Penn State Altoona Chancellor Lori J. Bechtel-Wherry has been selected by the Penn State Commission for Women's 2009 Award Selection Committee as this year's recipient of the Achieving Women Award in the administrator category. She will be honored at a University-wide luncheon Friday, April 10 at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, hosted by the Commission for Women.
The Commission strives to acknowledge the achievements of distinguished and accomplished women at the University. The first Achieving Women Awards were given in 2001.
Bechtel holds the distinction of being Penn State Altoona’s first female professor, first female associate dean for academic affairs and first female chancellor. She was appointed interim CEO and Dean in early 2005 and appointed chancellor in July of that year.
A professor of biobehavioral health and women’s studies and former head of the Division of Education, Human Development and Social Sciences, Bechtel has been a faculty member at Penn State Altoona since 1985 and is a member of the graduate faculty at Penn State. She has received numerous awards for her teaching, research, and service, including The Penn State George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Penn State Commission for Women Achieving Woman Award for Faculty and the American Cancer Society, Blair Unit, Volunteer of the Year Award.