Board of Trustees Election Results Announced
By: Administrator
Updated: May 4, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, CENTRE COUNTY - Penn State alumni, delegates of agriculture societies and the board (representative of business and industry endeavors) elected three incumbents and four new members to serve on the University's Board of Trustees. Election results were announced at the board meeting today.
University alumni elected Anthony P. Lubrano, Ryan J. McCombie and Adam J. Taliaferro.
Delegates of the agricultural societies elected incumbent Carl T. Shaffer and newcomer Donald G. Cotner.
The board also re-elected two incumbents representing business and industry: Kenneth C. Frazier and Edward R. Hintz.
"We welcome and congratulate our four new members," said Karen Peetz, chair of the Penn State Board of Trustees. "This year's election saw unprecedented participation from our alumni, with 37,563 ballots cast -- more than any in previous history. The board looks forward to working with our new members, alongside President Erickson and University leadership, to maintain trust and carry on Penn State's tradition of excellence."
Throughout this election and beyond, the trustees remain committed to building on the openness platform established by President Rodney Erickson, Peetz said adding that KPMG was engaged to observe the Alumni trustee election tabulation process.
"This open process reaffirms that when alumni electors are mobilized, their collective voice can be heard," said Keith Masser, vice chair of the board. "Penn State has always gained its strength from students and alumni, and this election is a testament to that."
In addition to a record number of votes, this year's alumni election also had a record number of candidates, 86, vying for three positions. Each had a biography and position statement posted to the Board of Trustees website. In addition, to help alumni learn more about the candidates and their positions before voting, the Penn State Alumni Association, through its Penn Stater magazine, posed three questions to each alumni candidate on key issues facing Penn State and posted the candidates' answers online. The Alumni Association also facilitated a "meet the candidates" event before the annual Blue-White football game on April 21 in order to allow the candidates to further discuss their viewpoints with alumni.
"We thank each of the candidates for their commitment to and passion for Penn State. We greatly respect and appreciate their right -- and the right of all alumni -- to express opinions on any matters affecting the University," said Peetz. "We continue to remember and learn from the past, but we are also focused on the future of this great University. We look forward to working with our new colleagues in support of the entire Penn State community."
Board members elected by the alumni are:
Anthony P. Lubrano
Lubrano graduated magna cum laude from Penn State in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He began his career in NYC with Deloitte Haskins & Sells, during which time he obtained his CPA, went on to join a division of Goldman Sachs and subsequently First Boston Corp. In 1989 he founded A.P Lubrano & Co. Inc., a financial services and wealth management firm based in Exton, Pa.
A lifetime member of the Alumni Association and a member of the Nittany Lion Club, Lubrano served on the athletic committee at Penn State during the Grand Destiny Campaign, a fundraising effort that resulted in more than $1.3 billion in gifts. His lead gift to Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics led to the construction of Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, a 5,400-seat baseball stadium that opened in June 2006. Lubrano is a member of the Laurel Circle of the Mount Nittany Society as well as the Presidents Club.
Ryan J. McCombie
McCombie graduated from Penn State in 1970 and from the National War College in 1986. He became a Navy SEAL captain, serving the country for over 26 years. During that time McCombie worked as the first U.S. Military Attache for its embassy in the Republic of Congo. He also worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency and was a faculty member at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.
McCombie currently works as an independent business consultant and serves on the board of directors for several national firms. He is a member of the National Eagle Scout Association and sits on the board of directors for Centre County United Way. He also serves on the Board of Advisors for Outreach Development and chairs the military scholarship committee of the World Campus at Penn State. He is a member of the Penn State Mount Nittany Society and lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association.
Adam Joseph Taliaferro
Taliaferro earned his bachelor's degree in labor and industrial relations with a minor in dispute management and resolution fromPenn State in 2005, and a law degree from the Rutgers School of Law. He is an attorney with Duane Morris LLP in Cherry Hill, N.J., and is an elected member of the Board of Chosen Freeholders of Gloucester County, N.J. He also is a motivational speaker who travels across the country inspiring individuals to overcome adversity.
While at Penn State, Taliaferro suffered a career-ending spinal-cord injury playing football. Despite long odds, he was able to overcome paralysis and walk out of the hospital in four months. He is the founder of the Adam Taliaferro Foundation, which continues to provide emotional, financial and educational support to student-athletes who suffer catastrophic head or spinal injuries. Taliaferro is a lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association and recently served as Penn State's 2011 Homecoming grand marshal.
Board members elected by the agricultural societies are:
Carl T. Shaffer
A Pennsylvania Master Farmer who grows grain and vegetable crops, Shaffer was elected vice president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau in 1996, and was elected president in 2004. He currently serves on the board of the Pennsylvania Vegetable Marketing and Research Program and the Columbia County Agricultural Extension Association, is a member of the state Department of Environmental Protection Agricultural Advisory Board; the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association and the PFB Marketing Cooperative.
Shaffer has been a legislative chairman of the Columbia County Farm Bureau, chairman of USDA's Farm Service Agency State Committee and a leader in other organizations. Shaffer was first elected to the board in 1997.
