April 10, 2003
Millersville president granted emeritus status
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
The Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education has conferred president emeritus status upon Millersville University of Pennsylvania President Joseph A. Caputo, who will retire in June.
Dr.Caputo – the longest currently serving president in the State System – has been president at Millersville University for 22 years. During that time, he has led Millersville’s development from a state college to a university that is consistently recognized for quality around the nation, according to Board Chairman Charles A. Gomulka.
“His strong leadership helped to define the role of president within the System,” Gomulka said. “Throughout his career, he has served as an important adviser and counsel to System presidents and chancellors.”
Millersville has grown both in terms of enrollment and academic stature under Dr. Caputo’s leadership. The university established an Honors College during his tenure and has been rated regularly as one of the best regional institutions in the Northeast by such national publications as U.S. News & World Report, Kiplinger’s and Money magazines.
Students have benefited from the development of new programs at the university and from the establishment of such events as the annual Holocaust Conference and Carter
Woodson Lecture, which have brought to campus such acclaimed speakers as the Reverend Leon Sullivan, author Alex Haley and Nobel Prize winner Ellie Wiesel, among others.
Caputo also led the first capital campaign in the university’s history, raising $27.5 million, and oversaw the revitalization and expansion of the Millersville University campus through the renovation and construction of 18 buildings.
A university president must serve for at least 10 years to be eligible for emeriti status. He or she also must have “an exemplary record of service through demonstrated commitments of time, talents and resources” and “documented leadership in advancing the mission of the System in its service to the Commonwealth.”
The Board voted unanimously to grant the special recognition to Caputo.
With more than 101,000 students, the Pennsylvania 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. More than 360,000 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. The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.