News Release

Chancellor re–elected to national accreditation council board

May 6, 2009

Penn State Harrisburg Chancellor Madlyn L. Hanes has been re-elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

First elected to the board in 2007, Dr. Hanes will now serve through 2012.

CHEA is a national advocate and institutional voice for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation. An association of 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities, CHEA recognized 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations.

A primary national voice for voluntary accreditation and quality assurance to the U.S. Congress, U.S. Department of Education, opinion leaders, students, and families, the organization is governed by a 20-person board of college and university presidents, institutional representatives, and public members.

CHEA provides a national forum to address issues of interest and concern in voluntary accreditation and is a leader in identifying and articulating emerging issues in quality assurance.

Under Dr. Hanes’ leadership, Penn State Harrisburg has become the regional leader in national accreditation of its academic programs. Accreditations at the college include: the teacher education programs by the National Council of Accreditation for Teacher Education; the undergraduate and graduate programs in the School of Business Administration by the Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business; the engineering and engineering technology programs in the School of Science, Engineering, and Technology by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology; and the Master of Public Administration program in the School of Public Affairs by the National Council of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. In addition, the undergraduate Criminal Justice program recently became one of the first in the nation to be certified by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.