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Vice President and Dean
Dr. Pangborn is currently serving as Interim Executive Vice President and Provost of the University.
Robert N. Pangborn, Ph.D., Professor of Engineering Mechanics, is Vice President and Dean for Undergraduate Education. In this position, he is responsible for providing leadership in undergraduate education, including support for general education, active and collaborative learning, student research experiences, internships, service learning, cross-campus curricular integration, and the development of facilities for technology-enhanced learning. He also oversees the University's enrollment management (comprising Undergraduate Admissions, University Registrar, and Student Aid) across Penn State's 20 baccalaureate degree-granting campuses. Other organizational units within Undergraduate Education include: Division of Undergraduate Studies, Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes, Office for Communication, Penn State Learning, Reserve Officers' Training Corps, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, and the University Fellowships Office.
Dr. Pangborn holds B.A. and B.S. degrees from Rutgers University in Business Administration and Civil Engineering, respectively, as well as M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanics and Materials Science. He has taught and conducted research since 1979 in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics in the areas of engineering mechanics and structures, failure analysis and engineering materials, publishing over 90 papers. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1999, served as Senior Vice President for Strategic Management from 2006 to 2009, and is a Governor for ASME International.
As an associate dean in engineering for over 10 years, Pangborn provided oversight for the preparation for accreditation review of undergraduate engineering programs, curricular development and assessment, instructional services, student recruitment and retention, diversity programming, advising, co-operative education and international programs. He served as Chair of the Intercollege Graduate Program in Materials from 1993 to 1999 and as Interim Campus Executive Officer and Dean at Penn State Altoona in 1999-2000. Pangborn chaired the University Faculty Senate in 1993-94. He has led and/or collaborated on programs on educational innovation and assessment, reform of the University-wide general education curriculum, cross-disciplinary curricular initiatives and faculty development; been recognized by the Penn State Engineering Society for both outstanding advising and outstanding teaching; and won a Provost's Award for Collaborative Instruction and Curricular Innovation and the McKay Donkin Award for service to the faculty.