Donald G. Cotner
Cotner is president of Cotner Farms Inc., an egg production, packaging and marketing enterprise that distributes eggs throughout the northeastern United States. He is managing partner in Don Cotner Farms, which raises corn and soybeans and manufactures feed for the production flocks. He is also a partner in Boyd Station, LLC, a facility that transloads feed commodities from rail and distributes them to mills via truck.
Cotner has sat on the board of directors of AgChoice Farm Credit and its predecessor for the past thirty years, serving as chairman two different times and also as chair of the audit committee. He chaired the merger committee to form AgChoice in 1999 that now has $1.4 billion in assets serving agriculture in Pennsylvania.
Re-elected members confirmed by the board representing business and industry:
Edward R. Hintz Jr.
Hintz is president of HHR Asset Management LLC, a private money management firm in New Jersey specializing in investment management for individuals, which he founded in 1974. He is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts. He graduated from Penn State in 1959 with a B.S. in business administration and received an MBA from Harvard University in 1963.
Hintz was named an Alumni Fellow by the College of Business Administration and a Distinguished Alumni of the University in 1987. Hintz is past chairman of A Grand Destiny: The Penn State Campaign, Penn State's second major capital campaign. He has chaired The National Development Council and has led fundraising efforts for the Bryce Jordan Center and Paterno Library. Hintz was elected vice chairman of the board in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and was elected chairman of the board in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
Kenneth C. Frazier
Frazier, president of the Global Human Health organization of Merck & Co., also is a member of Merck's executive committee, the senior management group that evaluates and makes strategic decisions for the company. Frazier joined Merck in 1992 as vice president, general counsel and secretary of the Astra Merck Group.
Prior to that, he was a partner with the Philadelphia firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath. He was elected Merck's vice president of public affairs in 1994 and, in 1997, assumed the additional responsibilities of assistant general counsel, corporate staff. Frazier was promoted to vice president and deputy general counsel in January 1999. In December 1999, he assumed the position of senior vice president and general counsel, overseeing Merck's legal and public affairs functions and The Merck Company Foundation. In November 2006 he was promoted to executive vice president and general counsel and was appointed to his current position in August 2007.
Penn State's Board of Trustees is composed of six members appointed by the governor, nine members elected by alumni and six members each elected by agricultural societies and by the board representing business and industry endeavors. In addition, five members are ex-officio by right of their office, including Gov. Thomas W. Corbett Jr.; Penn State President Rodney Erickson; acting Secretary of Agriculture George D. Greig; acting Secretary of Education Ronald J. Tomalis and acting Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources Richard J. Allan.
Source: live.psu.edu
University alumni elected Anthony P. Lubrano, Ryan J. McCombie and Adam J. Taliaferro.
Delegates of the agricultural societies elected incumbent Carl T. Shaffer and newcomer Donald G. Cotner.
The board also re-elected two incumbents representing business and industry: Kenneth C. Frazier and Edward R. Hintz.
"We welcome and congratulate our four new members," said Karen Peetz, chair of the Penn State Board of Trustees. "This year's election saw unprecedented participation from our alumni, with 37,563 ballots cast -- more than any in previous history. The board looks forward to working with our new members, alongside President Erickson and University leadership, to maintain trust and carry on Penn State's tradition of excellence."
Throughout this election and beyond, the trustees remain committed to building on the openness platform established by President Rodney Erickson, Peetz said adding that KPMG was engaged to observe the Alumni trustee election tabulation process.
"This open process reaffirms that when alumni electors are mobilized, their collective voice can be heard," said Keith Masser, vice chair of the board. "Penn State has always gained its strength from students and alumni, and this election is a testament to that."
In addition to a record number of votes, this year's alumni election also had a record number of candidates, 86, vying for three positions. Each had a biography and position statement posted to the Board of Trustees website. In addition, to help alumni learn more about the candidates and their positions before voting, the Penn State Alumni Association, through its Penn Stater magazine, posed three questions to each alumni candidate on key issues facing Penn State and posted the candidates' answers online. The Alumni Association also facilitated a "meet the candidates" event before the annual Blue-White football game on April 21 in order to allow the candidates to further discuss their viewpoints with alumni.
"We thank each of the candidates for their commitment to and passion for Penn State. We greatly respect and appreciate their right -- and the right of all alumni -- to express opinions on any matters affecting the University," said Peetz. "We continue to remember and learn from the past, but we are also focused on the future of this great University. We look forward to working with our new colleagues in support of the entire Penn State community."
Board members elected by the alumni are:
Anthony P. Lubrano
Lubrano graduated magna cum laude from Penn State in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He began his career in NYC with Deloitte Haskins & Sells, during which time he obtained his CPA, went on to join a division of Goldman Sachs and subsequently First Boston Corp. In 1989 he founded A.P Lubrano & Co. Inc., a financial services and wealth management firm based in Exton, Pa.
