Penn State Shenango welcomed Ira S. Saltz as its new director of academic affairs on July 1.
Saltz comes to the Shenango campus from Penn State Fayette where he was the director of Academic Affairs for over two years. Prior to working in the Penn State system, Saltz was employed at the University of Central Arkansas for more than seven years, where he held a variety of positions including associate dean in the Graduate School, associate dean in the College of Business Administration, and associate dean in the Graduate School of Management, Leadership, and Administration.
"Dr. Saltz brings a great deal of experience and knowledge in higher education to this position," stated Penn State Shenango Chancellor Fred Leeds. "We are very pleased to have someone with his background join our campus community."
As director of academic affairs, Saltz’s responsibilities include overseeing the academic planning, development, promotion, administration and evaluation of all curricular programs at the campus. In addition, he will provide leadership in support of campus activities and innovations that assist teaching and learning excellence.
Saltz, whose expertise is in macro-economics, received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Cornell University and his doctorate in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Besides being widely published, he has written for and spoken on numerous media outlets regarding economic issues. Over the last eight years he has also written and received several grants while he was at both the Fayette campus and the University of Arkansas.
Saltz is very enthused about coming to this region of the state and getting involved in the community. "The demographics of Penn State Shenango are very similar to those of Uniontown," he stated. "I believe that higher education is so important to both traditional and adult students, especially to areas that are somewhat depressed. I'm looking forward to working with the outstanding faculty here at Shenango campus and getting out in the community to find out the needs of the people."