Penn State’s board of trustees elects new chair, vice chair. Here’s what they said
Penn State’s board of trustees elected its two new leaders Friday for the next year.
Matt Schuyler, a 1987 graduate from the Smeal College of Business, was named the chair after running unopposed and receiving all 35 board votes. The position of vice chair went to David Kleppinger, a 1977 alum who received 26 votes and beat out Mary Lee Schneider’s nine votes.
“It’s an honor to be selected as chair of this board,” Schuyler said Friday during a virtual meeting with the board of trustees. “And I look forward to serving Penn State in this important role.
“My commitment is to continue to work with each of you to ensure our focus as a board remains on strategic matters such as affordability, financial management, innovation, the future of higher education and ensuring Penn State is an inclusive environment for all.”
Schuyler takes over for Mark Dambly, who acted as chair for the last three years.
For his service, a choked-up Dambly was presented with a boxed gavel set — part of which came from a red elm on central campus and another part that came from a pair of trees near Old Main — along with a Penn State Yeti cooler for fish and/or “beverages,” as Schuyler put it.
“Matt, we know that you will lead us ably and with the best interests and mission at the core of your leadership,” Dambly told him.
Schuyler, the chief administrative officer for Hilton Worldwide, was first elected to the board of trustees in July 2015 and has served as vice chair since 2017, according to his university bio. He earned his undergraduate degree from Penn State in 1987 and his MBA from Michigan in 1995.
He has volunteered on several Penn State boards and committees since that time — such as on the School of Hospitality Management Advisory Board — and he received the Alumni Fellow Award in 2013.
Kleppinger, elected vice chair, was appointed to the board by Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Penn State in 1977, before finishing a doctorate degree from Temple’s School of Law in 1980.
He is Chairman Emeritus at McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC, a Harrisburg-based law firm.
“Congratulations, David — I won’t demand a recount or anything like that,” joked Schneider, the other vice-chair candidate.
The BOT’s next scheduled meeting is Feb. 18-19.
