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Signature Sponsor
June 19, 2025 - Joseph A. Sbaffoni, the well-known and respected advocate for coal mine health and safety, has been awarded the Pennsylvania State University Distinguished Alumni Award at a ceremony on June 7, 2025 at the Nittany Lion Inn. These awards were originally authorized by the Board of Trustees in 1951. The principal purpose of the awards is to recognize and salute the achievements of outstanding alumni “whose professional life, professional achievements, and community service exemplify the objectives d the University.” Alumni are selected annually for this honor by the Board of Trustees from a group of candidates recommended by the trustees, faculty, staff, and alumni.
Joe is the principal consultant at JAS Mine Consulting LLC, advising on mining issues, safety policy and providing expert witness testimony. With a career spanning more than five decades, Sbaffoni is widely recognized for his leadership in improving mine health and safety across Pennsylvania. He most notably directed the Bureau of Mine Safety for the Commonwealth, where his tenure led to significant regulatory advances, including enacting the Mine Families First emergency response requirements in 2007 and a new Bituminous Mine Safety Law in 2008.
.jpg) Joseph A. Sbaffoni
Beginning his career underground in 1970, Sbaffoni rose through the ranks from the engineering department to section foreman, mine foreman and superintendent. In 1984, he started as a Pennsylvania Mine Inspector, in 1988 was promoted to Bituminous Chief, and in 2003 elevated to Bureau Director. He played a major role in the nationally recognized 2002 Quecreek Mine water inundation, where nine miners were safely rescued. His efforts contributed to Pennsylvania achieving over five consecutive years without an underground mining fatality (2010–2014).
Sbaffoni is a past president and board member of multiple industry organizations, including the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association, National Mine Rescue Association, Pittsburgh Coal Mining Institute of America, Mine Safety Institute of America and Mine Rescue Veterans of the Pittsburgh District. His honors include the Holmes Safety Association’s Bill Hoover Lifetime Achievement Award (2001) and Ival Van Horne Safety Award (2016), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Governor’s Excellence in Service Award (2002), Pittsburgh Coal Mining Institute of America Donald S. Kingery Memorial Award (2015) and Exceptional Service Award (2019) and Holmes Mine Rescue Association Hall of Fame Award (2022). He has received awards from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences that include Centennial Fellow (1996), Special Recognition for Sciences and Engineering in Service to Society (2002) and Robert Stefanko Distinguished Achievement in Mineral Engineering (2010).
Sbaffoni has remained deeply engaged with Penn State. He has served on the Mining Industry Advisory Board and Campus Advisory Board at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus since the early 2000s. He is a longtime supporter of Penn State’s mining programs, including helping to restart the associate degree mining program at Fayette. He also served as a commencement speaker at Penn State Fayette in 2003. He is an active alumni participant in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and a member of the Industry Professional Advisory Council for the Mining Engineering Program. He is also a member of Alumni Council.
He is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association. Sbaffoni lives in DuBois, Pa., with his wife, Gloria. They have two daughters, Nicole Maria and Natalie Lynn, and two granddaughters, Abigail Ann, and Lily Maxine.
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