Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Penn State Abington names new chancellor
ABINGTON » Margo DelliCarpini has been named chancellor of Penn State Abington, following a national search. DelliCarpini, who has served as vice provost for strategic educational partnerships and dean of the College of Education and Human Development at The University of Texas at San Antonio, will start hernewrole Jan. 4, 2021.
As chancellor, shewill be responsible for the quality of academic programs in teaching, research and service; strategic planning; budgeting; philanthropy; faculty and staff development; outreach; and community and alumni relations.
“Dr. DelliCarpini brings with her an accomplished record of strategic leadership, and a demonstrated commitment to student access and success, academic scholarship, community outreach, and diversity, equity and inclusion. She recognizes the distinctive mission of our Commonwealth Campuses, and shares the central values of the University — values that have distinguished her as an academic leader,” Madlyn Hanes, Penn State’s senior vice president for Commonwealth Campuses and executive chancellor, said in a statement.
DelliCarpini takes the reins from Penn State Abington interim Chancellor and Dean Andrew G. August, who stepped into the rolewhenprevious Chancellor Damian Fernandez left the University at the end of June. August, professor of history, will remain associate dean for academic affairs at Abington, a position he has held since 2016.
As a first generation, nontraditional student and product of the SUNY system, DelliCarpini has experienced first- hand the opportunity that higher education provides for students, the role institutions of higher education play as cultural and intellectual hubs in their communities, and the impact of higher education on the economic mobility of graduates, according to a press release.
“My own experience as a nontraditional college student really shaped the way that I approach higher education administration, and solidified forme the obligation we have as institutions of higher education to be a public good,” DelliCarpini said in the release. “We must provide opportunities for students and faculty and help break down barriers — both academic andnon- academic— to success. We are positioned to not only provide students an education toward a job or career, but also to help students find purpose and passion that will sustain themthroughout their personal and professional lives.”
She added that the university’s mission aligns “perfectly with my professional passions and my own core values.”
“I see so many opportunities to support all of our faculty, staffand students, and to enhance the strong community engagement and collaboration that already exists,” she said.
At The University of Texas at San Antonio, DelliCarpini has served as dean of the College of Education and Human Development since 2016. As dean, she grew the full- time faculty complement; oversaw the development of new degree programs, including a doctoral program in school psychology; and led the launch of the Department of Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Prior toTheUniversity ofTexas San Antonio, she served as professor and dean of the College of Education atMorehead State University in Kentucky.
DelliCarpini earned her bachelor’s degree in linguistics, master’s degree in TESOL, and doctorate in linguistics from Stony Brook University in New York.
Penn State Abington has more than 3,700 students, 320 faculty and 22 bachelor’ s degree programs. It is one of Penn State’s most diverse campuses, according to the university, with 50% of students identifying as being from underrepresented groups, more than 40% as first- generation college students, and 25% as adult learners.