On many of the campuses outside of University Park where undergraduate degree programs are offered, the chief academic officer is the Director of Academic Affairs (DAA). This individual is responsible for management of the academic enterprise with regard to faculty hiring, oversight of the faculty promotion and tenure process, class scheduling, liaison with external advisory boards, long term academic planning, budgetary authority for resident instruction, professional development, and other duties that may be assigned by the campus chancellor, the Vice President of Commonwealth Campuses or his designees. I have been carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the DAA at Penn State York since July 8, 2002.

Not a stranger to the state of Pennsylvania, I lived in the Keystone state from 1965 to 1976. During that time I earned the B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees (all in political science) from the University of Pittsburgh. There I began to accumulate experiences in higher education that I reflect upon to this day. At Pitt I had my first administrative responsibility serving as a special assistant to the Associate Dean for the College of Liberal Arts. Both before and after this position I was an academic adviser to undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences. Following Pitt, I taught at The Cleveland State University for two years until 1978. In January 1979 I joined the faculty at Howard University where I remained for twenty-three years. I added to my teaching and research experience at Howard by taking on administrative responsibilities which included serving as the director of the Master of Arts in Public Administration (MAPA) program. I supervised over fifty capstone master’s level projects during this time and co-authored a self-study associated with the accreditation process of the MAPA program. Committee responsibilities at the departmental, college, and university levels added to my knowledge base on higher education issues outside of the classroom. While at Howard I was active in the Faculty Senate and served, for a brief time, as its parliamentarian.

With these varied administrative experiences combined with time well spent in the classroom, and in research and scholarship, I welcome the challenges that face the Penn State York campus and the Office of the Director of Academic Affairs.

Please stop by the Office of the Director of Academic Affairs, introduce yourself, and let me know how my office might assist you. I am located in Room 135 of the Main Classroom Building, next door to the Academic Advising Center. My staff assistant’s name is Jane Pflaum.

My curriculum vitae provides a description of my academic career and qualifications.