New president visits Slippery Rock University
SLIPPERY ROCK — Karen Riley was the first of four candidates to have final interviews with the Slippery Rock University presidential search committee in the fall, so when she got a call on an airplane, she did not think it would be about getting the job.
Riley said she answered the call from Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education chancellor Dan Greenstein, who delivered the news to the candidate.
“I was just sitting on the plane by myself next to strangers, so I was like, ‘I just got a great job,’” Riley said. “I was thrilled, excited, this was the job that I wanted.”
The PASSHE Board of Governors unanimously selected Karen Riley in December to be the 18th president of Slippery Rock University following a nationwide search, and her appointment takes effect July 1. She will succeed William Behre, who has been president at the university since 2018, and announced in February that he would retire on June 30.
On Wednesday, March 22, Riley spoke at a news conference at SRU, alongside officials including Behre, Domenic Ionta, chairman of the university council of trustees and Jeff Smith, SRU trustee and search committee chairman.
In her remarks at the conference, Riley said she wants to further partnerships between SRU and the community, work within PASSHE to facilitate growth and evolve the university to keep it relevant in the “human development business.”
“Wherever you are, young, middle-aged, whatever, our job is to help facilitate your growth and development,” she said. “If we think about our jobs in that way, then we’re not bound by degrees, we’re not bound by credentials, we’re not bound by certificates, we are bound by ‘What does society need, and how can we make it grow?’”
Riley has been provost and chief academic officer at Regis University in Denver since 2021, according to a news release from SRU. University presidential contracts by law are for no more than five years, but they can be renewed.
Behre said at the conference that the search committee made a good choice in selecting Riley as president.
“I want to thank them for their time and dedication in identifying an outstanding group of candidates and ultimately for selecting someone as qualified as Dr. Riley,” Behre said.
Riley said the university already does well with student engagement and retention, and she plans to forward initiatives that will further support student retention.
“Retention and anything related to student sustainability is part of what we are doing well at, but we want to increase that as well,” Riley said. “I think partnerships, fundraising, those kind of things are opportunities for growth for us.”
Riley also said building upon community partnerships in career fields seeing growth could also make the university’s education more valuable.
“I think we’ve got an opportunity... healthcare is a growing field, we have a great repetition in that space,” Riley said. “What we want to do is partner with local healthcare systems, see what their needs are so that we can serve in that area.”
She continued by saying that she would like to develop liberal arts at the university, to give students a wider variety of skills.
“A strong liberal arts foundation prepares students to go into the jobs of the future, especially if we are able to provide them with great internships, practicum, things like that,” Riley said.
According to the SRU news release, Riley earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at Colorado State University and a master's degree in early childhood special education and a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Denver. Additionally, Riley has researched approaches to addressing societal issues and improving the lives of those affected by Fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome.
In a send off to Behre at the conference, Smith commended him for his work to keep the university in good shape through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Thanks to Bill, we were not only able to survive the pandemic, but unlike many academic institutions, we’re well-positioned for the future,” Smith said.
Riley said she wanted to work with SRU because of the dedication to the university demonstrated by its staff, faculty and even the students.
“People are very dedicated to students, dedicated to education and social mobility and that they are interested in serving the community, so that’s what drew me here,” Riley said. “I hope to be someone who is accessible to students, I enjoyed meeting with students, it was the best part of my visit and certainly want to continue on in that space.”
