Topic: “The Digital Revolution: Transforming Higher Education”
Location: Ballroom, Nittany Lion Inn
Introduction / Moderator: Rodney Erickson / Katie O’Toole
In 1962, Dr. Joel N. Myers founded AccuWeather at his kitchen table. Beyond starting a business – one that blossomed into an international media company reaching more than a billion users worldwide – he actually created an entire industry.
The name he chose for his burgeoning enterprise depicts the very innovation Dr. Myers most proudly stands behind… accurate weather. AccuWeather holds more than 40 patents and is known and respected around the world as a leader in forecast accuracy.
Under Dr. Myers’ leadership, AccuWeather supplies weather applications in 48 languages for mobile handset manufacturers who ship more than 85% of the mobile devices sold each year. AccuWeather.com ranks globally among top news destinations. The company’s detailed, accurate weather forecasts now appear on the latest Internet-connected SmartTVs and tablets including the Apple iPad. AccuWeather also serves more than 200 television stations, 650 radio stations and 600 newspapers, and provides content to an additional 72,000 websites. The company is the leading provider of pinpoint weather forecasts and warnings to save lives, protect property, and help businesses prosper, numbering 222 of the Fortune 500 among its customers.
A frequent speaker on the practice of entrepreneurship, Dr. Myers was selected by Entrepreneur Magazine’s Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs as one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history, and is one of fewer than 50 living members of that list.
Dr. Myers’ personal contribution to the science of meteorology has been recognized by his election as a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. In 2010, AccuWeather received the Corporate Award from the AMS for “nearly 50 years of exceptional innovation and leadership in weather applications and communication.” His numerous awards and recognitions also include the National Weather Association Individual Achievement Award and election to the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. In 1992, he cofounded the American Weather and Climate Industry Association and continues to serve as a board member.
Dr. Myers appeared on the ABC Nightly News and Larry King Live, and has been quoted in Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, National Geographic, The Economist, USA Today, Reader’s Digest, Forbes, and more than 500 other magazines and newspapers. He is considered the nation’s most respected source on the business of meteorology, having once been named “the most accurate man in weather” by The New York Times.
Dr. Myers received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in meteorology from The Pennsylvania State University. He continues his lifelong interest in education as a University Trustee, a position he has held for the past 31 years, having been elected 11 times by the university’s alumni.
His many philanthropic efforts include a gift of more than $2 million to Penn State for the creation of the Joel N. Myers Weather Center, a state-of-the-art teaching center for tomorrow’s meteorologists.
Since 1998, Dr. Myers has also served on the Board of Directors of Team Pennsylvania, a position to which he has been appointed by four Pennsylvania governors. Dr. Myers also has a lifelong interest in business and investments. He is a certified Commodity Traders Advisor, and operates a hedge fund as the principal of Weather Prophets, Inc.