs, the senior director of the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) is a motivated, dedicated, and experienced leader working with a complex, dynamic, and impactful unit that consists of 18 professional, administrative, and graduate staff. The OSC, with supervision from the senior director, collectively oversees the students and student organizational conduct processes and the University’s Code of Conduct at the University Park Campus as well as the 23 additional campuses across the Commonwealth and online. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, directing daily operations of the University’s conduct process; overseeing all administrative management functions of the office; ensuring compliance with federal and state laws and mandates, including Title IX, Clery, and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA); guiding the training of institutional staff and faculty from various campuses on conduct-related matters; serving as a member of the University’s Behavioral Threat Management Team; working with other staff to provide training to students, faculty, and staff hearing officers; and managing a budget of approximately $850,000.

History of the Position

Danny Shaha served as the senior director of the Office of Student Conduct from 2010 until 2017, when he was promoted to assistant vice president for student affairs. Karen Feldbaum has served as the interim senior director since 2017.

 

Opportunities and Challenges of the Role

The senior director of student conduct must be a content expert in the areas of student discipline, Title IX, Clery Act, and other federal and state requirements related to student rights and responsibilities. The senior director should be comfortable managing crisis and complex organizations as they support the code of conduct for all 24 campuses within the system.

The OSC, through its programs and services, strives to help students mature and become contributing citizens to Penn State and the local communities. The office assists in creating a university culture of self-discipline, where civility is embraced, and community norms and actions validate the essential values of Penn State:

  • personal and academic integrity;
  • respect for the dignity of all persons and a willingness to learn from the differences in people, ideas, and opinions;
  • respect for the rights, property, and safety of others;
  • concern for others, their feelings, and their need for conditions that support an environment where they can work, grow, and succeed at Penn State.

Challenges and opportunities for the new senior director, as articulated by stakeholders, are as follows:

  • The senior director must welcome working in an environment that promotes diversity, equality, and inclusion across all university campuses.
  • Penn State is a large and complex environment; therefore, the senior director will have the significant task of becoming familiar with the systems, personnel, and procedures of the University. As part of the acclimation process, the senior director will need to develop, reinforce, and enhance collaborative relationships among important stakeholder groups on campus.
  • The senior director will lead the effort for the consideration and implementation of restorative justice practices into conduct resolution.
  • The senior director will “hit the ground running” and become immersed into understanding the Penn State Code of Conduct, develop a confident working knowledge of the Penn State conduct process, and advance current best practices for student conduct initiatives.
  • The senior director will build upon the positive reputation of the department and expand upon its impact and outreach on campus and throughout the system.
  • The senior director will have strong communication skills through personal interactions, public presentations, and curation of a thoughtful online presence.
  • The senior director will demonstrate creativity, leadership, and collaborative energy to address issues such as the current political climate, student mental-health issues, COVID-19, and social justice concerns that will continue to have an impact on student conduct policy and practice.
  • The senior director will need to build solid, trusting relationships within the professional staff of the department, the division, and the system to continue the strong collaborative spirit that currently exists.
  • The senior director will possess working knowledge of legal issues in higher education, and the ability to translate legal process and language into lay terms. The senior director will be articulate, confident, and capable of holding firmly to the tenets and principles of the Code of Conduct.
  • The senior director will be a unifier and connector to all the campuses on matters of student conduct. The senior director’s role will be essential in addressing issues and creating productive communication options.

Measures of Success

At an appropriate interval after joining Penn State, the following will initially define success for the senior director of student conduct.

