BOG appoints Way interim president effective July 21
May 31, 2017
HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Board of Governors of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education has appointed Philip Way, provost and vice president for academic and student affairs at Slippery Rock University, to serve as the University's interim president effective July 21.
Way will assume the duties of interim president following the retirement of Cheryl Norton, who has served as SRU's president since June 2012. He will serve as interim president at the University until the successful conclusion of the search for a permanent president.
WAY
A national search for Norton's permanent successor is currently underway.
"Philip has served SRU for four years as the University's chief academic officer. Overall, he has more than 30 years' experience as a faculty member and administrator in higher education. We are confident he will provide the University steady leadership while the search for SRU's next president continues," said Board Chair Cynthia Shapira.
"It is important a university have strong, consistent leadership during any period of transition," said State System Chancellor Frank Brogan. "I look forward to working with Philip on behalf of the University and its students as he assumes this new role, and to help keep SRU moving forward as it has under Cheryl Norton's outstanding leadership over the last five years."
Way was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at SRU in February 2013. In that role, he has been responsible for much of the University's strategic planning efforts, chairing the University Strategic Planning Committee and authoring the strategic sections of the University's annual action plans for the State System. He also worked with Norton to realign departments and colleges as part of a restructuring of the University and has had a variety of other administrative responsibilities, including in the areas of budgeting, curricular and pedagogical enhancement, diversity and inclusion, fundraising, and enrollment management and student success.
"I am deeply humbled and honored to be asked to serve as the interim president for the University," said Way. "SRU has made great strides under the leadership of President Norton and the combined efforts of faculty, staff and administrators. I plan to continue to advance the University with the help of all stakeholders and create a seamless transition for our next president."
Prior to coming to SRU, Way was associate provost for undergraduate programs for more than six years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He also served as senior associate dean of arts and sciences for one year while at UAB. He spent more than 20 years at the University of Cincinnati, mostly as a faculty member in the Department of Economics, where he began as an assistant professor. While at Cincinnati, he also served as director of graduate studies within the Center for Organizational Leadership and director of the University Honors Scholars Program. He began his academic career as a research assistant at Nuffield College of Oxford University in England.
Way has a bachelor's degree in economics from Cambridge University, and earned both a master's degree in industrial relations and a doctoral degree in industrial and business studies from the University of Warwick. He also served as a visiting fellow at both Harvard University and the University of South Wales in Sydney, Australia.
The Board of Governors is responsible for hiring university presidents within the State System. When the need for temporary leadership at a university occurs, the chancellor, after consultation with the chair of the Council of Trustees, makes a recommendation to the BOG, which then meets to ratify the selection. An interim president serves as the university's chief executive officer, with the same responsibilities and authority as a permanent president.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Kenn Marshall | 717.720.4054 | kmarshall@passhe.edu
Robb King | 724.738.2199 | robert.king@sru.edu