Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean

Dr. Levon T. Esters was named dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate education at Penn State in December 2022, beginning his appointment on May 1, 2023.

Dr. Esters is a nationally recognized scholar on mentoring, equity, and diversity in STEM-based agricultural and life sciences disciplines. His research focuses on the mentoring needs of Black graduate students, the STEM career development of students attending Historically Black Land Grant Universities, and educational and professional mobility and development of graduate students. Dr. Esters is also an adjunct professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University and a senior research associate at the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions.

Prior to joining Penn State, he served as associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion and faculty affairs for Purdue University’s Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Esters earned a B.S. in Agricultural Business from Florida A&M University, an M.S. in Agricultural Education from North Carolina A&T State University, and a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Extension Education from Penn State.

Goals from the Dean's Office

Since taking over his role in the spring of 2023, Dean Esters has continued to push graduate education and the graduate community at Penn State in a forward direction. Esters stepped into his role at Penn State and works every day with two overarching goals:

For Esters and the Graduate School team, student success is measured in multiple ways:

These accomplishments come from opportunities that are offered to graduate students, ranging from academic panels and career and wellness events to the Graduate Exhibition, which has been a Penn State tradition for decades, and the Three Minute Thesis competition, something Esters helped bring to Penn State for the first time in 2024.

Esters also continues to put time and effort into connecting with students and promoting their success, including hosting Coffee Chats with the Dean monthly, meeting with student organization leaders, and more.

In his tenure as dean, Esters has continued the academic standard at the University, with twenty programs and specialties in seven different disciplines ranked in the top ten in the 2024 U.S. News & World Report, “America’s Best Graduate Schools” rankings.

With a goal of continuing to improve graduate education programming throughout the University, Esters is focusing on:

If you are interested in reaching out to the Office of Dean Esters, please fill out the contact form on the Graduate School website.