UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Andrea Dowhower, associate vice president for Student Affairs, has been named interim vice president for Student Affairs at Penn State, effective Feb. 1. She will be stepping into this role to replace Damon R. Sims, who is leaving the position after nearly 15 years. The University plans to conduct a national search for Sims’ successor within the coming months.
As part of this leadership transition and to assure that all areas within Student Affairs continue to support the academic and personal success of students, Philip Burlingame will return to Penn State on a temporary basis to serve as interim associate vice president to fill Dowhower’s newly created vacancy. Burlingame, who held a leadership role in Student Affairs since 1999, retired from Penn State in 2017 as associate vice president in Student Affairs. He has been actively engaged in volunteer work developing and presenting workshops on student mental health for teachers at rural school districts in the Centre region. He also is a co-founder of the Centre Coalition for Ukraine, a group that has been raising funds to support Ukrainian refugee families in the State College area.
As interim vice president for Student Affairs, Dowhower will now provide strategic leadership and guidance to the entire division of 500 full-time and nearly 1,000 part-time staff members throughout this transitional period. Charged with implementing and promoting student success, Dowhower will oversee policies, procedures, operations and resources of the 33-unit division, which is responsible for providing programs and services that assist in the healthy development of students at Penn State. Through its mission, Student Affairs supports and challenges students as they expand their learning beyond the classroom and develop their personal and professional understanding and skills. This mission also includes helping students achieve the success they seek at Penn State and in their lives beyond the University.
Dowhower has worked in higher education for over 30 years and has been with Penn State for 20 of those years. Before accepting the role of interim vice president, she has held the position of associate vice president for Student Affairs since 2017, overseeing the Parents Program, Campus Recreation, University Health Services, and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). In this position, she has oversight for budgets exceeding $50 million and is responsible for 275 full-time and 700 part-time staff. She serves as a primary liaison among University Park Student Affairs and the 19 Commonwealth Campuses, and coordinates support for a variety of units, including Career Services, Student Activities, Student Conduct, Title IX, and multiple others.
Dowhower also co-supervises and provides leadership for student transition issues and created an enhanced two-day student orientation program to address the issue. Dowhower also advocated for change-of-campus and transfer students by initiating a cohesive transition program and assists with the coordination of the President’s Convocation.
During her tenure with Penn State, Dowhower has also led efforts to create the University-wide Coalition on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity to help the growing network of LGBTQIA+ students across the Commonwealth Campuses. After identifying a need for more inclusion, she helped transition the group into the Coalition on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, expanding the focus to include multiple other identities across Penn State. Before her AVP roles, Dowhower served as director and senior research analyst (2004-2009) for Student Affairs Research and Assessment, where she explored various student-focused issues and usedresearch to shape strategic planning and decision-making.
In addition, Dowhower has served on multiple University-wide committees, including the Middle States Accreditation Self Study Working Group; Transforming Education Steering Committee; International Student Recruitment and Experience Task Force; and co-chair of the Presidential Task Force addressing food and housing security.
She holds a doctorate in educational policy and leadership from Ohio State and a master’s of education degree in counselor education from Penn State.