Marking the most competitive Penn State board race in memory, the university announced Wednesday that 86 alumni will vie for three seats this spring on the Board of Trustees.
The volume of candidates represents a dramatic upswing from the last race for alumni-controlled board seats. That contest, for three other seats, attracted six candidates in 2011. Board races have typically seen six to nine alumni candidates for each three-seat cluster.
At a drawing Wednesday to establish ballot positions for the 2012 race, candidates said the university alumni base has swung into action. The emergence of criminal charges against three university figures in November — and the resulting fallout — has launched waves of questions about Penn State’s governance, they said.
‘I think this (involvement) is all good for Penn State because the alumni are now awakened and will participate,’ said candidate Ryan J. McCombie, of the State College area. A retired Navy SEAL, he secured the second spot on the ballot.
His campaign will be mutually supportive with those of Bill Oldsey and Anthony Lubrano, McCombie said. Lubrano, a Philadelphia-area businessman and forceful critic of the sitting board, has emerged as one of the most prominent board candidates. His criticism of the board’s firing of Joe Paterno has received widespread media coverage.
But McCombie, in a brief interview, said the board race cannot be a single-issue affair. He expects emphases on board transparency and structure, tuition and the university’s overarching role in Pennsylvania, McCombie said.
George Henning, another candidate from the State College area, is a former board member. Listed at No. 55 on the ballot, he said he doubts that ballot positions will make much difference in the race outcome.
He expects alumni will be looking for specific individuals, Henning said. And while the board’s treatment of Paterno will probably be the prime issue in the race, he said, the university needs trustees capable of handling broader issues, too.
‘I think we need to elect people who are interested in (the Paterno matter) but with the background and experience to be on the board,’ said Henning, a retired energy-company executive. That’s why he is running again, he said.
As for the Paterno issue, Henning added, ‘I would still like to understand better exactly what went on and to have input from all the alumni’ in deciding how to proceed.
A number of the candidates are planning to run together — or, if not as running mates, then at least in close coordination with one another.
Perhaps 30 candidates — or their representatives — turned out for the ballot-position drawing Wednesday, held in the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. For those who weren’t present, university staff members drew numbers to set their ballot positions.
Anne Riley, the sole alumni-elected trustee to seek reelection this year, was not present for the drawing. A State College-area resident, she received spot No. 22 on the ballot.
Riley, who grew up in the region, could not be reached immediately for comment Wednesday afternoon. David R. Jones, another alumni-elected trustee whose term is up this year, has chosen not to run again. He lives in Montclair, N.J.
David Joyner, a Harrisburg-area resident, holds the third alumni-controlled board seat that’s in play. He has left the university board to become the university’s acting athletic director.
Once the board candidates’ ballot positions are formalized, online voting will be open to alumni from April 10 through 9 a.m. May 3, university spokesman Geoff Rushton said. Winners will be announced at the board meeting on May 4; they will take their seats July 1.
The 32-voting-member board is the university’s highest governing body. It includes a contingent of nine alumni-elected members; they serve three-year terms. (Other board members are appointed — some by the Pennsylvania governor, some by agricultural societies and others by business and industry representatives. Several, including the university president, serve as ex-officio members.)
Links to earlier coverage are available below. The complete list of 2012 candidates’ ballot position, provided via Penn State Live, is posted below, as well.
Earlier coverage
Ballot positions
1 Matthew J. Lisk, ’95, Bus, Executive Director, SAT Product Management, The College Board, New Providence, N.J.
2 Ryan J. McCombie, ’70, Lib, President, RJ McCombie & Associates, State College, Pa.
3 Jes James Sellers, ’74, ’76g, Edu, Director, University Counseling Service, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
4 Thomas J. Sharbaugh, ’73, Bus, Partner/Attorney, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, Philadelphia, Pa.
