UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s Division of Development and Alumni Relations has selected Lydell Sargeant to serve as the next senior director of development for the College of the Liberal Arts, effective March 18. He succeeds Geoff Halberstadt, who was recently named an assistant vice president of university development for the University.
Sargeant is a Penn State alumnus, having earned his baccalaureate degree in kinesiology in 2011. He also earned his master’s degree from California University of Pennsylvania in 2013 and is currently completing his doctoral work in organizational leadership from Grand Canyon University.
Sargeant was a four-year letter-winner and All Big-Ten defensive back for the Penn State football team while a student and represented his fellow student-athletes on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He also was actively involved in the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns on campus, which included launching PSUVote — a bipartisan student voting registration organization that helped increase Penn State student voter participation in the 2008 election by 120%.
After his time playing for the Nittany Lions, Sargeant played football professionally for the Buffalo Bills and worked for an organization that provided contract administration and representation/endorsement services to members of the NFL Players Association. He began his career in higher education institutional advancement at Utah Valley University in 2015, with positions of progressive responsibility ensuing at Marquette University, UCLA and Morgan State University. While serving as the chief development officer and senior associate athletic director at Morgan State, Sargeant secured the largest-ever gift to an athletic program at a historically Black college and university and collaborated to secure an eight-figure donation for the institution.
Sargeant returned to his alma mater in December 2022 to become a director of major gifts for the Penn State College of Engineering. He also currently serves as president of the Penn State Football Lettermen’s Club.
“I am absolutely thrilled that Lydell has agreed to fill this vital role for our college,” said Clarence Lang, Susan Welch Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts. “His deeply rooted connection to his alma mater, his fundraising acumen, and his appreciation for the valuable role that the liberal arts continue to play today make him the ideal person to fill this role. I look forward to working together and lifting the college to even greater heights.”
"I'm excited to join the College of the Liberal Arts during this pivotal moment for both the college and the University," Sargeant said. "With Dean Lang's leadership, the collaboration among enthusiastic alumni and supporters holds the potential to significantly enhance the student experience and contribute to the advancement of both the college and our esteemed Penn State community."