College to Host Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Admissions and Alumni Center
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, will break ground for the Robert and Sally Metzgar Admissions and Alumni Center on Tuesday, April 28, at 3 p.m. The groundbreaking ceremony will be held near the northeast corner of the Reed Union Building parking lot, where a commemorative sign currently marks the new facility’s site.
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| This image shows the architect's rendering of the Metzgar Admissions and Alumni Center. |
Speakers will include Dr. Jack Burke, chancellor of Penn State Behrend, Robert Metzgar, president of Warren-based North Penn Pipe and Supply, Inc., James Broadhurst, chairman of Penn State’s Board of Trustees, Kurt Buseck, chairman of the Penn State Behrend Council of Fellows, and Diane Detar, a junior marketing major from Oil City, Pa., and recipient of the Robert and Sally Nelson Metzgar Leadership Scholarship. Following the groundbreaking, a reception will be held in the Larry and Kathryn Smith Chapel.
The $4.7 million two-story Metzgar Admissions and Alumni Center will consolidate several services for prospective students, current students and alumni. The 11,700-square-foot building will house the offices of five key departments—admissions, financial aid, alumni relations, bursar and registrar—in one central location. Each department will have space within the facility to accommodate the varying needs of those served. The new center is expected to open in fall 2010.
“The Metzgars generously proposed the idea for a facility that will serve to bookend our students’ time on campus,” Burke said. “Now, we are able to provide a one-stop shop of sorts—for services ranging from admissions and financial aid to course scheduling and graduation.”
In July 2008, Penn State Behrend announced that Robert and Sally Metzgar had committed $2 million to the college for creation of the new admissions and alumni center.
“We felt this facility would be an asset both physically and symbolically—serving as the quintessential front door to campus as it welcomes future and current students plus alumni, families and friends,” said Robert Metzgar.
The architect for the project is Herman Weber, design principal and founder of Weber Murphy Fox. Perry Construction Group of Erie is the general contractor.
At the Metzgars’ request, Penn State architecture students were included in the process. Some of their proposed elements are reflected in the final design. The center will integrate and complement the architecture of five existing structures: the Metzgars’ home, a restored castle-like residence from the mid-19th century called Cobham Castle; Glenhill Farmhouse, the core of the Behrend estate that currently houses the college’s administration, admissions, financial aid and human resources offices; and Lilley Library, Kochel Center and Reed Union Building, each of which will be adjacent to the new facility.
In addition to serving as president of North Penn Pipe and Supply, Inc., a wholesale supplier of materials, goods and services to oil and gas exploration companies and industrial suppliers, Robert Metzgar is a University Trustee and member of the Penn State Behrend Council of Fellows, which is composed of community and business leaders who advise the college’s administrators on issues related to the college’s development and regional need.
In 1996, Metzgar was nominated and named a Penn State Behrend Alumni Fellow, the most prestigious honor bestowed by the Penn State Alumni Association and administered in cooperation with Penn State’s academic colleges. Since 1973, the award has been given to a select group of alumni who are leaders in their professional fields.
Metzgar attended Penn State Behrend for two years and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University Park campus. He and Sally have two adult children, a son, Kelly, and a daughter, Kathy Metzgar Lang, who are both Penn State alumni. Kelly earned a bachelor’s in marketing. Kathy earned a bachelor’s in individual and family studies plus a master’s in counselor education.
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, is a comprehensive residential college offering 34 bachelor’s, six associate, four pre-professional and two graduate degree programs with 22 minors to more than 4,600 students. Focused on providing a student-centered environment, Penn State Behrend is the link that connects its students to a major research and land-grant institution on a campus enriched by more than 110 clubs and organizations, 21 NCAA varsity teams and 19 intramural sports. Penn State Behrend is named in recognition of a donation by Mary Behrend, widow of Ernst Behrend, who founded the Hammermill Paper Co. in Erie in 1898. The Behrend family lived on the 400-acre Glenhill Farm, which is the core of the Penn State Behrend campus today. For more information, visit behrend.psu.edu.