Two Penn State graduates will join the university’s Board of Trustees for the first time and one will return for another term following the 2026 election of trustees by alumni.
Jay Paterno, Karen Keller and Joseph DeRenzo won the three alumni trustee seats up for election this year. Ali Krieger, who was seeking a second term on the board, came in fourth and did not win reelection.
Results of the election, which saw 17,720 ballots cast, were announced at the board’s meeting on Friday afternoon.
Paterno, a 1991 grad, former assistant football coach and son of longtime Nittany Lion coach Joe Paterno, was the top vote-getter with 12,066 to secure his fourth term on the board. A State College resident, he has been president of Blue Line 409 LLC since 2013.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to continue serving as an alumni-elected trustee for another three-year term,” Paterno said in a statement. “Penn State is a special place because of its people. Our students, alumni, faculty, staff, and supporters care deeply about this university and its mission. I remain committed to advocating for affordability and accessibility, supporting student success and well-being, protecting academic excellence and free speech, and helping ensure Penn State remains strong and sustainable for future generations.”
(Editor’s note: Jay Paterno is a freelance columnist for StateCollege.com.)
Keller received 11,641 votes to win her first term. A 2000 graduate of Penn State with a degree in biochemistry and biomedical science, she is managing partner and cofounder of Shaw Keller LLP, an intellectual property and commercial litigation law firm based in Wilmington, Delaware. She resides in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.
DeRenzo won 11,458 votes for his first term. He earned his bachelor’s and medical degrees from Penn State and is currently director of the Division of Obstetric & Women’s Anesthesiology at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Along with Krieger, Anthony Lubrano leaves the board. A frequently outspoken board member who was first elected in 2012 amid a wave of alumni dissatisfaction in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, he was ineligible to run again after four terms.
Lubrano, who has engaged the board in multiple lawsuits, has often been critical of the its leadership; handling of the Sandusky aftermath; treatment of Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier and Tim Curley; closed-door nature; and clampdowns on trustees’ public remarks. In his parting remarks, he reiterated many of those grievances and, seemingly, criticized former football coach James Franklin, but also struck an optimistic tone at times.
“I am unapologetic in my intemperance for my alma mater, and the people who helped make it great,” he said. “We have many challenges facing this university, and if we want to successfully face those challenges, we must all now row in the same direction. The recent hiring of Coach Matt Campbell goes a long way toward bringing us together. For that, we have President [Neeli] Bendapudi to thank. Success with honor is again at the forefront of our football program after a 12-year sabbatical.
“So let me end where I began my service almost 14 years ago. In order to move on, we must heal. And if I might be impertinent, let me suggest that if we truly want to heal, we need to do now what we know is right and just. We cannot allow fear nor political correctness to control the process by which we make decisions. Let us recognize and honor the team that gave us collectively more than a 120 years of service, or risk losing forever the loyalty of alumni everywhere.”
Krieger, a former soccer star at the collegiate and professional levels, was not present for Friday’s meeting.
OTHER TRUSTEE ELECTIONS
Agricultural
Randy Black and Lynn Dietrich will each return for new terms as trustees elected by delegates of agricultural societies. Because they were the only two candidates for their two seats, no election was required.
Black has served as an agricultural trustee since 2020. He is vice chairman of the board, CEO and president of First Citizens Community Bank.
Dietrich was first elected to the board in 2017. He is retired as director of engineering for Manitowoc Cranes Inc. and is the former vice president of product development for Grove Manufacturing.
Business and Industry
Robert Beard and Karen Quintos were reelected by the board for their second three-year terms as trustees representing business and industry. Beard is chief operating of UGI Corporation. Quintos is the retired chief customer and marketing officer for Dell Technologies.
At-Large
Matt Schuyler was elected by the board to a one-year term as an at-large trustee, a position he has held since 2015. He is chair emeritus, having led the board from 2020 to 2024, and is chief people officer at Creative Artists Agency.
Lubrano was the only trustee to vote against Schuyler’s election.
