Spring 2013 Commencement Speaker
Frank E. Dittenhafer II, ’78 FAIA, LEED AP
President of Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects
Frank E. Dittenhafer II is the president of Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects, an architectural firm established in 1985 that provides architectural services for clients throughout the mid-Atlantic region. His impact at the York campus goes beyond serving on the advisory board. His company’s creative work is evident in the amazing designs of the Pullo Family Performing Arts Center, the Lee R. Glatfelter Library, the Lair student lounge, and most recently, the Ralph G. and Madeline B. Swenson Engineering Center.
In April 2013, Dittenhafer’s architectural design work was featured in the Penn State publication “Stuckeman Works” – celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the College of Arts and Architecture and campus exhibit of noteworthy work by Penn State architectural, landscape architect and graphic design graduates over the past fifty years.
Dittenhafer holds a bachelor of science degree in architecture, with honors, from Penn State, as well as a master of architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, where he received the E. Lewis Dales Traveling Fellowship and bronze medal for design.
Now inspiring a new generation of architects, Dittenhafer has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland, College Park; design critic for the Pennsylvania School of Art and Design, Art Institute of York, and Harrisburg Area Community College; and has chaired numerous Architects International Association (AIA) Design Award juries. He is a member of the Penn State Architecture Alumni Group Board of Directors, Morgan State University’s Architecture Advisory Board and the City of Baltimore Public Art Commission.
Dittenhafer’s was inducted into the College of Fellows in 2007 and is only the sixth Architect in the 104-year history of the thirteen-county Central Pennsylvania Chapter to achieve national AIA Fellow recognition. He has served as president of AIA Central Pennsylvania and a board member of AIA Pennsylvania. He also founded and currently chairs the Central Pennsylvania Architect Foundation Fund Scholarship Board.
He has received regional, state and local design award recognition for many projects, among them the Pullo Family Performing Arts Center/Glatfelter Library, Marketview Arts, CODO 241, CODO 28, Byrnes Health Education Center, the Lofts on George Street, Market Street Parking Garage, JCC York, West Manchester Township Municipal Center, Margaret Moul Home and Hotel Codorus in Pennsylvania; and the University of Baltimore Student Center, Boonsboro Public Library and Washington County Museum of Fine Arts – to name just a few in Maryland.
A native of York County, Dittenhafer is a graduate of Dover High School. He has served on many nonprofit and community organization boards including Better York, Susan P. Byrnes Health Education Center, YMCA of Southern York County, Historic York, Adams Hanover Counseling Services, York Arts, and York Central Market.
Frank and his wife Sue Ann Kline currently reside in York Township.