John Grode, Penn State Behrend's faculty athletic representative for 31 years, is being inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.  Grode served the college from 1966 to 1997. 

In 1972 Penn State Behrend made the transition from a two-year campus of Penn State, with Junior College athletic programs, to a four year degree granting college, affiliated with National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).  The NAIA required the College to have a faculty athletic representative, someone who would represent faculty interests in upholding academic standards among varsity athletes.  Grode was asked, and agreed, to fill that role.  He continued in that capacity for 25 years, until his retirement from the faculty in 1997.  In 11 years as a member of the NAIA, 14 as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the Behrend Lions were never cited or placed on probation for improprieties related to athletics.  This is a tribute to John's attention to detail, and his integrity.