A Winning Combination
March Madness is the perfect name for this time of year. As the seasons shift, everything in the sports world seems to take off at once — from spring training and NCAA tournaments to local championships. It’s an exciting time, and I want to share a little about how our alumni are redefining the sports industry.
Before I do that, let me take a little detour and share how we’ve been working together in Harrisburg to ensure our universities have a winning game plan for the future.
Earlier this month, East Stroudsburg President Ken Long, IUP President Mike Driscoll, Millersville President Daniel Wubah and West Chester President Laurie Bernotsky represented PASSHE in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee. They spoke about the hard work our faculty and staff are doing to prepare students for the future. They discussed how we are working together to expand PA’s talent pipelines, modernize our institutions, and meet the needs of our students in a changing world.
The following week, I was joined by Slippery Rock President Karen Riley and our Executive Vice Chancellor Sharon Minnich to visit with the House Appropriations Committee. We had an excellent conversation about our shared goals for student affordability and workforce alignment.
To extend the sports analogy here, the state and our universities are on the same team. PASSHE universities are Pennsylvania’s only “state” universities — fully owned by the commonwealth.
Together, we’ve put some points on the board over the years — increasing funding, freezing tuition, reclaiming the affordability advantage, stalling a decade-long enrollment decline. Working together to keep high-quality education affordable ensures that every student has a path to success.
Our universities thrive because our faculty and staff are all-stars, and because of support we receive from the state — all of which enables us to attract and welcome talented students and provide them with the tools they need to win in their careers and in their communities.
The impact of this partnership is evident everywhere, especially when we look at the incredible things PASSHE university alumni are doing after they graduate. And that brings me back to the world of sports, where see leaders like Shippensburg’s Rob Davis who serves as the Vice President of Player Engagement for the Las Vegas Raiders, and his colleague Slippery Rock’s Montelle Sanders, the team's Director of Player Engagement. They are joined by other seasoned executives like West Chester’s John Nickolas, who, as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Philadelphia Phillies, oversees the financial and business operations of one of MLB’s most storied franchises. These leaders are truly driving the future of professional sports.
Our graduates aren't just filling roles; they’re setting the standard across the entire sports landscape. We are inspired by ESU’s Alicia Marinelli, whose company, Living Sport, creates global career opportunities at events like the Super Bowl, and PennWest’s Chelsey Burk, who serves as Senior Associate Commissioner for the Mountain West Conference.
In the front office and on the sidelines, we see the impact of IUP’s Dan Radakovich, Vice President and Director of Athletics for the University of Miami; Kutztown’s John Gabriel, Executive Advisor for the Orlando Magic; Commonwealth’s Jahri Evans, Assistant Offensive Line Coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers; and Cheyney’s Dominique Curry, a former NFL wide receiver who now leads youth initiatives as Program Director for the Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative.
Beyond the sidelines, you’ll find graduates thriving in sports analytics, broadcast journalism, and facility management. We see excellence in every arena — from Millersville’s Ashley Moyer-Gleich making history as an NBA official to so many of our other alumni supporting Pennsylvania-based teams like the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia 76ers, and the legendary Hershey Bears. (If you are a PASSHE university alum working in sports, we would love to hear your story!)
Whether it’s supporting a stadium full of fans, managing the logistics of a major race, or caring for our own high school and college athletes right here at home, PASSHE university alumni are making it happen.
In my coming blogs, I look forward to bringing you more stories of how PASSHE university alumni are driving other industries forward and making a difference in PA and around the world.
Before I do that, let me take a little detour and share how we’ve been working together in Harrisburg to ensure our universities have a winning game plan for the future.
Earlier this month, East Stroudsburg President Ken Long, IUP President Mike Driscoll, Millersville President Daniel Wubah and West Chester President Laurie Bernotsky represented PASSHE in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee. They spoke about the hard work our faculty and staff are doing to prepare students for the future. They discussed how we are working together to expand PA’s talent pipelines, modernize our institutions, and meet the needs of our students in a changing world.
The following week, I was joined by Slippery Rock President Karen Riley and our Executive Vice Chancellor Sharon Minnich to visit with the House Appropriations Committee. We had an excellent conversation about our shared goals for student affordability and workforce alignment.
To extend the sports analogy here, the state and our universities are on the same team. PASSHE universities are Pennsylvania’s only “state” universities — fully owned by the commonwealth.
Together, we’ve put some points on the board over the years — increasing funding, freezing tuition, reclaiming the affordability advantage, stalling a decade-long enrollment decline. Working together to keep high-quality education affordable ensures that every student has a path to success.
Our universities thrive because our faculty and staff are all-stars, and because of support we receive from the state — all of which enables us to attract and welcome talented students and provide them with the tools they need to win in their careers and in their communities.
The impact of this partnership is evident everywhere, especially when we look at the incredible things PASSHE university alumni are doing after they graduate. And that brings me back to the world of sports, where see leaders like Shippensburg’s Rob Davis who serves as the Vice President of Player Engagement for the Las Vegas Raiders, and his colleague Slippery Rock’s Montelle Sanders, the team's Director of Player Engagement. They are joined by other seasoned executives like West Chester’s John Nickolas, who, as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Philadelphia Phillies, oversees the financial and business operations of one of MLB’s most storied franchises. These leaders are truly driving the future of professional sports.
Our graduates aren't just filling roles; they’re setting the standard across the entire sports landscape. We are inspired by ESU’s Alicia Marinelli, whose company, Living Sport, creates global career opportunities at events like the Super Bowl, and PennWest’s Chelsey Burk, who serves as Senior Associate Commissioner for the Mountain West Conference.
In the front office and on the sidelines, we see the impact of IUP’s Dan Radakovich, Vice President and Director of Athletics for the University of Miami; Kutztown’s John Gabriel, Executive Advisor for the Orlando Magic; Commonwealth’s Jahri Evans, Assistant Offensive Line Coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers; and Cheyney’s Dominique Curry, a former NFL wide receiver who now leads youth initiatives as Program Director for the Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative.
Beyond the sidelines, you’ll find graduates thriving in sports analytics, broadcast journalism, and facility management. We see excellence in every arena — from Millersville’s Ashley Moyer-Gleich making history as an NBA official to so many of our other alumni supporting Pennsylvania-based teams like the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia 76ers, and the legendary Hershey Bears. (If you are a PASSHE university alum working in sports, we would love to hear your story!)
Whether it’s supporting a stadium full of fans, managing the logistics of a major race, or caring for our own high school and college athletes right here at home, PASSHE university alumni are making it happen.
In my coming blogs, I look forward to bringing you more stories of how PASSHE university alumni are driving other industries forward and making a difference in PA and around the world.
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