The Penn State Faculty Staff Club Forum welcomed Maxwell King, executive director of The Heinz Endowments and former editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, to the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel last Friday afternoon. The topic of his presentation was "The Soul of the New American City."

King focused on the importance of developing a city, and spoke primarily about the recent and current changes occurring in Pittsburgh. He talked about the rebuilding process the city is going through and how the two new stadiums will add a lot to the city. He said the renewal underway is developing an "amazing cultural district." King referred to Pittsburgh as "exciting and dynamic, yet livable."

From 1990 to 1998, King served as editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, then stepped down to develop and lead a special project focusing on urban sprawl. He said the project gave him a lot of insight into the importance of maintaining the cities of America.

King then joined the Heinz Endowments, one of the nation's largest philanthropic organizations, in 1999, to serve as the executive director. The Endowments' mission is to support progress in economic opportunity, arts and culture, education, health, human services and the environment. In 1998, Penn State received $1.78 million from the Endowment to develop an interdisciplinary center and graduate-level curriculum in watershed stewardship.

Following the lecture, there was a brief question and answer period, in which King spoke candidly about his knowledge on the topic. When one audience member posed the question, "can suburbia and cities grow together?" King responded by saying that the two must grow together. He believes that the suburbs should be integrated into the city, and that in doing so, "mass transit is a key ingredient."

Tysen Kendig, Penn State spokesperson, referred to the speech as "Interesting, in showing how cities and suburbia grow together." The event came to a close with the presentation of a plaque to King.