University alumni re-elected incumbents Steve A. Garban, senior vice president for finance and operations/treasurer emeritus at Penn State; Barry K. Robinson, senior counsel for corporate affairs for the Recording Industry Association of America, Inc.; and Paul V. Suhey, orthopedic surgeon and partner at University Orthopedics and Sports Medicine.

Delegates of agricultural societies elected Keith W. Eckel, partner of the Fred W. Eckel Sons Farms, Inc., and Dennis C. Wolff, owner of Pen-Col Farms. Current board members Roger A. Madigan and Boyd E. Wolff chose not to run for re-election by the agricultural societies.

Delegates of industrial societies re-elected incumbents Edward P. Junker III, retired vice chairman of PNC Bank Corp., and L.J. Rowell, Jr., chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officer (retired) of Provident Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Incumbents re-elected by alumni

·               Steve A. Garban. A second term on the Board of Trustees continues Garban’s longtime association with the University. During his 33-year career at Penn State, he rose to increasingly responsible positions and served as an officer the last 22 years of his career – 10 as controller and 12 as senior vice president/treasurer. Presently he serves as a director of Metropolitan Life Series Fund in New York; State Street Research and Management Mutual Funds in Boston; and The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Board of Directors. In tribute to his outstanding service and contributions to the University, Garban received the John E. Wilkinson Award for Administrative Excellence in 1993 and was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 1995. He graduated from Penn State in 1959 with a B.S. in business. Garban was first elected to the Board of Trustees by the alumni for a three-year term beginning July 1, 1998.

·               Barry K. Robinson. A practicing attorney, Robinson is senior counsel for corporate affairs for the Recording Industry Association of America, Inc., the nonprofit trade association representing the United States sound recording industry. Previously, he served as senior counsel for international investment and trade in the U.S. Department of Commerce. A 1967 graduate of Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts, Robinson served as an elected member on the Penn State Alumni Council (1984-89), chaired its marketing committee, and is a former member of its executive board. He is active in the recruitment of high school students from the greater Washington, D.C. area. He is the vice president of the African American Alumni Interest Group. In 1996, he was the recipient of the College of the Liberal Arts Alumni Society’s Service to Penn State Award. Robinson was first elected by the alumni for a three-year term beginning July 1, 1989, and was reelected for succeeding terms.

·                Paul V. Suhey. Suhey is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon practicing in State College. He was previously chief of orthopedics and director of sports medicine at Riverside Hospital and vice chairman of orthopedics at St. Vincent’s Medical Center. He co-founded the Atlantic Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center and was clinical assistant professor at the University of North Florida. Suhey, a third-generation Penn State graduate, received his bachelor’s degree from Penn State in 1979. He is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association, the Football Letterman’s Club, and a member of the President’s Circle. He is also a member of many medical societies and organizations including the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, American College of Sports Medicine and the American Osteopathic Orthopaedic Academy. Suhey was first elected to the Board of Trustees by the alumni for a three-year term beginning July 1, 1998.

New members elected by agricultural societies

·               Keith W. Eckel. Eckel is a partner, along with his brother Douglas, of the Fred W. Eckel Sons Farms, Inc. in northeast Pennsylvania. The farm produces tomatoes, sweet corn, and pumpkins for fresh market, in addition to extensive grain, wheat, and dairy operations. He currently serves on the board of Nationwide Insurance, and was previous board chairman of Allied Group, Inc. and CalFarm Insurance. Among agricultural organizations, Eckel is a member of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Land Preservation Board. He is a former president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, held various positions with the American Farm Bureau Federation, and served as vice president of the Pennsylvania Council of Cooperative Extension Association – which he helped establish – and board member of the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association. In 1998, he received the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award, and earned Penn State’s Master Farmer Award in 1982.

·                Dennis C. Wolff. Since 1969, Wolff has owned and operated Pen-Col Farms, a 700-acre, 500-head dairy farm specializing in purebred Holstein genetics. He has been involved with American Breeders Services, Inc. in sampling and marketing Holstein genetics internationally since 1987. Wolff currently serves on the board of directors of Millville Mutual Insurance Company, and was previously on the board of Northern Central Bank. He is also a member of the state committee for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. Outside of his agricultural exploits, Wolff has been president of the Nicholas Wolff Foundation, Inc. Camp Victory, a non-profit summer camp for handicapped and chronically ill children, since 1986.

Incumbents re-elected by industrial societies:

·               Edward P. Junker III. Junker began his banking career in 1964 with Marine Bank, where he rose through numerous management positions before being elected president in 1974 and chief executive officer in 1983. In 1984 Marine Bank was merged into PNC Bank. He was elected chairman and CEO of PNC Bank Northwest PA and vice chairman of PNC Bank Corp. – positions he held until his retirement in 1997. Junker received his B.S. from Penn State in 1959. Active in the development of Penn State, he is vice chair of the campaign steering committee and a member of the executive board for A Grand Destiny: The Penn State Campaign. He also served as a member of the executive committee of The Campaign for Penn State and served on the National Development Council. He serves as chairman of the board of directors of The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and is former chairman and a member of the Council of Fellows at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. Junker was first elected to the Board of Trustees by the delegates of the industrial societies for a three-year term beginning July 1, 1986 and was re-elected for succeeding terms. He was elected vice president of the board in 1996 and 1997, and was elected president of the board in 1998, 1999, and 2000.

·               L.J. Rowell, Jr. Rowell, retired chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officer of Provident Mutual Life, received a B.S. in hotel administration from Penn State in 1955. Following graduation, he was a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and served on active duty from 1955 to 1957. He is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association and has served on the national Campaign for Penn State. He has been honored with the University’s Athletic Alumni Award, two Alumni Fellow Awards, and the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Southeast Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross; The PMA Group; the American College; The Foundation at Paoli; and the Board of Directors of The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Rowell was first elected to the Board of Trustees by the delegates from the industrial societies for a three-year term beginning July 1, 1992 and was re-elected for succeeding terms.

Penn State’s Board of Trustees is comprised of six members appointed by the governor, nine elected by University alumni, and six members each elected by agricultural and industrial societies. In addition, five members are ex officio by right of their office, including Governor Thomas J. Ridge, Penn State President Graham B. Spanier, Secretary of Agriculture Samuel E. Hayes, Jr., Secretary of Education (acting) Charles B. Zogby, and Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources John C. Oliver.

            For more information on Penn State’s Board of Trustees, go to http://www.psu.edu/trustees.

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