As a young girl growing up in Maryland, Dr. Tina Richardson knew she wanted to be a psychologist.
“I am the ninth of 10 kids,” says Richardson. “I was an observer; I was more of an introvert. I had eight older siblings to watch go through college and establish a career path, which helped shape me.” After receiving her undergraduate degree at the University of Maryland, she was accepted into a Ph.D. program, where she earn-ed a master’s and doctorate in counseling psychology.
“My mentor at University of Maryland was a research scholar with an international reputation,” she says. “She saw me as someone who would follow in her footsteps, but I had a slightly different plan for myself.” After working as a staff psychologist at Kansas State University, Richardson was introduced to an entirely different side of higher education. She landed an opportunity to teach in the counseling psychology department at Lehigh University, where she would work for the next 20 years.
“Earning a Ph.D. to become a psychologist and then a professor really positioned me to do a host of wonderful things: being a Fulbright Scholar and traveling internationally, chairing a committee on international relations in psychology, chairing a committee at the United Nations and working on interdisciplinary teams to do global and international work,” says Richardson.
She brought that passion to Penn State Lehigh Valley in 2015, when she was offered the opportunity to become school chancellor. “I was drawn to Penn State because of how accessible it is,” says Richardson. “We offer an incredible value for a degree that is known and respected worldwide.” As chancellor, Richardson’s notable achievements include her strong growth in total enrollment as well as being the driving force behind the school’s partnership with Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC) and the subsequent Collective Impact Scholarship Fund. “The Collective Impact Scholarship Fund benefits students who want to attend college, but have limited means to afford it,” she says. “This fund provides last-dollar support to students who graduate from one of the high schools in the Lehigh Valley and go on to attend LCCC or Penn State Lehigh Valley.”
And yet, Richardson’s driving force behind her incredibly successful career in education has always been rooted in her fundamental passion for learning. “I’m a firm believer that education is life changing,” says Richardson. “All students should have the chance to benefit from high-quality education and the inspiration that follows.”
