Myers balances University politics with burgeoning business

Editor's Note: This is the third story in a five-part series profiling University Board of Trustees members. This article focuses on trustee Joel Myers.

In The Daily Collegian March 8, 1961, a columnist wrote an open letter to the legislature expressing concern that increases in state appropriation did not match the increase in enrollment.

That columnist who showed interest in the welfare of the University was Joel Myers, now a University trustee.

"I was always active in politics as an undergraduate," he said. "I was always commenting on University politics."

Myers, who was first elected to the University Board of Trustees in 1981, considered joining the board as early as 1962 when he was a graduate student. The board is a 32-person governing body that oversees the University's overall mission and direction. The board does not manage the day-to-day affairs of the University.

He was unable to join the board earlier because he was a faculty member and faculty members are not permitted to be members of the board.

- Joel, Myers, University trustee

However, Myers, and the business he started more than 30 years ago, has grown to national attention. AccuWeather, the largest commercial weather service in the world, was started by Myers in 1962 when he was a graduate student.

"Probably about 180 million Americans recognize the AccuWeather name," he said.

What started as a small company in central Pennsylvania has grown to a service that provides weather reports to any country in the world and to large media conglomerations such as CNN. Myers recently received secret clearance because his business now provides weather reports to the White House when planning President Bill Clinton's travel routes.

"It's really grown up around me," he said. "Of course, we could be anywhere."

While Myers said he has never seriously considered moving his international business out of State College, he has received offers from other cities and areas that would enjoy the economic growth AccuWeather brings with it.

Before AccuWeather's consistent growth made it too difficult to hold two jobs, Myers was a faculty member at the University for about 20 years.

"It just became a part of me," he said. "It makes you feel important and if you are doing your job right, you are."

Although he said he misses the interaction with the students, Myers said he feels he is giving to the University in his 'watchdog' role as a trustee. The diversity on the board and the respect between trustees is one of the reasons Myers said the board is so effective.

"The thing that's really impressed me is that even when there's been sharp differences in opinion, it hasn't affected (the respect)," he said.