Paul B. Marion, Jr. is an American university administrator and academic. During his long career in university administration, he served as director of higher education for the

State of Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

, chancellor of the State College System of West Virginia, and presidents of the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities, Franklin College in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and

Tiffin University Tiffin University is a private university in Tiffin, Ohio. It was founded in 1888 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs at the main campus in Tiffin, Ohio; the Unive ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Early life

Marion is from

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, North Carolina. He earned his bachelor of arts degree from

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

, a master of arts degree from

California State University at Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

, and a doctorate from the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...

Career

Between 1968 and 1978, Marion held several administrative positions at California State University at Fresno, the World Campus Afloat (now Semester at Sea), the University of Colorado at Boulder, and

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

. He served as assistant vice president of the General Administration of the University of North Carolina system from 1978 until 1983, when he was named associate vice president of the institution. Beginning in 1985, Marion served as the director of higher education for the

. In May 1990, he was selected to become chancellor of the State College System of West Virginia. As chancellor, Marion was head of ten institutions, which then included

Bluefield State College Bluefield State University (Bluefield State) is a university in Bluefield, West Virginia that is an historically black university. It is a part of West Virginia's public education system and converted to a university in the summer of 2022. It ad ...

, Concord College,

Fairmont State College Fairmont State University is a public university in Fairmont, West Virginia. History Fairmont State University’s roots reach back to the formation of public education in the state of West Virginia. The first private normal school in West Vir ...

, Glenville State College, Shepherd College, Southern West Virginia Community College,

West Liberty State College West Liberty University (WLU) is a public university in West Liberty, West Virginia. It is West Virginia's oldest institution of higher education. It offers more than 70 undergraduate majors plus graduate programs, including a master's degree i ...

West Virginia Tech West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech, WVIT, WVU Beckley, or West Virginia Tech) is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University. History The college was founded in 189 ...

, West Virginia Northern Community College, and West Virginia State College. In 1993, he was appointed the president of the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities. The organization represented 116 public and private colleges and universities in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Marion also taught courses at several universities, was a member of several professional associations, national and state boards and commissions, published articles in academic journals, and made many presentations at national, regional, and state higher education conferences. In 1997, Marion was appointed the 14th president of Franklin College in

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

. Marion served as Franklin College’s president for five years in which he was able to increase student enrollment by twenty-seven percent and reorganize the departmental structure of the school, among his other accomplishments, before departing June 2002. In July 2002, he became the fourth president of

in Tiffin,

. During his tenure, enrollment increased from 1,500 to more than 4,200 students, new facilities were constructed, several new academic programs were added, and the university joined the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

and the Great Lakes Athletic Conference. In October 2014, Marion announced that he would retire at the end of the school year in summer 2015, after serving at the university for thirteen years. In 2016, the University dedicated the Marion Center in honor of the now-former university president and his wife.

Personal life

Marion is married to Susan Marion, a former elementary and later high school teacher. They have two daughters; Martha Marion, an actor and voice actor in Los Angeles, California, and Katherine Marion, an executive at Lyft, Inc. After their retirement, they planned on moving to Tucson, Arizona.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marion, Paul Living people People from Charlotte, North Carolina Franklin College (Indiana) faculty Tiffin University people Davidson College alumni California State University, Fresno alumni University of Colorado Boulder alumni Year of birth missing (living people)