NEW APPROACH TO ENSURING UNADULTERATED HONEY POT
Commercial purchasers of natural honey may one day have a quick and easy test to assure that sugars from other sources do not adulterate the product, according to Penn State researchers. "Adulteration with cheaper sugars brings down the natural value of the honey," says Dr. Joseph Irudayaraj, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering. "Consumers expect a natural product with nutraceutical properties, so added sugar does not supply good service to purchasers." Those who wish to adulterate honey use beet sugar invert because it has a mixture of sugars -- fructose, glucose and sucrose -- similar to that found in honey. Beet sugar is less expensive and increases the volume of honey. However, because the sugar compositions are so similar, determining if foreign sugars are part of the composition is difficult. For the complete story by A’ndrea Messer, go to: http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/honey.html 

FOODS PUFFED UP WITH AIR CAN AID WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
Penn State researchers have shown that big, puffed-up food servings can satisfy better than small, packed-down, calorie-equivalent portions — a fact that can help you feel full on fewer calories. Study director Dr. Barbara Rolls, who holds the Guthrie Chair in Nutrition in Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development, says, "We’re not suggesting you try to fill up on lots of airy foods. You might get a stomachache and would probably burp a lot! But this study does show that you can trick your senses into believing you have eaten more food by pumping up the size of the portion with air." The study is in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. For the complete story by Barbara Hale, go to: http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/puffedupfood.html. 

QUALITY & MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT NETS AWARD
The Quality and Manufacturing Management Program in the Smeal College of Business Administration and the College of Engineering was recently recognized by the Computer and Automated Systems Association of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers when it was named the winner of the 2000 University LEAD Award. An acronym for "Leadership and Excellence in the Application and Development" of integrated manufacturing, the Award recognizes extraordinary efforts in meeting the world’s critical need for manufacturing leadership education programs. Gerald I. Susman, the Robert and Judith Klein Professor of Management in the Smeal College of Business and Clayton O. Ruud, professor of industrial engineering in the College of Engineering co-direct the program. The QMM Program takes an interdisciplinary approach to educating manufacturing managers. For more information go to http://www.ie.psu.edu/qmm. 

DIABETES RESEARCHERS TO DISCUSS DELIVERY TECHNIQUES
Some of the top diabetes researchers in the country will gather in September at a conference chaired by Robert Gabbay, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at the College of Medicine, to discuss the latest research in the field. "One of the unique aspects of this meeting is that we are bringing together researchers and clinicians, along with industry leaders and regulatory representatives," he explains. The title of the conference is "New Technologies and Developments in Non-Invasive Delivery Techniques for Diabetes" and is being held Sept. 11-13 in McLean, Virginia.. Gabbay also will present his research titled, "Transdermal Monitoring of Glucose Using Ultrasound." The research was published earlier this year in the journal Nature Medicine and focuses on using ultrasound as a new and painless way of measuring glucose levels. For the story, go to http://www.collmed.psu.edu/news/pr/sep/9100.htm 

BIOLOGIST NEI HONORED FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Masatoshi Nei, Evan Pugh Professor of Biology, has been awarded honorary membership in the Japanese Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. He was honored because of his contributions to various areas of biomedical science, especially the advancement of the study of major histocompatibility complex genes. For more news from the College of Science, go to http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/news.html 

DISPATCH FROM SYDNEY: A STUDENT’S FASCINATION
Anne Keller, a graduating senior in hotel, restaurant, and institutional management, gives the following account through student eyes from the Sydney 2000 program:

"Our course work at the University of New South Wales includes field trips to historic sites. The view from the bus is always spectacular since every part of Sydney has a story to tell. You can almost picture Captain Cook arriving here, exploring Botany Bay and making history…it’s fascinating to learn about the many first encounters of Europeans with this land, its people and animals. Our class trips really capture how the early explorers perceived Australia and have opened my eyes to the extraordinary history of this land. In our readings for our course, I notice that Australian authors believe the bush to be a place of wonder and awe, a perspective on the frontier, which is much different from our American point of view…the courses and the field trips have gone above and beyond my expectations. Everyone in this program is in the same boat: we are all explorers of Australia in our own way."

Sydney 2000 involves 64 Penn State students on a two-month journey to Australia that includes a three-week working practicum at 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. The program is sponsored by the Office of International Programs and the College of Health and Human Development’s School of Hotel, Restaurant & Recreation Management. For more, go to http://www.international.psu.edu/ieps/sydney2000.html

DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR:
Sept. 7-8 Board of Trustees meeting at University Park

Sept. 8 Charles Bierbauer, CNN senior Washington correspondent opens the Faculty Staff Club speaker series, The Penn State Forum

Sept. 8 President Spanier's State of the University Address

Sept. 10 Dedication of expanded home of the Schreyer Honors College

Oct. 9-10 Fall Break from classes

Nov. 23-24 Thanksgiving Holiday

THE HANDLING OF STUDENT CONDUCT CASES AT PENN STATE
By Bill Asbury, Vice President for Student Affairs
How a university handles accusations of misconduct made against its students is a good way to judge the institution's character, priorities and values. At Penn State we have taken great pride in the integrity and fairness of our judicial affairs process, but a number of critics have recently questioned that process and the way it has been applied to a Penn State football player and students involved in a riot this summer.

