Administration

Trustees name Harrisburg campus library in honor of Madlyn Hanes

The Penn State Harrisburg Library has been named the Madlyn L. Hanes Library in honor of the University’s longtime senior vice president for Commonwealth Campuses and executive chancellor, who will retire Aug. 1, 2021, following a 33-year career at Penn State. Credit: Penn State Harrisburg / Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The library building at Penn State Harrisburg has been named the Madlyn L. Hanes Library in honor of the University’s senior vice president for Commonwealth Campuses and executive chancellor, who will retire from Penn State on Aug. 1.

The Penn State Board of Trustees announced the library’s new name, which takes effect immediately, during its meeting today (July 15) at University Park. 

“The Board of Trustees wishes to honor Madlyn for her distinguished 33-year career at Penn State and the enduring legacy she leaves behind at our Commonwealth Campuses,” said Board Chairman Matthew Schuyler. “As a tireless advocate for the transformative value of higher education, and for our students, our campuses and the communities they serve, it is only fitting that the Harrisburg campus library will bear her name and stand as a testament to her immeasurable legacy in perpetuity.” 

Hanes served as Penn State Harrisburg’s chancellor from 2000 to 2010 before her appointment as the chief academic and administrative leader of the University’s 20 Commonwealth Campuses. Hanes has held a variety of senior leadership positions since arriving at the University in 1988, including serving as chief academic officer of Penn State Delaware County, now Penn State Brandywine, and as Penn State Great Valley’s chief executive officer and the founding head of its School of Graduate Professional Studies. 

Under Hanes’ leadership, the Commonwealth Campuses, which enroll approximately 27,000 students, have added a significant number of high-demand baccalaureate degree programs to meet student and regional career needs, instituted a differentiated tuition structure to reflect the demographic circumstances of local regions and the resource needs of students, and developed new institutional partnerships and articulation agreements to increase admissions access. The campuses also have launched 21 innovation hubs that are helping to advance entrepreneurship and spark economic activity in communities across Pennsylvania; made significant investments in research, technology and facilities infrastructure; and substantially increased institutional student aid.

The Harrisburg campus library, which encompasses three stories and 115,000 square feet, is an academic research library with 300,000 volumes, more than 600 journals, and 1.3 million microforms. 

Last Updated March 21, 2022