E. Jeanne Gleason Named Arts Council Vice Chair

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania First Lady Susan Corbett will serve as the chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, or PCA, Governor Tom Corbett announced today.

Mrs. Corbett has served on the PCA for nine years, having first been appointed by Gov. Mark Schweiker in 2002 and re-appointed by Gov. Ed Rendell in 2009.

"I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to serve the citizens of Pennsylvania in this role," Mrs. Corbett said. "My years on the council have provided valuable knowledge of the state's arts and cultural programs. I am particularly interested in how the arts can be used to impact at-risk children."

Most recently, Corbett was the vice president for programs and development for the Gettysburg Foundation, a nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. Corbett was instrumental in the development of the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center at Gettysburg Military Park. The project included the conservation and restoration of the massive Cyclorama painting, "The Battle of Gettysburg."

Corbett was also the Executive Director of Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures, a nationally recognized literary arts organization presenting hundreds of renowned authors to western Pennsylvania audiences. Speakers included Arthur Miller, Kurt Vonnegut, Doris Kearns Goodwin, John Edgar Wideman, Studs Terkel and John Updike. Mrs. Corbett created the organization's family author series and a film and short story series for teenagers and young adults. An accomplished pianist, she holds a bachelor's degree in English from Lebanon Valley College.

Governor Corbett also appointed Mrs. E. Jeanne Gleason, of Johnstown, Cambria County as vice chair of the council. Mrs. Gleason created and led the Pennsylvania Rural Arts Alliance to support access to the arts in rural western Pennsylvania. She has also served as the chairman of the board of the Pittsburgh Ballet and on the board of trustees of the University of Pittsburgh by appointment of Governor Ridge.

Gleason is one of 19 council members, 15 of whom are at-large members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. She has served on the council since 1999.

Council members serve without compensation. They set the goals for the agency, establish priorities and policies and have final authority in approving grants by the PCA.

The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts is a state agency founded in 1966.

The mission of the PCA is to foster the excellence, diversity and vitality of the arts in Pennsylvania and to broaden the availability and appreciation of the arts throughout the state. The PCA makes grants to arts organizations, programs and projects that provide the people of Pennsylvania with opportunities to participate in the arts at every level and every age. Through its many local partners around the state, the PCA has made access to the arts more readily available throughout the state. The PCA also operates a statewide network of arts in education organizations to enhance education through the arts for Pennsylvania students.

The PCA is widely recognized as a leader in the field, especially for its innovative grant-making strategies that have enabled it to reach every county in the state and its leadership in technology with the first electronic grants process in Pennsylvania state government. The PCA helped establish the Center for Arts Management and Technology at Carnegie Mellon University. The PCA was recognized for its innovative grants process as a finalist for Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government's "Innovations in American Government Awards."

Media contact: Kirsten Page, 717-783-1116

SOURCE Pennsylvania Council on the Arts