UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State is launching a coordinated, data-driven and outcomes-focused student success ecosystem that spans the University’s academic, co-curricular and support environments. Lance Kennedy-Phillips, vice provost in the Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research (OPAIR), will serve as the interim senior vice provost for student success, effective Friday, Sept. 25.
“This newly created position represents a transformative opportunity to shape the future of student success at Penn State,” said Fotis Sotiropoulos, executive vice president and provost. “By aligning efforts across organizational and geographic boundaries while honoring the unique strengths of Penn State’s campuses and colleges, the senior vice provost for student success will help students access the resources, experiences and opportunities necessary to succeed academically, personally and professionally.”
The senior vice provost for student success will report directly to the provost and serve as the University’s chief strategist for student success, responsible for advancing a comprehensive, institution-wide vision that enhances student persistence, retention, graduation, career readiness, experiential learning and post-graduate success. The senior vice provost will lead key student success functions while collaborating closely with leaders across academic and administrative units, the Commonwealth Campuses and the University’s academic colleges to create a more integrated and effective student success ecosystem.
Along with the new position, the University is establishing a new Office of Student Success. Led by the senior vice provost for student success, the office will be responsible for developing and advancing the comprehensive student success ecosystem to support students from enrollment through graduation. The office will bring together units from across Penn State to align initiatives and other efforts focused on student success, including but not limited to Educational Equity and much of Undergraduate Education.
In particular, the senior vice provost and the office will help to foster greater collaboration among academic units, student affairs, the graduate school, enrollment management, career services, educational equity programs, advising, financial aid, and other key partners that support students. The position will focus on making these services work more closely together so students receive consistent information, coordinated guidance and easier access to the resources they need.
“My goal is to build the structure that will allow for the development of a more cohesive student success infrastructure, making use of data, analytics and emerging technologies to support proactive decision-making and improve student success outcomes,” Kennedy-Phillips said.
According to Sotiropoulos, beginning this work now will enable the person hired permanently into the position — to be identified via a national search — to hit the ground running.
“Student success is our highest priority, and Lance is ideally positioned to serve as interim leader of the new student success model,” Sotiropoulos said. “He has the expertise, experience and institutional knowledge to help build a strong foundation based on data and positioned to leverage new technologies to best serve our students.”
Kennedy-Phillips has served as the vice provost for planning, assessment and institutional research since 2015, leading learning outcome assessments and accreditations, as well as the development of a process to track career outcomes for alumni. He has more than 25 years of experience in higher education administration, including at the University of Florida, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Ohio State University. He has authored or co-authored numerous publications on topics ranging from student success to the evolving role of institutional research.
An acting vice provost for OPAIR will be named shortly.