July 14, 2000
F. EUGENE DIXON, JR. NAMED CHAIRMAN EMERITUS
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
The State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors has conferred the status of chairman emeritus upon retired Board Chairman F. Eugene Dixon, Jr.
Mr. Dixon retired from the Board at the conclusion of most recent quarterly meeting. He had been the only Board chair in the State System’s 17-year history.
“There will be a successor; there will be no replacement,” Gov. Tom Ridge said at the beginning of the Board meeting in recognition of Mr. Dixon’s long and distinguished tenure.
Gov. Ridge is a member of the 20-member Board, which oversees the operations and sets broad policies for the 14 state-owned universities that comprise the State System.
Mr. Dixon was appointed to the Board of Governors by then-Gov. Dick Thornburgh upon the creation of the State System in 1982. He later was reappointed to successive four-year terms by both former Gov. Robert P. Casey and Gov. Ridge.
The founding Board elected Mr. Dixon its first chairman and he subsequently was re-elected to 17 consecutive terms. He had announced in April his intention to step down from the Board after the July meeting.
Before conferring emeritus status on Mr. Dixon, the Board first had to adopt a new Board policy. The policy permits the granting of emeritus status to former Board chairs and members, as well as to System chancellors and university presidents.
To be eligible for emeritus status, an individual must have spent at least 10 continuous years in his or her leadership position and have shown “an exemplary record of service through demonstrated commitments of time, talent and resources” to the State System.
The emeriti designation requires a two-thirds majority vote of the Board of Governors. The vote on Mr. Dixon was unanimous.
“We truly have been the beneficiaries of an uncommon kind of leadership in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Chancellor James H. McCormick said during Mr. Dixon’s final meeting. “Mr. Dixon has been our leader, partner and advocate.”
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.