Dr. Nicole Pennington has been named Executive Dean of Regional Higher Education and Lifelong Learning and Dean of Campus and Community Relations at Ohio University Southern.

In this new role, Pennington will continue to serve along with chief strategy and innovation officer Dr. Brad Cohen as co-lead for the One OHIO strategy, to advance the goals outlined in the Fearlessly First Strategic Framework.

“I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to lead Ohio University’s Regional Campuses,” said Pennington. “It is truly a privilege to serve in this role and to support faculty and staff in our mission to serve students and our communities.” 

Pennington will be responsible for implementing a new leadership structure for the One OHIO system. She will continue the efforts currently underway for program realignment within our RHE communities, as well as alignment for regional faculty to their respective academic colleges and departments. Finally, she will oversee alignment of administrative realignment within the RHE structure, where appropriate. These efforts will help to unify all of OHIO’s campuses under a new One OHIO system.  

“I am optimistic about the opportunities we are creating with our Athens colleagues and academic colleges to expand programming to meet the evolving needs of regional campus students, employers and workforce development partners.”

Pennington said she is excited for the opportunity to continue working with Cohen to develop and implement a strategic vision to support the evolution and improvement of regional higher education across all campuses.

“I look forward to continuing to guide the One OHIO strategy with my co-lead, Brad Cohen. We are making positive progress towards the academic and administrative alignment processes, and I am committed to ensuring the success of this initiative. I am extremely grateful to the many committees who are helping us work through these transitions.”