Harrisburg – Kenneth M. Jarin, a partner in the Philadelphia-based law firm Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, has been re-elected to a fifth one-year term as chairman of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s (PASSHE) Board of Governors.

The Board also re-elected as its vice chairs C.R. “Chuck” Pennoni, chairman of the board of Pennoni Associates Inc. of Philadelphia and interim president of Drexel University, and Aaron A. Walton, senior vice president of corporate affairs for Highmark Inc. of Pittsburgh. Mr. Pennoni has served as vice chair for six years; Mr. Walton, for two.

The 20-member Board of Governors has overall responsibility for planning and coordinating the development and operation of PASSHE, which is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, enrolling more than 112,500 students. The Board establishes broad fiscal, personnel and educational policies under which the 14 PASSHE universities operate.

Mr. Jarin of Newtown represents both public and private employers in the areas of labor relations and contract negotiations. He has served as chief labor negotiator for the Commonwealth and the City of Philadelphia. He is past Chairman of the Board of the Philadelphia Region of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and a member of the ADL’s National Executive Committee. He served on the National Council on the Arts, the governing board of the National Endowment for the Arts, from 1994 to 1998. Mr. Jarin earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his law degree from Temple University.

Mr. Jarin was appointed to the Board of Governors in 2005 and recently was re-appointed to a new four-year term.

Mr. Pennoni of Bryn Mawr founded his consulting engineering firm in 1966. He was named interim president of Drexel University in April following the death of President Constantine Papadakis. He previously served as chair of the university’s Board of Trustees. He has both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in civil engineering and an honorary doctorate from Drexel. Mr. Pennoni has served on the engineering advisory boards of Widener University, University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University and on the advisory board of the Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation. He has been licensed as a professional engineer in 11 states, has been inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, and is past president of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology and a past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Mr. Pennoni was appointed to the Board of Governors in 2003 and recently was re-appointed to a second four-year term. He also chairs the Board’s Finance, Administration and Facilities Committee.

Mr. Walton of Allison Park is responsible for administering Highmark’s public policy and social mission strategy and overseeing the departments of Community Affairs, Community Health and Strategic Health Initiatives, the Highmark Foundation and Gateway Health Plan. He serves on the Council of Trustees at California University of Pennsylvania and previously served as its chair from 1999-2003. He holds a bachelor’s degree in speech pathology and audiology from California University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Mr. Walton was first appointed to the Board of Governors in 2005 and was recently re-appointed for four more years. He also chairs the Board’s Academic and Student Affairs Committee.

The Board also welcomed four new members. They are Richard Kneedler of Lancaster, president emeritus of Franklin and Marshall College; Joseph F. McGinn of Linwood, sheriff of Delaware County; Harold C. Shields of Allison Park, principal in Harold C. Shields HR Consulting LLC., and chair of the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Council of Trustees; and Thomas M. Sweitzer of Swarthmore, a partner in The Campaign Group, a Philadelphia-based advertising agency, and a member of the Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania Council of Trustees.

Other members of the Board of Governors are Rep. Matthew E. Baker of Wellsboro; Marie Conley Lammando, Steelton; Paul S. Dlugolecki, Mechanicsburg; Rep. Michael K. Hanna, Lock Haven; Sen. Vincent J. Hughes, Philadelphia; Ryan R. Jerico, Canonsburg; Sen. Jeffrey E. Piccola, Harrisburg; Guido M. Pichini, Wyomissing; Gov. Edward G. Rendell; Christine J. Toretti, Indiana; and Secretary of Education Gerald L. Zahorchak. There are two vacancies.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with more than 112,500 students. The 14 PASSHE universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Approximately 405,000 PASSHE 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. PASSHE also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Freeport, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg.