June 30, 2011

Student leaders from California, Millersville Universities named to PASSHE Board of Governors

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

Harrisburg – The student government presidents from California and Millersville Universities of Pennsylvania have been named to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors.

Bonnie L. Keener, president of the Student Government Association at Cal U., and Sarah C. Darling, president of the Student Senate at Millersville, will join Leonard B. Altieri III from West Chester University of Pennsylvania on the 20-member board, which has overall responsibility for planning and coordinating the development and operation of PASSHE. Altieri was appointed to the Board last year.

The student members of the Board of Governors are selected from among the sitting student government presidents at the 14 PASSHE universities. Once appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate, a student member may serve until he or she is graduated. The three student members participate in all discussions of the Board and have the same voting rights as all other members.

Keener of Edinboro was elected Cal U.’s SGA president last year. A senior liberal studies major with a minor in leadership and business, she also serves on the Board of Directors of the Student Association Inc. at Cal U., which oversees a variety of student activities and business operations. She is an orientation leader and a peer mentor.

She has been active in numerous campus events and activities, having twice planned and participated in “The Big Event,” a day of service where more than 300 students go into the community to assist residents with a variety of projects. Keener also has participated in the National Conference on Student Leadership, as well as Cal U.’s Convocation and Mission Day programs. She is the recipient of multiple scholarships, including the Bill and Candace Booker Student Leadership Scholarship and the SAI Student Leadership Scholarship.

Darling of Lancaster was elected president of Millersville’s Student Senate in Spring 2010. A senior speech communications and public relations major, she also serves as an elected student representative to the University Honors College Committee, University Dining Committee and University Sustainability Committee, and as a member of the state Department of Education’s College Textbook Policies Advisory Committee.

She has been active in a variety of other campus activities and is a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America and Millersville University Christian Fellowship. She also attended the 2009 National Conference of Student Government Associations at Texas A&M University.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with nearly 120,000 students. The 14 PASSHE universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Nearly 500,000 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.