The Penn State office charged with advocacy and outreach with national, state and local agencies has a new name. The Office of Government and Community Relations, formerly known as the Office of Governmental Affairs, has adopted the new moniker to better reflect its expanded focus on local government and community relations.
Since its inception more than 50 years ago, the office always has been charged with building and maintaining relationships with the state and federal government, said Michael DiRaimo, vice president for Government and Community Relations. However, the February addition of Margaret Gray as director of local government and community relations has strengthened the University’s commitment to town/gown relations.
"Our new name tracks well with our peers in Pennsylvania and across the Big Ten, and reflects our robust efforts to collaborate with officials at the federal, state and now local levels," DiRaimo said.
In her position, Gray is working with the staff to expand on efforts to reach out to a wide range of groups including local government agencies and officials, community-based organizations and constituencies, and local businesses and associations both in the Centre Region and across the Commonwealth. Gray will collaborate with other University offices to help coordinate and support ongoing town/gown initiatives.