  • The senior director will have maintained a proactive, highly visible, well-respected, and established leadership presence on campus and within the system. This leadership presence will have been credible, collegial, collaborative, and positively received.
  • The senior director will have advanced the diversity, equity, and inclusion goals for the department.
  • The senior director will have analyzed, contributed to, and defined plans and goals that are best practices for the department, campus, and system moving forward.
  • The student conduct staff will feel supported and valued, and also be defined as a strong, highly functioning, well-regarded, and resilient team that works with synergy and shared purpose. They will readily collaborate across departmental and division lines with a demonstrated commitment to student success.
  • The senior director will have assessed the impact of programs and services and utilized data-driven decisions for improvements in processes and operations.
  • The Penn State student community will be aware of their rights and responsibilities.
  • The senior director will be regarded as a conduct expert among faculty, staff, and students.

Qualifications and Characteristics

Candidates must possess a master’s degree in higher education administration, college student personnel, or another appropriate field of graduate study, and a minimum of eight (8) years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. A terminal degree is strongly preferred. Experience with restorative justice and mediation is preferred. The successful candidate must have experience working in a student conduct related setting.

Successful candidates for the senior director of student conduct will demonstrate a commitment to a developmental model of student conduct; possess effective organization, leadership, assessment, and crisis management skills; have the ability to effectively supervise and develop staff members; exhibit the skills to address challenging situations with sensitivity and professionalism; demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion; possess a thorough knowledge of state and federal legal issues and policies related to higher education and student conduct, including Title IX, Clery, and FERPA; display strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills; and possess a commitment to professional ethics and integrity.

The senior director will provide leadership regarding complex legal and regulatory issues and work closely with many on- and off-campus partners, including the Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response, University Police, Residence Life, Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Care and Advocacy, the Gender Equity Center, the Title IX Coordinator, the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, General Counsel, Student Activities, Fraternity and Sorority Life, Fraternity and Sorority Compliance, Affirmative Action, local police agencies, and Centre Safe, the local dating and domestic violence resource center.

Further qualifications as outlined in the institutional job description include the following:

  • directing day-to-day operations of the University’s conduct process, which may include serving as a case manager for the most serious cases;
  • frequent consultation with staff regarding case management;
  • assuring all cases are heard in a fair, equitable, and timely manner;
  • overseeing the management of the administrative functions of the office;
  • supporting continuous improvement of the conduct process by implementing active assessment practices;
  • developing policy consistent with local, state, and federal laws and guidance;
  • ensuring compliance with federal and state laws and mandates, including Title IX, Clery, and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA);
  • overseeing and directing investigations into alleged student and student organization violations of the code of conduct;
  • guiding the training of Residence Life staff and student leaders, as well as other institutional staff and faculty, on conduct related matters;
  • guiding the training of at least one conduct designee at each Commonwealth Campus;
  • coordinating and overseeing the production of publications related to the Code of Conduct, other institutional policies, and OSC, both in print and online ;
  • compiling reports and analyzing data and trends as needed and appropriate;
  • working with other staff to provide training to students, faculty, and staff hearing officers, as well as managing a budget of approximately $850,000;
  • understanding student affairs roles and a commitment to a developmental model of student conduct.

Additional capabilities and attributes identified as important by Penn State stakeholders include the following:

  • demonstrated commitment to expand knowledge and awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion; to understand cultural differences, social identities, and historical inequalities; and to initiate strategies for interacting effectively with people different from oneself;
  • excellent interpersonal, communication, crisis response, and conflict management skills;
  • demonstrated understanding of conduct and alternative dispute resolution (mediation, restorative justice, and/or facilitated dialogue) processes;
  • ability to maintain composure and judgment in stressful situations where there may be a variety of interests at play;
  • excellent organizational and management skills, ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities, and attention to accuracy and details without losing sight of the big picture;
  • strong written and presentation skills;
  • ability to implement problem-solving strategies to manage everyday challenges such as crisis response, conflict management, community development, student activism, and student/family concerns in a fast-paced environment;
  • a communication style that builds trust, collaboration, and encourages team building;
  • articulate a sophisticated understanding of current student affairs trends, best practices, and the key issues facing today’s college students;
  • have a high level of emotional intelligence, empathy, and concern for others, including the ability to navigate controversy with civility and respect;
  • maintain a willingness to take action when necessary, based on the values and priorities of student access, social justice, equity, and student learning and engagement;
  • possess a commitment to professional growth for the department and development for self and staff members.

