UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Yvonne Gaudelius, vice president and dean for Undergraduate Education, will step down from her post effective June 30 and return to the School of Visual Arts faculty.
“It truly has been an honor and a privilege to provide leadership for the 15 units of undergraduate education and share in all the work that those in undergraduate education collaboratively do in support of undergraduate student access and success,” Gaudelius said.
Gaudelius, who has served the University for 30 years, including 20 years in leadership roles, was named vice president and dean for Undergraduate Education in March 2021, after serving as interim vice president and dean.
“We are extremely grateful for Yvonne’s contributions and service to Penn State — not just in this role, but throughout her three decades with the University,” said Justin Schwartz, executive vice president and provost. “We’re pleased she has chosen to remain on the faculty so our campus community can continue to benefit from her insight and experience as a champion of the student experience and student success throughout her career.”
In that role, Gaudelius’ responsibilities spanned undergraduate education and enrollment management. Through the summer of 2022, she coordinated enrollment management and planning across Penn State’s 20 undergraduate campuses, as well as registrar and student aid services for undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in law and medicine University-wide, with a total enrollment of nearly 100,000 students receiving more than $1 billion in federal, state and institutional financial aid.
She led University-wide programming and initiatives in support of undergraduate teaching and learning at the University, including orientation and transition programs; undergraduate research experiences; internships, fellowships and engaged scholarship; cross-campus curricular coherence and integration general education and learning support services; prior learning assessment; summer sessions; and student advising and success.
Gaudelius’ office also oversees the Division of Undergraduate Studies, the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, the Morgan Academic Center for student-athletes, the Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center, and Penn State’s ROTC programs.
As vice president and dean for Undergraduate Education, she focused on a seamless the student experience, achieving curricular coherence, designing relevant and responsive programs, promoting efficient use of University resources and has been a champion for engaging learners throughout their lifetimes.
Gaudelius helped lead the development of a new University policy to offer an option of a remote synchronous instructional mode, which will launch in the fall 2023 semester. The new mode, along with support and resources for instructors and students, was created based on lessons and feedback from remote course delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic forced us to rethink how we teach our courses and the modes in which we deliver them,” Gaudelius said. “This new instruction mode allows Penn State to meet students where they are. We had several task forces thoroughly examine a potential new mode to help support the educational mission of a residential university. Ultimately, the task forces decided that Penn State could offer remote synchronous in situations where there are teaching and learning advantages, and advantages for students.”
In the wake of the pandemic, she has also worked to rebuild the sense of community in Undergraduate Education.
Gaudelius was among a select number of Penn State leaders who traveled to India on an education trade mission in September 2022. Penn State was one of only 21 institutions invited by the U.S. Department of Commerce to travel to India to promote American higher education opportunities to Indian students and advance partnerships with Indian institutions. The trip was part of a broader, ongoing effort in collaboration with the Association of American Universities to expand partnerships between U.S. and Indian universities.
“At the core of Vice President Gaudelius’ leadership has been her deep commitment to student success,” said Renata Engel, vice provost for Online Education. “Penn State has benefitted from her extensive knowledge of higher education, commitment to the mission of the University and collaborative style. I am grateful for her long-standing leadership to advance the educational experiences for all students — residential and World Campus.”
Before becoming vice president and dean, Gaudelius served as associate vice president and senior associate dean of Undergraduate Education from 2007 to 2020. She was named interim vice president and dean in December 2020 after the retirement of former Vice President and Dean Robert Pangborn.
Gaudelius was interim dean of the College of Arts and Architecture from 2006 to 2007, and the college’s associate dean for undergraduate studies and outreach from 2003 to 2006. She holds the rank of professor of art education and women’s, gender and sexuality studies. Gaudelius has published research on pedagogy, women’s studies and the fine arts.
She holds a doctorate in art education from Penn State; a bachelor of fine arts in art education and fine arts from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; and a bachelor of arts in art history from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Gaudelius is a member of the National Art Education Association (former co-president women’s caucus), and has been a member of the American Education Research Association, College Art Association and National Women’s Studies Association. She has served as an editorial board member for various journals, including the International Journal of Education and the Arts; Visual Arts Research; Studies in Art Education; and the Journal of the Social Theory in Art Education.