The University Board of Trustees approved 48 new members Saturday for the National Development Council.

The purpose of the NDC, formed early last November, is to encourage gifts from alumni, friends, corporations, foundations and other private sources, according to the council's by-laws.

Among the members selected were Cecile M. Springer, Springer Associates president; Mimi Coppersmith Fredman, Barash Group president; Bernard Hankin, Hankin Group president; and J. Lloyd Huck, chairman of the board of Nova Pharmaceutical Corporation.

The council's first official meeting will not be until May and it will have many of the same goals as the Campaign for Penn State, said G. David Gearhart, senior vice president for Development and University Relations.

The council was not established to replace the Campaign for Penn State, a six-year fund-raising effort, but members hope to continue to raise as many funds as the campaign, Gearhart said. The monies will go to a variety of programs but 90 percent of funds are usually designated by the donor, he added.

Members were selected on whether they had been supportive of University activities in the past, were good volunteers, and had solid contacts with corporations, associations and foundations, Gearhart said. Each member has no exact responsibility, but the council itself will provide leadership for the entire University, he added.

"(The council) has clear-cut objectives," said Coppersmith Fredman, member of the council and newly-elected board president. The council will give external input to help the University achieve its goals, she added.

"The mission is two-fold," Springer said. "It is to continue development and to target other efforts."

She said the council will give visibility and direction to the University's fund-raising efforts.

In selected areas of the country, the council will establish regional development councils to bring money to the University.

"The University needs to have the support of all its constituents, especially in these hard economic times," Springer said.