Rodney Erickson

Rodney A. Erickson
Dr. Rodney Erickson
17th President of Pennsylvania State University
Term	November 9, 2011 – Present
Predecessor	Graham Spanier
Born	1946 (age 65–66) Frederic, Wisconsin[1]
Profession	Academic administrator

Rodney Allen Erickson (born 1946) is the 17th and current president of Pennsylvania State University. Formerly executive vice president and provost (chief academic officer), he was named interim president of Penn State on November 9, 2011 after previous president Graham Spanier was forced to resign in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal.^[2][3]

Initial plans called for Erickson to stay on only until a permanent successor could be found. However, on November 17, the Board of Trustees removed the "interim" tag from Erickson's title and formally named him as Penn State's president. This was thought to be an unusual move for a university of Penn State's stature. However, several trustees felt that given the gravity of the sex abuse scandal, Erickson would provide a measure of stability.^[4]

On January 10, 2012 it was announced that Erickson would step down from his position in June 2014. ^[5]

Erickson graduated from the University of Minnesota, where he also earned his master's degree. He earned a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Washington in 1973. After a brief tenure at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he came to Penn State as an assistant professor of geography and business administration. He was promoted to full professor in 1984. He has been part of the university's administration since 1995, when he became dean of Penn State's graduate school. He was promoted to provost in 1999.^[6]

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier removed. ESPN, 2011-11-09.
3. ^ McGill, Andrew; Assad, Matt; Sheehan, Daniel Patrick (November 10, 2011). "Penn State President Graham Spanier Resigns in Wake of Scandal". The Morning Call. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
4. ^ Frantz, Jeff. Is Rodney Erickson Penn State president by choice, or necessity? The Patriot-News, 2011-11-18.
5. ^ AP, Penn State's Erickson to step down in 2014[2]
6. ^ Penn State bio

External links

• Penn State bio

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