Catherine Lyons, associate dean for educational equity in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS), has retired after more than 25 years at Penn State that included appointments in the College of Agricultural Sciences, the Graduate School and most recently, EMS, where she served as the associate dean for educational equity.

In each of those positions, Lyons advanced the University’s diversity initiatives, working to recruit and retain students and faculty from underrepresented groups.

In her most recent position, Lyons worked to weave diversity throughout the fabric of EMS. With EMS staff and faculty, for instance, she strengthened ties with several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as part of the College’s initiatives to identify and recruit academically talents students.

She also instituted retention programs to ensure that once those students come to Penn State, they succeed.

“We develop relationships with students and their parents even before the student enrolls,” Lyons said. “It’s good for parents to see the level of our involvement with their sons and daughters.”

Lyons also has initiated several programs to introduce middle- and high-school students to Penn State. She spearheaded the development of a weeklong science program targeted to these students in Philadelphia and a multi-day visit to Penn State by students from Washington, D.C.

“We need to grow our own — there aren’t EMS majors in K-12,” Lyons quipped.

The youngest of nine children and a first-generation college graduate, Lyons grew up in Abbeville, S. C. After graduating from South Carolina State University, she moved to New York City where she developed educational programming first for City College of New York and later for Columbia University.

She came to Penn State in 1985 and completed a doctorate in agricultural education and extension by 1987. Even before she graduated, she was tapped to direct one of the University’s early diversity initiatives -- the Center for Minority Graduate Opportunities and Faculty Development -- in the Graduate School.

After a stint in the Graduate School, Lyons returned to Agricultural Sciences before being recruited to set up the EMS Office of Educational Equity.

Lyons credited her parents for instilling in her the importance of community.

“People will help you all along the way,” she said. “Whatever road you travel, you always take other people with you.”