ESU’s Office of Academic Affairs Announces Administrative Appointments

Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on July 10, 2017, No Comments

Joanne Z. Bruno, J.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, announced the appointments of Robert E. Smith, Ed.D., Denise Seigart, Ph.D., and Jeffrey A. Weber, Ph.D. to administrative roles effective August, 2017. These appointments replace roles previously held within the division that have been vacated.

“These candidates were selected because of the outstanding work they accomplished in their respective fields,” said Provost Bruno about the appointments. “Each of these searches turned out some fine candidates, but in my conversations with each of the new hires, I got a sense that these individuals are most attuned to the needs of our institution and genuinely understand the expectations placed upon them. I am confident that Drs. Smith, Seigart and Weber will be tremendous assets to the division of academic affairs, and the ESU community.”

Robert E. Smith, Ed.D. has been named the assistant vice president of institutional effectiveness, planning and assessment for ESU effective August 7, 2017. Dr. Smith brings more than 23 years of experience in resource and data management, business intelligence and analytics to ESU. Prior to accepting a position with ESU, Smith was the assistant vice president for institutional research, planning and chief data officer for Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Ga. His previous experience also includes teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, 17 years of conducting assessments using qualitative and quantitative outcomes and more than seven years of direct responsibility for institutional and planning unit-level strategic planning and implementation.

Smith earned a B.S. in business administration, an MBA, M.S. in applied computer science and an Ed.D. in educational leadership/higher education leadership from Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Md. He is a member of the Association for Institutional Research, Southern Association for Institutional Research (SAIR), Georgia Association for Institutional Research, Planning and Quality (GAIR-PAQ), Maryland Association for Institutional Research (MD-AIR), Society for College and University Planning and SAS Users Groups.

In his new role at ESU, Smith will oversee ESU’s institutional data collection and management and coordinate strategic planning and assessment activities. He will also facilitate the use of institutional data in campus-wide planning and decision-making while also monitoring the University’s progress toward achieving institutional goals while in compliance with mandates and regulations imposed by the University, federal, state and other agencies. Smith will also coordinate university strategic planning efforts and provide leadership for the evaluation and assessment of educational effectiveness and institutional-related outcomes.

Denise Seigart, Ph.D., will become the dean of the College of Health Sciences at ESU effective August 21, 2017. Dr. Seigart brings to ESU more than 30 years of teaching experience in nursing and more than 10 years of administrative experience to her new role. Prior to accepting a position with ESU, Seigart was the associate director of undergraduate nursing and graduate nursing of populations program at Boise State University in Boise, ID. Her career has enabled her to participate in a visiting professor program with Volgograd University in Russia in 2002 and 2003. She has also made presentations nationally and internationally and has authored a number of articles and co-authored a number of books about health-related topics.

Seigart earned her B.S.N. in nursing from Niagara University, her M.S. in community health nursing from Binghamton University and her Ph.D. in human service studies/program evaluation with minors in education and public policy from Cornell University. She is a member of a number of professional organizations such as: the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care, Sigma Theta Tau-National Nursing Honor Society, National League of Nursing, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Idaho Nurses Association and the meridian School Based Health Clinic Advisory Board.

In her new role Dr. Seigart will lead ESU’s College of Health Sciences in developing collaborative initiatives intended to harness the knowledge and skills of the area’s health services professionals and educational systems in order to create opportunities for student learning and job preparation, partnerships for faculty research and improvements to quality of life in the Pocono Region including the facilitation of solutions to health challenges within the region.

On August 19, 2017, Jeffrey A. Weber, Ph.D., will become associate provost and interim dean of the university college having more than 12 years of experience on ESU’s campus in roles ranging from associate professor of public administration and chair of the political science department to associate dean of the college of arts and sciences. Dr. Weber most recently was appointed as the Interim Assistant Vice-President for Institutional Effectiveness, Planning and Assessment for ESU in October 2016 and fulfilled those responsibilities until the position transitioned to Dr. Smith. Prior to his employment at ESU, Weber was the Deputy Director of the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Policy Development and Research Office in Harrisburg, Pa. for about eight years. Dr. Weber also served in the United States Army for 10 years. He held a number of positions while in the Army, his highest rank being Major.

Dr. Weber earned his B.A. in history from The Citadel Military College of South Carolina, his M.P.A. of in public administration from Western Kentucky University and his Ph.D.in public administration from Pennsylvania State University. He also completed graduate level coursework in decision making, budgeting and finance, organizational and individual communication, military bureaucracy and processes and U.S. foreign policy at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Ks.

In his new role as associate provost, Dr. Weber will report directly to Provost Bruno, providing operational management and coordination for programs and services associated with academic affairs.