Vote to name PennWest interim president to lead West Chester University could happen this month

PennWest University interim President Lorraine “Laurie” Bernotsky is one vote away from being named the next president of West Chester University in suburban Philadelphia, effective in July.

The State System of Higher Education board of governors is expected to call a special meeting this month to select the 16th president at West Chester, the largest of the 10 state-owned universities with more than 17,000 students.

West Chester’s Council of Trustees recently voted to advance Bernotsky’s name to the State System board as the lone candidate for West Chester’s top post. Bernotsky, who previously served as West Chester’s provost, was effectively loaned to PennWest to become that school’s interim leader in February.

State System spokesman Kevin Hensil said a date for the board of governors’ special meeting had not been set, but the board would likely convene in December. Bernotsky was not available for comment Tuesday.

Bernotsky had a 27-year career at West Chester before coming to PennWest. Going with a candidate already familiar with the university would enable it to bypass a more prolonged national search. A number of universities have opted to forgo national searches that can be time-consuming, expensive and slow institutional momentum in areas from fundraising to academic decision-making.

The resolution to do so at West Chester was presented and approved by West Chester’s trustees on Nov. 15.

If approved by the State System board, Bernotsky is expected to remain at PennWest through June, according to PennWest spokeswoman Wendy Mackall.

Her potential departure has timing implications for a search now getting underway at PennWest to find a permanent successor to Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, who stepped away from the job in February, effective immediately.

PennWest, the largest state-owned university in Western Pennsylvania, was created last year through the mergers of California, Clarion and Edinboro universities. The new institution, with about 11,300 students, has been working to shore up finances amid drops in overall enrollment and first-year students from a year ago.

“We realize that the PennWest presidential search is unique among state system presidential searches, not only because of our three geographically diverse campuses, but also because we are in the process of implementing a plan for long-term sustainability of our integrated university,” Penn West Council of Trustees Chair Kathy Pape said last month.

“To recognize the uniqueness of our search, we have requested and received a waiver from the chancellor to make our search committee broader to reflect and reach our three campuses and to ensure that all voices are heard and considered,” she added.

Mackall said PennWest has created a presidential search page. The search committee being created is expected to be chaired by Trustee Larry Maggi and will draw on input from students, faculty, staff, alumni and other stakeholders from each campus.

As a new institution, PennWest has faced issues including a consolidation of six colleges into three as it works to strengthen enrollment and finances. Pape pledged a deliberate presidential search as those efforts continue, noting the complexity of a three-campus university separated by hundreds of miles.

In addition to PennWest and West Chester, the State System member universities include Cheyney, Commonwealth (a merger of the former Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield universities), East Stroudsburg, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown, Millersville, Shippensburg and Slippery Rock universities.