CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – As a young girl, Dr. Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson never had any expectations of attending college, but on Friday she was inaugurated as the seventeenth president of Clarion University of Pennsylvania.

(Photo above by Ron Wilshire)

“My roots are humble,” said Pehrsson. “My roots are humble. My father, a veteran and public servant, never attended college but was a lifetime learner, loved history and was a proud American.

“My mother earned her nursing credential after raising four children; she was an adult learner. My parents worked hard.  They volunteered for the country, they volunteered for the community, and they volunteered for the church. I had a very strong work ethic. I learned to keep my promises, and not lie.   My parents were unable to teach me lessons about going to college.

“I did not think college was in the realm of possibilities for my life until a caring teacher told me ‘Dale you could go to college. You can do this.’

“This is my promise to you as the 17^th president. I will work hard, I will be honest, I will give back to our community, I will do everything in my power to provide a successful educational experience for our community and leave a solid university for our region because I know that education is transformative.  It has done it for you, and it has done it for me, and it has done it for our students.”

Dr. Daniel. I. Greenstein, Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, invested Pehrsson as president and Cynthia D. Shapira, president of the System Board of Governors, administered the oath of office.

Officially starting her duties on July 1, Clarion’s newest president and husband Robert wasted no time in getting to know their new home. Known collectively as Dr. Dale and Dr. Bob, the couple started meeting people in the community and on campus.

The Eagle Has Landed

“Together my husband and I worked and taught at over a dozen universities in different states such as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Florida, Texas, Ohio, Idaho,  Oregon, Nevada, Michigan, and here back in Pennsylvania. This is what I call the culmination of experience and a wonderful place to land.  A place that cares about education, a community that wants to try and do its best work and support the campus and the students who graduate and hopefully live here after they graduate.

“We chose Clarion, and Clarion chose us. We looked at this town, and we looked at this campus, looked at the people who teach and work here, and we thought these people are really friendly, and they really care about our students.

“We are so happy that Clarion chose us.

“We have a bright future because we have hardworking people with passion willing to do what is needed to bolster Clarion and uphold our plans for our students. We work for the public good, each and every one of us.  We will deliver quality education that focuses on our regional needs and the education needs of our community for the success of our students. We will be transformational. All over the country, I have heard from alumni who said ‘if it weren’t for Clarion, they would never have the kind of life I had,’ and that’s why they want to give back.

“We give thanks for landing in a community, and we’re happy to do this work, and we’re very honored.”

Pehrsson said Clarion has always tried to be the best.

“Our university has strived through many, many years to become the best. That’s one of the reasons that this small, but mighty university has 39 different accreditation bodies that the university and faculty have sought to continue to develop the national and international standards. Seeing the accomplishments of academic recognition, the staff also seeks similar recognition in their fields.”

True North

True North is an initiative launched at the start of the academic year to see where University was at right now and establish five or six priorities for changes that could be changed in the next three to four years. Starting with a group of 20 people throughout the university and an aggressive timeline, it eventually included 50 to 60 people.

‘They looked at things very deeply, and as a result, they did come up with six priorities. They looked at our warts, our holes, looked at our core strength and areas that we need to do a little work on.

“This is not a time to point fingers.  This is not a time to say this person did that. This is a time to take stock and say what do we want to do better? And we do want to do better.

Priorities included:

“The first priority came across loud and clear.  Student success was rated higher than any other priority. We also came up with an overall definition of what it means to everyone at the university. We need to be clear about how to get there.

“We need to restructure some of our student success programming.

“Structural changes are needed in academics to support our programs, and one of the suggestions was that education becomes a free-standing unit that is responsible for its k-12 regional development.

“Affordability, especially in student housing was also a major concern. Housing costs will be frozen for this year.  We’re working on changing our structure next year for how we do housing, We’ve been working very closely with the Foundation, and this is something that everyone knows is important. We cannot continue to charge high rates just because of the way that things have been set up for our students who live in one of the most economically depressed regions. We have to do better and we will.”

“Clarion’s brand and promise.  We recruit and sell a great product.  We tell students that they’re going to have all these great things when they get here, but sometimes when they get here, we have to do some explaining. We have to be very, very clear about the promises we make to students.  We have to be clear with how we promise them, what we promise them, and make sure that everything we do promise, we deliver. That will be good for us, be good for our students, and be great for the reputation of the university. I’ve had a few students tell me that they felt there were broken promises. That should happen never again. We always need to deliver what we promise.”

Clarion Students

“Our faculty and staff offer programs that allow students to grow, help them learn, and help them make a better life.

“We know at Clarion that we want students to be well educated.  We want them to have a good education at the core by allowing them to be an understanding and thinking person, being able to question, being able to vote, and be a person that understands the liberty of the United States and can give back and be a good citizen.”

A Clarion University video produced by Eagle Media Productions is available online at https://msite.clarion.edu/Mediasite/Play/fff6ec9e1cf1440d98af71a92ca514751d

Pehrsson has a Bachelor of Science degree in liberal studies from the University of State of New York-Albany. She also earned a Master of Education degree in curriculum, instruction and supervision, a Master of Counseling degree, and a Doctor of Education degree in counselor education and counseling, all from Idaho State University. She also has associate degrees in nursing and liberal arts.

(Photos by Dave Cyphert of ProPoint Media Photography)