SHARON, Pa. – The words “restructuring” and “repositioning” can sometimes bring feelings of stress into the workplace. At Penn State Shenango, those feelings are replaced with energy and forward-thinking thoughts of “what if,” says Carey McDougall, regional chancellor of Penn State Shenango and Penn State Beaver.
In July 2024, Penn State Shenango along with nine other Penn State commonwealth campuses, shifted to a new regional model of leadership and shared campus resources.
The Shenango campus and the Beaver campus in Monaca, Pa., are now benefiting from the restructuring by sharing multiple positions across both campuses, including administration, faculty and staff.
“With student success as our ultimate goal, we’re always looking for ways to work smarter,” McDougall says.
Penn State Shenango is no stranger to change. Since 2018, the campus has relaunched its athletics programming, opened more baccalaureate programs, navigated the challenges during the pandemic, and seen the immediate entrepreneurial impact of the Shenango LaunchBox, launched in fall 2023.
Aside from implementing the new regional campus model, McDougall says that 2025 is gearing up to be another year of additions at Penn State Shenango.
In November the campus announced the launch of a competitive women’s softball program. It is partnering with the city of Hermitage to play at the Hermitage Athletic Complex. Softball is the seventh varsity sport offered at the campus, joining baseball, men and women’s basketball, cross country, golf, and women’s volleyball.
Photo: The Mercer County Courthouse in Mercer, Pa. Mr. Matté, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
