Friends and Colleagues,
This morning, the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education named me as their next Chancellor, effective July 1. The PASSHE Chancellor has direct responsibility for 14 universities and more than 110,000 students, making it one of the largest public university systems in the U.S. and one of the premier leadership positions in public higher education. Chris and I are excited about the opportunities this presents.
The decision to pursue this position was not easy. Having had the privilege of getting to know many of the presidents in the Pennsylvania System, it was clear it is a system on the move with a very bright future. Additionally, the location of Harrisburg means that all of our family will be within about a two hour drive. And when we recognized that both Chris’s and my family trees have significant, long branches in Pennsylvania, it became clear that this opportunity was like going home.
The difficult part relates to the many friends we have made here; we will truly miss you. We will also miss seeing the continued impact of the accomplishments we have achieved together. We are very proud of the progress we have made in raising UWF’s recognition level across the region, state, nation, and world (we’re not a secret anymore), improving the quality of academic and support programs and business practices, creating new levels of pride in what we do, investing in the region’s growth and development, creating greater levels of community engagement, and showing how true collaboration can be accomplished with other educational, business, and governmental organizations. Chris and I take comfort in knowing that relationships survive, and past accomplishments lay the foundation for better things to come.
Mr. K. C. Clark, Chair of the UWF Board of Trustees, will be convening a meeting of the Board soon to name an Interim President. I want to express my special appreciation to the Board for their constant support of me and UWF over the past six years. I know I can count on you to help Chair Clark and the Board in this process, and to work with them and the whole team to ensure a smooth transition. I know you want to keep the momentum going. I fully expect to continue to hear great things about UWF.
With pride in knowing that Chris and I have given it our all, and with deep affection for you and for UWF, we thank you for the opportunity to serve you and the community. We have both learned a lot from you that we will take with us in our hearts. We sincerely thank all those who have supported us throughout our time here; you made it easy.
Thank you for all that you have given us.
Go Argos!
Wishing you all the best,
John