The Daily Collegian's Board of Directors last night selected current sales manager Ty Strohl as business manager for the upcoming year.

Strohl said that during his tenure he plans to emphasize teamwork, improve recruitment and focus on what University students want in their newspaper.

"I want to make the Collegian the thing," Strohl said after his selection was announced. "I want to make Penn State students want to see the Collegian every day of the week."

Strohl (junior-broadcast cable) begins his term on April 27 after the final Collegian press run of the semester.

Board President Rosa Eberly complimented Strohl's sales experience.

"Ty has done an admirable job with that since being appointed sales manager in November," she said."The board was impressed with his sense of inner direction. He knows clearly what he wants and he's able to achieve it."

Eberly said that choosing between Strohl and office manager Heather King (sophomore-labor and industrial relations) was difficult.

"It really was, we're not exaggerating. You can tell by the length of time we deliberated," Eberly said.

The board spent an hour-and-a-half deliberating in closed session.

Current Business Manager Jennifer Grimm (senior-general arts and sciences) said the transition of managers should go smoothly, and that one of Strohl's first tasks will be going through "boot camp," in which he will learn about each department of the business division.

Strohl said his most challenging task will be choosing a Board of Managers, which consists of the heads of each department. Strohl will also choose the new assistant business manager.

"The transition will be smooth. I'm looking forward to sitting down and working with Jennifer. It will be a learning process," he said.

The position of business manager entails overseeing all five departments of the business division and all the operating procedures, Grimm said.

"My best advice to Ty is to take one day at a time. It's just an incredible learning experience," Grimm said.

Eberly said the board used several criteria in evaluating the applicants, including communication with the staff and public, new ideas for improving sales, ideas for recruiting and retaining a diverse staff and ability to manage the other department managers.