Neslihan “Nesli” Alp’s education and decorated career in academia have prompted several moves over the years, from her native Turkey to various regions in the United States. But her latest stop feels like home.

Alp is the new vice president for academic affairs and provost at Pennsylvania College of Technology, the institution’s highest-ranking academic officer. Her extensive resume aligns with the college’s core mission of applied technology education.

“I feel like I’m back home because of the programs that we have here,” smiled Alp, who began her duties on Aug. 1. “Everything seems similar to my background, my experience, my knowledge. I don’t feel that I’m a new person here.”

Her office reflects that sentiment, decorated with mementos from past employers and numerous family photos featuring husband Birol and sons Kaan and Koray at various stages of life. Today, the sons are pre-med students at Vanderbilt and the University of Miami, respectively. “They are my motivation,” Alp said.

For nearly 30 years, she has paired an engineering background with a passion for higher education, advancing from instructor to department head to associate dean at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga before serving the past four years as dean of the College of Technology at Indiana State University.

There she grew a nascent engineering department and enhanced online course offerings. Alp also shepherded successful accreditation efforts for various degrees, thanks to her experience as a program evaluator for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.

“I was thinking that I would stay a few more years at Indiana State because we were doing many good things,” she said. “But the search firm for the Penn College position approached me. I told them I wasn’t looking for a job, but they said Penn College was looking for someone like me and it would be a good opportunity.”

Weighing contentment with the unknown, Alp decided to apply for the position. In doing so, she followed a principle that has long guided her actions.

“If you don’t take risks, you cannot move up. You must look at your options,” she explained. “If you always stay in your comfort zone, you’re not going to grow that much.”

Growing up in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, Alp found comfort and enjoyment in math, compliments of a tutor in middle school. By high school, she excelled in the subject and identified engineering as a career path because of its math roots. Alp’s college test scores matched her with Istanbul Technical University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering management and a master’s in industrial engineering. Inspired, Alp decided to pursue a terminal degree to become a professor. Her academic adviser suggested the United States or England because of Turkey’s limited research opportunities. Alp chose the Missouri University of Science and Technology. But its location — Rolla, Missouri — provided culture shock.

The tiny town became home for the next few years. Alp earned her Ph.D. in engineering management and embarked on postdoctoral research for the university as her husband pursued an MBA. Alp’s first research assignment – online education – spearheaded career advancement.

Alp’s professional life was just beginning. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga recruited her to move its engineering management graduate degree and other programs online.

That realization led to administrative roles of increasing responsibility during Alp’s 19-year tenure in Chattanooga, culminating as associate dean. Then came the dean position at Indiana State, the job she held when traveling to Penn College last May for the provost interview.

“To be honest, when I was coming here for the interview, I was thinking the odds were 20-80. There was a 20% chance I would accept a job offer and an 80% chance I would stay at Indiana State,” she admitted. Those odds flipped after the visit.

“This is the environment I want to work in. I like the people, and unlike my other schools, I don’t have to prove the importance of engineering and technical programs,” she said. “I was shocked when I was walking around on the first day of school. Students were in the lab. They were already building things! I see Penn College as the life lab where students come and learn by doing.”