Penn State’s Board of Trustees on Friday unanimously voted for Matthew Schuyler to serve as its next chair. He succeeds Mark Dambly, who held the position for the past three years.
David Kleppinger was elected vice-chair by a 26-9 vote over Mary Lee Schneider.
An at-large member of the board since 2015, Schuyler has been vice-chair since 2017. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business in 1987 and is chief administrative officer for Hilton Worldwide.
“It is an honor to be selected chair, and I look forward to serving Penn State in this important role,” Schuyler said. “My commitment is to continue to work with each of you to ensure our focus, as a board, remains on strategic matters such as affordability, financial management, innovation, the future of higher education and ensuring Penn State is an inclusive environment for all.”
He cited the university’s ongoing COVID-19 recovery and response, communication and transparency, access and affordability, and sound financial planning as priorities for the year ahead.
‘Matt’s management skills and his experience have served and will continue to serve Penn State extremely well,’ trustee Bill Oldsey said in nominating Schuyler.
‘Matt has a selfless management style. It’s not about him; it is about us and Penn State. It is about the greater good. It is about moving our university forward… Matt is, in fact, the definition of a skilled and committed servant-leader, in my opinion, and we Penn Staters are remarkably fortunate to have him on the Penn State team.
Kleppinger, who was appointed to the board by Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017, is a 1977 Penn State graduate. He is chairman emeritus at the Harrisburg law firm McNees Wallace & Nurick, where he previously served as chairman for 12 years.
‘As with most boards, it takes a confident and altruistic person to manage the many different personalities that are inherent with a board of our size,’ trustee Dan Delligatti said in nominating Kleppinger. ‘I find that David has the patience and affable manner that will help lead our board into the future.’