Overview of the Office of Student Conduct

Penn State’s Office of Student Conduct (OSC) is a complex, dynamic, and impactful unit within Student Affairs. The OSC, with leadership from the senior director, oversees the University’s Code of Conduct and the student and student organizational conduct processes at the University Park Campus, as well as at the 23 additional campuses across the Commonwealth and online. In addition, the new senior director and staff have the exciting opportunity to build upon the recently concluded work of the University’s Task Force on the Code of Conduct and Race, and to focus attention on collaborating with cross-University partners to formalize and institutionalize restorative justice practices and ethics in the work of the office, paying special attention to behaviors motivated by bias.

The OSC is comprised of the senior director and 18 professional, administrative, and graduate staff members. The staff annually manages approximately 2,700 cases at University Park and oversees the management of an additional 700 cases at the campuses across the Commonwealth. The University’s Code of Conduct applies to approximately 96,000 enrolled undergraduate, graduate, and professional (e.g., medical and law) students and all recognized student organizations.

Penn State and the OSC are committed to, and accountable for, advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in all its forms. In addition, Penn State and the OSC embrace individual uniqueness, foster a culture of inclusive excellence that supports both broad and specific diversity initiatives, leverage the educational and institutional benefits of diversity, and engage all individuals to help them thrive and succeed.

Through programs and services, the office strives to help students mature and become contributing citizens within Penn State and the local communities. OSC assists in creating a university culture of self-discipline, where civility is embraced, and community norms and actions validate the essential values of Penn State:

  • personal and academic integrity;
  • respect for the dignity of all persons and a willingness to learn from the differences in people, ideas, and opinions;
  • respect for the rights, property, and safety of others;
  • concern for others, their feelings, and their need for conditions that support an environment where they can work, grow, and succeed at Penn State.

Leadership of the division

Danny Shaha, Assistant Vice President, Student Rights & Responsibilities

As assistant vice president for student affairs, Danny Shaha supervises offices focused on students’ rights and responsibilities. He also co-chairs the University’s Behavioral Threat Management Team.

Prior to these appointments, Danny served as the senior director of the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) at Penn State for seven years. In this role, he oversaw the administration of the University’s conduct process at its primary campus in University Park, PA, as well as its 23 additional campuses across the Commonwealth and online, with a total enrollment of 89,816 students.

While serving as senior director of OSC, from January of 2012 to July of 2017, he served as a deputy Title IX coordinator at the University and helped to institute and formalize a comprehensive education, response, and prevention program. From November of 2015 to July of 2017, Danny served as the interim director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, working with staff to advise four councils that governed over 80 chapters with a membership of approximately 7,500 students.

Prior to joining Penn State, Danny worked in different capacities at The Ohio State University, Texas A&M University, and the College of William and Mary. He also served as a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 2001 to 2004, specializing in counterterrorism and counterintelligence.

Specialties/Interests

  • Oversees
    • Office of Student Conduct
    • Student Care and Advocacy
    • Student Legal Services
    • Off-Campus Student Support
    • Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response
    • Office of Fraternity and Sorority Compliance
  • Co-chairs the Behavior Threat Management Team
  • Certifications/Credentials
    • Masters in College Student Personnel, Bowling Green State University
    • Bachelors in Biology, Texas A&M University

Damon Sims, Vice President for Student Affairs

Damon Sims began as vice president for student affairs on August 1, 2008, after serving in various administrative and teaching roles at Indiana University since 1982. Damon received his BA in Political Science and History, conducted graduate work in Journalism, and completed his Doctorate in Jurisprudence at Indiana University’s flagship campus in Bloomington. He is a native of New Albany, Indiana.

