Colin Neill, professor of software and systems engineering and director of engineering programs, has been named interim chancellor, dean and chief academic officer of Penn State Great Valley effective July 1, 2022. He will take over for James A. Nemes, who will retire on July 1.

Neill has served as director of engineering programs for over a decade, overseeing the division’s portfolio of graduate degree programs delivered both in residence and online. During that time, the division has added master’s degree programs in data analytics and artificial intelligence, and enrollment in all the division’s programs has grown by more than 100%. Neill also serves as chair of the University’s steering committee for Empowering Through Digital Innovation and as a member of the World Campus Program Optimization Steering Committee.  

Neill teaches a wide range of software and systems engineering courses in system design and architecture, project management and systems thinking. During his time at Great Valley, Neill has won campus awards for distinguished research, distinguished service and teaching excellence.

Before joining Penn State, Neill worked on time and mission critical system modeling and design and manufacturing systems and production management. He is a senior member of the IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization for the advancement of technology; a member of INCOSE, and serves as associate editor-in-chief of Innovations in Systems and Software Engineering

The University will launch a national search for Great Valley’s next leader in the fall.