Gypsy Denzine, assistant vice provost of the professional education unit at Northern Arizona University, has been named associate provost of engagement and outreach at West Virginia University. In this position, she will lead and coordinate the University-wide land-grant outreach mission and foster broad engagement with the state.
“We are tremendously excited to welcome Dr. Denzine to this transformative role,” said Provost Michele Wheatly, WVU provost and vice president for academic affairs. “She has extraordinary vision and a commitment to truly understanding the people of this state and our needs.”
Denzine will report directly to the provost and will advocate for the Extension Service, which will report to her through the director of extension. She will work closely with Interim Director Steve Bonanno to strategize the best ways to serve the state’s 55 counties as a major part of a broad engagement plan. Staffing offices in each of West Virginia’s counties, WVU extension agents are WVU faculty members who connect local issues to state and national resources. Their goal is to help individuals, families, businesses and communities apply research-based knowledge to problems and to provide youth and adult educational opportunities.
Denzine will also represent the university in enhancing existing relationships and developing new working alliances with academic, administrative, and community leaders. She will coordinate, catalog and publicize the service and economic development contributions of WVU colleges by working with the deans and with leadership at divisional campuses.
“I am extremely honored to be selected by such a prestigious university as I work to collaborate with others to enhance the well-being and the quality of life of the people of West Virginia,” Denzine said. “West Virginia University demonstrates a very genuine and deep commitment to community engagement as an essential aspect of its institutional mission and identity.
“WVU is a nationally recognized leader in partnering with public and private sectors for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge, talent, and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity,” she said. “I welcome the opportunity to serve the university and the people of West Virginia.”
Denzine, who will begin her new assignment on Oct. 31, also recently served Northern Arizona University as the interim director of the NAU Center for Science Teaching and Learning in the college of engineering, forestry, and natural sciences. She previously served for two years as the dean of the NAU college of education. She served the college of education as the associate dean for eight years.
For the past 11 years, much of her administrative experience has focused on providing access to higher education to citizens in rural communities throughout Arizona. She is a professor of educational psychology and conducts research in the area of college student development, learning, and motivation. Her recent grant-funded activities and publications have been in the area of engineering education.
Denzine has administrative experience in student affairs and has worked at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania and the University of California at Berkeley. She earned a bachelor’s degree in social work and sociology from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. She earned a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Texas at El Paso. Her doctorate is in educational psychology, with an emphasis in human development and learning & cognition, from the University of Northern Colorado.
Elizabeth Dooley, associate provost for undergraduate academic affairs and founding dean of University College at WVU, led the search committee that chose four candidates from a pool of applicants to visit the WVU Morgantown campus in July.
The position of associate provost for extension and public service, a role similar to the one Dr. Denzine is assuming, was last filled by David Miller from 2007 until his retirement in 2011. Bonanno assumed leadership for WVU outreach in his role as interim director of extension at that time and will continue to lead the extension service until a national search is conducted for a permanent replacement.
“Steve stepped in to lead Extension during some critical years for our state,” Wheatly said. “He has done great work on behalf of the university and we are pleased that he will be with us as Dr. Denzine transitions into her new role.”
