Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania President Dr. Craig D. Willis has announced his intention to retire effective July 30, 2004.

“Being at the university has been both extremely rewarding and challenging,” Dr. Willis said. “During these past twenty years many accomplishments have happened, among them a new branch campus, academic programs including master’s and associate degrees to meet our regional needs, appropriate accreditations, international programs, new and renovated buildings, campus beautifications, and more. None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the superior faculty and staff at the University – present, retired and deceased.”

“President Willis has had a long and dedicated tenure at Lock Haven University,” said Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Chancellor Judy G. Hample. “The institution has grown in stature under his leadership and he has contributed greatly to the development of the entire State System. He will be missed.”

Willis has served as president of Lock Haven since 1982. Under his leadership, the university’s annual enrollment has nearly doubled, its number of bachelor’s degree programs has grown from 18 to 65 and it opened a branch campus in Clearfield, initially to help address a critical nursing shortage in the region. Since opening in 1989, the branch campus has undergone several expansions in its mission and now offers seven associate degree programs and several non-credit courses in computer training and continuing education.

Also in the healthcare field, the university under Willis’ direction initiated the physician assistant program, a two-year graduate program granting a Master of Health Science degree in either Rural Primary Care or Corrections Medicine. The first accredited program of its kind in the State System, it has developed into one of the University’s premier programs.

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.