Sen. Yaw to Chair Penn College Board of Directors

Published 06.20.2013

News

State Sen. Gene Yaw has been elected chairman of the Pennsylvania College of Technology Board of Directors.

Yaw, R-Loyalsock Township, was elected unanimously at the board’s June 20 meeting. Appointed to the board in 2009 by the President pro tempore of the Senate, Yaw previously served as general counsel for the college for more than 20 years.

He will serve a two-year term as chairman coinciding with the college’s Centennial celebration, which marks a milestone in the institution's rich history, from the inception of adult classes at Williamsport High School in 1914 through the evolution into Williamsport Technical Institute, Williamsport Area Community College and present-day Penn College, a special-mission affiliate of Penn State created by an act of the Legislature in 1989.

“As one of the individuals involved with the founding of Penn College nearly 25 years ago, it is fitting that Sen. Yaw serves as chairman of the board during this notable time in our institution’s history,” President Davie Jane Gilmour said. “I look forward to working with him.”



Sen. Gene YawIn the Senate, Yaw serves as chairman of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and vice chairman of the Urban Affairs and Housing Committee. He is a member of the Judiciary, Law and Justice, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Labor and Industry, and Rules and Executive Nominations committees, as well as the Majority Policy Committee. He also serves on various boards and commissions including as chair of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania and as a member of the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee and the Environmental Quality Board.

Yaw also served as Lycoming County solicitor for 17 years and was named County Solicitor of the Year in 2004. He is a member of the Lycoming Law Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, the Board of Directors of the Lycoming Law Association Foundation Inc. and a former member with 17 years of service to the Board of Directors of Susquehanna Legal Services. He serves as "Of Counsel" with the McCormick Law Firm, Williamsport.

A Montoursville Area High School graduate, Yaw attended Bucknell University and earned a bachelor’s degree from Lycoming College and a law degree from the American University School of Law. A U.S. Army veteran, he served an overseas tour of duty as an artillery officer and was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant.

The Penn College Board also elected John Cahir – professor of meteorology and vice provost and dean for undergraduate education, emeritus at Penn State University – to serve a two-year term as vice chairman.

For more information about Penn College, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222