GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 22, 2025--
Gwynedd Mercy University recently appointed Stephen Grieco, DMA as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Grieco will assume his new role on June 1.
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With more than 25 years of higher education experience, Grieco has served in a number of roles, including most recently as Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Eastern New Mexico University at Roswell. The majority of Grieco’s career has been spent in the Philadelphia region, serving as an assistant and associate professor of music at the Community College of Philadelphia and Cabrini University, respectively; Dean of Arts and Humanities at Montgomery County Community College; and Associate Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Manor College. Grieco also spent a short time as a Spanish teacher in the Central Bucks School District.
"I am honored to join GMercyU as its new Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, and committed to fostering an environment of academic excellence, innovation, and respect for all members of the University community. I look forward to collaborating with GMercyU’s dedicated faculty, staff, and students to advance the University mission and make a meaningful impact together," said Grieco.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Grieco to the Gwynedd Mercy University community at this exciting time in our history,” said GMercyU’s President Deanne H. D’Emilio, JD. “He will play an integral role in the development and launch of new academic programs that will help us achieve our vision to be the Catholic University leader in professional and healthcare education. His ‘innovate to the top’ philosophy will fit well with GMercyU’s focus on growth and innovation and the opening of the new Frances M. Maguire ’55 Healthcare Innovation Center this fall.”
Grieco will join Gwynedd Mercy University just a few months before the scheduled opening of its new healthcare innovation center, which will support students from many different majors in learning to harness the power of technology and interprofessional patient care to enhance the patient experience and improve patient outcomes. The new facility also will help the University meet the urgent need for more healthcare professionals in the region. At the same time, the University recently completed the renovation of interior and exterior residential living spaces, the complete renovation of the Frank O. Genuardi Legends Fields baseball and softball complex, and the addition of new dining options on campus. Renovations to the gymnasium should be complete before the start of the fall semester.
During his career, Grieco implemented strategies to move Eastern New Mexico University at Roswell from a Hispanic enrolling to a Hispanic serving institution to improve student outcomes, formed partnerships to expand experiential learning opportunities for students, and secured grant funding to support college readiness and technology equity programs.
Grieco holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from Arizona State University, Master of Music from Bowling Green State University, and Bachelor of Music from the State University of New York at Fredonia. He is an active composer and recently had a work premiered at the American Music Educators Association.
About Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Mercy University prepares students to become top professionals in the fields of nursing and other health professions, education, business, and the arts and sciences. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1948, Gwynedd Mercy University offers more than 80 bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and associate degree programs. The University’s campus is situated on 145 private acres on Sumneytown Pike between routes 309 and 202 in Gwynedd Valley, Montgomery County. The University also offers online/accelerated undergraduate and graduate programs for working professionals and career-changers. Learn more at gmercyu.edu, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Stephen Grieco, DMA, Gwynedd Mercy University's new Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
LONDON (AP) — The hard-right party Reform UK led by Nigel Farage won a seat in Parliament by a handful of votes and looked set to make more gains in results Friday from local elections the party hopes will show it is a major player in British politics.
Reform's Sarah Pochin was declared winner of the seat of Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by six votes after a recount, defeating Labour candidate Karen Shore.
Labour easily won the district in last year's national election, but its lawmaker, Mike Amesbury, was forced to quit after he was convicted of punching a constituent in a drunken rage.
Although Reform's victory was one of the narrowest in British history, Farage said “it’s a very, very big moment indeed” for politics.
“We are not a protest party, even though there is much to protest about," Farage told reporters at the election count.
The local elections Thursday in many areas of England were a test of feeling about Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s center-left Labour government, 10 months after it was elected in a landslide. Both Labour and the main opposition Conservative Party braced for losses in the midterm poll.
The Runcorn victory gives Reform, which got about 14% of the vote in last year’s national election, five of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, compared to 403 for Labour and 121 for the Conservatives.
But Reform appears to have momentum. National polls now suggest its support equals or surpasses that of Labour and the Conservatives, and it hopes to displace the Conservatives as the country’s main party on the right before the next national election, due by 2029.
Reform candidate Andrea Jenkyns — a former Conservative lawmaker who defected to the party last year — was declared winner of the newly created mayoralty of the Greater Lincolnshire region of east-central England. Labour retained three other mayoralties.
Reform hopes to scoop up hundreds of municipal seats in the elections that are deciding 1,600 seats on 23 local councils, six mayoralties and one seat in Parliament. Ballots in most of those contests are being counted Friday.
The results give only a partial snapshot of voter sentiment. Many areas, including London, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, did not hold elections on Thursday. Turnout for local elections and byelections is typically much lower than in a national election.
And Reform is not the only story. The centrist Liberal Democrats also hope to build on their success in winning more affluent, socially liberal voters away from the Conservatives.
A majority of the local seats being contested were held by the Conservatives, whose leader Kemi Badenoch could face revolt if the party does very badly. The Tories did extremely well when these areas were last contested in 2021, a time when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative government enjoyed a surge in popularity due to the COVID-19 vaccine program.
Reform UK is the latest in a series of parties led by Farage, a veteran hard-right politician who was crucial in taking Britain out of the European Union through a 2016 referendum. A charismatic campaigner, he is a divisive figure who has said many migrants come to the U.K. from cultures “alien to ours.”
Reform blends Farage’s longstanding political themes — strong borders, curbing immigration — with policies reminiscent of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. During the campaign Farage said he plans “a DOGE for every county” in England, inspired by Elon Musk’s controversial spending-slashing agency.
University of Strathclyde political scientist John Curtice said the results showed that politics in Britain, long dominated by the two big parties, was fragmenting and that “Reform are now posing a big threat to both Conservative and Labour."
“They are a major challenge,” he told the BBC.
Reform U.K.'s Greater Lincolnshire mayoral candidate Dame Andrea Jenkyns looks on during the count at Grimsby Town Hall, in Lincolnshire, England, for the Greater Lincolnshire Mayor election, early Friday, May 2, 2025. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)
Votes are counted at DCBL Halton Stadium, in Widnes, Cheshire, England, for the Runcorn and Helsby by-election that was triggered by the resignation of former Labour MP Mike Amesbury, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Reform UK candidate Sarah Pochin, second left and party leader Nigel Farage, second right, arrive at the DCBL Halton Stadium ahead of the result of the Runcorn and Helsby by-election at DCBL Halton Stadium, Widnes, Cheshire, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Reform UK's Sarah Pochin, right and party leader Nigel Farage talk to the media after the party won the seat in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election at DCBL Halton Stadium, Widnes, Cheshire, Friday, May 2, 2025. ( Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Votes are counted at DCBL Halton Stadium, in Widnes, Cheshire, England, for the Runcorn and Helsby by-election that was triggered by the resignation of former Labour MP Mike Amesbury, Thursday May 1, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Votes are counted at DCBL Halton Stadium, in Widnes, Cheshire, England, for the Runcorn and Helsby by-election that was triggered by the resignation of former Labour MP Mike Amesbury, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Votes are counted at Oasis Academy, in Bristol, England, for the Mayor of West of England Combined Authority, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)
Reform U.K.'s Greater Lincolnshire mayoral candidate Dame Andrea Jenkyns, center, gestures during the count at Grimsby Town Hall, in Lincolnshire, England, for the Greater Lincolnshire Mayor election, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)
Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage speaks during a campaign event at Stafford Showground, Stafford, England, whilst campaigning for this week's local elections, Wednesday April 30, 2025. (Jacob King/PA via AP)