Damon is an affiliate Associate Professor in both the Dickinson School of Law and the College of Education at Penn State. He is a licensed attorney who has served as an advocate on behalf of children and victims of abuse, consults with other colleges and universities about legal issues affecting students, and has served on various state and regional boards and commissions aimed at encouraging civic awareness and engagement among young people.

Damon is married to Suzette Sims, an attorney with the firm of McQuaide Blasko. The two share their home with two sons, Ethan and Nathaniel. Their first child, Matthew, died in infancy. The family sponsors the annual Matthew Vandivier Sims Memorial Lectures in conjunction with the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions at Indiana University. These lectures have featured the world’s foremost scholars on legal and biomedical ethics, with particular attention to questions arising from end-of-life care.

Institution & Location

Institutional Overview

Institutional background/history

As Pennsylvania’s only land-grant university, Penn State has a broad mission of teaching, research, and public service. But that mission was not so grandly conceived in 1855, when the Commonwealth chartered it as one of the nation’s first colleges of agricultural science, with a goal to apply scientific principles to farming.

Centre County became the site of the new college in response to a gift of 200 acres from gentleman farmer and ironmaster, James Irvin of Bellefonte. Founding President Evan Pugh drew on the scientific education he had received in Europe to plan a curriculum that combined theoretical studies with practical applications.

Pugh and similar visionaries in other states championed congressional passage of the Morrill Land-Grant Act in 1862. The act enabled states to sell federal land, invest the proceeds, and use the income to support colleges “where the leading object shall be, without excluding scientific and classical studies … to teach agriculture and the mechanic arts [engineering] … in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in all the pursuits and professions of life.” The state legislature designated Penn State the land-grant institution of Pennsylvania.

But not until the 1880s, under the leadership of President George W. Atherton, did the college expand its curriculum to match the Land-Grant Act’s broad mandate. From that time onward, curriculums in engineering, the sciences, the liberal arts, and more began to flourish. In the early 1900s, Penn State introduced cooperative extension and additional outreach programming, extending the reach of its academic mission.

An even greater segment of the Commonwealth’s population had opportunities for engagement in the 1930s when Penn State established a series of undergraduate branch campuses, primarily to meet the needs of students who were location-bound during the Great Depression. Those campuses were predecessors of today’s system of 24 Penn State campuses located throughout the Commonwealth.

Penn State began offering systematic advanced-degree work in 1922 with the formation of the Graduate School. Graduate education and research evolved hand in hand. By 1950 the University had won international distinction for investigations in dairy science, building insulation, diesel engines, acoustics, and other specialized fields.

A college of medicine and a teaching hospital were established in 1967 with a $50 million gift from the charitable trusts of renowned chocolate magnate, Milton S. Hershey. In 1989 the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport became an affiliate of the University. In 2000, Penn State and the Dickinson School of Law merged. In 2015, two Penn State law schools, known as Dickinson Law (in Carlisle, Pennsylvania) and Penn State Law (on the University Park campus) went into operation. Penn State’s online World Campus graduated its first students in 2000 and now enrolls more than 12,000.

About State College, Pennsylvania

State College is a home-rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the largest designated borough in Pennsylvania. It is the principal borough of the six municipalities that make up the State College area, the largest settlement in Centre County and one of the principal cities of the greater State College-DuBois Combined Statistical Area with a combined population of 236,577 as of the 2010 United States Census. In the 2010 census, the borough population was 42,034, with approximately 105,000 living in the borough plus the surrounding townships often referred to locally as the “Centre Region.” Many of these Centre Region communities also carry a “State College, PA” address, although they are not part of the borough of State College.

State College is a college town, dominated economically and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). Lion Country is another term used to refer to the State College area; the term also includes the borough and the townships of College, Harris, Patton, and Ferguson. When including college and graduate students, State College is the third most populous city in Pennsylvania, after Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

State College evolved from a village to a town in order to serve the needs of the Pennsylvania State College, founded as the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania in 1855. State College was incorporated as a borough on August 29, 1896, and has grown with the College, which was renamed The Pennsylvania State University in 1953.

