October 27, 2022

State Senate Confirms New Members to the Board of Governors for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

Allison Jones is Secretary of Policy and Planning, leading the development and implementation of Governor Tom Wolf’s policy priorities across all commonwealth agencies. Jones previously served as executive director of the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Board.

Daniel Klingerman of Williamsport is CEO and Chairman of Liberty Group, a private equity holding company, which invests in the hospitality, commercial real estate, recreation, construction management, health care, and logistics and transportation industries. Klingerman is a graduate of Bloomsburg University

“Allison and Daniel have experience in the public and private sectors, and we are proud to have them join the State System’s Board of Governors,” said Cindy Shapira, Board chair. “This is an exciting time for Pennsylvania’s public universities as we continue our System Redesign that is transforming higher education to open doors of opportunity for students of all ages across the state and to meet the commonwealth’s workforce needs.”

The 20-member Board of Governors plans and coordinates the operation of the State System by establishing broad educational, fiscal, and personnel policies, and overseeing the System’s efficient management.

The governor of Pennsylvania with the consent of the state senate appoints as many as 11 Board members. Six of those 11 must be commonwealth residents and five shall be selected from the trustees of System universities. No more than one trustee per university may serve on the Board.

The rest of the Board includes the governor or a designee; the secretary of education or a designee; two state senators and two state representatives appointed by caucus leaders; and three students who are appointed by the board.

Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is the public university system of the commonwealth with a mission to provide a high-quality education at the lowest possible cost to students. With 90% of its students from Pennsylvania, PASSHE educates approximately 85,000 degree-seeking students, with thousands more in certificate and career programs. The universities collectively offer more than 2,300 degree and certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas. Across the System, there are more than 800,000 living alumni, most of whom live in Pennsylvania.