Laurel: To a new hire. The first president of Pennsylvania Western University announced her departure on Valentine’s Day 2023. That was followed by interim president Lorraine Bernotsky being named the new leader of West Chester University. She will depart PennWest June 30.
It has taken more than 15 months to find a replacement but the new president was finally named Wednesday. Jon Anderson leaves Southern Utah University to take the reins of the fledgling university. His first day is July 1.
Finding a president is an important step for the university that was forged from three Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education schools — California, Clarion and Edinboro — in 2022.
The new school needs direction. It still gravitates toward the separate identities of its three campuses. There are financial challenges. Enrollment is down.
The State System board believed in Anderson enough to give him unanimous approval. That’s a good start. Now it’s up to Anderson to prove he’s up to the job.
Lance: To questionable plans. Western Pennsylvania has some real needs for housing development. A proposed project in Murrysville has developers seeking rezoning of 55 acres to build new homes.
But are they something to address the 100,000-unit shortage in the Keystone State? No. The proposal is for just 28 homes with average prices of $2 million.
Hey, wealthy people need homes too. No one is denying that. And the high price-tag houses would generate tax money to help the county, municipality and school district provide services that benefit everyone.
But the question is whether enough people are looking for multi-million dollar homes in Westmoreland County to justify the project. There is plenty of data to suggest that this kind of investment in affordable housing would be more valuable.
