Five Women Named to Distinguished Professor Posts at Pennsylvania State University

The vice provost for academic affairs at Pennsylvania State University has announced the appointment of 16 faculty members as Distinguished Professors throughout the Penn State System. Five of the new Distinguished Professors are women.

Reka Albert is a new Distinguished Professor of Physics and Biology in the Eberly College of Science at Penn State. A native of Romania, Dr. Albert earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Babes-Bolyai University in Romania. She earned a Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Beverly Cigler was appointed Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Administration at the Harrisburg campus of Pennsylvania State University. She joined the Penn State faculty in 1988. Previously, she taught at North Carolina State University in Raleigh for nine years. Dr. Cigler is a graduate of Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania, and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in political science from Penn State.

Katherine Freeman was named a Distinguished Professor of Geosciences. She joined the faculty at Penn State in 1997. She is the co-editor of Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Dr. Freeman is a graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in geology at Indiana University.

Susan M. McHale was appointed Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Family Studies in the College of Health and Human Development. Professor McHale joined the Penn State faculty in 1980. She is a graduate of Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Pamela Silver is a new Distinguished Professor of Biology in The Behrend College on the Erie campus of Pennsylvania State University. An aquatic biologist, Dr. Silver joined the Penn State faculty in 1993. She is a graduate of Trenton State University in New Jersey and holds a master’s degree in botany and a Ph.D. in biology from the University of South Florida in Tampa.