As Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Engineering and Professor of Chemical engineering at Penn State, Tonya Peeples oversees all aspects of Penn State’s largest academic college. College of engineering constituents include over 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 1000 faculty and staff. Dean Peeples drives the college of engineering’s pursuit of excellence and innovation in engineering education and research; initiatives to attract students, faculty and staff and support their development; an ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging; stewardship of the college’s financial resources; and the continuation of a major campus facilities modernization. From 2018 – 2023, Dr Peeples moved from Inaugural Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion to Senior Associate Dean of Engineering. She worked with institutional offices, academic departments, and colleges to advance the college strategic plan and to develop inclusive faculty hiring and graduate recruitment processes.

Before joining Penn State in 2018, Dr. Peeples served as Associate Dean for Diversity and Outreach, Associate Director of the University of Iowa Center for Bioctalysis and Bioprocessing, and Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at the University of Iowa. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University.

The Peeples research group engineers microbial systems and enzymes for industrial reactions and produces materials from living systems. Expanding knowledge of the structure, chemical composition, and activity of biofilm materials enables expanded application for environmental, pharmaceutical and medical use. In these efforts, Dr. Peeples has mentored a diverse group of research trainees including high school, undergraduate, and graduate students as well as post- doctoral researchers. She has led several training programs for graduate and undergraduate students across STEM disciplines.

Dean Peeples an Advisory Board Member for The American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) Open Forum on Broadening Participation in STEM. She has been an active member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the American Chemical Society (ACS), the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE). She has received several awards including the Lloyd Ferguson Award from NOBCChE as well as the Outstanding Service Award and Pioneers of Diversity Awards from the AIChE Minority Affairs Committee. She received a Million Women Mentors Trailblazer Award from STEM Connector, and in 2020 was inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows.