B. STEPHEN CARPENTER II
Graduation Year: 1987
In 1983 Slippery Rock suffered what legendary head coach Jim Egli later described as "three year's worth of injuries in one season". The string of injuries forced Egli to turn to his freshman class in a sort of baptism by fire. Among the rookies to stand up to the test was a defender from Boyds, Maryland – B. Stephen Carpenter II.
Carpenter proceeded to become a fixture on the field for Slippery Rock once he entered the starting lineup through the remainder of his career. All told, Carpenter missed just two games - both of which came during his freshman year - over the entirety of his four-year career en route to playing 65 games.
The anchor of SRU's back line was named a team captain as a senior all the while earning first team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference honors the same season. Slippery Rock won 31 games and made one postseason appearance during Carpenter's career. Between 1983 and 1986 Slippery Rock held opponents to one goal or less 38 times.
In addition to his soccer exploits, Carpenter also competed on The Rock's indoor track & field team (1983) and outdoor track & field team (1984).
The 1983 freshman class, which included Carpenter and 2017 Ring of Honor inductee Matt Veres, holds the distinction of being the last group of four-year athletes to play their entire careers under Egli, the "father" of Slippery Rock soccer and the first man inducted into the NAIA Soccer Hall of Fame.
After earning his bachelor's degree in visual art from Slippery Rock in 1987, Carpenter went on to obtain a master's degree and doctorate in art education from Penn State University.
Carpenter was as professor at Old Dominion University (1995-02), Virginia Commonwealth University (2002-05) and Texas A&M University (2005-10) before returning to Penn State where he currently serves as the Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos Dean, College of Arts and Architecture and professor of art education and African American studies.
He is also the chief executive artist for Reservoir Studio, was a founding co-director of the Summer Institute on Contemporary Art (a professional development workshop for preK-12 art teachers) and a founding co-director of the SoVA Studio for Sustainability and Social Action, which received a Penn State Strategic Initiative Seed Grant.
