Arnelle Receives Award From National Trustee Association

5-23-97
University Park, Pa. -- President of Penn State's Board of Trustees, H. Jesse Arnelle, attorney and senior partner of Arnelle, Hastie, McGee, Willis and Greene of San Francisco, Calif., has received the 1997 Distinguished Service Award in Trusteeship from the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.

The award, which is granted each year to one trustee from a public institution and one from a private institution, is sponsored by TIAA-CREF to recognize the service and accomplishments of volunteer leaders. Arnelle received a certificate and a $10,000 unrestricted grant to Penn State in his name at the association's National Conference on Trusteeship in San Diego in April.

"It is with deep respect and admiration that I nominate H. Jesse Arnelle for the award," wrote Penn State President Graham B. Spanier. "Jess is a true servant and leader. He, in my judgment, has set a standard of excellence and leadership for Penn State's board by making difficult decisions in which honesty, collegiality, and integrity were his hallmarks."

"What I cherish most about receiving this Distinguished Service Award in Trusteeship is the aspect of service," said Arnelle on accepting the award. "I am a firm believer in service -- service to your to family, community and business endeavors, and perhaps more important, service to your fellow man. I believe that service is my privilege. We are the stewards of institutions across the nation and our collective goal is to provide the thousands of young men and women in our care with the opportunity to enrich their minds, broaden their horizons and help them realize their dreams."

Arnelle was first elected to the Penn State Board of Trustees by the alumni in 1969 and has been reelected for eight successive three-year terms. He was elected chairman in 1996, becoming the first African-American to serve in that post.

Early in his tenure, Arnelle was instrumental in developing the committee structure that makes Penn State's board participatory and active, a structure that has been cited as a model for public institutions. He is co-founder of the Renaissance Fund, which has provided more than $2 million in scholarships for more than 1,500 of the brightest and neediest students.

A champion of diversity, affirmative action, and civil-rights causes, Arnelle has met often with students and faculty and staff over issues of racial climate and supported programs and funding that brought about increases in minority student enrollment in the 1980s. He was a leader in both the divestment of University funds in South Africa in 1987 and reinvestment after the change in leadership in 1994.

More recently, Arnelle helped bring about a redesign of the 22-campus system and was instrumental in the merger between Penn State and the Dickinson School of Law and the merger of the Geisinger Foundation and Penn State's Hershey Medical Center clinical enterprises to form the Penn State Geisinger Health System, both of which take effect July 1 this year.

A 1955 graduate of Penn State in political science, Arnelle was both an All-American in basketball and All-American honorable mention in football. He graduated from The Dickinson School of Law in 1962 and recently received an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Dickinson. He served in the Peace Corps in Turkey, India and Washington D.C. and was later admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Pennsylvania and California Supreme Courts.

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Contact: Christy Rambeau (814) 865-7517 office (814) 237-9046 home cmr7@psu.edu