When Michael Hanes assumed the position of president and CEO of Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, he intended to stay five to seven years.
By the time he officially retires, in January 2018, he will have been at the nonprofit for more than a decade.
“As time passed, we had developed plans for a number of projects and new programs,” Hanes said. “I was committed to seeing that work completed.”
Over the past 10 years, Whitaker Center has refreshed its Harsco Science Center, created a fund to promote access to plans for facility renovations and successfully completed a major fundraising campaign.
Hanes further advocated for the creation of innovative science programs, such as “Surgery Live!” and the renovation of Select Medical Digital Cinema with state-of-the-art projectors.
“We have broadened the donor base with generous support now coming from across the community to include individuals, small businesses, trade associations, foundations and local, state and federal government agencies,” Hanes said. “We have continued to invest in a beautiful and unique facility, including new paint for Sunoco Performance Theater, scheduled for this summer, and to upgrade critical infrastructure as the center approaches its 20th anniversary.”
Hanes and his wife, Madlyn, donated the funding to erect a public sculpture at Whitaker Center’s Market Street entrance.
In addition, Hanes said he was determined that Whitaker Center would weather the Great Recession in financially secure fashion.
“We have accomplished this,” he said.
As one of his final jobs, Hanes is producing a giant-screen film about effective management of water resources, featuring the Chesapeake Bay. He actually retired a couple of months ago as CEO, replaced by Ted Black, but will remain as head of Whitaker Center Productions until January, when the project ends.
“This is a particular passion of mine,” he said.
Common Threads
Hanes grew up in northern Indiana in a house homesteaded in the mid-1800s by his great- great-grandfather.
“We were expected to participate in the work of the farm, and each of us had daily chores,” he said. “In addition, we were encouraged to be independent thinkers. Through the actions of my parents and everyday experiences, I learned to value hard work, generosity and lending a helping hand to others.”
From a young age, Hanes said he was curious about the world, graduating from the University of Indiana at Bloomington and eventually earning a doctorate in educational psychology, specializing in child development.
“Educational achievement was important in my family,” he said. “There was a clear expectation that my siblings and I would attend college.”
One of Hanes’s proudest professional accomplishments occurred when he became the youngest member of the University of Florida faculty to be named to the graduate research faculty. Subsequently, he achieved the rank of full professor in seven years, due, in part, to the fact that he had published four books in the first seven years of his career.
Other academic positions included dean of the School of Education at West Chester University and president of Georgia Southwestern State University.
Hanes came to Whitaker after more than 35 years as a professor, researcher and administrator in universities and nonprofits.
“When I needed a challenge, I would change careers,” he said, laughing. “But education and learning have been the common threads throughout my careers as a teacher, researcher and administrator.”
After retirement, Hanes will remain president emeritus of Whitaker Center, which opened in downtown Harrisburg in 1999.
“The center’s most important work” is offering “the public diverse and engaging educational experiences in science, visual arts and performing arts,” he said.
Better Place
Hanes’s writing background will come in handy when, post-retirement, he and his wife resume a project they had started a while back—collaborating on a book about dual-career couples. This is something they have lived for nearly 40 years.
“During my tenure as a university president, Madlyn was serving as the chancellor of Penn State Harrisburg.” Hanes said. “For nearly 20 years, we lived with homes in two different locations. Recently, the homes have been only 90 miles apart, but for more than 10 years, we lived in two different states separated by more than 1,000 miles.”
Madlyn Hanes is currently vice president for Commonwealth Campuses for Penn State University, having served as an academic and executive administrator there since 1988.
“As we researched the topic, developed a prospectus, and wrote a couple of chapters, we discovered that more and more professional couples are finding themselves in similar situations,” Hanes said. “We hope to help young couples develop the skills to pursue ambitious professional and personal goals while growing together as a family.”
After Hanes’s retirement, the couple also hopes to pursue their interests more actively. These include “trips to interesting places” in the United States and around the world. They have traveled to and worked in such locations as Ecuador, Israel, China, South Korea, Puerto Rica, India and Great Britain.
Hanes also enjoys sailing at Lake Champlain, the Chesapeake Bay and Biscayne Bay in Florida.
“We used to talk about retiring when I was 55,” Hanes said. “I’ve long since passed that. But my intent has always been to leave Whitaker Center in a better place than when I arrived. I believe I have.”
Learn more about Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts at www.whitakercenter.org.
