By the early 1980s there was growing evidence that the United States was falling behind other developed nations in math and science achievement at the secondary school level.  Following the success of the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts (PGSA, established in 1973 and hosted at Bucknell University), which demonstrated the value of a “living-learning” model of gifted education, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (during the administration of Governor Dick Thornburgh) issued a request for proposals in early 1982 to establish a similar school for the sciences.  A challenge grant in the amount of $51,800 was provided by the Pennsylvania Science and Engineering Foundation and the remaining funds were to be raised by the institution whose proposal was selected.  Proposals were submitted by Carnegie Mellon University, Penn State, Temple and Widener.  After careful screening and ranking of the four proposals, the one submitted by Carnegie Mellon was chosen. 

Professor Caretto (affectionately known as “Big Al”) directed the PGSS program for 11 years, from its inception in 1982 until 1992.  His first few years saw a rapid increase in enrollment and corresponding increase in funding from the Department of Education.  The 1983 program hosted 60 students, followed in 1984 with 80 students and reaching a steady-state enrollment of 90 students in 1985.  During the Caretto years, PGSS students were treated to Guest Lecturers by illustrious figures, including Admiral Grace Hoper, who explained concepts of computing speed with visual representations of “nanoseconds” (30-cm lengths of wire) and “picoseconds” (flecks of ground pepper packaged by Digital Equipment Corporation).  The Caretto years also saw the creation by the Pennsylvania Department of Education of five new Pennsylvania Governor’s Schools: International Studies (U. Pittsburgh, 1984), Agricultural Sciences (Penn State, 1986), Business (U. Pennsylvania, 1987-’92), Teaching (Millersville, 1990), and Health Care (U. Pittsburgh, 1991).

When Al Caretto announced plans for his retirement, MCS Dean Susan Henry appointed Peter Berget, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, to be the second Director of PGSS.  Dr. Berget had been an active member of the PGSS faculty, serving as a Team Project Advisor in Biological Sciences.  His first program year as PGSS Director coincided with the release to the public of the World Wide Web (1993).  Professor Berget was quick to take advantage of this new technology and set up the PGSS program to enter the 21^st Century by building the first PGSS website.  The site featured not only information about the program, but also an online database of all PGSS alumni, searchable by PGSS Class Year and by Pennsylvania Intermediate Unit.  During the Berget years, the PGSS program became an affiliate of the National Conference of Governor’s Schools, an organization for which Dr. Berget served as Vice President for Technology.  The Berget years also saw the creation of yet another Pennsylvania Governor’s School:  Information Technology (Drexel, 1999).  In addition to the State mandate of choosing at least one student from each of the 29 Intermediate Units, Dr. Berget instituted a gender parity requirement.  Each PGSS class would consist of approximately equal numbers of male and female students.

After serving as PGSS Director for eight program years, Peter Berget expressed a desire to return to his genetics research in biological sciences.  MCS Dean Susan Henry appointed Barry Luokkala, Senior Lecturer in Physics, to be the third Director of PGSS.  Luokkala had been a member of the PGSS faculty since 1986, teaching the PGSS Physics Laboratory course and leading the Physics Team Projects and was nearing the completion of his Ph.D. in Physics (2001).  Dr. Marian Sutter, State Director of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Schools of Excellence (PGSE), expressed concern that Luokkala didn’t have a Ph.D. at the time of his appointment.  Both Dr. Berget and Dean Henry assured her that he would complete his degree prior to his first program year, thus alleviating her concerns.  Luokkala successfully defended his thesis in May, with only weeks to spare before the start of PGSS 2001, and has since been promoted to the rank of Teaching Professor of Physics.  The Luokkala years saw a number of major events, which might be described as a “rollercoaster ride”.  The first came in 2005, when the State Director of the PGSE asked if the PGSS program could take more students.  Luokkala’s response was simple: “Not without more money.”  A budget increase was approved and the PGSS enrollment increased to 100 students – an all-time high, which lasted for four years.  2007 marked the 25^th Anniversary of the PGSS program.  For the traditional Reunion Weekend at the end of Week 4, instead of inviting back just the students from the previous year, all PGSS alumni were invited to a big celebration, supported by the MCS Dean’s Office, and featuring an appearance by the Mythbusters, Kari Byron and (the late) Grant Imahara. 

Unfortunately, the PGSS “high” was short-lived.  As of 2001, Pennsylvania hosted a total of eight Governor’s Schools of Excellence, which at the time was more than any other state in the nation.  The global financial crisis of 2008 led to the termination of all of the Governor’s Schools in Pennsylvania, as announced by Governor Ed Rendell on Super Bowl Weekend of 2009.

The PGSS program had been a truly life-changing experience for its many alumni.  When the announcement of what has become known as The Great Termination was made in 2009, the PGSS alumni could not bear the thought that their beloved program would come to an end.  They began to organize under the leadership of David Reiley (PGSS Class of 1986), who, along with Ben Campbell (PGSS ’97), Alfred Schnabel (PGSS ’94) and Janet Hurwitz (mother of Jeremy Hurwitz, PGSS ’03), established the nonprofit PGSS Campaign, Inc.  Their fund-raising efforts got the attention of then Governor Tom Corbett and Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis.  The officers of the PGSS Campaign, along with former PGSS Director Barry Luokkala, were invited to a meeting with the Governor and the Secretary of Education at the State Capitol in Harrisburg, early in 2012.  They made their case for a re-start of the PGSS program with state funding.   The Governor’s response in the moment was everything they had hoped for.  He turned to the Secretary of Education and said “We have to do this!”  In September of 2012, Luokkala received a phone call from the Secretary of Education, inviting him to apply for state funding to restart the PGSS program, subject to matching funds to be provided by the PGSS Campaign.

The PGSS program officially returned in the summer of 2013, hosting 60 students.  Corporate sponsors who supported the restart included EQT Foundation, AT&T, PPG and Teva Pharmaceuticals.  The grant from the Department of Education lasted for the first two years of the restart and was followed in 2015 by a one-time grant from the Team PA Foundation.  Beginning in 2016, the program has been fully funded by the PGSS Campaign, Inc. (Executive Director Heidi Malin), through individual donations and corporate sponsorships.  

In 2018 the PGSS program switched from paper applications to an online application portal, designed and maintained by Jeff Conway (PGSS ’06).  Jeff’s skill and dedication have greatly streamlined the entire process of receiving and screening the applications.  During the COVID-19 years (2020, 2021) we successfully ran the program remotely.  Imagine conducting the traditional PGSS Square Dance via Zoom – an amazing testimony to the talent and creativity of the PGSS Counselors!  The program returned to campus in 2022, just in time to celebrate its 40^th Anniversary.  The program is now hosting 72 students each summer, thanks to additional funding secured by the PGSS Campaign.

Dr. Luokkala retired as PGSS Director at the end of the 2023 program.  MCS Dean Rebecca Doerge appointed Dr. Natalie McGuier, Associate Teaching Professor of Biological Sciences, to be the fourth Director of PGSS.  Dr. McGuier has a long history with the PGSS program, having taught an elective course entitled “Brain on the Fritz – A survey of neurological diseases” for several years and supervised a number of interesting Team Projects in Biological Sciences.  She accepted the challenge of directing PGSS with enthusiasm.  We wish her well as she leads the PGSS program into the future.