UNIVERSITY PARK – Frantisek Marko, distinguished professor of mathematics at Penn State Hazleton, officially assumed his new role as chair of Penn State’s Faculty Senate for the 2025-26 academic year in July. As he begins his tenure as chair, Marko said his primary goal is to work collaboratively with the administration to bring the faculty perspective to University decision-making.
“I am humbled to be in this position,” Marko said. “I take the responsibility to balance the needs of the institution and the faculty seriously and will do my best to improve the prospects for everybody.”
Marko succeeds Josh Wede, teaching professor of psychology, who served as senate chair for the 2024-25 academic year. Marko served as chair-elect during that period.
Elected to the University Faculty Senate in 2010, Marko wasn’t initially seeking a leadership position. But through his experience as vice chair of the University Planning Committee, co-chair of the Commonwealth Caucus and initiating the University College Caucus, he said he saw the value of elevating faculty voices and an opportunity to contribute during a time of transformational change for the institution and higher education.
Marko said changes happening across Penn State's Commonwealth Campuses were one motivator in his pursuit of a role in senate leadership. The Board of Trustees voted in May to approve the University’s recommendation to close seven Commonwealth Campuses following the Spring 2027 semester, while continuing to invest in 13 others.
“Even though the decision to close some of the campuses has been made, that doesn’t mean there are not challenges still ahead,” Marko said. “Part of my goal is to facilitate the transition process on these campuses that are closing and to voice the faculty perspective, making sure that the faculty, staff and students are front of mind with all of the decisions being made.”
To position the Senate to take on these changes and other important initiatives this academic year, Marko said he supports changes to the order of business and will enforce decorum during Senate meetings to improve efficiency and to foster collaboration. He said he also aims to increase transparency by providing a log of topics discussed with administrators, so people can see the work that is being done behind the scenes.
“I want to make clear that even though I come from a Commonwealth Campus, I am representing all faculty and will aim to keep the best interest of the University in mind,” Marko said. “My role is not to push my own ideas for the Senate, but to facilitate communication and consider the interests of everybody in the Senate. We want everybody to have space to express their opinions while being respectful of one another.”
Marko came to Penn State Hazelton in 2001 as an assistant professor of mathematics on the tenure track, reaching the rank of distinguished professor of mathematics in 2019. In addition to his leadership roles on the Senate, Marko also served on the University Promotion and Tenure Committee, the Immediate Tenure Review Committee, the Joint Committee on University Budget and participated in the Academic Leadership Program of the Big Ten Academic Alliance.
His research interests include algebra, representation theory, number theory, discrete mathematics, computations and cryptography. Marko has also taught about 125 courses in 25 years, mainly in mathematics and computer science.
Marko holds doctoral degrees in algebra from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and number theory from the Slovak Academy of Science in Bratislava, Slovakia, and a master’s degree in computer science from Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia.