Penn State Shenango Campus Director Announces Retirement
Sharon, Pa. – Jo Anne Carrick, campus director and chief academic officer of Penn State Shenango, announced Wednesday that she will retire effective June 28.
Carrick, who graduated from Penn State, has served in her current role since 2014. She previously served as nursing program coordinator and RN, B.S.N. program faculty member at both the Beaver and Behrend campuses. Prior to her time as a faculty member and administrator at Penn State, Carrick served in various hospital roles throughout western Pennsylvania.
At Shenango, Carrick oversaw strategic planning, academic programming, campus budgeting, community and alumni relations, philanthropy and faculty and staff development.
During her tenure, Carrick oversaw the launch of an athletics program in 2018 after a 20-year absence from the campus. Shenango Athletics has since grown to include six sports and has resulted in a shift in the campus’ demographic from 70% adult learners to 75% traditional-age students, a news release states.
Under Carrick’s leadership, the campus partnered with the city of Sharon and the Community Foundation of Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio to invest $4 million to create the Shenango Launchbox powered by the Greater Sharon Community, as well as the Sharon Economic Development Fund to support local businesses and entrepreneurs.
Carrick has been an active and engaged member of the Sharon community since taking on her role at the campus. She served on the Sharon City Development Corporation, was the previous chair of Primary Health Network’s board and is a former board member of the Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce.
“There is something special about my connection to Sharon,” Carrick said. “I started here at the Shenango campus as a student and spent much of my professional life at Penn State tied in some way to this campus.”
The campus underwent an $8 million renovation of its Forker Laboratory building during Carrick’s tenure. Forker Laboratory is now the home of the Penn State Shenango Information Technology Cybersecurity Center, which launched this spring.
“We were faced with many challenges when I started here in 2014,” Carrick said. “With the outstanding efforts of our faculty and staff over the years, we have changed the trajectory of this campus moving forward, and we are a pillar of excellence that this community can be proud of.”
Penn State announced Tuesday that it will move toward a regional leadership model for commonwealth campuses. Carey McDougall, chancellor and chief academic officer at Penn State Beaver, will serve as chancellor for both the Beaver and Shenango campuses.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
