ESU Names Dave Argall Legislative Fellow for 2023-2024 Academic Year

ESU Legislative Fellow 2023

Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on November 7, 2023, No Comments

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania announced the selection of its 2023-2024 Legislative Fellow, Senator Dave Argall, at a breakfast held in his honor on Monday, November 6. ESU President Kenneth Long introduced Senator Argall at the event to university faculty, students, staff and special guests from the community.

The Legislative Fellow program, established in 1999, is designed to bring state legislators to campus to participate in a variety of campus activities and to meet formally and informally with students, faculty and staff throughout the year. As part of the program, ESU Legislative Fellows may also request a student intern.

The program is co-sponsored by the university administration and the local chapter of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF). Fellows are selected by a committee of faculty and administrators, and jointly appointed by the university president and the president of APSCUF at the beginning of each academic year.

Senator Argall represents the 29th District, which now includes 102 municipalities in the anthracite region including all of Schuylkill and Carbon Counties, and parts of Luzerne County including the city of Hazleton. He is a member of the Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Finance, Rules & Executive Nominations, Transportation, and Urban Affairs & Housing committees. He serves as chair of the Education committee and vice chair of the State Government committee.

The proud grandson of Cornish, Welsh, and German farmers, coal miners, and factory workers, Senator Argall’s top legislative priority is revitalizing our downtowns and older industrial neighborhoods.

Senator Argall has led successful battles to pass several new anti-blight laws. Because of his grassroots teamwork, “left behind” communities across Pennsylvania, from his hometown of Tamaqua to parts of our largest cities, have witnessed a positive transformation.

In the Senate, he chaired a bipartisan commission which unanimously recommended more than $400 million in taxpayer savings. Senator Argall is also a leader in conservation, farmland preservation, and abandoned mine reclamation initiatives, locally as a volunteer Scout leader and as the author of legislation which has recycled more than 97 percent of Pennsylvania’s waste tires. The National Eagle Scout Association, due to his “distinguished service to his profession and community,” presented him with the Outstanding Eagle Scout Award.

Senator Argall earned a bachelor’s degree from Lycoming College and a Ph.D. in public administration from Penn State. His studies included an Eisenhower Fellowship to review the economic and political transformations in Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall. His doctoral dissertation reviewed the benefits and drawbacks of Pennsylvania’s tax-free “Keystone Opportunity Zones” for economic development.

Dr. Argall has served as a part-time public policy instructor at Lycoming College, Penn State, and at Lehigh Carbon Community College, where he led the transformation of a vacant junior high school where his parents once taught into LCCC’s Morgan Center.

Senator Argall and his wife Beth are the parents of AJ and Elise, who are pursuing careers in patent law and communications. The Argalls share their Rush Township home with two very active terriers, Maggie and Wolfgang.

For more information on the Legislative Fellow program, contact Miguel Barbosa, chief of staff and vice president for university relations in ESU’s Office of the President at (570) 422-3545.