New Board Of Directors Selects Officers To Guide
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, College Of Medicine

June 29, 2000
University Park, Pa. – In its first meeting since being established by the Penn State Board of Trustees earlier this year, the Board of Directors of The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center has appointed officers to set the course and agenda for the new medical center corporation.

The success of this clinical enterprise is essential to support Penn State’s College of Medicine, which will remain as the fundamental purpose and mission of the corporation and its Board of Directors.

Leading the appointments was the unanimous selection of Edward P. Junker III as chairman of the Board of Directors. Junker, who has served as chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees since 1998, is retired vice chairman of PNC Bank Corp and a 1959 graduate of Penn State.

Also appointed were Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., as chief executive officer of the corporation, and Wayne W. Zolko as secretary/treasurer.

Kirch will assume the roles of senior vice president for health affairs, dean of the College of Medicine and CEO of The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center on July 1. He succeeds Dr. C. McCollister Evarts, who is retiring effective June 30.

Zolko, associate vice president for finance and business/controller for the College of Medicine, oversees the financial and human resources services for the college, including the oversight of the 2.5 million square feet of facilities and 546 acres of land that comprise The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

The Board of Directors of The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center consists of 14 members: nine appointed by Penn State’s Board of Trustees, three selected as part of the initial establishment of the corporation who appoint their own successors, and two ex-officio members.

The directors appointed by the Penn State Board of Trustees are: Junker; Graham B. Spanier, president of Penn State; Donald M. Cook, Jr., retired president of SEMCOR, Inc.; Marian U. Fredman, president of The Barash Group; Steve A. Garban, senior vice president for finance and operations/treasurer emeritus of Penn State; Carol Herrmann, president of Pinnacle Development; L.J. Rowell, Jr., retired chairman of the board, president, and CEO of Provident Mutual Life; Gary C. Schultz, senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer at Penn State; and William L. Weiss, chairman emeritus of Ameritech Corporation.

The three board members selected from outside the University are: Dennis Brenckle, president and CEO of PNC Bank Central Pennsylvania, based in Camp Hill; Peter Carlino, chairman and CEO of Penn National Gaming, Inc. of Wyomissing; and John Rhodes, president of Rhodes Development Group in Lemoyne.

In addition to Kirch, who serves as an ex-officio member of the board through his role as dean of the College of Medicine and chief executive officer, Herbert Reynolds was elected by the clinical department chairs to serve ex-officio on the board. Reynolds is the J. Lloyd Huck Professor of Medicine and chair of the Department of Medicine at Penn State.

Terms for each of the board members range from one to three years.

At its May meeting, Penn State’s Board of Trustees approved the establishment of a new Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation controlled by the University and named "The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center" for the purpose of employing personnel, owning equipment and holding the hospital and other licenses necessary to provide health care services. This was the final action toward completing Penn State’s de-merger with the Geisinger Health System.

Contact: Tysen Kendig, Department of Public Information, (814) 865-7517 or .