So I think it is important to describe why and how the judicial affairs process works and what the University does to ensure fairness in student conduct cases. The real purpose of the Code of Conduct is to create a healthy and safe living and learning environment, where all members are treated with dignity and respect. This is what motivates student affairs professionals in all our programs and services.

The Code of Conduct, which was constructed by students, faculty, and staff at the University, specifically states that students are expected to support the University's essential values and to maintain a high standard of conduct. The Code also states that Penn State has an obligation to exercise oversight in matters that impinge upon academic achievement and integrity, conduct that breaches the peace, causes disorder, and interferes with the rights of others.

The University Judicial Affairs staff interpret and enforce the Code of Conduct according to well established standards that take an educational and rehabilitative approach when possible. Penn State applies the Code to any student behavior, even when off-campus if, in our judgement, the alleged conduct could have a substantial adverse affect on the health and safety of the campus community.

When the Office of Judicial Affairs becomes aware of an alleged act of student misconduct, the Office is obligated to investigate the allegation through fact-finding. If the student contests the allegation, the University is legally and ethically bound to provide a student with due process and the opportunity to defend against the allegations. To initiate proper due process the University needs to secure witnesses and supporting information to initiate the review. The Office of Judicial Affairs proceeds with all cases according to a standard protocol.

Some of the criticism directed at the University's process in recent weeks seems to be that some students involved in a riot in State College last July have already been disciplined by the University, whereas a high-profile athlete, who is accused of being in a fight outside a New Jersey nightclub, has not been punished by the University and remains on the football team. Others simply believe that an athlete charged with a serious offense should be immediately removed from the team.

In all of the recent situations, the University proceeded in a consistent manner. The University sought complaints, investigated the allegations, and inquired into witnesses availability for fact-finding. In the cases of the riots and the protesters, the police making the complaints agreed to offer complete information very quickly that helped to support the allegations. The University also secured witnesses who agreed to testify for the purpose of University fact-finding. Some of those cases were able to be resolved within the university quickly, even before there was a disposition of criminal charges in the courts.

In the athlete's case, the University has not been sent a complaint by either the alleged victim or the investigating authorities. Several news reports have assumed that Penn State received information and cooperation from Hoboken, New Jersey, authorities. We have not. The Director of Judicial Affairs personally attempted to contact authorities connected with the incident on nine occasions in an effort to secure a complaint, relevant materials, and/or a witness statement. He spoke to the Chief of Police in Hoboken twice, as well as the district attorney and the assistant district attorney . All of his requests for information have been turned down.

If this case did not involve a student athlete, it certainly would not have been in the public eye. But it would have been dealt with in exactly the same way by the Office of Judicial Affairs.

There are some people who feel it is not important that first-hand information be gathered before suspending an athlete from the university or the team. They have pointed to other schools where the mere fact of a serious allegation is reason enough to automatically suspend a student from his studies or extracurricular activities.

We believe that Penn State must continue to operate with the highest level of integrity in its Judicial Affairs system, a system that treats all students fairly, is based on a factual record, and upholds the fundamental principles of our student conduct system. 

NATIONAL CHAMP JUGGLES HER WAY TO THE TOP
National juggling champion and mechanical engineering student Joann Swaim is caught on video and in photos as she demonstrates her art to long-time juggling fan, President Graham Spanier. You can see them both at http://www.psu.edu/ur/stories/juggler/ 

COMMUNICATIONS WELCOMES VISITING PROFESSOR
Bruce D. Itule, director of student media and clinical professor in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunication at Arizona State University, has joined the College of Communications this fall as a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism. Itule will teach reporting and news writing and will team-teach a class on in-depth reporting with Communications Dean Douglas A. Anderson. Itule and Anderson have been professional colleagues and good friends for more than twenty years, a factor Itule says was a major motivation for his decision to come to Penn State. For more, go to http://www.psu.edu/dept/comm/news/news.shtml 

NEW KENSINGTON CAMPUS E-TRAIL ON LINE
The New Kensington Nature Trail, a campus favorite for hikers, ecologists and other scientists is now just a click away. The new Virtual Trail is a computerized version of the half-mile loop in the southwest section of campus. The trail, both virtual and real, illustrates human-impacted ecosystems and succession or second-growth forests of Western Pennsylvania. They are an educational resource for the campus, community and local school districts. The E-Trail site is being developed by biology professor William Hamilton and web site designer Deborah Sillman, instructor of biology. The site is located at http://www.nk.psu.edu/naturetrail/