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DALLAS TWP. &mdash; Misericordia University has a new president, at least for one year. The school announced Thursday morning that Kathleen Cieplak Owens will serve as the president for the 2020-21 academic year. The plan is to begin a nationwide search this fall for someone to fill the post long-term.
				Owens served most recently as president of Gwynedd Mercy University in Lower Gwynedd Township in Montgomery County, from 2002 until her retirement in August 2017.
				&ldquo;I am honored to serve as president of this outstanding university for the 2020-2021 academic year,&rdquo; Owens said in a media release announcing she assumed Misericordia&rsquo;s top spot July 1. &ldquo;Misericordia is a thriving university dedicated to preparing students to lead lives of consequence in their professions, their communities, and the world. Misericordia&rsquo;s success is driven by the talented, imaginative, dedicated, and hardworking faculty and staff who always seek to improve how we serve our students and the community. My professional experience has given me a deep respect for the Sisters of Mercy, our institution&rsquo;s founders, and I look forward to collaborating with the campus community to fulfill our mission and to position the university for the future.&rdquo;
				Gwynedd Mercy went from college to university in 2013, during Owens&rsquo;s tenure. She led the development of new academic programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels, including doctoral programs in nursing and education, and helped add online degrees and international programs.
				According to the release, Owens completed a campus master plan and transportation improvement plan, added several new and renovated campus facilities, and increased enrollment, which included new instructional locations in Philadelphia, East Norriton and Bensalem. She spearheaded Gwynedd Mercy&rsquo;s first comprehensive capital campaign, securing the largest gift in the university&rsquo;s history to help establish the Frances M. Maguire School of Nursing and Health Professions. In the end, she exceeded campaign goals nine months before the official end.
				Owens has served on several national and regional boards, including as board chair for the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania, board chair for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Consortium for Higher Education, vice chair/executive committee member of the Council of Independent Colleges, board chair for the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities, board member for the Conference for Mercy Higher Education, executive committee member for the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, presidential sponsor for the American Council on Education&rsquo;s Pennsylvania Women&rsquo;s Network, and board chair/trustee emerita for Project Home, a Philadelphia-based organization dedicated to serving people who are homeless. She completed service as a trustee at Medaille College in Buffalo, New York, and a term on the NCAA Division III Presidents&rsquo; Council.
				Owens received the Philadelphia Smart CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Award for Top Female CEOs, Outstanding Leadership Award from Synergis Education, Montgomery County Foundation&rsquo;s Woman of Distinction for 2016, and Montgomery County Community College Foundation&rsquo;s Woman of the Year in 2017. She garnered citations from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Pennsylvania Senate in 2017 for exemplary service to higher education in the Commonwealth. Owens currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Lewis University, a private Roman Catholic and Lasallian university in Romeoville, Illinois.
				Her higher education experience includes vice president of academic affairs at Saint Francis University in Loretto and dean and professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at Lewis University.
				Owens received her doctoral and Bachelor of Science degrees from Loyola University Chicago, and her master&rsquo;s degree from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.

Misericordia names president for 2020-21