Balloting under way for trustee, Alumni Council elections

University Park, Pa -- Two important elections are coming up for Penn State's Board of Trustees and the Alumni Association's Alumni Council.  Alumni input is critical and valued in these elections.

The 32-member Board of Trustees is the governing body of the University. It selects the President, determines the major goals of the University, and approves the budget. Each year three new board members are elected by the general alumni body. Ballots were issued April 10 and must be returned by 9 a.m. EDT, May 15.

The Alumni Council is the governing body of the Penn State Alumni Association. The 86-member council and its executive board determine the goals and policies of the Alumni Association. Each year 10 new council members are elected by Alumni Association members.  Ballots were issued April 1 and must be returned by May 31.

Ballots were distributed in electronic or paper formats for both elections. Alumni are encouraged to vote electronically. Alumni can request ballots for the Board of Trustees election by contacting BOT@psu.edu or by calling 814-865-2521 Ballots were provided automatically to alumni who are members of the Alumni Association or have held memberships over the past two years, or alumni who have contributed to the Penn State Fund over the past two years). 

Voting in the Alumni Council election is a benefit of membership in the Alumni Association and open only to Penn State alumni. Those alumni who wish to participate in the Alumni Council election and are non-members of the Alumni Association may still vote in the Alumni Council election after they become members. Non-members may become a members of the Alumni Association by calling 800-548-5466.

Information concerning candidates for both elections is provided below:

Board of Trustees election:The names of the candidates for three positions on the board to be elected by alumni, and the order in which they will appear on the ballot, are as follows (year of graduation, business title/profession, and place of residence are also provided):

–     Marianne Ellis Alexander, '62 LA, President Emerita, Public Leadership Education Network, Ellicott City, MD.
–     Marylouise Cernugel Uhlig, '67 LA, Associate Assistant Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Prevention Pesticides and Toxic Substances Office, Fairfax, VA.
–     A. Michael Erdman, '69 Eng, President, Nicker Barker Farm, Ballston Lake, NY.
–     Joel N. Myers, '61 EMS, '63 MS EMS, '71 PhD EMS, Founder, President, and Chairman of the Board, AccuWeather, Inc., State College, PA.
–     Paul H. Silvis, '06 MBA Bus, Founder, Inventor, Coach, Restek Corporation, Port Matilda, PA.
–     Frank T. Guadagnino, '78 Bus, Senior Partner, Reed Smith LLP, Pittsburgh, PA.
–     Ted H. Dwyer, '94 LA, Senior Vice President, Bank of America, Newark, DE.
–     H. Jesse Arnelle, '55 LA, '62JD DSL,  Attorney, San Francisco, CA.
–     Thomas L. McCracken, '79 Eng, Vice President, ECOR Solutions, Inc., Wilmington, DE.

Alumni Association Alumni Council election: The names of the candidates for 10 positions on the council, to be elected by alumni who are members of the Alumni Association, and the order in which they will appear on the ballot, are as follows (year of graduation, business title/profession, and place of residence also are provided):

--  Andi Dempsey, ’04 Lib, Special Education Teacher, Broward County School District, Hollywood, Fla.

--  Michael J. Drabik, ’99 Lib, Caseworker, Erie County Office of Children & Youth, Erie, Pa.

--  Michelle Kramer-Fitzgerald, ’92 Com, Owner, Arts in Media LLC, Wilmington, Del.

--  Ted McGurk, ’82 H&HD, Financial Advisor, Waddell & Reed Financial Services, Exton, Pa.

--  Katherine E. Genovese ’78 Lib, ’84g Edu, Vice President of Programs, The Second Mile, Boalsburg, Pa.

--  Alan D. Bedrick, ’74 Sci, ’78g Hershey, Professor, Clinical Pediatrics, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, Ariz.

--  Robert C. Landis, ’63 EMS, Retired Meteorologist/Oceanographer, Alexandria, Va.

--  Kay L. Frantz Salvino, ’69 H&HD, Practice Administrator, Heimer Eye Care Associates, P.C., State College, Pa.

--  Lori E. Master, ’84 Lib, Manager, Accenture, LLP, Hartsdale, N.Y.

--  Mike Cocco,  ’05 Bus, Financial Advisor, AXA Advisors, Nutley, N.J.

--  Michael Cooper,  ’03 Lib, Relationship Manager, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa.

--  Chris Thomas, ’03, ’08g Bus, Experienced Commercial Leadership Program, GE Money (A unit of General Electric), Gaithersburg, Md.

--  Ronald H. Frear, ’54 Bus, Retired Director of Sales and Marketing, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, State College, Pa.

-- Pamela Loughner,  ’78, ’97g, ’02g Edu, President Loughner & Associates, Inc., Huntington Valley, Pa.

-- Leslie N. Firth, ’58, ’61g Agr, Owner/Operator, Firth Farms, Mercer, Pa.

--  Cindy Mable, ’69, ’71g Sci, President, CaMable and Associates, Exton, Pa.

--  Jeffrey A. Moore, ’91 Com, ’96g Edu, Partner, Moore Financial Solutions, Voorhees, N.J.

-- Tom Range, ’89 Sci, Teacher, Ewing High School, Levittown, Pa.

-- Andrew J. Santacroce, ’88 Sci, Program Manager, Verizon Communications, Horsham, Pa.

-- Holly Staszel Berecz, ’97 Com, Public Relations Consultant, Holly Berecz Public Relations, Newport Beach, Calif.

-- Ron Wagner, ’89 Com, Vice President, Marketing and Brand Development, GMAC, Glenside, Pa.

-- KerriLaine Clark, ’01 Lib, HR/Employee Relations Specialist, Federal Highway Administration – U.S. DOT, McLean, Va.

-- Heather A. James, ’92 Bus, Senior Marketing Manager, Multicultural Marketing Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, Ark.

-- CarolAnn M. Long Gentry, ’69 Edu, Retired Teacher, State College Area School District, State College, Pa.

-- Gregory G. Young, ’86 Com, Branch Manager, M&T Bank, Lebanon, Pa.

-- Nelson S. Loftus Jr.,’58, ’62g, ’66g Agr, Retired Principal Research Scientist, U.S. Forest Service, USDA, State College, Pa.