Penn State announces results of elections for alumni-, ag-selected trustees
Updated May 07, 2021;
Posted May 07, 2021
Old Main on the campus of Penn State University on Aug. 11, 2020.
Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com
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One incumbent trustee was defeated in what was one of the closest vote counts in recent years.
The top vote-getter in this year’s election, run from April 10 through May 6, was former Penn State football star Brandon Short, who was first elected to the board in 2018. Short, who graduated from Penn State in 1999, played for 7 years in the NFL and is now a principal in a London-based real estate private equity firm, received 14,299 votes.
Brandon Short, Steven Wagman, and Alvin de Levie have been elected by Penn State alumni to the university’s Board of Trustees. They will begin new three-year terms starting July 1.
The three respectively received 14,299, 9,730, and 9,688 votes from their fellow alumni en route to their elections. They outpaced fellow candidates Jim Bognet, Bridget Lasda and incumbent Laurie Stanell.
Results were announced at Friday’s board meeting. Penn State’s 38-member board includes nine alumni-elected trustees, with terms staggered so three are elected each year.
won re-election after first joining the Board of Trustees in July 2018. You probably know him as a former All-American Penn State linebacker who went on to play in the NFL, too. Off the gridiron, he’s amassed nearly 10 years of experience in real estate investment banking and investment management. Short previously worked for Goldman Sachs, among other firms. Affordability was a key focus of Short’s re-election campaign.
For the first time in two years, Penn State will recognize spring graduates through a number of in-person commencement ceremonies this weekend.
Starting on Friday, May 7, the university will hand out more than 14,000 diplomas to Penn State seniors throughout all its campuses. Soon-to-be-graduates and up to two guests each can
head to Beaver Stadium for in-person (albeit socially distanced) ceremonies that are scheduled rain or shine.
Here’s a brief breakdown of
University-Wide Virtual Ceremony
Not feeling up to head to Beaver Stadium? No problem. Penn State will stream a university-wide commencement celebration viewable for any and all folks at home
When looking around Happy Valley, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone with as rich of a Penn State background as Steven Wagman.
He graduated from Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development in 1982, met his wife on campus, and raised a daughter who earned a Penn State degree. He even has a freezer at home filled to the brim with Death By Chocolate ice cream from Penn State’s Berkey Creamery.
Now, he’s seeking a chance to continue guiding the university forward as one of three alumni-elected members to its Board of Trustees.
Above all else, Wagman said he seeks to use his rich background with the university as a catalyst when potentially serving on the board. He’s previously volunteered for Penn State as a mentor for students, sat on the Alumni Council for nearly a decade, and served as the Penn State Alumni Association’s 80th president from 2017 to 2019. Following his term, Wagman assumed a seat on the Board of Trustees in July 2019.
Penn State campuses to hold spring commencement ceremonies May 7-9 psu.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from psu.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.