SHARON -- A four-member directorate and two support staff members will assume the responsibilities of the former special assistant to the University president - including the development of a $62.5 million research park.

University President Bryce Jordan announced the formation of the directorate, which will be chaired by William C. Richardson, executive vice president and provost, at the University Board of Trustees meeting Friday.

The directorate replaces Tom Larson, who faces a Senate confirmation hearing today on an appointment to head President Bush's federal highway administration.

"(Larson's) leaving leaves a sizable gap in the way we manage economic development," Jordan said.

The directorate includes Steve Garban, vice president for finance and operations; C. McCollister Evarts, senior vice president for health affairs and dean of the College of Medicine; and Charles Hosler, senior vice president for research and dean of the graduate school. Gary Schultz, assistant vice president for operations and services, and K. Jack Yost, associate vice president for sponsored programs, technology transfer and industrial liaison, will serve as supporting staff, he added.

The committee will oversee economic developments at the University, Richardson said.

"These are the key senior officials responsible for elements of the University that have a stake in the park," Richardson said.

The committee is developing plans to construct a research park located on Park Avenue and the Nittany Valley expressway, Schultz said.

Phase one of the seven-part plan could begin in 1991, Schultz said. The 130-acre park would include a conference facility, research and development lab, industrial development center and a privately-owned hotel, he said.

The construction of the first buildings could lead to more facilities at the park, including a commercial research and development lab, Schultz said.

"Penn State would be making a committment to a core complex of facilities," he said, adding the park would provide an area for corporate-sponsored research.

A planned increase in charges for sponsored research will partially cover the parks' construction costs, Schultz said. Fees for the meetings held in the conference center and a lease for a privately owned hotel would also replenish funds, he said.

Also on the directorate's agenda is the use of University-owned land for buildings and meeting space, Garban said.

The land under consideration is on Benner Pike near the Hampton Inn Hotel, 1101 E. College Ave., Garban said.

COG is currently located in the Fraser Street Plaza, said Don Johnson, chairman of the COG ad-hoc building committee. Because the council's lease expires in 1991, the committee is investigating areas to locate the buildings, including closed supermarkets and other buildings not in use, Johnson said.

"We have been literally looking at every appropriate (area) -- either land, existing buildings or lease arrangements," Johnson said.

Joint ventures between the University and other businesses and government organizations may interfere with the educational responsibility of the University, said Trustee Edward Zemperelli.

"It always borderlines on what the prime purpose of the University is," he said.

Though the hospital addition would benefit students involved with the sports medicine program, Zemperelli said he opposes property not linked with education.

Buildings for COG and college township government offices would not interfere with education priorities because the land is located in a remote area of campus, Schultz said.

COG would negotiate a long-term lease with the University, specifying rights and responsibilities the council would maintain, Johnson said.

"It's probably very good use of University land," said Trustee Helen Wise, secretary to the governor's cabinet. "I think it's probably worth exploring."

The directorate is also overseeing a joint venture between private physicians, the Centre Community Hospital, and the University which could create a medical building adjacent to the hospital, 1800 E. Park Ave., Garban said. The building would house both private medical offices and the University's sports medicine program, he said.

The sports medicine program is located at various buildings across campus, including Ritenour Health Center, Richardson said. A centralized location for facilities would benefit students in the program, he added.

The committee has not developed concrete plans for construction of the medical building, Schultz said.

"It's pretty much up in the air," he said.