Penn State alumni elect two new trustees, return incumbent to board
Penn State alumni voted in two new members and reelected one incumbent in this year’s alumni election.
Jay Paterno and newly elected members Karen Keller and Joseph S. DeRenzo received the most votes among the four candidates who ran in the alumni trustee race. They were announced as the winners during Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting at The Penn Stater Hotel & Conference Center.
Incumbent trustee Ali Krieger, a former Penn State and professional soccer player, received the least votes out of the four final candidates and was not reelected.
A total of 17,281 ballots were cast out of 767,909 eligible alumni. Paterno led the race with 12,056 votes, Keller received 11,641 votes and DeRenzo got 11,458 votes, trustee Kelley Lynch announced in the meeting.
Alumni-elected trustees make up nine seats on the board, where three seats open up each year due to staggered three-year terms. The elected trustees will begin their terms on July 1.
Anthony Lubrano, an outspoken trustee who has been involved in lawsuits against Penn State, will see his term come to an end. Before he gave remarks criticizing the board over past controversies and how they were handled, he also pointed to the low number of alumni trustee candidates and questioned whether recent bylaw changes had an impact.
“Why are so few alumni interested in serving? Could it be that we disenfranchise them by the virtue of the changes we made to the bylaws, the creation of a nominating committee and power to exclude alumni from the ballot under the guise of qualification deficiencies?” Lubrano said.
Controversial changes in 2024 gave existing board members more saw over who can be on the ballot for alumni-elected trustees. Recent changes also meant write-in candidates are no longer allowed.
In a statement following election results, Paterno thanked voters for their support.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to continue serving as an alumni-elected trustee for another three-year term,” he wrote.
In his position statement, Paterno promised to tackle issues facing higher education such as declining enrollment, concerns about affordability and accessibility, the excesses of the college sports system and the increasing politicization of both curriculum and research.
“Our times require watch dogs not lap dogs. As your Trustee, my votes speak for themselves. I’ve been an independent voice for our ideals, raising hard questions about complex problems. I’m a national voice helping forge the future for college sports. That advocacy benefits Penn State,” he stated.
Paterno is a Penn State graduate and former Nittany Lions football player and coach and president of the consulting business Blue Line 409 LLC. After his coaching career, Paterno has worked in consulting across philanthropy, sports, media, publishing, private equity and writing, and was an early consultant in college Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).
Keller is a Penn State graduate in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology who also earned a law degree from Temple University. She co-founded an IP and commercial litigation firm, where she serves as managing partner.
She unsuccessfully ran in the 2025 alumni trustee election, where she finished seventh in the vote count.
In her position statement, she wrote that she would bring “careful judgment, fiscal responsibility and unwavering commitment to Penn State’s core values.” She outlined three key priorities: student success and well-being, world-class research and faculty development and cultivating future leaders.
Joseph DeRenzo also succeeded in his second attempt to get on the board, after placing fifth in the 2025 alumni trustee election. He is a Penn State BS/MD graduate and Schreyer Scholar who completed his anesthesiology training and began his career at the University of Pittsburgh. He now holds senior leadership positions at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital.
DeRenzo’s position statement described improving Penn State’s standing in “critical areas” such as strategic planning, financial health, student and alumni advocacy, and educational oversight. He emphasized how healthcare professionals are underrepresented on the board, which he said highlights the need to strengthen the healthcare-related programs.
“My experience leading multidisciplinary teams in clinical care and operations positions me to support these programs and drive innovation. My background working on integrative committees over the past 20 years, endeavoring to achieve consensus in establishing protocols for patient care and clinical operations, translates well to the necessary group dynamics needed within the Penn State Board of Trustees,” he wrote in his position statement.
New agricultural and business and industry trustees were also announced at Friday’s meeting, and the board reelected Matthew Schuyler as at-large trustee. Lubrano was the only trustee to vote against Schuyler, who served as board chair from 2020-2024.
“During my time on this board, transparency continues to be evasive in my opinion,” he said. “I've observed a sitting member attack another member, verbally and physically, and without any consequence. I've observed unilateral approval of expenditures in football without any input from the full board. I've observed a misrepresentation of this body of surrounding the Paterno field name resolution put forward in February 2024. I’ve observed direct circumvention of the bylaws. Based on these observations and others, I cannot support this nomination.”
