KU Council of Trustees appoints new officers
The Kutztown University Council of Trustees has appointed new officers for the 2016-2018 academic years.
Dr. Charles Blocksidge ‘65 has been appointed the chair of the trustees, Tom Heck has been appointed vice chair, and Dianne Lutz has been appointed secretary.
Blocksidge served in multiple capacities at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) and retired as executive director of government relations and special projects. He was also CACC’s executive director of the college’s workforce alliance as well as vice president of organizational development and executive assistant to the president. Prior to CCAC, Blocksidge held administrative positions in a number of school districts, including superintendent and principal of an elementary, middle and high school. He also worked in county government as the director of budget and finance for Allegheny County. Additionally, he has taught as a member of the adjunct faculty at CCAC and the Graduate School at Robert Morris University.
Blocksidge received a bachelor of science in education from Kutztown State College, a master’s from Duquesne University and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. He also completed additional graduate work at Temple University.
Blocksidge was inducted into the Kutztown University Athletics Hall of Fame for football in 1979 and was recently named to the 1960s All-Decade Team. He has served on the KU Council of Trustees since 2009. He was vice chair the past two years, and is succeeding Jack Wabby ’68.
Heck is the owner of Heck Brothers. With locations in Reading and Wyomissing, Heck Brothers, a third-generation familyowned business, has been a full service florist serving Reading and the Berks County area for 109 years.
Heck is a graduate of Peirce College in Philadelphia.
Heck was a member of the KU Foundation Board from July 2002 through June 2011 and has served on the KU Council of Trustees since June 2012. He was secretary the last two years.
Lutz is managing director and registered representative of Concert Wealth Management, Inc., San Jose, California, and Dinosaur Securities, New York and London. She is the president and founder of Dianne Mae Financial, Sinking Spring, since 2014, serving institutions and individuals. She began her investment management career in 1987 at E.F. Hutton & Co., Wyomissing, and stayed with the firm until 2014 when she left Morgan Stanley as first vice president and senior investment management consultant. She achieved CIMA (Certified Investment Management Consultant) certification in 1997 at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania through IMCA (Investment Management Consultants Association). Lutz is also co-owner of Pappy G’s, Inc., Sinking Spring, where she is vice president/treasurer/ secretary. Pappy G’s, Inc., also known as the American House of Fritztown and Pappy G’s Tavern, was formed in 1998 by Lutz and her husband.
Lutz attended Reading Area Community College and Albright College, majoring in liberal arts/ business and accounting. She also served on various boards and committees including six terms as vice chair of the Berks County Republican Committee from 1994-2005.
Lutz was also previously employed in positions at Gilbert Associates, Reading; Construction Fasteners, Inc., Wyomissing; Hickory Farms, Wyomissing, and Community General Hospital; and The Reading Hospital & Medical Center, Reading.
Lutz has been a member of KU’s Council of Trustees since 2001. She was chair from 2008-2010, vice chair from 2006-2008 and secretary from 20042006.
Each of the 14 Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education universities has an 11-member Council of Trustees, which carries out board policy and deals with a variety of local issues. The council must have at least two alumni members and one student representative. Members of the council are appointed by the governor of Pennsylvania for a six-year term and are eligible for reappointment. The chancellor is an ex-officio member of every individual university Council of Trustees in the State System.