5 John C. Foster, ’77, ’83g, ’97g, Edu, President/CEO, National Occupational Competency, Carlisle, PA
6 Richard Dirk Matson, ’77, H&HD, President/COO, Adelphoi Village, Ligonier, Pa.
7 Craig W. Micklow, ’69, Agr, Principal, MM Fin & Oper Consulting, Southlake, Texas
8 Patricia Marrero, ’88, Sci, Vice President, Client Development, Univision Communications, Inc., Hoboken,N.J.
9 Edward A. Paskey, II, ’94, ’97JD, Lib, DSL, Partner, Kagen, MacDonald & France, P.C., York, Pa.
10 David E. Robbins, ’78, Lib, Bus, Attorney, Law Offices of David E. Robbins, Broomall, Pa.
11 Martin R. Davis, ’86, Bus, President, Donald E. Davis, Inc., Pottsville, Pa.
12 Stephen M. Hladik, ’89, Lib, Lawyer/Partner, Kerns Pearlstine Onorato Hladik, Harleysville, Pa.
13 Timothy M. Freeman, ’90, Lib, Principal, Elevation, Short Hills, N.J.
14 Amy L. Williams, ’80, H&HD, Founder and Managing Director, SageWorks Rx, Wayne, Pa.
15 Joseph H. Clapper, III, ’92g, Edu, Superintendent of Schools, Quaker Valley School District, Sewickley, Pa.
16 Jonathan L. Wesner, ’65, Sci, U.S. Judge, Office of Disability Adjudication, Reading, Pa.
17 Victor S. Provenzano, ’02, Capital, Operations Supervisor, United Parcel Services, Inc., Enola, Pa.
18 Marta Pepe Forney, ’00, H&HD, Physical Therapist, Doylestown Hospital, Doylestown, Pa.
19 Dona M. (Davis) Horst, ’81, 83g, H&HD, Pharmaceutical Sales Representative, Ortho Biotech/Johnson & Johnson, Annapolis, Md.
20 J. Michael Murphy, ’80, Com, Sales & Marketing Manager, Alcoa, Downingtown, Pa.
21 Darlene M. Marley, ’77, ’80g, H&HD, Edu, Leonardo, N.J.
22 Anne Riley, ’64, ’75g, Lib, English Teacher, Boalsburg, Pa.
23 Karen Levine Weaver, ’82, Sci, Project Management, Merck, Franklin Lakes, N.J.
24 Joseph C. Atkinson, ’92, Bus, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Chalfont, Pa.
25 Joshua D. Fulmer, ’01, Lib, Attorney, Lauer, Paglianite & Sletvold, P.C., Easton, Pa.
26 Jayne Miller, ’76, Com, Investigative Reporter, WBAL-TV, Baltimore, Md.
27 Sam Y. Zamrik, ’61g, ’65g, Eng, Professor Emeritus, Engineering Mechanics, Penn State University, Mesa, Ariz.
28 Joanne C. DiRinaldo, ’78, Edu, Export, Pa.
29 Jefrey F. Wall, ’74, ’76g, Lib, Business Manager, Penns Valley Area School District, Ambridge, Pa.
30 Stella M. Tsai, ’85, Lib, Partner, Archer and Greiner P.C., Philadelphia, Pa.
31 Scott K. Munroe, ’98, A&A, Campus Landscape Architect, University of Maryland, Catonsville, Md.
32 Ronald C. Wagner, Jr., ’89, Com, Vice President, Marketing, ModSpace, Glenside, Pa.
33 Barry M. Simpson, ’69, Bus, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Harrisburg, Pa.
34 Robert J. Bowsher, ’86, Bus, San Diego, Calif.
35 O. Richard Bundy, III, ’93, ’96g, Lib, President and CEO of the University of Vermont Foundation, South Burlington, Vt.
36 Vincent J. Tedesco, Jr., ’64, Bus, Director, Lockheed Martin Corporation, State College, Pa.
37 John W. Diercks, ’63, 67g, 75g, EMS, Retired, United States Air Force, State College, Pa.
38 Edward (Ted) B. Brown, III, ’68, Sci, President/CEO, KETCHConsulting Inc., State College, Pa.
39 James R. Antoniono, ’71, Lib, Attorney, DeBernardo Antoniono McCabe & Davis, Greensburg, Pa.
40 David L. Roush, ’04, Com, Lib, Media/TV Production Teacher, Harry S. Truman High School, Bronx, N.Y.
41 David A. Dell, ’76, Agr, Director of Marketing, Lebanon Turf, Strasburg, Pa.
42 Russell T. Larson, ’72, ’72, ’74g, Lib, Controller General, State of Delaware, Dover, Del.
43 Jonathan Mills, ’86, H&HD, GM/COO, Allied Convention Service, Orlando, Fla.
44 Gregory S. ‘Sandy’ Sanderson, ’00, Eng, CEO, CollClub Sports, Glenshaw, Pa.
45 Rudolph K. Glocker, ’91, 93g, Lib, Managing Partner, Pediped Footwear, Henderson, Nev.
46 Richard L. Marshall, ’92, Lib, Vice President, Alliance Bernstein, Mount Kisco, N.Y.
47 Lisa W. Witzig, ’79, Lib, CEO, Ideen, LLC, Denver, Colo.
48 Paul J. Malaspina, ’77, ’80g, EMS, Med, Great Lakes Surgical Specialist, UPMC, Erie, Pa.
49 Henry B. Swoope, V, ’96, Lib, Vice President of Business Banking, Burke & Herbert Bank, Alexandria, Va.
50 Scott O. Fozard, ’89, Bus, Certified Public Accountant, State College, Pa.
51 Michael J. Carroll, ’04, Eng, Engineer, Black & Veatch, Fairfax, Va.
52 Barbara L. Doran, ’75, Lib, Wealth Advisor, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, New York, N.Y.
53 Thomas J. Day, Jr., ’88, Bus, Chief Executive Officer, West Point Products, Washington, Pa.
54 Ben Novak, ’65, ’99g, Lib, IDF, Retired, Immokalee, Fla.
55 George T. Henning, Jr., ’63, Lib, Interim CEO, President and Chief Financial Officer, Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc., State College, Pa.
