Penn College Names Vice President for Academic Affairs/Provost

Paul L. Starkey has been appointed vice president for academic affairs/provost (the chief academic officer) at Pennsylvania College of Technology. He will begin his duties on July 1.

Starkey's hiring was approved Monday by the college's board of directors. He comes to Penn College from Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss., where he has served most recently as chair of the Division of Management, Marketing and Business Administration, and professor of management in the College of Business. He had been employed at the university since 1986.



"We welcome the addition of Paul to the college's administration in this important leadership position," said Penn College President Davie Jane Gilmour. "With his first-rate qualifications and ample experience in higher-education leadership and teaching roles, he is ideally suited to oversee Academic Affairs at Penn College. Paul will be an excellent provost; he received the unqualified endorsement of the President's Council, Dean's Council and the Search Committee. I am looking forward to a great partnership and to his leadership and vision for Academic Affairs."

At Delta State, Starkey has led an academic unit of 11 full-time and eight adjunct faculty members and was responsible for approximately 400 undergraduate and more than 100 graduate students in MBA, management, marketing, hospitality services management and general business administration programs. He has been involved with various other initiatives including fundraising, faculty development, grant writing, partnership development, placement, accreditation, assessment, program development and facilities development.

Other positions Starkey has held at the university are chair of entrepreneurship in business technology (2008-09), dean of graduate and continuing studies (2003-08), director of continuing education (2001-03), and associate professor of management (1986-2001).

He also has worked as a consultant and trainer. He is founder and sole proprietor of EllisGirl Inc., a consulting firm that provides customized training to more than 30 industrial and nonprofit clients.

Starkey holds a Ph.D. in business administration-management (with a major in organizational behavior) and a Master of Business Administration (with a concentration in management) from the University of Mississippi. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Delta State University. He is a graduate of the Management Development Program at the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and he has completed a variety of courses in continuing studies at Delta State University since 1986.

His research has been widely published in academic and scholarly journals, and he has numerous professional memberships and affiliations.

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