UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Tina Hay, editor of The Penn Stater magazine for the past 22 years, announced today (July 18) that she will be leaving her role, effective Oct. 1, to begin a phased retirement from Penn State.
A committee will be formed to begin a search for the next editor of the bimonthly magazine. The Penn Stater is a benefit of membership in the Penn State Alumni Association — the nation’s largest dues-paying alumni association, with more than 173,000 members.
Hay has been on the University staff for more than 34 years, serving as assistant to the dean for university relations in the College of Health and Human Development from 1983 to 1996, then being named editor of The Penn Stater in 1996.
Under her leadership, The Penn Stater has become one of the leading alumni magazines in the country. It has earned more than 200 national awards, including the 2007 Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year Award, given by Newsweek and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). More recently, The Penn Stater’s unflinching coverage of the Sandusky scandal — including an entire issue devoted to the crisis and numerous stories in subsequent issues — earned more than two dozen national honors, including the top award from the Public Relations Society of America.
“For many Penn Staters, Tina Hay has been their connection to ‘Dear Old State’ through her storytelling in The Penn Stater magazine,” said Paul J. Clifford, CEO of the Alumni Association. “Her honesty, wit, charm and tact have served as beacons to her team and moved alumni to action and emotion. Any list of the most influential collegiate magazine editors has to include Tina Hay near or at the very top. For the better part of the last quarter-century, we’ve been grateful to have her as part of the Penn State Alumni Association team.”
Hay has been a frequent faculty member at CASE conferences, earning the organization’s Crystal Apple Award for Teaching Excellence. She chaired the first-ever CASE Editors Forum in 1997 and has co-chaired the annual conference twice since then. She also has been an invited speaker at conferences sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Association Media and Publishing, and other organizations.
She has been a frequent speaker at Penn State alumni events, having given presentations at reunions and to more than 40 alumni chapters and affiliate groups nationwide, and is a popular host on Alumni Association tours.
“I’m mindful that only a half-dozen people have been editor of this magazine in its more-than-100-year history,” Hay said. “It’s a privilege to serve in the role. I’m really grateful for the creative talent and hard work of the magazine staff, and the administrative support, that enable us to produce a high-quality magazine for our readers, issue after issue.
“Still, 22 years is a long time to stay in the same job, and I’m eager to explore some other possibilities and passions before my working career is over.”
During her phased retirement, Hay will continue to contribute to The Penn Stater as an editor-at-large, assisting with planning and developing feature stories and creating a more robust online presence for the magazine, among other responsibilities.
Hay is a graduate of Penn State’s Smeal College of Business and the University Scholars Program (the forerunner to the Schreyer Honors College).
The Penn State Alumni Association connects alumni to the University and to each other; provides valuable benefits to members; and supports the University’s mission of teaching, research and service. More information about the Alumni Association is available at alumni.psu.edu.