UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After 29 years with Penn State, Candice “Candy” Yekel, associate vice president for Research and director of the Office for Research Protections, will transition to a phased retirement, beginning July 1.

Yekel has served for nine years in her current role in the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research. Her purview spans human subjects research, animal research, drone safety, research integrity, conflict of interest and more.

Lora Weiss, senior vice president for Research, reflected, “Candy’s contributions to Penn State Research and to the broader University community have been extensive and impressive, and her commitment to research excellence has been unyielding.”

Yekel holds a bachelor of science degree in psychology and a master of science in developmental psychology, both from Penn State.

At Penn State, Yekel held positions of increasing responsibility, starting in 1994 as a compliance coordinator with responsibility for four programs. In 1997, she was promoted to director of the Office for Research Protections. In 2012, she became assistant vice president for Research, and in 2015, associate vice president for Research.

In her current position, Yekel has oversight and responsibility for 15 research compliance programs, along with research integrity education and outreach. She led the effort for Penn State to obtain its first international level accreditation for human and animal research programs; to maintain accreditation, these programs are evaluated every three to five years and continue to receive praise for their excellence. In 2005, Candy started the first Big Ten IRB (Institutional Review Board) Administrators group where IRB administrators across the conference meet to discuss common issues, interpret new regulations, and address complex situations. She also held positions as council chair, member and site visitor for the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Program in Washington, D.C.

Beginning July 1, Yekel will transition to 60% capacity for one year and then transition to 40% for the second year until reaching full retirement.

"We are fortunate to have Candy provide overlap and continuity,” said Weiss. “We look forward to working with her throughout the transition.”

During this transition there will be resources to ensure an uninterrupted level of service, said Weiss, who added that a national search is currently underway for Yekel's successor.