Carey McDougall, Regional Chancellor, Penn State Beaver I Penn State Shenango
Carey McDougall, regional chancellor of both Penn State Beaver and Penn State Shenango, spoke with Invest: about the campuses becoming integral partners in the growth of Western Pennsylvania. “We are entering a new phase in Beaver County where we will see significant and transformative development . Penn State Beaver will be offering degrees connected to the industrial growth in the region and will help feed the workforce with our internship students and graduates,” McDougall said.
What key changes over the past year have impacted Penn State and higher education, and in what ways?
Higher education is going through significant and unprecedented changes, specifically in relation to how the demographics related to high-school graduates are declining. In addition, the pandemic and our current polarized political atmosphere, have greatly influenced how people make decisions about the future of their lives.
These are exciting challenges to face because we have an opportunity to make paradigmatic changes in higher education. Higher education needs to do a better job of clearly articulating the return on investment that a college degree provides., bringing more clarity to the advantages of obtaining a degree and how it changes the trajectory of one’s life, both in terms of career opportunities and personal growth. Given the rapid changes of technology and globalization, our day-to-day jobs are changing faster than ever before. Higher ed is in a unique position to set up our students to thrive as agile employees who can teach and apply themselves to any task through creative and critical thinking, particularly as jobs adapt to changes so quickly. Articulating attractive career paths for graduates is a major focus for Penn State Beaver, especially in relation to industry growth in the region. The access to different types of in-demand degrees and professional credentials in specific careers available at Penn State Beaver can lead to lifelong success for our graduates.
How is Penn State Beaver addressing the challenge of attracting talent and developing workforce pathways, especially given its proximity to Pittsburgh?
One of the things that the smaller campuses across the state do well is impact their communities. For example, I serve on the board of the Beaver County Corporation for Economic Development which brings economic development and industry to the county, Penn State Beaver paves pathways to higher education to fill workforce needs for those industries. We work together as we are committed to attracting more young families to the area.
Partnerships with businesses are also important. For example, Shell invested billions into a new polyethylene plant just a few miles from campus. As a result, I meet with Shell leaders on a regular basis to find ways to partner. Shell leadership comes into our classrooms to talk to students about different challenges and successes at the plant, and how the economic development of Shell impacts the region. With our new Keystone Animal Diagnostic Lab coming this fall, we are also committed to helping agriculture in other ways, too. One of those ways is partnering with Penn State Extension, which is located on our campus, on a project with a local cattle farmer who wanted to introduce and study the effects of best management practices, such as establishment of a riparian buffer. The farmer, currently working with funding from local and state agencies, is in the process of implementing a riparian buffer on the property and we are collaborating with the farmer and experts from various organizations to provide opportunities for our students to study the effects of these practices. The riparian buffer should prevent and filter organic matter from entering the stream located on the farm. We have an excellent environmental resource management faculty member working with a small group of students on independent studies with the farmer.
What can you share about your sustainability efforts and partnerships with local industry?
We have many small partnerships that add up to a large impact. For example, we were able to reduce the costs associated with caring for and maintaining a large section of the campus grounds by partnering with a generous donor to embark on turning a portion of our on-campus acreage into a sustainable, biodiverse meadow over a three-year period, with trails and signage designed by our biology students. We have also partnered with Penn State Extension on this project, to use the meadow as a teaching lab as we develop it so other members of the community can learn how to transform turf into sustainable meadows. In addition, faculty in our biology program are out in the community doing research on sustainability and regional plant life with community partners, including Reforest Our Future and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. And Penn State’s College of Agriculture received a $6 million allocation from the state in 2025 to bring the Keystone Animal Diagnostic Lab to the campus, where farmers in Western Pennsylvania can bring specimens and livestock to diagnose issues. STEM and 2+2 agriculture students will be able to help in the lab and get hands-on experience.
What are the main challenges facing Penn State Beaver in the current environment, and how is your campus turning those challenges into opportunities?
There are three higher education institutions in Beaver County, including Penn State Beaver, the Community College of Beaver County, and a private institution, Geneva College. Together, we have a consortium called Bridges and Pathways which focuses on creating clear pathways for all Beaver County students into higher education and simultaneously helping economic development by filling workforce needs. We are focusing this year’s work on identifying what will attract young families to the region and partnering with Flourish Beaver County to ensure youth of all ages have an excellent wellness and education experience in the county.
The average rate of retention in higher ed and years to graduation have much room for improvement in higher education. One of the ways our faculty and staff are approaching this challenge is by utilizing AI to become more efficient at simple tasks and focusing more time engaging with students to provide the one-on-one assistance that they need in order to be successful. Penn State’s new provost is committed to all first-year students becoming AI-literate during their first year as well as all employees over the next year. These are challenging but exciting times because we have the chance to set the course for higher education for the next 50 years.
Looking ahead to the next two to three years, what are the top goals and priorities for Penn State Beaver?
Our top goal is to clarify how our degree portfolio is attuned with career opportunities in Western Pennsylvania, across Pennsylvania, and across the nation, as well as with student interest. We will continue to do this by being in conversation with industry partners.
A second goal is to improve student retention and graduation rates through effective student success practices. This includes meeting students where they are, providing them with engaged learning opportunities that connect to career potentials, and ensuring that they have holistic support in and out of the classroom.
And lastly a third goal is to have more community impact. We want the entire community to be able to clearly say how Penn State Beaver has impacted their lives. There is significant industry investments being made in Beaver County and Western PA that are building on Shell’s footprint, and will benefit greatly from the modernization program at the Pittsburgh International Airport. For example, Mitsubishi Electric Power Products has broken ground on their new advanced switchgear facility, creating opportunities for our engineering students. We will continue to partner with these industries to explore educational opportunities for our students and help meet the career needs of the region.
