July 19, 2002
Charles A. Gomulka re-elected chair of Board of Governors
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
Charles A. Gomulka, president and chief executive officer of G&Z Investments Ltd., a Pittsburgh-based investment banking holding company, has been re-elected to a third term as chairman of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors.
“I appreciate the support and vote of confidence from my fellow Board members,” Gomulka said. “I am desirous of working with the Board and Chancellor Judy Hample in moving the System forward and am looking forward to serving another year as Board chair.”
R. Benjamin Wiley, chief executive officer of the Greater Erie Community Action Committee, and Kim E. Lyttle, vice president of public affairs for National City Bank of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh, were re-elected vice chairs of the 20-member Board. Wiley was re-elected to a seventh one-year term; Lyttle, to a sixth.
The Board of Governors has overall responsibility for planning and coordinating the development and operation of the State System, which is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, enrolling nearly 100,000 students. The Board establishes broad fiscal, personnel and educational policies under which the 14 state-owned universities that comprise the State System operate.
The State System universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Combined, the universities have nearly 570,000 alumni, including more than 361,000 who live in Pennsylvania.
As president and CEO of G&Z Investments, 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.
A certified public accountant and graduate of Point Park College in Pittsburgh., Mr. Gomulka serves as a director of National Waste Industries, 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 Directors 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.
The Greater Erie Community Action Committee, which Mr. Wiley administers, 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, which was founded in 1965 with one staff member and an annual budget of $60,000, today has a staff of nearly 500 and operates out of 29 sites in Erie County, managing 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. Lyttle oversees National City’s corporate giving program, as well as its community development and governmental relations activities. He is chairman of the Board of Directors of the Fund for the Advancement of the State System of Higher Education, Inc., and a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges based in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Lyttle also has been a member of Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Council of Trustees since 1983, currently serving as vice chairman.
The Board of Governors 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.
The State System 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.