Oct. 19—WILKES-BARRE — The posters on the walls of the F.M. Kirby Center looked a little different on Tuesday night: familiar designs in the style of classic films like "The Godfather," "Rocky" and "Jurassic Park."

But at a glance, the movie titles were replaced with things like "Information Technology" and "Project and Supply Chain Management," programs offered at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.

For the school's new chancellor Dr. Lynda Goldstein, a professor of more than 30 years with a love and a background in film studies, it was the perfect introduction.

Goldstein greeted friends, officials and some of Downtown Wilkes-Barre's leaders and most familiar faces with a meet-and-greet inside the Kirby Center to formally kick off her term as chancellor at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.

"I want to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone for being here," Goldstein said, in brief remarks made to the crowd. "Penn State Wilkes-Barre's ties to this community run deep and strong."

Goldstein has been in the chancellor position on a permanent basis since August, and took over on an interim basis from previous chancellor Dale Jones back in March.

She's hardly a stranger to the Penn State community, however; Goldstein has been with Penn State Wilkes-Barre for over 30 years, starting as an English instructor in 1991. She has taught numerous classes in disciplines including English, literarure and film, among other focuses.

That experience, and that familiarity with the school, the campus and the people have already made Goldstein's transition into the chancellor role easier.

"I think what's most important about all the campuses in the whole system is that each one is in a unique community," Goldstein said. "If you have a sense of that community, if you have a love for that community, it makes all the difference."

While she's been on the job for a few months already, Tuesday's meet and greet offered Goldstein a chance to get to know some of Wilkes-Barre's business, advocacy and legislative leaders, and a chance to build relationships that would ultimately strengthen both the city and the university.

"I'm excited for our partnerships, to build our collective future together," Goldstein said.

The Kirby Center was all decked out for the evening: in addition to the movie posters, which were designed by Penn State Wilkes-Barre students, each of the tables set up in the theater lobby had little buckets of popcorn, rolls of film with pictures from the Penn State campus on them and tickets with facts about the school, and about Dr. Goldstein, printed on them.

It was a loving tribute to Dr. Goldstein, and one that she admitted she wasn't completely aware of until she entered the building Tuesday night.

"They wanted it to be kind of a surprise ... I knew that they were working on the poster idea, but I didn't get to see them until I was here," Goldstein said. "They did such a great job ... I know that I've got an incredible team to work with."

At about 6:15 p.m., the lights dimmed a bit and a video introduction was played, showing Dr. Goldstein driving around downtown Wilkes-Barre taking in the sights, and greeting folks like Mayor George Brown and PA Live! cohosts Chris Bohinski and Rachel Malak.

"This is an homage to our love for downtown Wilkes-Barre," said Cara Green, Penn State Wilkes-Barre's director of campus development and alumni relations, in her opening remarks before rolling the video.

For Goldstein, who said that she lived right over on Terrace Street in the city at one time, the meet-and-greet was a chance to highlight how much of Penn State Wilkes-Barre's history was centered right in the downtown, and to reiterate how much she was looking forward to making more of that history going forward.

"We started in the city, and we're here right now to tell you that we're back," Goldstein said. "Thank you so much for being here."