HEPAC Committees, Events, and Programming

Executive Committee

     Kris Otto, President

     Vacant, Vice President

     Vacant, Secretary

     Susan Richardson, Immediate Past President

Alumni Relations Committee

     Jim Trainer, Chair

     Chris Dougherty

     Miguel Escala

     Dave Guthrie

     Christine Pacifico

     Carlo Salerno  

Communications Committee

     Vacant, Chair

     Christian Anderson

     Lorenzo Baber

     Dot Finnegan

     Cori Myers

     David Tandberg

Development Committee

     In process of forming

Nominating Committee

     Jason Lane, Chair

Students Committee

     Larry Nespoli, Chair

     Jim Broomall

     Mary Anne Fedrick

     Lisa Weaver

     Ying Zhou 

Events

The Higher Education Program Alumni Council (HEPAC) co-sponsors occasional events for alumni and students with the Higher Education Program, the Higher Education Student Association (HESA), the College of Education, and the Penn State Alumni Association.  Past events include:

September 2011:  Networking Mixer / Career Roundtables, University Park, PA

April 2011:  Higher Education in Review Symposium, University Park, PA

July 2010:  Celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Higher Education Program and the 40th anniversary of the Center for the Study of Higher Education, University Park, PA

June 2008:  Penn State's Higher Education Program:  Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow - An Alumni Reunion Symposium, University Park, PA

Career Mentoring and Networking

HEPAC facilitates interaction between Higher Education Program alumni and current Higher Education students to provide career mentoring for students and assist them with networking. 

Annual Fund Campaign

One important way you can help HEPAC fulfill its purpose is by providing philanthropic support to the Program’s students and faculty. Over the years, the following funds have been established to support the Higher Education Program:

• General Program Support—Unrestricted funds directed toward the needs of the Higher Education Program, including, but not limited to, student travel, outside speakers, or student research (Robert E. Sweitzer Higher Education Program Fund).

• Student Dissertation Support—This endowed fund supports doctoral degree candidates in the Higher Education Program who are in the dissertation stage of their studies (Martorana Family Award).

• Student Internship Support—This endowed fund supports advanced doctoral students in the Higher Education Program who undertake internships in Central Administration or College-level administrative offices at the University (Ostar Internship Endowment in Higher Education).

• Library Support—This fund is used to purchase books related to the history of higher education for the Higher Education Program library (Hans Flexner Memorial Award).

Each of these funds supports an important need of the Program. If you are interested in discussing other gift options, please contact the College of Education’s Office of Development and Alumni Programs at (814) 863-2146.
 

Future Programs

Additional programming ideas, such as developing ways in which Higher Education alumni can become involved in aspects of the Center for the Study of Higher Education’s (CSHE's) research, and soliciting volunteers to serve as Alumni-Admissions volunteers on behalf of the Program for students from those regions considering the Higher Education Program at Penn State, are in progress. Please let us know if you have ideas of how HEPAC can serve the Higher Education Program and its alumni!

For more information about HEPAC, contact the College of Education Office of Alumni Relations at 814-863-2216 or HEPAC President Kris Otto.