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UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS TURN THOUGHTS TO SUMMER
Lauren Koelmel found herself thinking of the Bahamas. Koelmel, a senior geosciences major, was pondering the tropics not because of the obvious and welcomed contrast to the cold, graying days of winter but because she had summer plans to conduct undergraduate research about coral reefs in San Salvador -- an opportunity made possible by Penn State's Undergraduate Discovery Summer Grant program. Now in its second year, the Undergraduate Discovery Summer Grant program is gearing up to fund research opportunities for summer 2006. The Office of Undergraduate Education invites undergraduate researchers to apply for the 20 grants available this year. The deadline for applications is Feb. 1.Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/14973

MORGAN CENTER HELPS STUDENT- ATHLETES TO EXCEL
Excellence in the classroom and on the playing field, has been the mantra of the Penn State Athletic Department for many years. Student athletes at this university are being trained to be more than just the fastest and strongest. Penn State athletes are being groomed to be useful members of the community and society at large, long after their academic and athletic careers have ended. A key element in achieving this goal, is the creation of a support system that will meet the needs of the student-athlete at a variety of levels. The Morgan Support Center for Student-Athletes, located atop the MBNA Career Services Building, has been in existence since 1987, and was designed to provide comprehensive support for student-athletes ... Watch video now

NEW INTERCOLLEGE PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP MINOR FIRST OF ITS KIND
Penn State's new intercollege minor in civic and community engagement, the first minor of its kind throughout higher education institutions worldwide, integrates academic excellence with the challenges of democracy by helping diverse groups of students, faculty and community members work together on public scholarship. Developed by an interdisciplinary group of Penn State faculty, the intercollege civic and community engagement minor's gateway seminar -- Youth and Family Education 211: Fundamentals of Civic and Community Engagement -- is being offered this semester for the first time. Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/9930

NEW CULTURAL REQUIREMENT BECOMES EFFECTIVE SUMMER 2005 SESSION
During the spring 2004 semester, the University Faculty Senate passed legislation replacing the current 3-credit Intercultural and International Competence Requirement (GI) with a requirement that students complete a 3-credit course in United States Cultures (US) and a 3-credit course in International Cultures (IL). This new requirement will become effective for students enrolling in or after summer session 2005. At the end of spring 2005 semester, the GI designation will cease to exist. Students enrolled prior to the summer 2005 session may fulfill the exiting GI requirement by taking any course carrying the new US or IL designation. Students should address any questions or concerns regarding the new requirements to their academic advisers, undergraduate dean's office or the Division of Undergraduate Studies. A complete list of permanent courses carrying the US and/or IL designations is available through the Undergraduate Degree Programs Bulletin online at
http://www.psu.edu/bulletins/bluebook/gened/gi.html

NEARLY 400 PENN STATE STUDENT-ATHLETES EARN 3.0 GPA IN SPRING SEMESTER
Penn State student-athletes continued their outstanding academic achievement during the 2004 spring semester, with just under 400 active student-athletes earning a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. During the most recent semester, 379 student-athletes earned a GPA of 3.0 or above, which translates to 57 percent of the 666 young men and women who were members of Penn State's 29 varsity sports, according to Russ Mushinsky, director of the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes. The 379 student-athletes earning a 3.0 GPA was an improvement of 26 from the 2003 spring semester total of 353.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/7422

ORIENTATION PROGRAMS HELP ACCLIMATE NEW UNIVERSITY PARK STUDENTS
This week (Aug. 23-27), some 6,000 new freshmen begin arriving at the University Park campus for the start of their first semester. This won't be the first time that these greenhorns have set foot on campus, though. Most have already participated in the one-day summer orientation program called FTCAP (First-Year Testing, Counseling and Advising Program) or participated in specially designed orientation experiences that helped them start to build meaningful relationships with others on campus. Regardless of how much preparation students have undertaken to orient themselves, the University is taking steps to make a sometimes-overwhelming first-year experience a bit more manageable.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/7774

