College Leadership

Elizabeth (Betty) Rider

President Betty Rider was named President of Elizabethtown College on November 2, 2022.  A veteran in higher education, she has been serving in various roles from faculty to administrative positions at Etown for more than 30 years. She spent the first half of her career at Etown as a faculty member in the Department of Psychology and the second half in various administrative positions. She assumed the position of Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs in 2016. In this position, she was the Chief Academic Officer of the College and provided appropriate leadership with other administrators. She worked closely with the Associate Provosts and Deans and provided strategic direction and oversight to the College's academic programs, including those offered through the School of Graduate and Professional Studies. President Rider also oversees the College's seven academic schools.

President Rider is a graduate of Gettysburg College and has master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from Vanderbilt University. She also completed Harvard’s Institute for Educational Management.

Gerald Silberman

Gerald (Jerry) Silberman is the Senior Vice President of Administration and Finance for Elizabethtown College. Starting in 2019, Silberman came to Etown with an extensive background in higher education specifically in the areas of finance, information technology, human resources, operations, public safety and security and strategic planning. Working in collaboration with the senior management team, he leads the College’s budget and financial operations, oversees the Human Resources Office, and works closely with the President to develop and execute the College’s Strategic Plan. Prior to his role as VP of Administration and Finance, Silberman served as Vice President of Administration and Finance, Comptroller, and Director of Accounting at Kutztown University.  Since 2007, he's managed the state university's annual operating budget of more than $175 Million.  He supervised KU's Office of Human Resources, Facility Operations and management, Auxiliary Operations, Construction Services, and Public Safety and Police Services. In addition, Silberman has served as a reviewer on the Middle States Commission on Higher Education evaluating several colleges and universities in the mid-Atlantic region.

Silberman holds a Master of Science in Computer and Information Science from Kutztown University, a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Muhlenberg College, and completed Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management. He is a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Certified Public Account (CPA).

Brian Falck

Brian Falck serves as the Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Falck has had a career in higher education for 25 years. He has served in multiple capacities in administrative leadership positions as well as within the classroom for Otterbein University and Ithaca College in arts management. He further developed his fundraising career and campaign experience in developing major and planned giving programs at Ithaca College, Gettysburg College, and Dickinson College. Most recently at Dickinson as Associate Vice President, Falck helped to restructure the Advancement team and strengthen or launch several initiatives including the implementation of a signature donor engagement process for an adaptive campaign. He is honored to be serving his alma mater as Vice President for Institutional Advancement and looks forward to a new era of sustainable growth for Etown. He and his spouse Kelly Calnon Falck ’97, who serves as the Executive Director of The Lion Foundation in Camp Hill, live in Dillsburg and have three daughters ranging from middle school to college-age, where his family is active in serving the community and school activities.

Falck earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Elizabethtown College and his Master of Science degree in arts administration from Drexel University while completing his thesis at Lehigh University's Zoellner Arts Center.

Kristi Kneas

Kristi A. Kneas was named Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in March 2022. Prior to her current appointment, Provost Kneas served as Associate Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs. She has been a member of the Blue Jay community since 2006 progressing through the faculty ranks to Professor of Chemistry, and having worked previously in leadership roles as Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Dean for Academic Affairs and Faculty Development.

As the chief academic program officer of the College, Kneas reports directly to the President, serves as a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and as liaison to the Academic Mission and Student Experience Committee of the Board of Trustees, and works closely with the School Deans and other academic leaders and Center Directors to provide strategic direction and oversight of the College’s academic and co-curricular programs. She is responsible for educational personnel issues including faculty appointments and tenure and promotion reviews and for advising the President on all major matters of resource allocation within the academic areas of the College including construction and other capital projects, space allocation, and distribution of new positions within the faculty.

Kneas earned an A.B. in Chemistry from Randolph-Macon Woman's College and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Virginia.  She has completed Harvard's Institute for Educational Management and the Council of Independent College's Senior Leadership Academy.

Bob Kerin

Bob Kerin joined Elizabethtown College in 2021 and brings a wealth of experience and background in overseeing operations including infrastructure and process efficiency, customer relations, and revenue generation and containment. Prior to joining Etown, Kerin served as the Mobilization and Solution Design Director at Sodexo where he oversaw senior care facilities.

Kerin received his MBA at West Chester University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Grove City College.

Kesha Morant Williams

Kesha Morant Williams is the Senior Advisor for College Diversity, Equity & Belonging at Elizabethtown College. In this role, she is responsible for providing college-wide vision and leadership with DEIB efforts. She is an accomplished communicator, researcher, and advocate who is committed to building human and social capital in academic and community spaces. Her scholarship and other professional experiences are vested in creating space for identity and voice for marginalized or non-dominant experiences. She is well published in academic and popular press.

Morant Williams is a keynote speaker, presenter, and facilitator working with groups such as Philadelphia Futures, Johnson & Johnson, Compass Mark, Lancaster County Community Foundation, Penn State College of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson Medical School, and Temple University. She is a recipient of the National Communication Association Rex Crawley Service Award and is a YWCA Lancaster Women of Achievement.

Morant Williams earned a Ph.D. from Howard University in Communication and Culture, a master’s degree in Humanities from Penn State Harrisburg, and a baccalaureate degree in Communication Studies from West Chester University.

Nichole Gonzalez

Nichole Gonzalez joined the College in August of 2020 as Director of Title IX, Compliance Programs and Intercultural Affairs. In July 2021, Gonzalez was promoted to the role of Dean of Students. With more than 25 years of experience in the field, she has worked to strengthen the College’s student life culture, programming, and diversity, equity and belonging efforts. Prior to coming to Elizabethtown College, Gonzalez served in the Student Affairs Division at St. Bonaventure University, a small private institution in Western New York. Gonzalez comes with extensive experience in Residence Life and Housing, Student Conduct, Title IX, and Diversity, Equity and Belonging.

Gonzalez holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English from the State University of New York, College at Fredonia, and a Master in Business Administration from St. Bonaventure University.

Keri Straub

Keri Straub is the Vice President for Marketing, Communications & External Relations, and Liaison to the Board of Trustees at Elizabethtown College. Currently, she is also Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management, overseeing and leading the Admissions and Operations teams.

For more than 15 years, Straub has worked in both the education and broadcast television industries bringing a wealth of experience in public relations, media relations, marketing, digital, strategic, and crisis communications. A former news reporter and producer, Straub has an extensive background within the media industry and serves as the College spokesperson managing media inquiries, pitches, and editorial content for the College. Straub also leads the institution's enrollment marketing and oversees the digital and web functions as well as the strategic communication efforts for the institution. She also serves as executive editor of the Elizabethtown College magazine. In addition, Keri works closely with Trustees in her role as Liaison to the Board on governance best practices, board bylaws, and future strategic planning.

Straub holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism with a minor in Communication, Arts & Sciences from The Pennsylvania State University. She also holds an Advanced Public Information Officer (PIO) certificate from FEMA and has been a Board member of the PA American Council on Education (ACE) Women's Network chapter.