A lifetime member of the Alumni Association and a member of the Nittany Lion Club, Lubrano served on the athletic committee at Penn State during the Grand Destiny Campaign, a fundraising effort that resulted in more than $1.3 billion in gifts. His lead gift to Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics led to the construction of Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, a 5,400-seat baseball stadium that opened in June 2006. Lubrano is a member of the Laurel Circle of the Mount Nittany Society as well as the Presidents Club.
Ryan J. McCombie
McCombie graduated from Penn State in 1970 and from the National War College in 1986. He became a Navy SEAL captain, serving the country for over 26 years. During that time McCombie worked as the first U.S. Military Attache for its embassy in the Republic of Congo. He also worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency and was a faculty member at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.
McCombie currently works as an independent business consultant and serves on the board of directors for several national firms. He is a member of the National Eagle Scout Association and sits on the board of directors for Centre County United Way. He also serves on the Board of Advisors for Outreach Development and chairs the military scholarship committee of the World Campus at Penn State. He is a member of the Penn State Mount Nittany Society and lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association.
Adam Joseph Taliaferro
Taliaferro earned his bachelor's degree in labor and industrial relations with a minor in dispute management and resolution fromPenn State in 2005, and a law degree from the Rutgers School of Law. He is an attorney with Duane Morris LLP in Cherry Hill, N.J., and is an elected member of the Board of Chosen Freeholders of Gloucester County, N.J. He also is a motivational speaker who travels across the country inspiring individuals to overcome adversity.
While at Penn State, Taliaferro suffered a career-ending spinal-cord injury playing football. Despite long odds, he was able to overcome paralysis and walk out of the hospital in four months. He is the founder of the Adam Taliaferro Foundation, which continues to provide emotional, financial and educational support to student-athletes who suffer catastrophic head or spinal injuries. Taliaferro is a lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association and recently served as Penn State's 2011 Homecoming grand marshal.
Board members elected by the agricultural societies are:
Carl T. Shaffer
A Pennsylvania Master Farmer who grows grain and vegetable crops, Shaffer was elected vice president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau in 1996, and was elected president in 2004. He currently serves on the board of the Pennsylvania Vegetable Marketing and Research Program and the Columbia County Agricultural Extension Association, is a member of the state Department of Environmental Protection Agricultural Advisory Board; the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association and the PFB Marketing Cooperative.
Shaffer has been a legislative chairman of the Columbia County Farm Bureau, chairman of USDA's Farm Service Agency State Committee and a leader in other organizations. Shaffer was first elected to the board in 1997.
Donald G. Cotner
Cotner is president of Cotner Farms Inc., an egg production, packaging and marketing enterprise that distributes eggs throughout the northeastern United States. He is managing partner in Don Cotner Farms, which raises corn and soybeans and manufactures feed for the production flocks. He is also a partner in Boyd Station, LLC, a facility that transloads feed commodities from rail and distributes them to mills via truck.
Cotner has sat on the board of directors of AgChoice Farm Credit and its predecessor for the past thirty years, serving as chairman two different times and also as chair of the audit committee. He chaired the merger committee to form AgChoice in 1999 that now has $1.4 billion in assets serving agriculture in Pennsylvania.
Re-elected members confirmed by the board representing business and industry:
Edward R. Hintz Jr.
Hintz is president of HHR Asset Management LLC, a private money management firm in New Jersey specializing in investment management for individuals, which he founded in 1974. He is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts. He graduated from Penn State in 1959 with a B.S. in business administration and received an MBA from Harvard University in 1963.
Hintz was named an Alumni Fellow by the College of Business Administration and a Distinguished Alumni of the University in 1987. Hintz is past chairman of A Grand Destiny: The Penn State Campaign, Penn State's second major capital campaign. He has chaired The National Development Council and has led fundraising efforts for the Bryce Jordan Center and Paterno Library. Hintz was elected vice chairman of the board in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and was elected chairman of the board in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
Kenneth C. Frazier
Frazier, president of the Global Human Health organization of Merck & Co., also is a member of Merck's executive committee, the senior management group that evaluates and makes strategic decisions for the company. Frazier joined Merck in 1992 as vice president, general counsel and secretary of the Astra Merck Group.
Prior to that, he was a partner with the Philadelphia firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath. He was elected Merck's vice president of public affairs in 1994 and, in 1997, assumed the additional responsibilities of assistant general counsel, corporate staff. Frazier was promoted to vice president and deputy general counsel in January 1999. In December 1999, he assumed the position of senior vice president and general counsel, overseeing Merck's legal and public affairs functions and The Merck Company Foundation. In November 2006 he was promoted to executive vice president and general counsel and was appointed to his current position in August 2007.
Penn State's Board of Trustees is composed of six members appointed by the governor, nine members elected by alumni and six members each elected by agricultural societies and by the board representing business and industry endeavors. In addition, five members are ex-officio by right of their office, including Gov. Thomas W. Corbett Jr.; Penn State President Rodney Erickson; acting Secretary of Agriculture George D. Greig; acting Secretary of Education Ronald J. Tomalis and acting Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources Richard J. Allan.
Source: live.psu.edu
