Staff

Robert W. Light, Administrative Director

Dr. Light is associate provost and associate dean at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. He oversees graduate studies, research, corporate & adult learning, and outreach for the College.

In his 16 years at the College, Dr. Light has held several posts with economic development organizations: director of the Ben Franklin Partnership office in Erie (1985-1988) and acting director of the Northwest Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center, Inc. (1988). He has also been an affiliate assistant professor of biology since 1987.

Dr. Light has been responsible for overseeing the implementation of the community and economic development programs at the College, including the development of a Plastics Technical Center that has evolved into the federally-funded Plastics Technology Center; 12 other technology centers; and an educational partnership to help middle and high school students stay in school; and an inventors' association.

Dr. Light has also been active in other areas of educational outreach, including involvement with Tech Prep, School-to-Work, and Youth Apprenticeship, leading to many articulation agreements with regional schools. He has also been active in community and educational strategic planning.

Dr. Light also serves on a number of boards: Erie Area Chamber of Commerce, Glinodo Earth Force, National Earth Force Program, Advisory Committee of the Erie Western Pennsylvania Port Authority, Northwest Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center, and National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Center Review Panels.

More recently, Dr. Light has led the development of two major projects: (1) Development of Knowledge Park at Penn State Erie, located on 200 acres of the College's land that provides space for technology-based companies to locate close to and take full advantage of the physical and intellectual resources of the College; and (2) Creation of Pennsylvania Sea Grant that brings additional federal and state resources to bear on the environmental and economic issues affecting the coastal areas of northwestern and southeastern Pennsylvania.

Dr. Light received a Ph.D. in Ecology from Penn State in 1983, an M.S. in Biology from Millersville University of Pennsylvania in 1979, and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Delaware in 1975. He has received recognition for both athletics and academics, including national recognition in collegiate volleyball.

E-mail: rwl2@psu.edu