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.
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.
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.