American Water Works Chairman Next Forum Speaker

January 29, 2003
University Park, Pa. – Marilyn Ware, chairman emerita of American Water Works, will deliver the Penn State Forum lecture at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at the Nittany Lion Inn. The topic of her presentation is "Ready, Set, LearnÉJump-Starting Our Future."

            Ware was named chairman of American Water Works Company, Inc. - the largest publicly traded U.S. corporation devoted exclusively to the business of water - in 1988, after serving as vice chairman of the board since 1984, and as a member of the board since 1982.

Last fall, she was appointed by President Bush to serve as a member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Committee (NIAC), which makes recommendations to the president regarding the security of the cyber and information systems of the United States' national security and economic critical infrastructures and examines ways that partnerships between the public and private sectors can be enhanced to improve cyber security. 

Ware also chairs Pennsylvania's Early Childhood Care and Education Task Force. The 33-member task force work's with members of Pennsylvania's academic and research community to examine existing and potential programs and services for children from birth to age eight.

In 2000, she received the prestigious Water Resources Association Samuel S. Baxter Memorial Award for sound water resource management in the Philadelphia region. That same year she was named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania for exemplary citizenship and involvement.

Prior to joining American Water Works, she was president of the Solanco Publishing Company and president and publisher of The Sun-Ledger from 1978 to 1982.

The Penn State Forum is a lunchtime speaker series offered by the Faculty Staff Club and is sponsored in part by the Penn State Bookstore. It is open to the public. Tickets are $10 for members and $12 for non-members and include lunch. Reservations can be made by mail or by stopping by the Faculty Staff Club office at 103 HUB-Robeson Center. Tickets will be on sale at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. followed by the speech and a question-and-answer session at noon. For more information call (814) 865-7590.

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Contact: Amy Neil, Department of Public Information, at (814) 865-7517 or e-mail aen4@psu.edu