In 1973 State College adopted a home rule charter which took effect in 1976; since then, it has not been governed by the state’s Borough Code, although it retains “Borough of State College” as its official name.

The University has a post office address of University Park, Pennsylvania. When Penn State changed its name from College to University in 1953, its president, Milton S. Eisenhower, sought to persuade the town to change its name as well. A referendum failed to yield a majority for any of the choices for a new name, and so the town remains State College. After this, Penn State requested a new name for its on-campus post office in the HUB-Robeson Center from the U.S. Post Office Department. The post office, which has since moved across an alley to the McAllister Building, is the official home of ZIP code 16802 (University Park).

Mission

The Pennsylvania State University is a multi-campus, land-grant, public research University that educates students from around the world, and supports individuals and communities through integrated programs of teaching, research, and service.

Penn State’s instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, professional, continuing, and extension education, offered through both resident instruction and distance learning. Educational programs are enriched by the talent, knowledge, diversity, creativity, and teaching and research acumen of faculty, students, and staff.

Penn State’s discovery-oriented, collaborative, and interdisciplinary research and scholarship promote human and economic development, global understanding, and advancement in professional practice through the expansion of knowledge and its applications in the natural and applied sciences, social and behavioral sciences, engineering, technology, arts and humanities, and myriad professions.

As Pennsylvania’s land-grant university, Penn State provides unparalleled access to education and public service to support the citizens of the Commonwealth and beyond. Penn State engages in collaborative activities with private sector, educational, and governmental partners worldwide to generate, integrate, apply, and disseminate knowledge that is valuable to society.

Vision

Penn State will be a leader in research, learning, and engagement that facilitates innovation, embraces inclusion and sustainability, and inspires achievements that will affect the world in positive and enduring ways.

Values

The University’s values represent the core ethical aspirations for all daily activities and actions of students, faculty, staff, and volunteers.

  • Integrity: Students, faculty, staff, and volunteers act with integrity and honesty in accordance with the highest academic, professional, and ethical standards.
  • Respect: Students, faculty, staff, and volunteers respect and honor the dignity of each person, embrace civil discourse, and foster a diverse and inclusive community.
  • Responsibility: Students, faculty, staff, and volunteers act responsibly, and are accountable for decisions, actions, and consequences.
  • Discovery: Students, faculty, staff, and volunteers seek and create new knowledge and understanding, and foster creativity and innovation, for the benefit of our communities, society, and the environment.
  • Excellence: Students, faculty, staff, and volunteers strive for excellence in all endeavors as individuals, an institution, and a leader in higher education.
  • Community: Students, faculty, staff, and volunteers work together for the betterment of the University, the communities served, and the world.

Strategic Plan

The Pennsylvania State University’s strategic plan for the ten calendar years comprising 2016 through 2025 is the result of a broad and inclusive two-year process that involved unit-level planning for 54 academic and administrative units across the University. In concert, this overarching institutional plan was developed.

Penn State’s vision, mission, and institutional values are interwoven throughout this plan, and they ultimately drive its success. Six foundations underpin all University endeavors and are considered fundamental to implementing this plan. These foundations—Enabling Access to Education, Engaging Students, Advancing Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity, Enhancing Global Engagement, Driving Economic Development, and Ensuring a Sustainable Future—connect to, empower, and sustain the University’s values as an institution.

Further, to advance Penn State’s mission and vision for the next decade and beyond, the University is committed to empowering resilience as a unifying concept. Leveraging the University’s Commitment to Impact, Penn State is uniquely able to help individuals, the University community, and society to respond effectively to adversity and, even more impactfully, to “bounce forward,” creating new solutions in response to complex challenges of the 21st Century. This concept shapes the thematic priorities and supporting elements and is further guided by the foundations that drive all the work of the University.

