Monaca – In a unanimous vote, the Community College of Beaver County’s Board of Trustees named Dr. Christopher M. Reber as the college’s next president.
“Both the board and the campus community felt that Dr. Reber provided the best mix of skills and experiences to lead CCBC through the next phase of its evolution,” said board of trustees chairperson Helen Kissick. “His expertise in higher education administration and his student-focused approach to leadership and learning will guide CCBC moving forward.”
Reber has devoted his entire 33-year career to higher education. He currently serves as executive dean of Venango College of Clarion University, Oil City, where he is the chief administrative and academic officer.
“We are so very proud of Dr. Reber and his many accomplishments on behalf of our students, Venango College of Clarion University and the community over the past 12 years,” said Dr. Karen Whitney, president, Clarion University, who nominated Reber for the CCBC president position. “We wish him well as he begins the next journey of his professional career."
In his letter to the board, Reber stated, “I am inspired by the (CCBC’s) mission and vision statements, strategic plan, and the goals and expectations that you have articulated for the next president. These statements -- and their inherent values -- are entirely consistent with my interests, skills, experiences, and educational and leadership philosophy.”
During the last 12 years at Clarion University, Reber led major growth at Venango College, where today it offers a ladder of credentials at the certificate, associate, baccalaureate and graduate degree levels. Under his leadership, the college achieved record-breaking enrollments and developed a variety of new programs designed to address community and regional needs, supported by new and expanded academic units and staff and a growing network of partnerships with business, industrial, health care, human services and educational organizations.
Reber led two strategic planning processes for Venango College, involving all university constituencies and community leaders. He and his colleagues raised over $12 million in private support for the college, including support for scholarships and apartment-style student housing. Reber has worked closely with community leaders and organizations to help address workforce, economic development and quality-of-life needs and to contribute to the development of a vision and plans for future community directions.
Reber’s career also includes 18 years at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, where he served on the senior management team in several positions including Behrend’s equivalent of two vice presidencies: chief development, university relations and alumni relations officer, during a successful $50 million capital campaign; and chief student affairs officer. In the 1980s, Reber served as chief continuing education officer and director of the human resource development division at Lakeland Community College near Cleveland.
Reber taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate counselor education courses and held faculty status in Penn State’s College of Education. He is the author of numerous papers, articles and other publications, and is active in a wide range of professional associations.
Reber holds a bachelor’s degree in Latin from Dickinson College, a master’s degree in college student personnel administration from Bowling Green State University, and a doctorate in higher education from the University of Pittsburgh. He also holds a post-graduate certificate from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.
Reber became executive dean of Clarion University–Venango Campus, later named Venango College, on July 8, 2002. He serves on a variety of regional boards and is a member of many community organizations. Reber lives in Franklin and is the father of two children: Jonathan Reber, age 17, and Katherine Reber, age 15. Reber and his partner, Kerry Stetler, plan to live in the Beaver County area soon.
The college and the board of trustees worked in partnership with R.H. Perry & Associates to conduct its nationwide presidential search. A committee consisting of campus and community stakeholders reviewed 61 applicant packets before selecting four candidates who participated in campus and communitywide open forums during the weeks of April 21 and April 28