Beginning on July 1, Tonya Peeples, the College of Engineering’s senior associate dean and professor of chemical engineering, will begin her service as the interim Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering.

Peeples will fill Anthony Atchley’s former position as the interim dean of the College of Engineering. Atchley served in the role in an interim capacity starting in August 2022 when former Dean Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering Justin Schwartz began operating as Penn State’s interim executive vice president and provost.

“Since her arrival at Penn State, Tonya has been extraordinarily impactful in helping to shape the college’s culture and its pursuit of a more sustainable, inclusive engineering future,” Schwartz said in a release. “Tonya is a considered, strategic and inclusive leader who will serve the college well.

In the role, Peeples will manage and lead the College of Engineering’s operations, growth, advancement, recruitment, and retainment. Peeples arrived at Penn State in 2018 and functioned as the college’s first associate dean for equity and inclusion. She was influential in establishing a $15.5 million scholarship that covers tuition for 10 engineering students each year and created the College of Engineering’s equity action plan.

Earlier this year, Peeples was promoted to the college’s senior associate dean.

“When I joined the college five years ago, my goal was to contribute to the college’s culture of belonging while advancing the pursuit of excellence in education and research,” Peeples said. “It is an honor to lead colleagues who provide the highest quality education to our students and who perform the highest caliber research to impact the world in substantial ways. Together with faculty, staff, students, alumni and other members of the College of Engineering community, we have made meaningful progress, and I look forward to continuing this important work as interim Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering.”

Peeples also worked in the engineering department at Iowa prior to her arrival in Happy Valley in 2018 and earned her bachelor’s and doctorate degrees from NC State and Johns Hopkins, respectively.