Larry Edward Penley - President of Colorado State University

Dr. Larry Edward Penley became the 13th president of Colorado State University and Chancellor of the CSU System on August 1, 2003. As leader of Colorado State, he is committed to enhance the University’s stature as one of the nation’s premier public research institutions.

Since taking the helm, he’s worked hard to listen to students and faculty about ways to move the University forward. He’s focused on enhancing the quality of the undergraduate experience and on recruiting top high-school students. He’s launched a comprehensive strategic planning effort to better position Colorado State for success -- and he’s fostered closer relationships with federal research partners, the statewide business community and key industries. He also has worked to build the CSU System with a stronger, more supportive relationship between Colorado State and CSU-Pueblo.

President Penley came to Colorado State from Arizona, where he served for many years as a professor of management and dean of the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

His lifelong commitment to higher education took root at Wake Forest University, where he earned a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in Communication. He then went on to earn his doctorate in management at the University of Georgia. Following graduate school, he joined the faculty of the University of Texas at San Antonio. Reflecting his strong commitment to international education and understanding, he also has taught at the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico and the Universidad de Carabobo in Venezuela.

His scholarly research has focused primarily on the skills required of effective managers and the relationship between organizations and their employees. He has published in journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior. His executive training experience and consulting have brought him in contact with industries ranging from manufacturing to banking to health care.

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