UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Tara Mondock has been named the director of college relations and communications in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, effective June 2.
She succeeds Mary Wirth, a Penn State alumna who has served as director of college relations and communications since 2001 and will retire in August.
Mondock, who currently serves as associate director for client relations with Penn State Extension, will lead the unit responsible for managing the college's external relationships and internal and external strategic communications.
In this role, she will work to position the college as Pennsylvania's premier hub for agricultural research and development, focusing on engagement with alumni, industry partners, legislators and prospective students. Her oversight will encompass the college's three core mission areas: education, research and extension.
“Mary Wirth has done an outstanding job elevating the visibility and impact of our college and Penn State Extension, and we’re grateful for her leadership and commitment,” said Troy Ott, dean of the college. “I’m confident that Tara will bring the same energy, enthusiasm and dedication to advancing our mission and strengthening our connection with communities and stakeholders across the commonwealth.”
For the last eight years, Mondock has been a member of Extension’s executive leadership team, with responsibilities that include driving awareness of the breadth of extension programs, products and services; defining local issues and needs; and engaging with extension program teams to bring the full resources of the organization forward to address those issues.
Mondock’s work has focused on aligning extension programs with community needs, emphasizing the expansion of their reach, maintaining relevance and enhancing the delivery of services. She leads the team that is tasked with positioning Penn State Extension and the College of Agricultural Sciences to deliver on the land-grant mission, empowering farmers, agribusinesses, youth and communities with science-based education and innovative solutions to advance agriculture, enhance a healthy and safe food supply, and promote responsible natural resource stewardship across Pennsylvania and beyond.
Before joining Penn State in 2017, she served as chief revenue officer and senior vice president for strategic partner sales at eSolutions, a health care billing and data analytics company headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.
Throughout her 25-year career in health care information technology, Mondock held various service, sales and sales-management positions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from Western Carolina University and is a graduate of Stanford University Graduate School of Business Executive Program in Leadership.
She is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star; the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution; local, state and national Grange; and Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.