New Kensington innovation projects to continue despite changes at Penn State

As chancellor of Penn State New Kensington, one of Kevin Snider’s goals was to sink his campus’ roots so deeply into the city that its initiatives would continue without him.

Now that he’s set to retire at the end of the year with his campus falling under a new leadership model, he’s confident the university’s support of New Kensington through initiatives like The Corner Launchbox and Digital Foundry in the heart of the city’s downtown will continue.

“It might look a little different, it might have a different tack, but I think Penn State wants these things to happen and the community does,” Snider said. “There are enough people and enough momentum there that I can’t imagine it’s not going to continue growing.”

Indeed, the university’s transition plan, which will have the New Kensington and Fayette campuses under the direction of Chancellor Megan Nagel at the Greater Allegheny campus in McKeesport starting Jan. 1, takes steps to ensure initiatives like those in New Kensington will continue.

“Part of Dr. Snider’s upcoming six months is to continue to provide overall leadership for the New Kensington campus, which also includes community initiatives such as the campus’ Corner Launchbox and Digital Foundry at New Kensington,” said Corinne Coulson, Penn State New Kensington’s director of strategic communications and marketing. “Dr. Snider will be working closely with Dr. Nagel so that she has a clear understanding of these integral projects.

“These community initiatives have been a prominent feature of the university’s commitment to its land grant mission in recent years, and that commitment will continue.”

Nagel was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Coulson said the new management model aims to reduce administrative overhead while providing more opportunities for collaboration across Penn State’s campuses.

“Grouping campus administrations together geographically will enable further collaboration and resource sharing while continuing to offer students full academic and support services.”

Such sharing among Penn State locations is not new, according to Coulson, and already is happening in New Kensington.

“This spring, thanks to grant funding, our Digital Foundry was also able to expand some of its entry-level digital manufacturing certificate programming to the Greater Allegheny and Beaver campuses.”

Still, some fear Snider’s departure after 16 years could result in New Kensington losing one of its biggest boosters.

“The city is going to lose one of its few champions, one of the few good guys,” developer Mike Malcanas said.

Malcanas, owner of Olde Towne Overhaul, has been buying and repairing buildings in New Kensington’s downtown, then helping small, local businesses get set up in them.

Snider “was the original reason, my inspiration for getting started in New Kensington or picking New Kensington to start redeveloping because he was so passionate about what he was doing,” Malcanas said. “When I was looking at a couple of different cities, it sounded like a pretty good bet jumping on the wave he already started and trying to amplify it a little bit.”

Snider, 61, and his wife, Sarah, came to the Alle-Kiski Valley from Terre Haute, Ind., in 2008 when he became chancellor. Over the ensuing years, he would become such a part of New Kensington that Snider’s image is included in a three-story community mural with other notable residents on the side of a building at Ninth Street and Fourth Avenue.

Snider said the restructuring is a good move, even if it will be painful to get through.

“We’ve known for years that higher education was in a model that wasn’t working. We were all built in higher education on more students, higher tuition and higher state subsidies, and none of that is really coming to fruition,” he said. “I think this is going to ensure the sustainability of Penn State in communities for the foreseeable future.

“I’ve always thought that higher education, particularly publicly funded and publicly assisted, has a responsibility to be good partners in improving the community. Mutual benefit happens when communities and higher ed institutions come together.”

Snider’s efforts culminated in the creation of the Corridor of Innovation on Fifth Avenue in downtown New Kensington, anchored at one end by The Corner, one of the university’s first innovation hubs, and at the other by Knead Community Cafe, both of which opened in 2017.

It now also includes the Digital Foundry, which opened in 2022.

Kevin Bode, who owns Knead with his wife, Mary, said he and Snider became close friends after a chance meeting at the campus before his cafe and The Corner opened.

“He’s a great thinker. He thinks outside the box, and he’s not afraid to get things done, and he’s a good team player,” Bode said. “He works well with other people and tries to make things work. I’m happy for him, but I’m sad he’s not going to be head of the campus anymore.”

New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo said Snider has been a “tremendous partner” with the city. He now looks forward to meeting Nagel “so that we can discuss how we can continue the tremendous momentum that Penn State has played such a major role in for the city of New Kensington.

“The Corner’s programs have helped so many of our new small business owners prepare to realize their dreams and be successful, and the Digital Foundry will prepare people to work in smart manufacturing and technology jobs now and into the future.”

Alyssa Pistininzi, community operations manager for The Corner, said she doesn’t anticipate any interruptions to The Corner’s service delivery or offerings because of the new leadership structure.

“The success of (Snider’s) leadership on this initiative is evident in the scores of new business startups and activity along the Corridor of Innovation, and his impact will be lasting,” Pistininzi said.

Sherri McCleary, executive director of the Digital Foundry, also does not anticipate any changes at her facility, which is an initiative of Penn State New Kensington funded by the revenue and grants it brings in.

Also unchanged are the class offerings at Penn State New Kensington, at least for now.

“There have been no announcements of courses no longer being offered or delivered at this time,” Coulson said. “Fall courses at the New Kensington campus, and all campuses, have been set and will be delivered as planned.”