PennWest president announces departure

Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, founding president of Pennsylvania Western University, also known as PennWest, is leaving her position.

She announced Tuesday she is transitioning to a new role with the State System of Higher Education as President-in-Residence and CEO for PennWest Investment.

She is to begin the transition immediately and will assume the new role full-time on July 1, the university said in a statement and note to university students and employees.

By that date, she will have finished her five year presidential term, which began as Clarion University’s CEO before the merger of that state-owned campus with California University of Pennsylvania and Edinboro University last July 1.

“In her new position, Pehrsson will focus on securing the support PennWest and PASSHE needs to meet the higher education and workforce needs of Pennsylvania,” the university statement said.

Pehrsson was not available Tuesday afternoon for further comment on her decision and new role, campus officials said. PennWest began its second semester as a combined institution in January.

State System Chancellor Daniel Greenstein is expected to recommend to the State System board of governors that it name Laurie Bernotsky as interim president, who will lead the university until a national search for its next permanent president is completed.

To ensure a seamless transition, Pehrsson will delegate presidential authority to Bernotsky on March 1 and will focus on finalizing the transition and drafting a plan for securing additional long-term investment in PennWest, Greenstein said.

PennWest saw an 11% decline in overall enrollment this fall, though freshmen numbers grew by 1.5%. Collectively, the three-campus institution enrolled 12,780 students as of the fall and is the second largest among the State System’s 10 universities after West Chester in suburban Philadelphia.

Pehrsson’s current salary as PennWest president is $383,460.

“Dr. Dale’s appointment as Founding President is open-ended, but in approaching the end of her initial five-year term as president she decided she would like to focus on mobilizing the resources PennWest needs for the future,” said Kevin Hensil, a State System spokesman.

Asked about the move, Kenneth Mash, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, said the new institution is dealing with financial, enrollment and other operational issues related to the merger.

“Penn West continues to confront a number of situations and it seems to me like a pivot to try and figure things out,” Mash said.

Pehrsson, in a statement released by the university, called it “the privilege of a lifetime” to serve as founding president of the new university.

“I have been honored to lead California, Clarion, and Edinboro universities through their transition to becoming PennWest, and to see our new university reach this critically important point,” she wrote in an email sent to all PennWest students, faculty, and staff.

“I love PennWest and have given it my all. As we look toward the future, I firmly believe now is the right time for me to make this transition and focus on mobilizing the resources PennWest needs.”

Greenstein praised her tenure and decision to take a new role.

“We are so pleased that the State System will continue to benefit from the valuable contributions Dr. Dale brings to the table as she concludes her service as president,” he wrote. “In her new role in my office she will bring an important, university-level perspective to decision making in support of our mission to provide pathways to the future for so many who otherwise might be shut out of higher education altogether.”

Bernotsky has been serving as PennWest’s chief operating officer since 2022 as a loaned executive from West Chester University, “and is deeply enmeshed in the university’s operations,” said Greenstein.

“We are grateful for the leadership ‘Dr. Dale’ has provided to our universities, especially during the integration process,” said Edinboro alumna Kathy L. Pape, chair of PennWest’s Council of Trustees.