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Weidemann appointed vice president for Outreach By Tysen Kendig
Dr. Craig D. Weidemann, vice provost and executive assistant to the president at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, has been appointed vice president for Outreach at Penn State, effective July 1.	Dr. Craig D. Weidemann, vice provost and executive assistant to the president at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, has been appointed vice president for Outreach, effective July 1.   He succeeds Dr. James H. Ryan, who will retire after 22 years with the University, including 13 years in his current post.   Weidemann comes to Penn State with more than 28 years of experience in higher education, including four years in his current role at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. During his career, he has administered outreach, continuing education, career services, research and academic programs at five different institutions.   “Dr. Weidemann’s vast experience in higher education administration will make him a valuable asset to Penn State Outreach. He will oversee programs that touch millions of Pennsylvanians and make the services of the University available to people anywhere in the world,” President Graham Spanier said. “While these endeavors already provide a national model for higher education outreach, I am confident that Craig will bring innovative leadership to this key position.”   At Penn State, Weidemann will be responsible for the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education. Penn State Outreach and Cooperative Extension serves more than 5 million people from all 50 states and 80 countries at 500 locations annually. With more than 800 employees, this organization supports all academic colleges, campuses, centers and Cooperative Extension offices. Each year, more than 2,000 programs and services are offered in collaboration with 1,500 faculty members through Penn State’s Outreach delivery units, including Continuing Education, Cooperative Extension, Distance Education/World Campus and Penn State Public Broadcasting.   “It is a great honor to join the Penn State community,” Weidemann said. “There is a greater than ever expectation for higher education to provide leadership in addressing the economic, social and cultural challenges facing our communities. Penn State is recognized as a national leader in outreach and in responding to this challenge. Through advancing the scholarship of engagement, Penn State has a stellar record of bringing its considerable academic strengths to the citizens of the state and around the world. I am excited about the opportunity to build upon the accomplishments of Vice President Ryan and his talented staff and to work with the campus community to move forward this important agenda.”   At the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, he manages continuing education programs, leads support activities for new graduate and undergraduate academic programs and administers noncredit programs targeted to address regional workforce needs.   He also directs a major diversity enhancement initiative, the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, which prepares underrepresented students for graduate study in the sciences and engineering.   Weidemann had previously served as associate provost for academic affairs at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County from 1990 to 1995, focusing on expansion of the office of continuing education and creating a presidential advisory board for continuing education and outreach.   In between stints at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, he was associate vice president for research and the first dean of a new College of Graduate and Extended Education at Towson University from 1995 to 1999. He has directed professional development or continuing education programs at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Illinois. In addition, he has held a number of national leadership roles with the University Continuing Education Association and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and has led a number of workforce and technology initiatives in the Baltimore region.   Weidemann holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Illinois State University, a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of Illinois at Springfield and a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Georgia.