Karen Riley

Karen Riley has been selected to become the next president of Slippery Rock University, the board of governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education announced Wednesday.

The unanimous decision comes after a nationwide search that included 90 applicants, according to news release from the university.

“It is truly my honor to serve as the next president of Slippery Rock University,” Riley said in a statement Wednesday. “I’m excited to have this opportunity to work with the faculty, staff, students, and alumni to further advance the university’s impressive trajectory and build on its previous success.

“I’m also eager to work within the state system to advance the collective goals of residents of Pennsylvania. My husband, Steve, and I are thrilled to be joining the SRU community.”

Riley will follow in the footsteps of William Behre, who said last February he would retire June 30, 2023.

“Throughout her distinguished career, Dr. Riley has demonstrated a strong commitment to student success inside and outside the classroom and will be a great person to lead the university,” board of governors chairwoman Cindy Shapira said. “Under president Behre, Slippery Rock University has maintained, even expanded upon its considerable strengths.

“We are confident that Dr. Riley will guide the university to the next level of excellence as it continues to provide a high-quality education at the lowest possible cost to students.”

From 2014 to 2021, Riley was dean of the College of Education at the University of Denver, where she helped increase the number of students and launched its Center for Professional Development.

Riley also served as provost and chief academic officer at Regis University in Denver during 2021, where she initiated a plan to focus on excellence in teaching, advancing research, offer relevant programs and stackable credentials.

“Obviously, her credentials are very good,” said Jeff Smith, SRU trustee and search committee chairman. “From that standpoint, that’s how she made it to campus. One thing that stood out to me and the search committee was finding somebody who would not only be a good leader at Slippery Rock, but would help Slippery Rock become more of the fabric of Butler County. I think she has the personality and the desire to do that.”

At Colorado State University, Riley earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in early childhood special education and a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Denver.

Riley was selected from a field of 90 applicants which was then narrowed to 10, Smith said.

The top 10 candidates were then given in-person interviews off campus, before a final field of four was selected

“Then we invited those four to campus a couple weeks ago,” Smith said. “Based on the input the search committee received from the community, they then forwarded two names to the council of trustees. Those two names were sent to the chancellor and the board of governors for the final selection.”

Chance Glenn, provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas, was the other final candidate when the selection was trimmed to two.

“Chance was a great candidate; that’s why it was a difficult choice for the board of governors,” Smith said. “They almost couldn’t lose whatever way they went. He had an incredible background and a well-rounded engaging personality.”

“The trustees I talked to today are very excited,” Smith added. “I just think in general the entire campus community is pretty excited. All four candidates that came to campus were impressive, but there was a lot of support for her.”