University of Scranton president Joseph G. Marina, S.J., introduced that WeiDong Zhu, Ph.D., has been named provost and senior vice chairman for educational affairs, efficient July 2026.
Dr. Zhu was chosen following a extremely aggressive nationwide search and will be a part of the president’s cupboard, offering educational and strategic management to advance the University’s mission. Working intently with deans and college, the provost helps information the event of curricula and directs educational programming throughout the University’s three faculties. The provost is accountable for offering management and oversight for the educational division’s price range; undergraduate and graduate applications; instructing and analysis actions; the University’s library; and the college.
Dr. Zhu involves Scranton from Saint Peter’s University, a Jesuit sister establishment in New Jersey, the place he has served in quite a few educational management roles since being employed in 2007. He is presently the interim vice chairman for educational affairs at Saints Peter’s. Since assuming this position in August 2024, he has guided Saint Peter’s by a interval of serious institutional evolution, creating its latest strategic plan, restructuring educational departments for mission-aligned relevance and infusing Ignatian values into college improvement, core revision and high-impact practices.
“Dr. Zhu brings a breadth of experience and mission-centered leadership to The University of Scranton,” Father Marina stated in a neighborhood e-mail asserting the rent. “He is a deeply accomplished academic leader and scholar whose record and achievements reflect both intellectual distinction and a deeply humanistic approach to higher education, especially in a Catholic and Jesuit setting.”
Beyond his current work as chief educational officer at Saint Peter’s, he was the co-director and later director of its Center for Microplasma Science and Technology from 2009-2018; chair of the Department of Applied Science and Technology, 2014-2018; vice chairman and briefly president of the college senate, 2016-2018; and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, 2018-2024.
As a dean, Dr. Zhu led the biggest school at Saint Peter’s, specializing in educational innovation and monetary and strategic stewardship. Earlier, as division chair, he helped set up new educational concentrations, implement revised curricula and improve lab-based studying for biochemistry, biotechnology and physics applications, in addition to dual-degree engineering partnerships.
Dr. Zhu helped safe greater than $2 million in analysis grants and the institution of the federally funded Center for Microplasma Science and Technology. Through collaborations with companion establishments, Dr. Zhu mentored highschool, undergraduate and graduate college students, serving to develop future scientists.
A primary-generation school scholar, Dr. Zhu was born in China. He got here to the U.S. to pursue a doctoral diploma at Stevens Institute of Technology. He credit his private journey, together with early challenges with language and cultural changes, for shaping his compassionate, community-focused strategy to management.
Dr. Zhu earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Education and a Master of Engineering in Material Science and Engineering from Soochow University in China. He additionally holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the Stevens Institute of Technology. He is a graduate of the 18-month Ignatian Colleagues Program, which included formative experiences akin to a silent retreat on the Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat Center in Colorado and an immersion journey to Lima, Peru.
An completed researcher and scholar in plasma physics, he holds two patents within the United States and six in China, and has had quite a few peer-reviewed journal and convention publications.