The Strategic Plan’s five thematic priorities are as follows:

  1. Transforming Education. Penn State will be a leader in the transformation of education, including enhancing access to it, as it fulfills its land-grant mission in a 21st-century context and continues to drive discovery-focused research across disciplines.
  2. Enhancing Health. Penn State will be a leader in promoting quality of life through comprehensive approaches to enhancing personalized and population health, achieved through a commitment to and investment in relevant research, education, clinical practice, and outreach.
  3. Stewarding Our Planet’s Resources. Penn State will be a leader in creating comprehensive solutions to mitigate the dangers of climate change and address the challenges of providing safe and abundant water, clean and renewable energy sources, and plentiful and nutritious food.
  4. Advancing the Arts and Humanities. Penn State will be a leader in the arts and humanities, utilizing them—along with the sciences and other disciplines—as agents of change in addressing complex global issues.
  5. Empowering Through Digital Innovation. Penn State will be a leader in preparing students for success in the digital age and use digitally optimized outreach to foster economic prosperity in communities across Pennsylvania and beyond.

This plan’s supporting elements collectively comprise a focus upon and reinforce a concept of organizational excellence:

  • Organizational Processes. Penn State will lead nationally in the design, development, and deployment of effective and agile organizational processes that support the University’s mission and vision.
  • Infrastructure and Support. Penn State will think creatively and act boldly to ensure that its academic infrastructure aligns with and supports the University’s mission and vision.
  • Constituent Outreach and Engagement. Penn State will partner directly and effectively with constituencies in sharing consequential research, creative works, and scholarship for impact worldwide.

For more details about the strategic plan, visit https://strategicplan.psu.edu/.

Leadership

Dr. Eric J. Barron, President

Eric J. Barron, former dean at Penn State and former president of Florida State University, began his presidency at Penn State on May 12, 2014 and has nearly 35 years of leadership experience in academic administration, education, research, and public service. Succeeding former President Rodney Erickson, who had served since 2011, Dr. Barron was named the 18th President of Penn State by the University’s Board of Trustees February 17, 2014.

Dr. Barron returned to Penn State from the helm at Florida State, bringing with him nearly 35 years of leadership experience in academic administration, education, research, and public service, and a track record as a talented manager of fiscal policy within large and complex institutions. Dr. Barron led Florida State to two consecutive U.S. News and World Report rankings as the nation’s “most efficiently operated” institution of higher education.

Dr. Barron earned a Bachelor of Science degree in geology at Florida State in 1973 before moving on to the University of Miami, where he earned master’s and doctoral degrees in oceanography, in 1976 and 1980, respectively. Dr. Barron spent 20 years of his career at Penn State, serving as dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences from 2002 to 2006, and as founding director of the Earth System Science Center, one of the first major initiatives focused on the total study of Earth as a system, from 1986 to 2002. He also had a simultaneous appointment as director of the Earth and Mineral Sciences Environment Institute from 1998 to 2002. In 1999, he was named Distinguished Professor of Geosciences at Penn State, and during his tenure as director, Industry Week magazine ranked him among “50 R&D Stars to Watch.”

An accomplished scientist with a long background in atmospheric research, Dr. Barron served as director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) from 2008 to 2010 and as dean of the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin from 2006 to 2008. Early in his career he was a postdoctoral research fellow and scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, a federal research center focusing on atmospheric and related science issues. Dr. Barron originally worked at NCAR as a postdoctoral fellow from 1981 to 1985, and served for one year on the faculty at the University of Miami before joining Penn State.

Over the decades, Dr. Barron has lent his significant expertise in the areas of atmospheric science and the geosciences to many national committees and federal organizations, including contributions as chair of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) science advisory board and nearly 20 years of service as the chair of multiple National Research Council committees and boards. Throughout his career he has earned numerous accolades and awards, including Penn State’s Wilson Award for Excellence in Teaching (1999); the National Aeronautic and Space Administration’s (NASA) Distinguished Public Service Medal (2003); and the Bridge Builders Leadership Award from the Martin Luther King Foundation of Florida (2012).

