Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro recently reappointed one Council of Trustee (COT) member and made one new appointment to West Chester University’s 11-member Council: Judge Barry C. Dozor and State Senator Carolyn Comitta. Members of the Council are appointed by the governor of Pennsylvania for a six-year term and confirmed by the state Senate. Executing Board of Governors’ policies, the duties, responsibilities and powers of WCU’s Council of Trustees are set by Act 188.

As one of the longest-serving members of the Council of Trustees for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, Judge Barry C. Dozor has served West Chester University as a member of its Council of Trustees for six terms. With Governor Shapiro’s recent appointment, Judge Dozor now enters his seventh term as a Council of Trustee member, having been initially appointed to the Council in 1976 by Governor Milton J. Shapp and then again by four subsequent governors.

Judge Dozor, who serves as liaison judge for the Family and Juvenile Division, was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas by former Governor Tom Ridge and swore his oath of judicial office on Dec. 13, 2001. He was then elected for a full judicial term that began on Jan. 5, 2004. On Nov. 5, 2013, Judge Dozor was retained for an additional judicial term of 10 years. Judge Dozor has attended and was awarded a Certificate from the National Judicial College.

He is a graduate of the Widener University School of Law (J.D.), West Chester University (B.A.) and Haverford High School. A lifelong resident of Delaware County, he and his wife, Rose, reside in Marple Township and have three children.

Representing the people of Chester County, State Senator Carolyn Comitta was elected to serve Pennsylvania’s 19th District in 2020. In the Senate, Comitta serves as minority chair of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and on the Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Aging and Youth, Education, and Local Government Committees. Before being elected state senator, Comitta served two terms, beginning in 2016, as state representative for the 156th Legislative District. In the House of Representatives, she served as secretary of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and on the Appropriations Committee and the Aging and Older Adults Committee.

Comitta was also vice chair of the Pennsylvania Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee, vice chair of the Climate Caucus, vice chair of the House Southeast Delegation, and a member of the Pennsylvania Commission for Women. Comitta was first elected to public office on West Chester Borough Council, where she served from 2006 to 2010. In 2010, she became the first woman and first bipartisan-elected mayor of West Chester. During her time on council and as mayor, she helped guide local, state, national, and international organizations and gained deep knowledge of public policy and governance.

Senator Comitta earned a master’s degree in education from Widener University and a bachelor’s degree in education from West Chester University. She lives in West Chester with her husband, Tom, and they have two grown children as well as four grandchildren.

“The University is deeply grateful to all members of its Council of Trustees for their service and unwavering commitment to our students,” said West Chester University President Chris Fiorentino. “As an unprecedented example of COT service, Judge Dozor is a steadfast advocate for student success and his guidance remains invaluable to all of us. As we celebrate Judge Dozor’s seventh term on the Council of Trustees, we also welcome State Senator Carolyn Comitta as a new member of the Council. Senator Comitta’s longstanding relationship with the University and our students will strengthen as well as enhance the work that we come together to do on behalf of all citizens in the Commonwealth. I am proud and honored to have these two distinguished West Chester University alumni as members of our Council of Trustees.”   

Learn more at West Chester University.