October 31, 2016
Senate confirms three new members to State System’s Board of Governors
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
Harrisburg – The state Senate has confirmed the nominations of three new members to the Board
of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. The new members to
the board that oversees the State System and its 14 member universities are Donald
Houser Jr. of Coraopolis, Barbara McIlvaine Smith of West Chester and Thomas Muller
of Macungie.
The new members to the board that oversees the State System and its 14 member universities
are Donald Houser Jr. of Coraopolis, Barbara McIlvaine Smith of West Chester and Thomas
Muller of Macungie.
“I look forward to welcoming our three new Board members, and to the opportunity to
work with each of them on behalf of our students, our universities and the State System,”
said Board of Governors Chairwoman Cynthia D. Shapira. “The Board of Governors will
benefit from their unique perspectives, as well as their varied experiences and their
obvious commitment to public service.”
The 20-member Board of Governors is responsible for overseeing Pennsylvania’s 14 public
universities. The board establishes broad educational, fiscal and personnel policies,
and oversees the efficient management of the State System. Among other tasks, it appoints
the chancellor and university presidents, approves new academic programs, sets tuition
and coordinates and approves the State System’s annual operating budget.
The Board comprises 11 members appointed by the governor, three students, four legislators,
the governor or a designee and the state secretary of education or a designee.
“The Board of Governors serves an essential role in the success of the State System
and our universities; and, most important, the success of our students,” said Chancellor
Frank T. Brogan. “I’m also excited about working with the new members to further advance
the State System’s mission of providing high-quality educational experiences to students
at an exceptional value, while also serving the needs of the Commonwealth and its
citizenry."
A Lock Haven University alumnus and trustee, Mr. Houser is State Policy Advisor for
Dominion Resources, Inc. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Independent
Power Producers of New York. He is a former township commissioner in Susquehanna Township
(Dauphin County).
Prior to joining Dominion, Mr. Houser spent 13 years working in the state Senate,
where he was field representative to former state Senator J. Doyle Corman and Chief
of Staff for 10 years to Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman.
Ms. McIlvaine Smith served as a member of the state House of Representatives from
2007 through 2010. Among her committee assignments, she was the majority chairwoman
of the Special Education Subcommittee. Previously, she had been a member of the West
Chester Borough Council, serving as vice president.
Ms. McIlvaine Smith is a lifelong resident of Chester County, graduating from West
Chester Henderson High School and from West Chester University, summa cum laude, with
a degree in elementary education. She taught fourth grade at Penn Wood Elementary
and environmental education at the Brandywine Valley Association. From 1980 to 2007,
she and her late husband, Robert, owned and operated their family business, Brandywine
Water Systems, Inc. She is an enrolled tribal member, by birth, of the federally recognized
Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma.
Mr. Muller is the County Executive for Lehigh County. After a successful 40-year career
in the private sector, he moved into the public sector as Lehigh County’s Director
of Administration, a position he held for eight years until running for his current
position.
Mr. Muller previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Binney and
Smith, which later became Crayola. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of
Trustees for Easton Hospital for the past decade, having been a member of the board
for more than 25 years. He also serves on the board of the Lehigh County Authority
and is an adjunct professor at Cedar Crest College. He earned degrees from both the
business and journalism schools at Syracuse University and an M.B.A from Fairleigh
Dickinson University.
Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher
education in the Commonwealth, with more than 105,000 degree-seeking students and
thousands more who are enrolled in certificate and other career-development programs.
Collectively, the 14 universities that comprise the State System offer more than 2,300
degree and certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas. Nearly 520,000 State
System university alumni live in Pennsylvania.
The State System universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg,
Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery
Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The universities also operate
branch campuses in Oil City (Clarion), Freeport and Punxsutawney (IUP), and Clearfield
(Lock Haven), and offer classes and programs at several regional centers, including
the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and in Center City in Philadelphia.