The advisory board of Penn State Fayette named Chad A. Long as its 2015 Outstanding Alumnus and William S. Gardner as its 2015 Outstanding Fellow. The awards ceremony took place at the board's annual meeting May 14 at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.
Long holds a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis on marketing and management and also earned associate’s degrees in business administration and letters, arts, and sciences at Penn State Fayette.
While a student at the Fayette campus, Long established and chaired the THON team, which since 1998 has raised more than $1 million to benefit pediatric cancer victims. He now serves as an adviser for the team.
Hired by Penn State Fayette in 2002 as the assistant director of student affairs and promoted to the manager of student affairs in 2012, Long oversees all activities and services, including those for health, off-campus housing, counseling, student conduct, campus ministry and students with disabilities. In 2012, the campus presented him with its Administrative Excellence Award. Prior to his employment with Penn State Fayette, he was the director of admissions at West Virginia Junior College.
Long is active at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, in particular with its Fund for Mission Committee, which he said has provided more than a $1 million for local, national and global initiatives.
Long is married to the former Krista Smarslak, a teacher in the Laurel Highlands School District. They reside in Uniontown with their children, Morgan, 7, and Aubree, 2.
Charles Patrick, chancellor and chief academic officer of Penn State Fayette, commented on the advisory board’s selection of Long. “Chad has done a tremendous job over the past few years overseeing the University’s student services requirements, and we are extremely proud to honor him as the 2015 Outstanding Alumnus of Penn State Fayette,” he said.
The chancellor also had high praise for Gardner, the 2015 Outstanding Fellow. “Bill is a valuable asset to Penn State Fayette and deserves to be recognized for his exceptional service to the campus and the community,” said the chancellor.
Gardner has been a business faculty member since 2000 and became coordinator of the program in 2010. He is the campus representative for the College of Agricultural Sciences and will become chair-elect of the Penn State Fayette Faculty Senate this fall.
After graduating from California University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor of science degree in business, Gardner went on to earn an M.B.A.
For a decade, Gardner was also an adjunct faculty member at Westmoreland County Community College, and in 1998, Penn State Extension hired him as its director for Fayette County.
In 2000, Gardner began working at Penn State Fayette. He earned the Teaching Excellence Award in 2014 and the Ellen M. Laun Advising Excellence Award in both 2009 and 2014.
Gardner serves on various Fayette campus committees, including Academic Leadership Council, Scholarship Committee, Faculty Senate Awards Committee and numerous search committees.
Gardner is active in the community, especially with 4-H. He has served on the Fayette County Fair Board since 2000 (having been vice president since 2003), and also is a member of the Fayette County Cooperative Extension Advisory Board, director of the Pennsylvania Club Livestock Association, and co-chair of the Fayette County Premier Livestock Jackpot Show.
According to Gardner, family is the most important part of his life. He is most proud of his two sons, Scott, 19, who will be a sophomore at Penn State Fayette in the fall, and Nick, 17, who is graduating at the top of his class at Brownsville High School and will begin taking classes at Fayette campus in the fall.