(2013 July - 2017 September) Regional Chancellor: Sophia T. Wisniewska

Sophia T. Wisniewska, Ph.D., was appointed Regional Chancellor of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg by USF System President Judy Genshaft, assuming her duties on July 1, 2013.

A scholar of Russian language and literature, Dr. Wisniewska held key leadership positions in the Penn State System, including eight years as chancellor of Penn State Brandywine. She also served six years as dean and chief executive officer at Temple University Ambler.

Born in a small Polish town, Dr. Wisniewska grew up in Philadelphia and became the first member of her family to graduate from college. She earned a Ph.D and a Master of Arts in Russian from Bryn Mawr College and a Bachelor of Arts in Russian with a minor in history from Penn State. Dr. Wisniewska also taught in various capacities at Penn State, Temple University and Bryn Mawr College. She speaks Polish, Russian and French.

As Chancellor of Penn State Brandywine from 2005 to 2013, Dr. Wisniewska served as the chief executive officer and principal academic leader of the Brandywine campus, a metropolitan, commuter campus serving 1,700 students. Her responsibilities included the quality of academic programs in teaching, research and service; strategic planning; budgeting; philanthropy; faculty and staff development; outreach; and alumni relations.

Prior to that, Dr. Wisniewska served as dean and Chief Executive Officer of Temple University Ambler from 1999 to 2005, where she was responsible for overall leadership of Temple University Ambler and Temple University Fort Washington and led the establishment of Ambler College, the 17th College of Temple University. From 1997 to 1999 Dr. Wisniewska was Associate Dean for Academic Programs at Penn State University, The Commonwealth College. She was Administrative Fellow at Penn State University, University Park from 1996 to 1997.

It is the intention of the USF St. Petersburg campus Digital Archive to comply with all U.S. and international copyright restrictions and to respect the intellectual property of all authors whose work is represented in the archive. If any individual or corporate entity has concerns about a specific item, please contact digcol at nelson.usf.edu