Peter H. Garland, who has served as executive director of the State Board of Education since 1993, has been appointed Executive Associate to the Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

Garland will serve as a senior adviser to Chancellor Judy G. Hample and will assist the chancellor in a liaison role with vice chancellors, university presidents, the Board of Governors and other senior staff. He also will coordinate a variety of special projects and will represent the chancellor in policy and budget matters and in other System interests with external constituencies.

“Dr. Garland has a wealth of experience in both educational policy and program development and has demonstrated throughout his career the ability to bring together diverse groups to work toward common goals,” Hample said. “He will be a valuable addition to the Office of the Chancellor and to the entire Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.”

As Executive Director of the State Board, Garland was responsible for identifying key issues of concern to the Board, then conducting research and analysis on those issues and developing policy recommendations. In doing so, he worked closely with both the Governor’s Office and the Legislature, as well as with educational and business organizations and the public. He most recently was involved in the development of new academic standards for elementary and secondary schools in Pennsylvania and in the creation of new requirements for teacher preparation and certification.

Previously, Garland was Assistant Commissioner for Postsecondary and Higher Education for the Pennsylvania Department of Education. He also served in several other positions within the department, including Acting Commissioner/Deputy Secretary for Postsecondary and Higher Education, Director of the Bureau of Postsecondary Services, Executive Assistant to the Commissioner for Higher Education and Senior Program Analyst in the Office of Higher Education Financing.

Garland spent two years as a research assistant in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Pennsylvania State University. He also was an assistant director and coordinator of residence hall programs at Penn State.

Garland earned bachelor’s degrees in English and psychology and a master’s degree in educational administration from The College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in political science and a doctoral degree in higher education from Penn State.

He has numerous publications to his credit and has reviewed articles for the Association for the Study of Higher Education and the American Educational Research Association. He has lectured or offered seminars at a number of institutions, including East Stroudsburg and Shippensburg Universities of Pennsylvania, Penn State and Duquesne, Lehigh and New York universities.

With more than 98,600 students, the Pennsylvania 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.