Cheyney University announces new Council of Trustees members

The new appointees also include two Cheyney alums: Cheryl Harper, adjunct professor at Drexel University and Craig Welburn, founder and owner of Welburn Management.

Members of the Council of Trustees are selected by Gov. Tom Wolf and approved by the state General Assembly. Members serve a six-year term and have an active and supporting role at Cheyney.

“Being appointed to serve on Cheyney’s Council is an honor, but I also consider it an obligation,” Nunery said in a statement.

“My up-close experience with the entire K-through-adult educational spectrum allows me to know why, especially now, higher education needs additional perspectives to thrive and grow,” he said.

“I plan to devote my energies to working with other trustees and president (Aaron) Walton to bring in additional partnerships and friends of Cheyney to build on the university’s current upward trajectory,” he added. “Cheyney has earned the standing to be seen as an institution with great promise.”

Members who were reappointed to the Council are Pennsylvania state Sen. Vincent Hughes and Cheyney alums Larry Skinner, vice president of sales and marketing at Conversion Technologies International Inc. and Robert Traynham, director of Corporate Public Affairs at Facebook.

Daniel Greenstein, chancellor of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, will remain an ex officio trustee on the Council.

“We are pleased with the new appointments and reappointments of such an accomplished group of individuals to the Council,” said Cheyney University president Aaron Walton said in a statement.

After years of financial and academic challenges, Cheyney implemented a model in 2017 in which private companies locate their businesses on campus both to provide real-world paid student internships and as a source of revenue to the university.

The university has balanced its budget for three consecutive years, raised academic requirements for enrollment and seen its areas of study shift.

Twenty-five percent of Cheyney students now major in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The university has a goal of reaching 30% in those majors over the next two years.

Walton said he’s looking forward to working with the Council to continue to move the mission of the university forward.

“This significant action is reflective of the transformational journey we embarked upon four years ago to dramatically change our university’s trajectory,” Walton said. “We look forward to working with our new Council as we continue our important mission.”