Dr. Barron is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society, the Geological Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has authored more than 125 peer-reviewed papers in geology, oceanography, and climate issues.

Academic Programs and Faculty

The University is made up of sixteen academic colleges and several additional schools that range from the arts to the sciences with many subjects in between.

·         College of Agricultural Sciences

·         College of Arts and Architecture

·         Smeal College of Business

·         Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications

·         College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

·         College of Education

·         College of Engineering

·         College of Health and Human Development

·         College of Information Sciences and Technology

·         School of International Affairs

 ·         Dickinson Law

·         Penn State Law

·         College of the Liberal Arts

·         College of Medicine

·         College of Nursing

·         Eberly College of Science

·         Schreyer Honors College

·         Graduate School

·         Pennsylvania College of Technology

·         Division of Undergraduate Studies

The Student Body

Penn State Student Body Statistics (Summer/Fall 2019 Class Profile)

Total Applications University-wide: 95,999

Total First-Year Students University-wide: 15,443

Total First-Year Students at University Park: 8,305

Total First-Year International Applications: 14,962

Total First-Year International Students University-wide: 1,360

Transfer Student Statistics

The following represents key statistics for transfer students at Penn State (Summer/Fall 2019 Class Profile)

Transfer Information                                                                                                                              Number

Total Applications University-wide: 8,806

Total Transfer Students University-wide: 3,201

Total Transfer Students at University Park: 302

Total Transfer Students at Commonwealth Campuses: 1,574

Total Transfer Students at World Campus: 1,325

Key student statistics for the 2019-2020 academic year

Enrollment for 2019-2020 

Enrollment Number
Total Undergraduates University-wide 76,099
Total Undergraduates at University Park 40,639
Total Undergraduates at Other Campuses 27,100
Gender by Percentage for 2018-2019 Gender Percentage
Female Undergraduates University-wide 46%
Male Undergraduates University-wide 54%
Residency by Percentage for 2019-2020 Residency Percentage
Pennsylvania Students University-wide 65%
Pennsylvania Students at University Park 58%
Pennsylvania Students at Commonwealth Campuses 82%
Out-of-state Students University-wide 35%
Out-of-state Students at University Park 42%
Out-of-state Students at Commonwealth Campuses 18%
Diversity in Undergraduate Enrollment University-wide by Percentage for 2018-2019
Race/Ethnicity Percentage
African American 5.63%
Asian American 6.40%
Hispanic/Latino 7.65%
Native American/Alaskan Native 0.13%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.11%
White 64.95%
Multiple Races 3.44%
Unknown/Undeclared 2.28%
International 9.36%

 

Benefits Overview

  • Health insurance
  • Prescription drug insurance
  • Health savings account
  • Flexible spending account
  • Vision coverage
  • Dental coverage
  • Employee assistance program
  • Short-term disability
  • Long-term disability
  • Life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance
  • Retirement plans
  • Supplemental retirement plans
  • Educational privileges
  • Professional development

For more details on benefits, visit https://hr.psu.edu/benefits.

Application & Nomination

Review of applications will begin April 15, 2021 and continue until the position is filled. To apply for this position please click on the Apply button, complete the brief application process, and upload your resume and position-specific cover letter. Nominations for this position may be emailed to Laura Puckett-Boler at lpb@spelmanandjohnson.com Applicants needing reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process should contact Spelman Johnson at 413-529-2895.

We are sensitive to how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting work and personal lives, and will offer the utmost flexibility throughout the interview process. The search committee expects to conduct interviews virtually for the safety and well-being of all involved.

Visit the Pennsylvania State University website at psu.edu

Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.

 

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