June 27, 2005
Hillkirk to lead Penn State Schuylkill
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- R. Keith Hillkirk, Southern Illinois University Carbondale's dean of the College of Education and Human Services, will be the next chancellor at Penn State Schuylkill.
His appointment is effective Aug. 1
"Keith Hillkirk is an experienced administrator who has made a difference in his tenure at SIUC," said SIUC Provost and Vice Chancellor John M. Dunn. "We wish him the best as he takes the top leadership role at Penn State Schuylkill."
Hillkirk came to SIUC in 1998. Before that he was assistant dean for teacher education at Ohio University in Athens.
Dunn hopes to have an interim dean in place at SIUC by the time Hillkirk leaves.
While at SIUC Hillkirk oversaw the creation of the Southern Illinois Holmes Partnership, which set up four professional development schools for field-based teacher preparation, and the development of a Teaching Excellence in Math and Science program to recruit and prepare highly trained teachers. He also helped secure a $1 million grant to create "Adventure of the American Mind," a pre-service and in-service teacher training program on web-based access to the digitized archives of the Library of Congress.
Hillkirk said he looks forward to his new position in Pennsylvania. "I am pleased to return to Penn State and look forward to the opportunity," he said.
Hillkirk earned his bachelor's degree at Allegheny College (Meadville, Penn.) and his master's at Shippensburg (Penn.) University. He holds a doctoral degree from Penn State.