Assistant Vice President and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Donald Leslie announced yesterday that he will retire from Penn State at the end of June.
Robert Pangborn, vice president and dean for undergraduate admissions, commended Leslie's dedication to the importance of defining the first-year student experience.
"[Leslie] served as a person who provided oversight and coordination for students and first-year seminar instructors," Pangborn said.
Leslie has also supplied support for the ROTC programs, overseen and helped develop summer sessions and guided the e-Learning Cooperative initiative in recent years.
David Heininger, Tri-Service Coordinator for ROTC, expressed the department's regret about losing Leslie.
"He's just provided us awesome support is the bottom line," Heininger said. "We're really going to miss him."
Another one of Leslie's ambitions was the promotion of training the university in delivery of online courses.
"It's so we can really broaden the course offering for students of other campuses; give them the same opportunity to take the best classes," Leslie said. Leslie earned an undergraduate degree at Penn State, leaving only to obtain a master's degree from Michigan.
"What I'm going to miss most at Penn State is my contact with students. In my 36 and a half years I've had the opportunity to be an advocate for student needs, concerns and issues," Leslie said.
In 2002, Leslie was presented with the second annual Shirley Hendrick Continuing Education Award for Outstanding Academic Leadership from Penn State Continuing Education.
Leslie said he will continue to live in State College post-retirement and is looking forward to spending more time with his family and grandchildren, pursuing his hobby of vintage fountain pen collecting and working on community service projects.
He plans to serve on a recreational or planning commission for the borough and engage himself in projects that will positively impact students.
Panghorn said he hopes to name a new associate dean by July 1.
Collegian Staff Writer Rossilynne Skena contributed to this report.
