From climate to transparency: What Penn State Forward’s board of trustees win means for future
Penn State alum Christa Hasenkopf, a decorated atmospheric scientist, let out a laugh when asked whether she expected to win a seat on the board of trustees.
The founder of her campaign, Penn State Forward, a group of students and alumni advocating for progressive policies, also acknowledged she didn’t expect a win — certainly not in Penn State Forward’s first election.
But, early last month, voters showed Penn State Forward they had already embraced the group’s message by electing Hasenkopf to one of three open alumni-elected seats. Incumbent Edward “Ted” Brown and local financial advisor Barry Fenchak won the others.
“I was surprised, to be honest. And I was extremely excited,” said Hasenkopf, one of three candidates the group recruited to run. “I wasn’t sure if, this first year, we would make it to the board. So I was surprised that one of us did.”
Nora Van Horn, the founder and executive director of the group, heard plenty of chatter leading up to the election about how they didn’t know how to run a campaign, how current students shouldn’t participate, and other reasons Penn State Forward didn’t stand a chance. Van Horn was realistic about the group’s prospects but believed 2022 would at least serve as the first step in winning an eventual seat and shining a light on four central pillars — climate action, educational equity, student safety and university transparency.
The recent grad was caught off-guard when, dressed in her cap and gown, she learned Hasenkopf beat out two incumbents to earn a seat, which she’ll assume next month.
“I hope that the board views this as an impetus to consider student opinions and act on things like climate, sexual violence, racial injustice, student poverty and transparency,” Van Horn said. “Because I think that the idea that students could recruit and run candidates successfully — and win — is really revolutionary at Penn State.”
What does the win mean for PSU, PSU Forward?
Van Horn, who’s earned multiple prestigious awards such as the inaugural Neil C. Patel Memorial Changemaker Honors Scholarship, started Penn State Forward in January 2021 when she was a junior. The group was patterned after Harvard Forward, a group with similar priorities that successfully ran candidates at the Ivy League school.
After recruiting volunteers, soliciting nominations and scouring LinkedIn, Van Horn reached out to several candidates — including Hasenkopf, sexual violence prevention expert Farnaz Farhi and educational equity advocate Edward Smith.
Hasenkopf acknowledged she needed a little convincing but, the more she thought about running, the more it made sense.
“I felt a very grassroots request, to help raise the issues they saw posing an existential threat to the university,” said Hasenkopf, a first-generation college student. “As I was going through the process, I was like, why haven’t I considered this before? Because I think this is something that really speaks to the things I care very deeply about.”
Each core principle of Penn State Forward resonated with the candidates they put forth, and each principle came with exhaustive platforms that number more than 30 pages. Climate, for instance, called for Penn State to divest from fossil fuels, incorporate sustainability education into the curriculum, create a Climate Action Commission to set policy and measure progress on climate commitments, etc.
Equity called for increased financial support, with four recommendations, five sub-recommendations and a series of footnotes to back up their assertions. Safety called for an emphasis on sexual violence prevention by reconvening the 2015 Task Force on Sexual Assault with increased representation from students. And transparency’s goal entailed Penn State going “beyond its legal obligations” by having an open records office, or officer, that would align with other state institutions.
And those are just the Cliffs Notes.
“There’s a difference between saying sexual violence is bad and having the expertise to address it and being an advocate for a solution,” Van Horn said. “There’s a difference between saying climate change is bad vs. having the professional expertise ... to address it and lead policies.
“And so I think the reason that these pillars came together was from being a student for four years at Penn State — from working with activists and advocates, and students and alumni — and sharing what the concerns have been at the university. It seems like those four pillars encompass a lot of the things the university has been stagnant on.”
Hasenkopf, a 2003 Penn State alum, wanted to advance those principles. And as a well-known atmospheric scientist, who co-founded the environmental nonprofit OpenAQ, Hasenkopf is unique in that her expertise on climate change and climate action is virtually unrivaled on Penn State’s 36-member board of trustees.
Both she and Van Horn are hoping she has an immediate impact on the university’s governing body.
“Her perspective will be such a tremendous asset to the board,” Van Horn added, “not just as a representative of Penn State Forward, but to the board itself. She’s going to be such an amazing advocate for students — and so I think that’s a huge win.”
Hasenkopf & PSU Forward’s Future
You don’t need to read far into Hasenkopf’s background to understand why she was hand-picked by Penn State Forward.
She grew up in a low-income family but quickly rose in the educational ranks. She earned her Ph.D. in atmospheric and oceanic sciences from the University of Colorado and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to conduct air pollution research in Mongolia. She also formerly served at USAID and the U.S. State Department as the first chief air pollution advisor to the medical director, and her nonprofit houses the world’s largest open air quality database.
“Given the issues I’ve seen Penn State facing, especially around post-educational equity and the access to an affordable education and climate action, I think these are huge issues that I found myself being able to contribute to and am very deeply committed to,” Hasenkopf said.
Hasenkopf will begin serving her three-year term next month.
There are nine alumni-elected trustees, and terms are staggered so an election is held every year for three open seats. Penn State Forward’s goal is to run more candidates next year, earn more seats and give an even greater voice to advocates of the group’s four principles.
Both Penn State Forward and outsiders alike were surprised at the group’s success this year. But the group isn’t going anywhere, and Van Horn is hoping the momentum carries into 2023.
“We learned a lot this year about how to run a successful campaign,” Van Horn said. “And, so next year, I think we’ll be even more successful.”
This story was originally published June 14, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
