With the recent spate of retirements, there are old faces in new places this academic year, at least temporarily.

Taking over as the acting vice president of student affairs is Dr. Roger Serr who was dean of students and associate vice president for student affairs. He assumes the duties of Dr. Jody Harpster who was appointed interim president earlier this year. Roger joined the university in 1994 after spending ten years as assistant director of residence life at Michigan State University. His prior experience in student life includes positions at the University of Connecticut, Western Illinois and South Dakota State Universities.

The acting dean of students and associate vice president for student affairs is Dr. David Lovett. Dave is a familiar face who has served the university in a number of positions, including director of counseling and interim dean of admissions, since he joined the university in 1984.

Professor and chemistry department chair, Dr. Tracy Schoolcraft was tapped to be the interim associate provost and dean of graduate studies. Tracy came to Shippensburg in 1993 after teaching at Gettysburg College and Millersville University.

Mindy Fawks and Dr. David Topper, both associate vice presidents for administration and finance, will share leadership of their division. Mindy will be responsible for fiscal issues and David will oversee human resources and physical plant operations.

Pictured left to right: Mindy Fawks, Dr. David Topper, Dr. Thomas Speakman and Cathy Sprenger.

New faces can be found in the admissions and registrar’s offices with the appointments of Dr. Thomas Speakman as dean of enrollment services and Cathy Sprenger as registrar. Thomas was director of enrollment management for Penn State Berks—Lehigh Valley College for seven years. Previous to that, he was assistant director of admissions at Millersville and an admissions counselor and minority recruiter at Cheyney University. Cathy was working at the Frehn Center for Professional and Organizational Development before her appointment as registrar. She joined the university in 2002 from her position as coordinator of technology and workforce development at Wilson College.