Maryland Gov. Glendening Launches ‘Smart Growth,’ Higher Education Initiative At Penn State

July 11, 2000
University Park, Pa. — Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening became chair of the National Governors’ Association (NGA) today at the conclusion of the governors’ annual meeting and launched a year-long initiative aimed at helping states develop strategies to address growth and quality-of-life issues.

The initiative — dubbed "Where Do We Grow From Here?" -- will focus on ways to help the governors manage future growth, increase preservation of natural resources, encourage community revitalization and ensure that Americans maintain a high quality of life.

The governors’ four-day meeting was held on Penn State’s University Park campus, with some sessions at other locations in and around the State College community and the Centre region.

Citing the appropriateness of the Penn State site, Glendening said another part of his initiative will focus on higher education. Among the education agenda’s points are the quality of higher education; the importance of lifelong learning; measures for meeting challenges in higher education; identifying costs; and measuring accountability.

The first question at the meeting’s final news conference came from Nikki Petrowicz of Norristown, a student in a Penn State advanced newswriting class taught by Russ Eshleman, who had a year’s leave of absence from The Philadelphia Inquirer to teach journalism at Penn State. Through the class, Petrowicz was able to cover NGA business program sessions and write bylined stories for a local newspaper.

Petrowicz asked Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge what the meeting’s most important accomplishment was. His answer: "The ability to demonstrate in a tangible way" that higher education, government, and the private sector can work together to strengthen the states in a new global economy that moves at Internet speed.

Another Penn State class related to the NGA meeting was a public relations class taught by Steve Manuel, senior lecturer in communications.

Glendening said his initiative will help governors "develop aggressive and innovative strategies to protect and improve our quality of life. Americans should not have to spend more time in traffic than they do at the family dinner table or at a child’s soccer game." Glendening said that rapid growth and sprawl are "destroying the fabric of our communities, creating congestion and costing taxpayers billions of dollars."

During Glendening’s chairmanship of NGA, Michigan Gov. John Engler will serve as NGA vice chair. In his opening remarks, Engler thanked Penn State President Graham Spanier and Board of Trustees Chairman Edward P. Junker for Penn State’s hospitality. "We wanted to showcase Pennsylvania, and I think we’ve had an opportunity to do that," Engler said.

Other governors taking part in the news conference were Delaware Gov. Thomas R. Carper and Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne.

NGA, founded in 1908, helps the governors work together to influence the development and implementation of national policy and apply creative leadership to state issues. Its members are the governors of the fifty states, three territories and two commonwealths.

For more information about NGA, its new "smart growth" initiative, and other activities, point your Web browser to http://www.nga.org.