UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) Department Executive Officers (DEO) program has gained five additional fellows from the Penn State ranks.
The BTAA is the academic consortium of the Big Ten universities and the United States’ pre-eminent model for effective collaboration among research universities. Through its leadership program, participants who have demonstrated exceptional ability through university administrative assignments or other significant positions in public, private, or professional organizations are aided in further developing their leadership and managerial skills.
Penn State’s participants for the 2026 program were selected based on their significant contributions and potential to achieve even more as university leaders. The participants are:
- Guoray Cai, department head, Human-Centered Computing and Social Informatics, College of Information Sciences and Technology
- Lauren Duffy, department head, Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, College of Health and Human Development
- Cora MacBeth, director, School of Science, Penn State Behrend
- Michael Nelson, department head, Political Science, College of the Liberal Arts
- Amber Stephenson, director, School of Business Administration, Penn State Harrisburg