FASTSTART MENTORING PROGRAM RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF NATION'S BEST
FastStart, a mentoring program for first-year students of color at Penn State, has been recognized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) as one of the top alumni relations programs in the country. FastStart was awarded a silver medal in the volunteer engagement and leadership category of the CASE 2004 Circle of Excellence Awards Program, which attracted more than 3,100 entries in 40 categories. Sponsored by the Penn State Alumni Association and the Division of Student Affairs, FastStart is a diversity program that creates a mentoring triad between a student, Penn State alum, and faculty or staff member. More than 800 students have participated in FastStart, and the program's 89 percent graduation and retention rate is consistently higher than the University Park average for students of color.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/7764

BOARD RECEIVES SNAPSHOT OF TODAY'S PENN STATE STUDENT
With the start of another new academic year upon them, Penn State's Board of Trustees was offered a snapshot of the characteristics, values, interests and behaviors of today's Penn State students at the Trustees' meeting on Friday, Sept. 17, on the University Park campus. Vicky Triponey, vice president for student affairs; Philip Burlingame, assistant vice president for student affairs; and Andrea Dowhower, director of student affairs research and assessment, explained how staying closely in touch with today's students helps to shape student affairs programs and services.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/8111

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROVES A FRUITFUL VENTURE FOR STUDENTS
The next time you reach for a piece of fruit, you may want to pause and thank some undergraduate researchers at Penn State University Park. Why is that? Well, the healthy, ripe peaches or plums you might find yourself enjoying represent the fruits of their labor-literally. As undergraduate researchers in the College of Agriculture, these students are getting opportunities to make everyone's lives a little sweeter -- including their own. Venturing into undergraduate research has helped these student researchers get a jump on their careers, forge meaningful relationships with mentors and peers, and rediscover the passion that fuels their intellectual pursuits. Undergraduates interested in exploring research opportunities can visit
http://www.psu.edu/dept/oue/research/research.html to search a list of possible job options and to obtain contact information for faculty advisers.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/8980

MARRIED COUPLE SHARES TOP SPOT DURING PENN STATE GRADUATION
Married Penn State students Heidi and Paul Smidansky seem to do everything together: They went to the same high school in Montana together; they enrolled in Penn State's Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) program together; they discovered their love of the outdoors together; and now they're graduating at the top of their class-you guessed it-together. With the highest grade-point averages of all students in the EMS program, the Smidanskys will be co-student marshals for their college's commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 18, on Penn State's University Park campus. Husband and wife both are graduating with highest distinction and are separated by a mere 1/100th of a grade point. In addition, both are graduating with honors from the University's Schreyer Honors College. What makes this accomplishment even more extraordinary is that Heidi has been selected as student marshal in another Penn State college, as well. In addition to earning a baccalaureate degree in geosciences from EMS, she also has earned a degree in biology from the University's Eberly College of Science.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/9419

PENN STATE STUDENT GRADUATES WITH TOP HONORS FROM TWO ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS
Graduating at the top of the class would be a crowning achievement for any diligent college student, so for one Penn State student who will graduate at the top of two separate academic departments this December, the accomplishment is near heroic. Amanda L. Gifford will serve as a co-student marshal - the student with the highest grade-point average in each department - for Penn State's College of Communications as well as the College of Education at their fall commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 18.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/9421

PENN STATE AIR FORCE ROTC EARNS 'OUTSTANDING' RATING
The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) at Penn State earned an "outstanding" rating recently from the Air Education and Training Command's Inspector General. This is the highest rating awarded, and it is given to only the elite Air Force ROTC detachments in the nation. The Penn State AFROTC program is the only unit in recent history to earn the coveted "outstanding" rating in back-to-back inspections. AFROTC earned the same rating during the last evaluation in October 2000.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/9443

