Dr. Mary W. Burger, vice chancellor for academic policy, planning and assessment, has been named as interim chancellor of the State System of Higher Education, effective June 30, 2001.

Dr. Burger, who came to the State System in 1993, will serve until a permanent chancellor takes office or until the interim chancellor has been relieved of the chancellor’s duties and responsibilities. Dr. Burger will replace Chancellor James H. McCormick, who will become chancellor of the Minnesota State College and University system next month. Dr. McCormick has served as the State System’s only chancellor since its founding in 1983.

A search and screen committee is in the process of reviewing potential candidates to serve as the next permanent chancellor. The committee is expected to select several finalists and invite the candidates to Harrisburg for interviews later this month.

In the meantime, the executive committee of the Board of Governors met today to select the interim chancellor. Dr. Burger will oversee the operations of the Office of the Chancellor and will serve as the State System’s chief executive.

“Dr. Burger has served the State System very well over the years,” said Board of Governors Chairman Charles A. Gomulka. “We are confident that her outstanding experience and leadership will keep Pennsylvania’s public universities on a steady course until the permanent chancellor is named.”

Burger was named to the position of vice chancellor for academic affairs on August 16, 1993. She previously was vice president for academic affairs at California State University (CSU), Sacramento. Prior to joining CSU Sacramento, Dr. Burger served as vice president for academic affairs at Tennessee State University. She also has held the position of assistant vice president for academic affairs for the University of Maryland System and assistant provost in the division of arts and humanities at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Dr. Burger also has held faculty positions as professor and assistant professor of English at CSU, Sacramento; Tennessee State University; the University of Maryland, College Park; the University of Missouri at St. Louis; and Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri.

She holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff; a master of arts degree in English literature from Colorado State University; and a doctor of philosophy degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

With more than 96,000 students, the State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. More than 360,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.