CUP names longtime employee to provost, academic VP posts

From staff reports

Pamela J. Gent was named provost and academic vice president at Clarion University on Friday.

Gent, who has served as interim provost since summer, will begin her new duties Monday, university President Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson said.

Gent came to Clarion in 1988 as an assistant professor in the department of special education and rehabilitation sciences. As a faculty member, Gent was promoted to associate professor and then full professor before her colleagues elected her department chair.

As interim provost, Gent revamped orientation for new faculty, according to a press release issued by the university. She developed a faculty overload policy and organized “Chat ‘n Chew” sessions for department chairs and faculty.

She has worked extensively with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education to maintain university accreditation, the press release said.

As associate provost, Gent led approval of eight new degree programs and 43 new minors, concentrations and certificates. She was integral to the development of a student success coaching model and comprehensive plan for first-year students, according to the press release.

“I am passionate about Clarion University’s mission, public higher education, and our place in western Pennsylvania,” Gent said, “I believe in us all of our faculty and staff and the work that we do every day to change students’ lives. I believe in lifelong learning and the transformative power of a college degree. I am excited by the opportunity to develop and provide learning opportunities of all kinds to the citizens of the commonwealth,” she added.

Gent will continue to oversee $9.4 million in budgets; academic planning and curriculum development; and recruitment, hiring and staffing.

“Some of our enrollment challenges can be mitigated by ensuring that the students we enroll in our campuses are successful, are retained, and persist to graduation,” Gent said. “New program development also is important, and we have to develop new programs with an eye to the future and with an emphasis on those soft skills that will ensure that our graduates will be engaged and productive citizens,” she added.