Dr. Karen Whitney earned her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Houston and her Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Texas Austin.  

Dr. Whitney has served as president of Clarion University in Clarion Pennsylvania and the Interim Chancellor for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). Previously she was Vice Chancellor For Student Life and Clinical Associate Professor of Education at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). She has also held various leadership positions at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and the University of Houston. 

After a very accomplished career as a leader and executive in higher education, Karen is now passionately focused on working with other leaders, executives and board members to ensure their success in service to their students and institutions. As a nationally recognized organizational and leadership development writer, speaker, consultant and advisor, Karen’s approach is to combine a proven track-record of higher education leadership with a variety of engagement approaches, including advising, coaching, facilitating and training to achieve results.

Karen has had a long association with The Registry, first as a client who appointed several interim senior administrators while leading various universities and later as a member and Interim Chancellor at the University of Illinois Springfield. She currently serves as a Registry Senior Consultant and serves as a Registry Principal for interim placements.