About the Center » Board of Directors

Karen M. Whitney, Ph.D., Clarion University

Dr. Whitney is President of Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Clarion in 2010, Dr. Whitney served as Vice Chancellor for Student Life and Dean of Students at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). In that capacity, she was responsible for 12 departments and provided leadership for institutional strategic planning, policy development, and budget oversight to ensure the effective delivery of programs and services in close collaboration with academic affairs and finance and administration. She also served as Associate Vice President for Student Life at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she held positions as Assistant Vice President of Student Life and Director of Residence Life. In addition, she held a number of positions in residence life at the University of Houston. Dr. Whitney has a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master's in Public Administration and a Bachelor's in Psychology from the University of Houston. She is a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, and the American College Personnel Association. She also has extensive experience in partnering with community organizations and civic leaders and has served on a number of nonprofit boards.