Kenneth M. Jarin
New Board leader understands value of education
Parents stressed learning ‘above just about everything else’
Kenneth Jarin learned about the importance of education at an early age. His first teachers were his parents, whom, he said, placed the value of education “above just about everything else.”
Their actions spoke as loudly as their words. While Mr. Jarin was in high school, his mother went back to college, where she earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree, and then went to work as a public school teacher in Philadelphia.
“I helped her type her master’s thesis on an old hunt-and-peck typewriter,” Mr. Jarin said.
He and his two sisters learned their lessons well. Both of Mr. Jarin’s sisters went to college, eventually earning doctoral degrees.
“We all attended college with financial aid and worked to help pay the bills,” Mr. Jarin said.
Mr. Jarin graduated from Duke University and Temple University School of Law. Today, he is a partner in the Philadelphia-based law firm of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll. He recently was elected chairman of the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). In his new role, Mr. Jarin is repeating his parents’ message for everyone to hear.
“Access to higher education for every high school graduate is absolutely vital, not only for the individual student, but also for our economy and society,” he said. “As Governor Rendell noted when he attended our Board meeting in July, we are competing with countries in Europe, Asia and around the world for our economic survival. If we don’t continue our proud tradition of leading the world in higher education and training our workforce, we’re going to fall behind very quickly.”
“Public universities, such as those that comprise PASSHE, are essential to assuring that Pennsylvania, and the nation as a whole, stays out front.”
Keeping that education affordable for the working families of Pennsylvania is “absolutely essential,” Mr. Jarin added.
“I am certainly proud that we were able to keep our tuition increase this year to the bare minimum,” Mr. Jarin said, noting that the Board of Governors in July approved a 2 percent tuition increase for 2005-06, the smallest increase in seven years and the third smallest in PASSHE’s more than 20-year history. “Our basic tuition in the State System costs less than $5,000 a year - compare that with tuitions of $30,000 plus charged by most private institutions.”
PASSHE comprises the 14 state-owned universities: Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Jarin was born in northeast Philadelphia in 1951. Shortly thereafter, his family moved to suburban Montgomery County, where he and his sisters attended the Springfield Township public schools. Early on, his parents also taught him about the importance of public service.
“My parents were very involved in the civil rights movement and local politics,” Mr. Jarin said. “I was taught that public service should be an important part of everyone’s life. As I grew older, I looked for different avenues to become involved.”
He quickly developed a reputation for being a good fundraiser.
“Not too many people are interested in spending their time asking people for money,” he said. “I found myself becoming involved with several cultural organizations.”
He became most actively involved with what would become the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia more than 20 years ago. For the past 10 years, he has served as chairman of the orchestra’s board of directors.
In 1994, he was appointed by President Clinton to serve on the board of the National Endowment for the Arts. He also serves on the board of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, one of the premier arts organizations in the city.
He enjoys classical music; his favorite composer is Mozart. “My friends will laugh,” Mr. Jarin said. “They don’t think of me that way. They think of me more as a Duke basketball fan.”
Mr. Jarin lives in Bucks County with his wife, Robin Wiessmann. The couple has two children, Karley and Alex, who attend school in the Council Rock School District.
Mr. Jarin was nominated by Gov. Rendell earlier this year to serve a four-year term on the PASSHE Board of Governors. He was elected Board chair in July. He already is familiar with the System, having served as outside labor counsel to several of the universities in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“I had the opportunity to work with the presidents and administrations of most of the campuses,” he said. “I also was involved in one difficult round of negotiations in the early ’90s. I became very aware of the State System and its impact on the education of our citizens.”
Mr. Jarin also helped mediate a settlement between the State System and its faculty union during talks that ran through most of 2003 and into early 2004.
During his initial Board of Governors meeting, Mr. Jarin said he intends to visit each of the PASSHE campuses this fall, both to become reacquainted with them and to learn first hand about their current strengths and weaknesses.
“Visiting the campuses is important to providing leadership to the Board of Governors,” he said. “I need to see the campuses in action, and talk not only with the presidents and the administration, but also with the faculty and students about what is happening.
“There are a lot of exciting things going on at the universities. I want to see what’s happening. And, if it’s appropriate, I would like to sit in on some classes and get a real feel for the flavor of each campus and what we can do to make the System even stronger.”
Mr. Jarin said he hopes to begin his campus visits shortly after the start of the fall semester and would like to conclude them before the end of the term.
Already, Mr. Jarin has made it clear that he intends to be an involved leader of the Board of Governors. “Learning more about the System is the first step,” he said.
“I’d like to see the System continue to improve and be the best system in the country,” Mr. Jarin said. “I would also like to find ways to have the System integrated with the state’s economic development. It is important that the universities produce high quality graduates who will remain in Pennsylvania and help attract businesses to our state.”
Mr. Jarin said he understands the challenges the universities are facing in meeting their dual missions of providing both high quality and affordable education, while dealing with tight finances.
“Containing costs across the System will be an ongoing effort,” he said. “I think it’s important not just to keep finances under control for the sake of saving dollars, but also to maximize all of the available resources for the academic mission.
“I’m impressed by the initiatives already underway – the information technology system, the new purchasing program being developed. I am interested in seeing if there are other ways in which the schools can collaborate, possibly by sharing services, and reducing the costs of things that are not directly related to their academic missions.”
For now, Mr. Jarin admits, he is in a “learning phase.”
Perhaps that goes back to the lessons he learned as a youth, about the value of education.