Dr. Marcia G. Welsh Named Next President of East Stroudsburg University of Pa.

Dr. Marcia G. Welsh, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Towson University, was selected today by the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) to serve as the thirteenth president of East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Welsh, who was appointed at the conclusion of a national search, will assume her new duties July 1. She will succeed Dr. Robert J. Dillman, who will retire in June after 16 years as ESU president.

“Dr. Welsh has outstanding credentials and an excellent record as an academic leader,” said Board of Governors Chair Guido M. Pichini. “We are confident she will continue that record as she assumes the leadership of East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania during these extremely challenging times.”

Dr. Welsh was named provost of Towson University in 2009, and also served as interim president of the university for nine months during 2011. As provost, she is responsible for oversight of academic programs in the university’s six undergraduate colleges, as well as of the Honors College and University Libraries.

“Dr. Welsh has a wide array of experiences that caused her to stand out among an impressive collection of candidates for the ESU presidency,” said PASSHE Chancellor Dr. John C. Cavanaugh. “I am certain she will be an outstanding president forEast Stroudsburg and that she will be a valuable addition to the State System and to the outstanding group of presidents already in place.”

Dr. Welsh said she looks forward to leading East Stroudsburg into a bright future.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be selected as the next president of East Stroudsburg University,” she said. “I look forward to working closely with the ESU community, both on campus and off, to build upon the tremendous legacy of the university.  I thank the Board of Governors and Chancellor Cavanaugh for the opportunity to help shape the future of ESU and to become part of the ESU family.”

“We are confident that Dr. Welsh will continue to move the university forward in its ongoing commitment to fulfilling its mission,” said ESU Trustee Harry Lee, who chaired the presidential search committee. Council Chair L. Patrick Ross thanked the search committee for its work. “Their dedication ensured that the search for a new president achieved the highest level of professionalism and attracted the best possible candidates,” he said.

Dr. Welsh earned both her undergraduate degree in physical sciences and master’s degree in anatomy from Colorado State University, and her doctoral degree in anatomy from the University of Texas Health Science Center inSan Antonio. She began her academic career in 1978 as an assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. She remained at USC for 23 years, rising through the ranks to professor and also serving as chair of the Faculty Senate and acting chair of her department before being named associate provost and dean of the Graduate School.

She was named senior vice president for academic affairs and provost of Adelphi University in 2001, a position she held for seven years. She also spent a year at Adelphi as a professor and senior adviser for academic affairs.

As provost at Towson University in Maryland, Dr. Welsh implemented an organizational audit of the Office of Provost and restructured the reporting lines to better align the office with the needs of the university. She worked on partnerships between the university and entities as diverse as the Cherry Hill neighborhood in inner city Baltimore, which has helped improve the community’s K-12 schools and has involved most of the university’s colleges; and Port Discovery, a premier children’s museum now being used as a teaching and learning center.

She helped restart and complete initiatives to implement a new core curriculum and to revise the university’s application, retention and tenure policy. She is committed to professional development programs at all levels and has worked as a partner with the Division of University Advancement in the cultivation of potential donors. She has helped garner more than $5 million in grants in support of academic programs, scholarships and facilities’ improvements.

Dr. Welsh has published numerous articles in academic journals and has presented at a number of national conferences. She has been involved with a variety of community organizations, including the Long Island Fund for Women and Girls, the Cherry Hill Learning Zone Initiative Advisory Board and Mid-Atlantic CIO Forum Advisory Board.

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1893 as the last of the normal schools to be established in the Commonwealth. It enrolls nearly 7,400 students and offers 59 bachelor’s degree programs, one associate’s degree program and 22 master’s degree programs, as well as a doctoral program in educational leadership and administration in partnership with Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

 

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