November 28, 2000
STATE SENATE CONFIRMS THREE MEMBERS TO BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
The state Senate has confirmed the reappointment of two members and the appointment of one new member to the State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors.
Reappointed were Board Vice Chair R. Benjamin Wiley of Erie and Daniel P. Elby of York. Newly appointed to the Board is David P. Holveck of Malvern.
The Board of Governors has overall responsibility for planning and coordinating the development and operation of the State System. The governors establish broad fiscal, personnel and educational policies under which the System universities operate.
The Board comprises 11 members who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate, four legislators, three students, the governor or his designee and the secretary of education or his designee. The 11 appointed members serve four-year terms. Student members are selected from among the university student government presidents serving at the time a vacancy occurs and also must be confirmed by the Senate. Once nominated and confirmed, the student members may serve on the Board until their graduation.
Mr. Wiley is executive director of the Greater Erie Community Action Committee (GECAC), a position he has held for more than 30 years. GECAC is a non-profit corporation that provides a variety of community service activities involving child and youth development, transportation, housing, food and nutrition, education, employment and training, drug and alcohol abuse treatment and services for the elderly. It manages an annual budget of approximately $18 million.
Mr. Wiley also is extremely active in the Erie community and has received numerous awards from civic organizations, including both the AFL-CIO’s Community Service Award presented by the Erie Central Labor Council and the President’s Leadership Award for Business and Community Service presented by the Erie Chamber of Commerce. Most recently, he was the recipient of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award.
He was first appointed to the Board of Governors in July 1995 and has served as vice chairman since 1996. He also chairs the Board’s Human Resources Committee. Mr. Wiley, a graduate of Gannon University, has been a member of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania’s Council of Trustees since 1983, serving as its chair from 1994 to 1999.
Mr. Elby is co-founder and executive director of Alternative Rehabilitation Communities (ARC) Inc. in Harrisburg, which provides a variety of programs and services for juvenile offenders. ARC Inc. operates one secure program, six residential programs, one intake and assessment program, educational services, specialized foster care and an outreach program. Its facilities are located in Carlisle, Chambersburg, Harrisburg, Jonestown, Lancaster and York.
Mr. Elby has served as a consultant to numerous organizations, including the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia; the state of Delaware Children, Youth and Families; and the Juvenile Detention Program Standards Project Center of Harrisburg. He is a member of the Central York School Board and has received several awards from both professional and community organizations, including the Human and Civil Rights Award for Community Leadership from the Pennsylvania State Education Association and the 1998 Criminal Justice Award from the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
A graduate of Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and Michigan State University, Mr. Elby was initially appointed to the Board in May 1996 and serves on the Human Resources Committee. He also has been a member of the Lock Haven University Council of Trustees since 1983.
Mr. Holveck is company group chairman of Centocor, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson situated in southeastern Pennsylvania. He previously served as president and chief executive office of the pharmaceutical company prior to its merger with Johnson & Johnson.
Mr. Holveck is chair of the Biotech Network Segment of Gov. Tom Ridge’s Technology 21 initiative. He is a member of the Board of Directors of CV Therapeutics and the Biotechnology Industry Organization. He was named 1997 Man of the Year by the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America and is a member of the Health Industry Manufacturers Association.
A graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Holveck was instrumental in the development of the pharmaceutical product development program at his alma mater. The Board of Governors approved the new degree program in April 1999.
Other members of the Board of Governors are Charles A. Gomulka, Pittsburgh, chairman; Kim E. Lyttle, Pittsburgh, vice chair; Syed R. Ali-Zaidi, Shippenville; Angela M. Ambrose, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania; Rep. Jeffrey W. Coy, Shippensburg; Secretary of Education Eugene W. Hickok Jr., Harrisburg; Sen. F. Joseph Loeper, Drexel Hill; James V. Manser IV, Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania; Gov. Thomas J. Ridge, Harrisburg; David M. Sanko, Harrisburg; B. Michael Schaul, Mechanicsburg; Rep. Jere W. Schuler, Lampeter; Sen. Patrick J. Stapleton, Indiana; John K. Thornburgh, Pittsburgh; Christine J. Toretti, Indiana; and Amy M. Yozviak, West Chester University of Pennsylvania. There is one vacancy.
The State System of Higher Education’s 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Nearly 350,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.
The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.