PENN STATE STUDENT AIDS VOLUNTEER CHOSEN FOR NATIONAL BOARD
Beth Hardy, a Penn State student who volunteers with AIDS education projects, has been selected to serve on the national advisory board for the Project on Health and Higher Education, coordinated by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. The Wilmington, Del., native is the only undergraduate student selected for this national board, and will serve with eleven nationally and internationally known AIDS researchers, activists and educators. Hardy, a junior pursuing an economics major and comparative literature minor, also serves as a student affiliate of the Health Education and Leadership Program (HELP) of the Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA).
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/9801

INDIAN SERVICE ORGANIZATION WITH PENN STATE TIES FACES POST-TSUNAMI CHALLENGES
In Apache it means, "God gives life"; in Nepalese, "to have not." In a tribal language in Oaxaca, Mexico, it means "heaven," and in Cantonese it means "can do." The word hoina can be found in at least eight other languages worldwide, but for Penn State students who are transformed each summer through their experiences with Homes of the Indian Nation (HOINA), the word is now synonymous with the inimitable spirit of the children and staff at the Indian orphanage. The happiness those Penn State student volunteers have been witness to has been tempered severely by the Dec. 26 tsunami that devastated areas near HOINA, but the organization is determined to persevere and aid as many orphaned children as possible. HOINA was established in 1972 by Penn State distinguished alumna Darlene Large ('59, art education) as a not-for-profit organization to aid needy children in India. HOINA provides medical care and education for abandoned, abused, sick, orphaned and handicapped Indian children, from infancy through adulthood. The organization maintains a girls' hostel near Chennai, India and a boys' hostel near Visakhapatnam.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/9799

STUDENTS FIND INTEREST IN LOCALLY GROWN FOOD
Buying locally grown food can mean fresher products and support for the local economy. With that in mind, students in one class at Penn State spent last fall gauging the interest of area restaurants in purchasing food locally, their familiarity with an initiative known as "Buy Fresh Buy Local," and their propensity to do just that. Students - a mix of undergraduates and graduates - in Nutrition/Science, Technology & Society 497G: Community Food Security spent the latter part of the Fall 2004 semester working on and conducting a survey of restaurants in the Centre Region, gauging their interest and involvement in buying locally produced food. "Basically, we hoped to gain a better understanding of where the food served in these restaurants originated and what restaurant owners, managers or chefs considered when purchasing," said Dru Montri, a graduate student in horticulture. "We also were looking to determine what those involved in the restaurant industry believed were the advantages and disadvantages of buying locally and what could be done to make the process easier for them. The final component was to assess the industry's awareness and acceptance of the Centre County 'Buy Fresh Buy Local' campaign."
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/9798

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXHIBITION TO BE HELD IN APRIL
The Office of Undergraduate Education and the Schreyer Honors College announce the 14th Annual Undergraduate Research Exhibition will be held April 5 and 6 in the HUB-Robeson Center's Alumni Hall. The Undergraduate Exhibition is open to all Penn State undergraduates. Students interested in participating should check the Schreyer Honors College Web site at http://www.shc.psu.edu to find exhibition guidelines, poster and performance criteria and entry forms. Abstracts are due by 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 7. For additional information, call (814) 863-2635.

NATIONAL ADVERTISING GROUP DEEMS PENN STATERS AMONG 'MOST PROMISING'
Six advertising students from the College of Communications at Penn State have been recognized by the American Advertising Federation (AAF) as among that nation's "most promising minority students" in a program that brings together leading advertisers and agencies with exceptionally talented multicultural candidates. All six of the Penn State students who participated in the program were recognized, with two as winners and four as honorable-mention selections. As a result, Penn State earned more awards than any other school in the country this year. The students, accompanied by Wayne Hilinski, senior lecturer and adviser of the Donald W. Davis Penn State Chapter of the American Advertising Federation, will be honored Feb. 8-10 in New York City. That same week the students will be saluted in "Advertising Age" and "USA Today."
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/9817

