This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

Dr. Debra Bogen, the former director of the Allegheny County Department of Health, has officially been confirmed as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health after serving in an acting capacity since being appointed in 2023, according to The Center Square. Bogen’s nomination faced pushback from Senate Republicans, prompting Gov. Josh Shapiro to recall her nomination last year, but Bogen ultimately secured enough support this week to get approval from the General Assembly’s upper chamber.

Summer is tourism time in the Keystone State, and what better way to enjoy the weather than visiting the nation’s “Favorite Traditional Amusement Park”? Knoebels Amusement Resort, a mainstay attraction in Columbia County and the country’s largest free-admission park, was named the winner by the National Amusement Park Historical Association, which released the results of its annual survey on Tuesday. The park also took home “Favorite Wood Coaster,” which recognized The Phoenix at Knoebels.

This higher education leader is making the jump from one Philadelphia school to another. John Fry, president of Drexel University, has been appointed president-elect of Temple University. Fry, who becomes the 15th president in the school’s history, has been in leadership at Drexel since 2010. He’ll take over his new role as soon as Drexel names his replacement. 

The Pennsylvania-based Clarks Summit University, a Baptist college located in Lackawanna County that was founded during the Great Depression, announced this week that it will be closing and will no longer be offering courses as of the fall of 2024, citing financial issues. According to a report from Higher Ed Dive, the college, which saw a stark drop in enrollment over the last decade, faced a budget shortfall of nearly $1.9 million in 2023.

U.S. Rep. Scott Perry found himself backpedaling this week after his campaign Facebook page posted a meme that depicted several antisemitic tropes, according to Jewish Insider. The meme showed images of “Jewish bankers with hooked noses and thick beards gathered around a Monopoly board,” according to the outlet, which reported that Perry’s campaign removed the post after Jewish Insider reached out for comment. Perry’s campaign said after receiving the outlet’s inquiry and learning the history of the image – which is based on a 2012 London wall mural that attracted controversy at the time – they quickly removed it.

Two men incarcerated at SCI Camp Hill have died in the last two days. One cellmate is now being charged with first-degree murder for one of the fatalities, while the other death has yet to be detailed after a 50-year-old inmate was found unresponsive in his cell on July 1 before being pronounced deceased shortly afterward. Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the death and the Cumberland County coroner will determine the official cause of death.