Charles A. Gomulka, president and chief executive officer of Russell, Rea, Zappala & Gomulka Holdings, Inc., of Pittsburgh, has been elected chairman of the State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors.

He succeeds F. Eugene Dixon, Jr., who had served as the Board’s chairman since the System’s inception in 1983. Mr. Dixon resigned from the Board at the conclusion of today’s quarterly meeting. He had announced his intention to do so in April.

Mr. Gomulka has served on the 20-member Board of Governors since 1997. He was appointed to the Board by Gov. Tom Ridge.

The Board also re-elected its two vice chairs.

R. Benjamin Wiley of Erie was re-elected to a fifth one-year term and Kim E. Lyttle of Pittsburgh was chosen to the position for a fourth straight year. Both Mr. Wiley and Mr. Lyttle have been members of the Board since 1995.

“We have had a long, successful working relationship with the Board of Governors,” said Chancellor James H. McCormick. “I look forward to working with the new Board leadership as we strive toward continued excellence for the State System.”

As a member of the Board’s human resources committee, Mr. Gomulka has been actively involved in the development and implementation of the State System’s systemic change initiative, which was undertaken to help improve the operating efficiency of the state-owned universities while assuring their continued academic excellence.

“I would like to see a continuation of the whole change management process we started over a year ago,” Mr. Gomulka said as he prepared to begin his new role as Board chair.

Mr. Gomulka said he also would like to see the State System “do a better job of getting its message out to industries in Pennsylvania.”

The System has begun working more closely with businesses in Pennsylvania, through such efforts as the creation of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for statewide programming, and the Office of Corporate Alliances. The Board of Governors also last year established a venture capital loan program designed to encourage the universities to develop programs that address specific workforce needs in the Commonwealth.

In an era of increasing competitiveness in higher education, each of the State System universities needs to identify its “core competencies,” or areas in which it excels, said Mr. Gomulka.

“For an institution to survive in this competitive environment, it has to have a core competency that brings students there,” he said. “Our universities need to identify those and highlight them.”

As chairman of the Board of Governors, Mr. Gomulka said he will seek the continued support of the administration and legislature.

“I think our good work is being recognized,” he said, citing the recent nearly $20 million special appropriation the System received in the 2000-01 state budget.

A portion of that special appropriation will go toward performance incentives and rewards for the universities for meeting System goals and addressing Commonwealth needs. Nearly $6 million will be added to the venture capital loan program.

“We will be able to clearly demonstrate the proper use of those dollars,” Mr. Gomulka said.

As president and CEO of Russell, Rea, Zappala & Gomulka Holdings, Mr. Gomulka is the firm’s most senior operating officer and its most experienced investment banker. He is responsible for resource management at the firm, particularly asset management and the formation of short- and long-term objectives.

Mr. Gomulka was one of the first investment bankers in the nation to raise low-interest mortgage money on a tax-exempt basis for first-time homebuyers. His efforts led to the passage of legislation in Pennsylvania making this type of financing possible. Subsequently, the firm has acted as senior manager of more than $1 billion in such financings nationwide.

Mr. Gomulka is a certified public accountant and a graduate of Point Park College in Pittsburgh. He is director FBG Enterprises, Inc.; OnQ Technologies, Inc.; Wisdom Technologies, Inc.; InfoSAGE, Inc.; Stargate Industries, Inc.; Mediasite.com; and Alphamagnetics, Inc. In addition, he serves on the Board of Trustees of Point Park College and holds the position of chairman of the board of RRZ Capital Markets, Inc.; RRZ Investment Management, Inc.; and Kinetic Workplace, Inc.

Mr. Gomulka is married to Deborah J. Gomulka, who is a graduate of Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and has a master’s degree from Duquesne University. The couple has two grown children, a son and daughter.

Mr. Wiley is executive director of the Greater Erie Community Action Committee (GECAC), a position he has held for more than 25 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. GECAC 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.

Mr. Wiley was appointed to the Board of Governors five years ago by Gov. Ridge. He has been a member of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania’s Council of Trustees since 1983, serving as its chair from 1994 to 1999.

Mr. Lyttle is vice president of public affairs for National City Bank of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. He also oversees National City’s corporate giving program, community development and governmental relations activities.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Fund for the Advancement of the State System of Higher Education, Inc., and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.

Mr. Lyttle also was appointed to the Board of Governors by Gov. Ridge. He also has served on Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Council of Trustees since 1983.

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 14 state-owned universities operate.

The Board comprises the governor or his designee; the state secretary of education or his designee; four state legislators appointed by the respective House and Senate Republican and Democratic caucuses; 11 members appointed by the governor, at least five of whom must be members of university councils of trustees; and three student leaders from System universities.

House and Senate leaders appoint the four legislative members to the Board at the beginning of each legislative session. Each of the 11 members named by the governor is appointed to a four-year term and must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming his or her seat on the Board.

The student Board members are selected from among the university student government presidents serving at the time a vacancy occurs. They also are nominated by the governor and must be confirmed by the Senate. The student members may serve until their graduation.

The State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Its 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.