Penn State Behrend Hires New Staff
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, has hired staff members in the Division of Undergraduate Studies, the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, Continuing Education, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid.
Division of Undergraduate Studies
Carrie Ann Egnosak is an undergraduate studies advisor in the Division of Undergraduate Studies. In this role, Egnosak provides current Penn State Behrend students with personalized academic counseling, evaluation and assistance as they work to reach their educational goals. She provides incoming students with this same level of professional guidance during the college’s summer counseling and advising program. Egnosak also teaches a seminar course for first-year students who are undecided about their course of study.
Prior to her appointment, Egnosak served as the career services coordinator and academic advisor for Penn State Shenango.
She earned a Master of Arts in student affairs in higher education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Penn State Behrend.
Development and Alumni Relations
Beth Ann Frederick has been hired as an associate director of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. She is responsible for assisting in the management and operation of fundraising programs for the college’s 25,000-plus alumni as well as donor relations and gift development for Penn State Behrend and the University.
Immediately prior to this appointment, Frederick served as a judicial law clerk to Judge John J. Trucilla of the Erie County Court of Common Pleas. She also mediated small claims court disputes and worked as a law clerk while living in Vermont.
Frederick earned a law degree from Vermont Law School in South Royalton, Vt., and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Penn State Behrend.
Albert Gesler III has been hired as an associate director of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. He is also responsible for assisting in the management and operation of fundraising programs for the college’s 25,000-plus alumni as well as donor relations and gift development for Penn State Behrend and the University.
Gesler most recently served as director of church relations for Thiel College where he led the campaign to construct the David Johnson Memorial Chapel, the college’s first free-standing chapel, developed and implemented programming initiatives to increase the Lutheran student population, and assisted with the college-wide Annual Fund.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Thiel College.
Continuing Education
Michelle Hartmann has been appointed area representative for Continuing Education at Penn State Behrend. Her primary responsibilities include workforce development, which include identifying, developing and administering customized training programs and services for regional companies. She is also responsible for overseeing the college’s Plastics Training Academy and assisting with STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) initiatives.
Most recently, Hartmann was employed as assistant vice president for client services at Telatron Marketing Group, Inc. She has also held positions at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Avco Financial and the Dr. Gertrude A. Barber National Institute.
Hartmann earned both an M.B.A. and Bachelor of Science in business and behavioral science from Penn State Behrend.
Student Affairs
Cynara Stubbs has been appointed coordinator of the Center for Service and the Smith Chapel within the Division of Student Affairs. She is responsible for coordinating Penn State Behrend’s student volunteer and community service program as well as all aspects of the Center for Service, which is located in the college’s Larry and Kathryn Smith Chapel.
Prior to this position, Stubbs served in various community service and higher education roles, including graduate advisor and assistant for the Center for Civic Engagement and Volunteerism as well as alternative breaks leader and coordinator, both at the University of South Florida in Tampa. She was also an AmeriCorps teacher at Academy Prep Center of Tampa.
Stubbs earned two degrees from the University of South Florida, a master’s in education, college student affairs, and a Bachelor of Arts in women’s studies.
Admissions and Financial Aid
Tera L. Van Doren has been named financial aid coordinator in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, a newly created position. Van Doren is responsible for counseling current and prospective students and families regarding the financial aid application process, eligibility requirements and alternative financing options. She also oversees outside scholarship opportunities—making Penn State Behrend students aware of these funds and assisting them with the process.
Immediately prior to this position, Van Doren served as program coordinator for the University’s online intercollege Master’s of Business Administration program, offered through Penn State’s World Campus. She has acquired more than a decade of finance experience from positions held throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania, including director of financial aid at Tiffin University in Ohio.
Van Doren earned an M.B.A. from Tiffin University and a Bachelor of Science in finance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
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 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.