Brian Kupchella named a Penn State Alumni Fellow

Plastics engineering technology graduate is CEO of Truck-Lite

ERIE, Pa. — Brian M. Kupchella, a 1990 Penn State Behrend graduate, was honored as one of 14 Penn State Alumni Fellows at an early October ceremony held on the University Park campus.

The lifelong title of Alumni Fellow is the highest award given by the Penn State Alumni Association.

Kupchella is president, CEO and chairman of Truck-Lite, a market leader in truck and trailer safety lighting that has introduced over 250 innovations to the transportation industry. He began his career with Truck-Lite in 1990 and was responsible for its transition from automotive to commercial vehicle lighting products. He has held a variety of positions within the company, including manager of product engineering, chief operating officer and vice president of business development with responsibility for effective market and product analysis and direction of all internal resources to support new business opportunities. Kupchella led Truck-Lite’s development of LED technology for commercial and military applications, including the first full LED headlamp system in the transportation industry.

Kupchella holds a Bachelor of Science in plastics engineering technology from Penn State Behrend and an MBA from Gannon University. He is a member of the Penn State Behrend Council of Fellows, the Penn State Behrend Capital Campaign Committee, the Penn State Behrend School of Engineering Board of Visitors and the Navistar Supplier Council. He and his wife, Pamela (Jones) Kupchella ’89, live in Russell, Pennsylvania. They have three children, Nathen, Morgan and Jake.

The Alumni Fellow program is administered by the Penn State Alumni Association in cooperation with the University’s academic colleges, campuses and the Office of the President. Alumni are nominated by a college or campus as leaders in their professional fields and accept an invitation from Penn State President Eric J. Barron to return to campus to share their expertise with students, faculty and administrators. Kupchella will meet with the Penn State Behrend community in late October.