Advancement Office transitions

On June 17, current and past colleagues and alumni friends bid a fond farewell to Joyce Hoffman, who retires in July after 25 years of facilitating, promoting and nurturing alumni relationships in the College of Arts and Architecture. During her tenure, she supported four deans and was largely responsible for increasing the role and visibility of the college’s Alumni Society and establishing alumni program groups supporting the academic units and the Alumni Blue Band.

Joyce began her Penn State career in 1991 as the development office staff assistant in the Smeal College of Business, and joined the College of Arts and Architecture in 1997. She shepherded the successful nomination of 25 Penn State Alumni Fellows, seven Distinguished Alumni and two Honorary Alumni, in addition to facilitating the recognition of more than 160 College of Arts and Architecture Alumni Award winners. In 2017, she received the Lewis and Karen Gold Staff Excellence Award from the Penn State Alumni Association.

Joyce and her husband, Norm Horn, have recently relocated to Wilmington, Delaware, where Norm has accepted a new position as construction project manager with New Ecology. Joyce will continue to contribute professionally and personally in their local community. Her last day at Penn State will be July 15, 2022.

Kelsey Knight, who has served as associate director of stewardship for the college since March 2021, will assume the role of director of alumni relations and stewardship on July 5. In this new position, she will provide strategic oversight to two vital areas of the college’s advancement organization. In collaboration with college leadership, she will oversee and grow the area of alumni relations, including volunteer management, alumni spotlights and recognition. Additionally, she will oversee and grow the area of donor stewardship, including gift acknowledgement, donor spotlights and recognition across the college.

Prior to joining the A&A team, Kelsey served for 10 years as an event services manager for the Nittany Lion Inn, where she routinely planned and coordinated events for 500+ groups per year, and provided software and service trainings. She holds a B.S. in Biological Anthropology from Penn State and is a 2009 Dale Carnegie graduate.

As part of Joyce’s retirement celebration, alumni and friends were invited to contribute to the Alumni Society Scholarship in her honor, and more than $5,000 has been contributed thus far. If you would like to express appreciation to Joyce by contributing to the scholarship, click here. A list of contributors will be provided to Joyce. Personal notes are also being collected and will be given to Joyce upon her retirement. If you would like to send a personal note to Joyce, please click here.