University of New England hires Gwendolyn Mahon as next provost

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Community Reports•

BIDDEFORD and PORTLAND — The University of New England is pleased to announce that Gwendolyn Mahon will assume the role of university provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, effective Oct. 24.

Mahon joins UNE with immense experience in several leadership positions over the past

24 years at Rutgers University. For the past seven years, she has served as dean of the Rutgers School of Health Professions. Her previously held positions include associate dean for Administration at the SHP, assistant dean for Research at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and director of Cancer Research Program Development and Planning at the NJMS University Hospital Cancer Center.

In her time as dean, Mahon developed and implemented a five-year strategic plan for the School of Health Professions and successfully reshaped its offerings to adjust to the changing higher education and health care landscapes. She opened new graduate level programs in occupational therapy, bilingual speech language pathology, clinical nutrition, and health informatics and developed new partnerships for articulation and dual/joint degrees with the schools of Public Health and Arts and Sciences. Under her leadership, Rutgers’ health profession programs have risen dramatically in national prominence.

As a first-generation college graduate who received a Master of Science in medical genetics from the University of British Columbia and a Ph.D. in biomedical science from Rutgers, Mahon is passionate about helping others access the opportunities that higher education has provided her.

“Dr. Mahon’s vast array of academic and professional accomplishments, in addition to her keen understanding of the importance of a student-centered philosophy and a community-engaged approach in higher education, give me tremendous confidence that she is perfectly suited to her new role as UNE’s provost,” said UNE President James Herbert.

Mahon has led interprofessional education activities, assessing, supporting, and growing collaborative, interprofessional programming at Rutgers and across all the hospitals within the Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health system — the largest health system in New Jersey — with whom Rutgers maintains a strategic alliance.

Mahon’s well-funded research has made important contributions to the field of molecular oncology and integrative care. In addition, her experience in strategic research leadership and management includes overseeing a large research enterprise at NJMS that included six core facilities and a portfolio of $90 million in extramural funding. In her current role as dean, she grew faculty grant submissions ten-fold and extramural funding five-fold over a seven-year period.

As a professor in the SHP and the Rutgers NJMS, and having taught both in-person and online courses, she is committed to providing students with a superior classroom experience.

“I am a firm believer in the art of teaching and understand that quality instruction is at the heart of educational excellence,” Mahon said. “I look forward to bringing my passions for research and extraordinary classroom experiences as well as my inclusive leadership style to UNE in the position of provost.”