56 Jeffrey A. Krisciunas, ’94, 11g, Bus, Principal, Lion’s Share Ltd., Philadelphia, Pa.
57 Seth T. Walizer, ’00, H&HD, Insurance Agent, State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Company, Fleetwood, Pa.
58 Joseph C. Korsak, ’71, Lib, Attorney Labor & Employment, The Law Office of Joseph C. Korsak, York, Pa.
59 Anthony P. Lubrano, ’82, Bus, Financial Planner, A.P. Lubrano & Company Inc., Exton, Pa.
60 Marlene ‘Myke’ Atwater Triebold, ’72, H&HD, Real Estate Consultant, Coldwell Banker United Realtors, Niceville, Fla.
61 Samuel M. Loewner, ’10, Lib, Social Media Specialist, MAXIMUS, Inc., Reston, Va.
62 Ryan M. Bagwell, ’02, A&A, Com, Senior Interactive Developer, Hirshorn Zucherman Design Group, Middleton, Wisc.
63 John J. Mika, ’85, Edu, Teacher, United States Government, US Dept. of Justice FCI Schuylkill, Education Dept., Tower City, Pa.
64 Chris C. Lindsley, ’87, Com, Web Site Editor, University of MD Medical System, Takoma Park, Md.
65 Edward H. Ridings, III, ’71, Sci, General Surgeon, Vallemont Surgical Associates, Inc., Lewistown, Pa.
66 Thomas E. Kapelewski, ’82, Eng, Production Engineering Manager, Kydex LLC, Bloomsburg, Pa.
67 Richard J. Puleo, ’77, Lib, Attorney, Law Office of Richard J. Puleo, Lancaster, Pa.
68 William F. Oldsey, ’76, Lib, Educational Publishing Consultant, Basking Ridge, N.J.
69 Pratima Gatehouse, ’96, 10g, Eng, Vice President, Production Design, Avalon Partners, Short Hills, N.J.
70 Kyle B. Heffner, ’08, Agr, Personal Banker, Wells Fargo & Company, Pottsville, Pa.
71 Thomas R. Davis, ’82, ’85g, ’88g, Sci, Vice President, Research & Development, Sweet Ovations, LLC, Yardley, Pa.
72 Matthew J. Sliwa, ’01, Bus, Mortgage Loan Officer, PNC Bank, Selbyville, Del.
73 James P. Brandau, ’03, Bus, Private Wealth Advisor, Morgan Stanley & Co., Conshohocken, Pa.
74 Shawn D. Manderson, ’03, IST, Internal Auditor, FMC Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa.
75 Terry F. Rakowsky, ’82, Sci, Dentist, Signature Smiles, Erwinna, Pa.
76 Jack F. Beiter, ’52, Edu, CEO, E-Finity Corporation, Fort Myers, Fla.
77 Adam J. Taliaferro, ’05, Lib, Associate, Duane Morris LLP, Swedesboro, N.J.
78 Mark S. Connolly, ’84g, Sci, DuPont Legal, IP Leader-Central R&D, Industrial Biosciences & Patent Searching, West Chester, Pa.
79 Neal W. Biege, Sr., ’67, Eng, Retired President, FEE Minerals, Naples, FL
80 Casey A. Coyle, ’06, Com, Litigation Associate, Rhoads & Sinon LLP, Harrisburg, Pa.
81 Andrew Tellep, ’74, Edu, Retired Instructor, Penn State University, Mar Lin, Pa.
82 Gregory M. Kerwin, ’71, ’75JD, Lib, DSL, Senior Partner, Kerwin & Kerwin, Lykens, Pa.
83 Gregory H. Wolf, ’77, H&HD, Business Consultant, State College, Pa.
84 John P. Rodgers, ’93, 97JD, Lib, DSL, Attorney at Law, John P. Rodgers, Hazleton, Pa.
85 James E. Carnicella, ’73, H&HD, Independent Contractor, JVC Consulting, Ocoee, Fla.
86 Darlene R. Baker, ’80, Sci, Vice President of Operations, PSKW LLC, Warminster, Pa.
