Widener University Names Stephen Wilhite Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Chester, Pa. – Dr. Stephen Wilhite of Philadelphia, Pa. has been appointed provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Widener University. He has served as acting provost since June when Dr. Jo Allen left the university to become president of Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C. 

As provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, Wilhite oversees the administrative and curricular work of planning, budgeting, goal-setting and assessment of academic programs for the university’s eight schools and colleges. He also oversees the Student Affairs division of the university, and special programming such as honors, cooperative education and academic support programs. 

“Stephen Wilhite has demonstrated his commitment to Widener’s mission and has been a leader in promoting it nationally,” said Widener University President James T. Harris III. “Dr. Wilhite is an ideal candidate for this role, and I am delighted he is willing to serve in this important capacity.”

Prior to assuming the role of acting provost, Wilhite served as associate provost for graduate studies and as founding dean of the School of Human Service Professions, which includes the Center for Education, the Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology, the Center for Social Work Education, and the Institute for Physical Therapy Education. He was also a driving force behind the development of the Widener Partnership Charter School – the state’s first university-based charter school – serving as the first chair of its board. 

Wilhite joined Widener in 1983 as an assistant professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1988, he was named the assistant provost for graduate studies and director of the Honors Program in General Education. He was promoted to full professor and associate provost in 1993, and the School of Human Service Professions was founded that same year.

A native of Tennessee, Wilhite attended Emory University in Atlanta, where he graduated with highest honors. Upon his graduation, he earned a Marshall Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford in England, where he earned his doctorate in human experimental psychology.