Knowledge Center at Penn State Behrend has been renamed the Samuel P. Black III and Sumi James-Black Knowledge Center. The Sept. 9 announcement was celebrated by Amy Bridger, senior director of corporate strategy and external engagement at Penn State Behrend; Sumi James-Black, interim CEO of Erie Management Group; Samuel P. “Pat” Black III, founder of Erie Management Group; and Ralph Ford, chancellor of Penn State Behrend.
A new scholarship named for the late Sally Metzgar, at left, with her husband, Bob Metzgar, will benefit Penn State Behrend students whose gender, race or ethnic identity contribute to the diversity of the college.
Penn State Behrend's Metzgar Center, which opened in 2010, is home to the college's admissions, financial aid, alumni relations and registrar's offices.
Joe and Isabel Prischak meet with recipients of the scholarships they have endowed at Penn State Behrend. The awards are given to graduates of Conneaut Valley High School and to the children and grandchildren of employees of the Plastek Group.
Jeff Kochel grew up on the grounds of Penn State Behrend. He and his wife, Pam, have endowed a new undergraduate research fund to support students in Behrend's biology major.
Robert “Bob” Simoneau created the Simoneau Family Educational Equity Scholarship at Penn State Behrend to honor his late wife, Donna, a teacher and social worker who focused on children with special needs. Bob Simoneau is a former director of the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Behrend.
Nishi Gupta, a 1982 graduate of Penn State Behrend, has created the Gupta Family Educational Equity Scholarship, which will benefit students at Behrend. She retired from IBM in 2016.
Zabrina and Sam Epps have created the Zabrina and Sam Epps Educational Equity Scholarship, which will benefit students at Penn State Behrend. Sam Epps is a 1995 graduate of the college; he is the political director of UNITE HERE Local 25, the union of hotel, restaurant and casino workers in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
Zabrina and Sam Epps have created the Zabrina and Sam Epps Educational Equity Scholarship, which will benefit students at Penn State Behrend. Sam Epps is a 1995 graduate of the college; he is the political director of UNITE HERE Local 25, the union of hotel, restaurant and casino workers in the Washington, D.C., metro area. He also serves on the Alumni Council, the governing board of the Penn State Alumni Association.
Three new members have joined the board of directors for Penn State Behrend's Council of Fellows: Ed Auslander, retired president and CEO of LORD Corporation; Dr. Halina Zyczynski, chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at UPMC Hamot; and Dr. Christopher Clark, president of AHN Saint Vincent Hospital.
