Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Vernon B. Harper Jr., Ph.D.

Dr. Vernon B. Harper Jr. is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at CSU Bakersfield (CSUB). As Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Harper oversees the entire academic division including seven administrative units, four academic schools, the Antelope Valley campus and approximately seventy percent of the university’s budget. Dr. Harper has led numerous important initiatives to raise the university’s academic profile, foster community collaborations and improve student success. Recently, Dr. Harper has led a revolutionary partnership with a local community college to improve transfer articulation and graduation rates.

Prior to joining CSU Bakersfield, Dr. Harper was the Associate Vice President for Academic Administration at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Harper had responsibility for many of the operational and resource management areas within academic affairs. His managerial responsibilities were in the areas of undergraduate studies, advising, enrollment management, institutional research and the Frederick Douglass Institute. During his tenure at West Chester University, he coordinated the initial launch of a new campus location in Philadelphia.

Before joining West Chester University, Dr. Harper was the Associate Provost at Wilkes University in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. Dr. Harper was responsible for regional accreditation, assessment and institutional effectiveness. Dr. Harper led a cross-functional team of faculty and administrators to launch the Pocono Education Center in Tannersville, Pennsylvania. Before joining Wilkes University, Dr. Harper was an Associate for Academic Affairs at the State Council for Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV), which is the system administrative body of the sixteen 4-year institutions and twenty-three 2-year institutions in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Dr. Harper was on the faculties of Christopher Newport University in Virginia as an Associate Professor of Communication Studies and as an Assistant Professor of Communication at California State University, San Bernardino. Currently, Dr. Harper is a Professor of Communication Studies at CSU Bakersfield. Dr. Harper is the author of over 15 scholarly articles, which span the fields of psychometrics, electronic communication, assessment, and budget and planning.