Penn State GA Campus Names New Chancellor

By Submitted Report
The Tube City Almanac
December 09, 2015
Posted in: Announcements

(Photo courtesy Brandon University)

Andrew Egan, dean of the Faculty of Science and acting associate vice president for research at Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba, has been named chancellor and chief academic officer at Penn State Greater Allegheny, effective Feb. 15, 2016.

Egan will succeed Interim Chancellor Nancy Herron, who will retire from Penn State for a second time on Dec. 31 after coming out of retirement to serve as interim chancellor on Jan. 1, 2014. John Peles, interim director of academic affairs at Penn State Greater Allegheny, will serve as interim chancellor/chief academic officer beginning Jan. 1, 2016.

“Dr. Egan possesses more than 20 years of proven academic leadership, providing Penn State Greater Allegheny with a wealth of experience in the areas of strategic planning, program development and accreditation, enrollment management, and external relations,” said Madlyn Hanes, Penn State vice president for Commonwealth Campuses. “He brings an accomplished record of supporting faculty development and collaboration that will serve the campus well.”

In his new position, Egan will also hold the title of professor of forest resources.

“I am thrilled and honored to be joining the Penn State community as chancellor of the Greater Allegheny campus,” Egan said. “In a way, this is a homecoming for me, having graduated from Penn State in 1993. We are connected to Pennsylvania in other important ways as well — my wife is a native of Pittsburgh, having spent her childhood in Ingomar.”

“During my visit to the campus, I came away impressed by the dedication of the staff and faculty, especially their commitment to student success,” Egan added. “I look forward with great anticipation to working together with the students, faculty and staff of our campus, as well as with its alumni, friends, partners and stakeholders, to move Penn State Greater Allegheny forward in ways that fully realize our collective vision for the campus and those we serve.”

Egan joined Brandon University in 2013, and as dean of science he initiated and led efforts to develop a strategic plan and program plans for all science degree programs — neither of which had existed previously in the Faculty of Science. Under his leadership, he oversaw the development of new degree programs in agriculture, geological engineering and applied psychology, as well as a master of science program in environmental and life sciences, and his active engagement in enrollment and retention management strategies led to significant enrollment increases in the university’s science programs.

As acting associate vice president for research, Egan built relationships that helped Brandon University better define relevant research directions and funding streams, including a donation of more than $1 million in laboratory equipment and student scholarships.

Prior to joining Brandon University, Egan served as executive director of the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute at New Mexico Highlands University, where he led the creation of the institute’s first strategic plan and worked with internal and external stakeholders to advance the institute’s programming and increase its annual governmental appropriations. Egan also served as dean of the School of Forestry and Natural Resources at Paul Smith’s College in New York, where he developed successful articulation agreements with high schools and colleges across the Northeast and abroad, participated in program accreditation processes, promoted diversity and service learning on campus, and worked to establish the research/outreach-minded Center for Adirondack Biodiversity.

Egan began his teaching and research career as an assistant professor at West Virginia University in 1994 and has since been a tenured faculty member at three institutions: Brandon University, the University of Maine (Orono), and Université Laval in Québec, Canada. In 2004, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach and conduct research at Tribhuvan University in Pokhara, Nepal.

Egan holds a bachelor of science degree in psychology from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, a master of science in natural and environmental resources from the University of New Hampshire, and a doctorate in forest resources from Penn State.

Originally published December 09, 2015.

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