Kathy Harring promoted to vice president and dean of institutional effectiveness and planning
President John I. Williams, Jr. today announced the promotion of Kathy Harring, effective July 1.
Thursday, June 9, 2016 09:15 AM
The promotion means that Harring, currently the dean of institutional assessment & academic planning, will take on an expansion of duties.
Reporting both to the President and the provost,
Harring will be responsible for managing academic and institutional planning, analytical decision-support and assessment, and will be the institution’s primary planning officer supporting strategic planning. The position also serves as the institutional contact with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and has responsibility for coordinating the institutional response to Middle States reviews.
In the aspects of her role reporting to the President, she will manage institutional assessment and effectiveness, institutional strategic planning, selected institutional initiatives and accreditation-related initiatives.
In the aspects of her role reporting to the provost, Harring will manage student learning assessment and academic affairs planning, collaborate with and support the work of faculty and college committees, support the undergraduate research program and serve as the provost liaison to the advancement office.
Williams also announced that Harring has agreed to serve as interim provost, also commencing July 1. The College is in the midst of a search for a permanent replacement for provost John Ramsay, who will return to his teaching role in the education department. While the search committee narrows the large, strong pool, Harring will step into the provost duties until a permanent replacement starts in late 2016 or some time in 2017.
“I'm excited to work with President Williams and my faculty and staff colleagues to build on our strong foundation of assessment and planning, as well as to lay the foundation for a smooth transition to new leadership in the provost office,” said Harring.
Harring is a social psychologist with a minor in quantitative psychology. Her research interests include music and social bonding, preconscious processing and gender studies. She received her B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After many years as a full-time professor in the Muhlenberg psychology department, she moved to her administrative role, while continuing to teach in the psychology department.
Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private, four-year residential, liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pa., approximately 90 miles west of New York City. With an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2200 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences as well as selected pre-professional programs, including accounting, business, education and public health. A member of the Centennial Conference, Muhlenberg competes in 22 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
