New deans named for integrated university that includes Cal U.
Dr. Kristen Majocha
Dr. Phillip Frese
Dr. Brenda Fredette
Dr. Laura Delbrugge
Dr. Gwyneth Price
Another step has been taken in the integration of California University of Pennsylvania with Clarion and Edinboro universities with the naming of deans that will oversee six colleges shared by all three campuses.
The six colleges are: arts and humanities; natural sciences and engineering technology; business communication and information services; education; social sciences and human services; and health sciences.
Five of the six deans have been selected. The sixth, for the health sciences college, is expected to be an internal candidate. The deans who have been chosen for the integrated programs have been deans at either California or Clarion universities.
- Dr. Laura Delbrugge, who will oversee the arts and humanities college, has been the dean of Clarion’s College of Arts and Sciences for two years. At Clarion, she has overseen six academic departments and has supervised 85 faculty members. Delbrugge has also been a member of the Pennsylvania State System Commission for Shared Governance and the Pennsylvania State System Redesign Advisory Committee.
- Dr. Brenda Fredette will lead the College of Natural Sciences and Engineering Technology. Since 2018, Fredette has been the dean of the Eberly College of Science and Technology at Cal U., has overseen six academic departments and helped in the development of several new programs, including veterinary technology. Last year, she co-chaired a team that developed recommendations for program offerings for the three integrated campuses.
- Dr. Phillip Frese, Clarion’s dean of the College of Business Administration and Information Sciences, will be the dean of the College of Business, Communication and Information Services. He has been dean of Clarion’s business administration college since 2013, and is the co-leader of the General Education Committee integrating the general education programs at the three universities. At Clarion, Frese developed graduate programs in data analytics and accounting, and an online MBA program with added concentrations.
- Dr. Gwyneth Price will be the dean of the College of Education. As the dean of Clarion’s College of Education, Health and Human Services, she oversaw the merger between the education, health and human services programs. Price is president of Pennsylvania Colleges and Teacher Educators and serves as co-chair of the Middle States Standard III committee.
- Dr. Kristen Majocha will lead the College of Social Sciences and Human Services. She has been the dean of the College of Education and Liberal Arts at Cal U. since 2018, and reorganized campus undergraduate colleges from three to two. At Cal U., she has overseen six academic departments that include 120 faculty members and numerous support staff.
The announcement of the new deans and the reconfigured colleges comes just after the release of data showing enrollment fell across 12 of the 14 institutions within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, including the Cal U., Clarion and Edinboro campuses.
The decision to integrate the administrative and academic functions of the three campuses – along with Lock Haven, Mansfield and Bloomsburg universities in the eastern part of the state – was prompted by declining enrollment and increasing costs. Officials have pointed to the declining number of college-age residents in Pennsylvania as being behind the waning enrollment numbers over the long-term, and the COVID-19 pandemic in the near-term.