PENN STATE ADULT LEARNERS RECOGNIZED BY STATE ASSOCIATION
Five Penn State adult learners are among the 10 students who will be honored by the Pennsylvania Association for Adult Continuing Education (PAACE) with Outstanding Adult Students in Higher Education awards. "They, like many adult learners, have overcome tremendous obstacles and managed very busy lives in order to complete their education," says Charlene Harrison, director of Penn State's Center for Adult Learner Services.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/9864

UNIVERSITY RANKS HIGH AS PRODUCER OF PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS
With 61 of its alumni serving in the Peace Corps last year, Penn State ranked 12th among colleges and universities with the most alumni volunteers working overseas for the organization. The University moved up four spots from its rank as 16th in 2003. Information released this month by the Peace Corps shows that Penn State tied with Indiana University-Bloomington for the ranking. Over time, most Penn State volunteers have dedicated their volunteer experiences (a minimum of two years) to training teachers in such topics as English, math and science. Since its founding in 1961, the Peace Corps has had nearly 800 Penn State alumni work in more than 100 countries.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/9929

SPANIER TO SIGN GREEK 'DREAM STATEMENT'; SUMMIT TO BUILD UPON GREEK PRIDE
The dream of transforming the experience and image associated with Greek life at Penn State is about to take a step closer to becoming reality through the signing of a commitment to the future of fraternities and sororities at the University. Penn State President Graham B. Spanier and other University community members -- including students, alumni, advisers, staff, faculty and local residents -- will sign a collective Greek Pride "dream statement" in a public event at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2, in the Old Main foyer. The statement, developed last August by the Greek Pride steering committee after almost one year of dialogue and benchmarking, represents a new positive, collective vision for the Greek community. A student summit will follow at 6 p.m. in Heritage Hall in HUB-Robeson Center, where more than 250 attendees will join forces to create future goals. The summit, "Engage the Future," is part of the Greek Pride initiative that aims to identify and expand the positive aspects of the Greek experience at Penn State.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/10033

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE 2005-06 ACADEMIC YEAR AVAILABLE
Many private, non-Penn State scholarship opportunities are available to Penn State students for the 2005-06 academic year. Opportunities exist for a variety of majors and interests. The following private scholarships represent only a sample of a wide variety of opportunities available:
*USA Funds: available to students whose family's 2004 adjusted gross income is less than $35,000. Open to students in any major. *Sallie Mae Unmet Need Scholarship: Available to students whose GPA is between 2.5 and 3.0 and whose family's 2004 adjusted gross income is less than $30,000. Open to students in any major. *UNCF Northrup Gruman Diversity Scholarship: Open to minority women majoring in science or engineering with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Information on each of these scholarships, as well as several others, is available at
http://www.psu.edu/studentaid/scholarships/priv_schdescriptions.html

A 'WE ARE' CAMPAIGN HAS IMPACT ON STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS, BEHAVIORS
"We are Penn State" has become a mantra, a declaration of pride for the Penn State community, but amid concerns about cases of sexual and physical assault, racial tensions and other negative exchanges reported during the 2003-04 school year, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) felt the community needed to reassess what was implied within those four words. With the goal of addressing concerns about civility and respect within the Penn State community, then-USG President Ian Rosenberger and his staff launched the "We Are" campaign in spring 2004. The campaign was designed to challenge students, staff, faculty and community members to reassess their attitudes and behaviors in order to create a more hospitable and civil community. A new Penn State Pulse survey reporting on perceptions related to the "We Are" campaign was recently made available online at http://www.sa.psu.edu/sara/pulse.shtml
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/7356

BOARD LEARNS STUDENTS' HEALTH IN GOOD HANDS
The majority of Penn State students appear to be very satisfied with the University's medical and psychological health services, reported Vicky Triponey, vice president for student affairs, at Penn State's Board of Trustees meeting (July 9) on the University Park campus. Informational presentations by Margaret Spear, director of University Health Services (UHS), and Dennis Heitzmann, director of the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), provided specifics about the University's efforts to address and improve students' physiological and psychological well-being.
Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/7400

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