The 18th president of Penn State has been named by the University’s Board of Trustees. Eric J. Barron, a former dean at Penn State and current leader of Florida State University, will begin as Penn State’s next president on May 12, 2014.

After an exhaustive search, Barron was appointed today (Feb. 17) during a special meeting of the University’s Board of Trustees on the unanimous recommendation of the 14-memberTrustee Presidential Selection Council, chaired by Trustee Karen Peetz. Barron will succeed Rodney A. Erickson, who in 2012 announced his intention to retire before June 30, 2014.

The president-elect and his wife, Molly, an educator, will live in Schreyer House on the University Park campus. The Barrons have two grown children, Emily and James.  For more information about Dr. Barron, visit http://www.president-elect.psu.edu.

On Sunday, March 2nd from noon until 5:00pm we offer you a chauffeured wine tasting adventure to at least 4 of Niagara’s finest wineries. The cost is $25 for current Penn State WNY members and $35 for non members. At the first winery we visit you can opt to pay the customary tasting fee of $3 to $5 or you can purchase a wine tour pass good for 1 year for $25. This allows you to visit all the wineries on our tour plus use the pass at your convenience to visit the other Niagara wineries during the year and not have to pay any winery tasting fees.

Needless to say, this is a tremendous deal partially underwritten by Penn State WNY. We do need you to RSVP and pay in advance so we know how to figure out the chauffeured transportation needs.  To register for the wine tour click here in order to print out a registration form.  Please mail it in a timely fashion with your check to the address provided.

Transportation will arrive and depart from Tully’s at noon on March 2nd. We will return to Tully’s at 5:00pm so you can have dinner if you so choose.

We expect to have a large turnout so save the date and we appreciate your prompt response.

For the glory,

The Penn State Alumni Association of WNY