UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — During the Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 7-8 at the University Park campus, the board approved a proposed request for its 2024-25 appropriations for operations, among other business.
During the meeting, the board also:
- Granted trustee emeritus status to former trustees Alex Hartzler, Alice Pope and Walt Rakowich;
- Alex Hartzler earned his bachelor of arts in economics from Penn State and was appointed to the board by former Gov. Tom Wolf in 2016. He is a managing partner and founder of WCI Partners, LP.
- Alice Pope earned her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in psychology from Penn State and was first elected as an alumni trustee in 2014. She is a retired associate professor of psychology at St. John’s University in New York.
- Walt Rakowich earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Penn State and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He was elected to the board in 2014 representing business and industry. He is the retired CEO of Prologis, an industrial real estate company.
- Received an information report on the Penn State Alumni Association;
- Revised the board’s November 2023 meeting dates from Nov. 16-17 to Nov. 9-10;
- Elected trustee Naren Gursahaney as an at-large member of the board’s executive committee;
- Elected directors to the Corporation for Penn State; and
- Appointed non-University employees to the Penn State Investment Council.
In his remarks as chair of the board, Matt Schuyler:
- Marked the start of the fall semester at University Park campus and Commonwealth Campuses;
- Lauded the annual Ag Progress Days event and the work of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Penn State Extension; and
- Recognized Penn State World Campus’ 25th anniversary. Today, World Campus offers more than 175 degree and certificate programs. In celebration, the Penn State Berkey Creamery has temporarily renamed its birthday bash flavor in honor of World Campus.
In her report to the Board of Trustees, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi:
- Celebrated Penn State’s incoming class and the strength and diversity of the University’s newest students;
- Highlighted Penn State World Campus as a reflection of her guiding principles of purpose, agility and opportunity;
- Shared several recent research successes and thanked the faculty, students, postdocs and staff who help make Penn State’s research enterprise possible, and;
- Underscored the connections between Penn State’s research, global engagement, academic and entrepreneurial efforts, before inviting John Mauro, Penn State’s Dorothy Pate Enright Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and current undergraduate student Julia Chen to discuss the invention of LionGlass as an example of these connections at work.