Dr. Mary-Beth Krogh-Jespersen, chancellor at Penn State Worthington Scranton, is pleased to announce the recent hiring of Caressa Gearhart as Advising Center manager.
In her new position, Ms. Gearhart will supervise and assess advising program operations and advising projects, as well as be responsible for administration of the First-Year Testing, Consulting and Advising Program, and the campus' Division of Undergraduate Studies and Provisional enrollment and programs.
In her new role, she will also coordinate academic advising training and development for faculty and professional advisors; create and disseminate academic information to other University units, advisors, and students; and provide academic advising to students. She will also coordinate research and assessment within the campus; recommend policy/procedure modifications; develop and implement advising technology; and assist with strategic planning and recruitment and retention activities.
Ms. Gearhart received her bachelor's degree in English from Penn State University and a master's degree in English, Rhetoric and Composition from West Virginia University, where she had also served as a graduate teaching assistant.
Prior to joining Penn State Worthington Scranton, she was Learning Commons Coordinator at Mount Aloysius College, Cresson; and an academic counselor and tutoring coordinator in the Academic Success Center of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, where she had also been an adjunct English faculty member and a coordinator in its Office of Student Affairs.
She is a Pennsylvania Association of Developmental Educators board member, and has served as private university representative, membership committee chair; the College Reading and Learning Association; the Association of Tutoring Professionals; the National Academic Advising Association; the National Orientation Directors Association; the Southeastern Modern Language Association; and the Modern Language Association.
She lives in Mount Pocono with her husband, Ken and their four children, Kailey, Oliviah, Berkeley, and Bauer.
