Maria Cronley has been named provost/vice president for academic affairs (VPAA) at Ohio Northern University. She will begin her duties Jan. 12, 2017. Cronley is currently associate provost and associate vice president for academic affairs at Miami University in Ohio.

“We are very pleased that Dr. Maria Cronley will be joining the Ohio Northern community in this important position,” said Daniel DiBiasio, ONU president. “Her exceptional experience as a teacher, scholar and administrator will greatly benefit ONU and advance the University's academic mission.”

Cronley joined Miami in 2002, rising through the faculty ranks and serving in several leadership positions, including senior associate dean in the Farmer School of Business prior to being appointed associate provost. An award-winning teacher and scholar who holds the rank of professor, Cronley has served her profession and the university in numerous leadership roles.

As associate provost, Cronley has a wide range of responsibilities, including providing guidance and support to academic personnel, faculty affairs and professional development, governance, e-learning, as well as global initiatives and space utilization.

A native of Marion, Ohio, Cronley earned her BSBA in marketing from Bowling Green State University and her Ph.D. in marketing with a secondary specialization in social psychology from the University of Cincinnati Lindner College of Business.

Her primary research interests center on consumer judgment and decision processes, with specific emphasis in the areas of consumer inference and biased processing, persuasion, and health marketing and communication.
 
Cronley has numerous articles published in scholarly journals, including the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Brand Management, Advances in Consumer Research, Journal of Economic Psychology, Health Communication, and Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. She has won more than two dozen awards and grants for her scholarship and teaching. Cronley also serves on the editorial review board for the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

The provost/VPAA serves as ONU’s chief academic officer and oversees the Office of Academic Affairs in supporting the work of the faculty as well as serving as a core participant in the University’s budget-development and strategic planning.

The five college deans and the director of the University’s general education program directly assist the provost/VPAA in these endeavors. In addition to the overall academic program, the provost/VPAA is responsible for the following areas: University libraries, information technology, institutional research, athletics and the registrar.

“I would like to thank the members of the search committee for their diligence and dedication throughout the search process,” DiBiasio said. Steven J. Martin, dean of the ONU College of Pharmacy, served as chair of the search committee.