Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson

Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson is the founding president of Pennsylvania Western University (PennWest), created through the integration of three state-owned universities: Clarion University, Edinboro University, and the California University of Pennsylvania. She led the nearly two-year PennWest integration process, which involved more than 400 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members; spearheaded the effort to obtain accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education; and launched PennWest on July 1, 2022. She holds a doctorate in counselor education and counseling and master’s degrees in both counseling and education, all from Idaho State University. Before joining the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education in 2018, she was dean of the College of Education and Human Services at Central Michigan University and associate dean of the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.