IN THE NEWS:
The Oct. 9 issue of U.S. News & World Report had an article on research by Penn State Psychologist Clare Porac on "Southpaw Reprieve, Lefties Don’t Die Young." This research was reported in last week’s Newswire and can be found on the Web at http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/lefthandedness.html

Penn State employee Robin Riglin just made it to the hot seat in Thursday’s "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" show, answering questions to reach the $1,000 level. She will return to the show on Sunday evening. To learn how she became a contestant, go to the story by Vicki Fong at: http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/riglin1.html

TLC LISTS 'BEST PRACTICES' LISTS AND ACTION PLANS
Penn State's Teaching and Learning Consortium has spent the first year of its existence brainstorming about ways to foster an academic culture that emphasizes learning over teaching. Now the consortium and its 10 teams have begun to bring out lists of "best practices" and action plans that can help individual faculty and academic units across the University improve teaching and learning. First out of the box with its best practices and action plan was the consortium's team of department and division heads. That team's recommended best practices include: appointing senior faculty to mentor new faculty on teaching; discussing teaching activities during the annual review; developing new ways to assess the effectiveness of faculty teaching and student learning; creating a reward structure for recognizing effective teaching and learning; and encouraging faculty to develop teaching portfolios. John Brighton, University professor and head of the consortium, says its first year has been "a year of discovery, a discovery of many of the exciting things that are under way for improving learning."A longer story on the TLC teams' efforts will be published in the Oct. 12 issue of Intercom. The department head team's complete list of best practices and its action plan can be found on the Web at http://www.psu.edu/dept/tlc/index.html. 

HORMONES AND HUNTERS PUT DEER ON FALL HIGHWAYS
Motorists should be particularly wary of deer on the highways for the next few months during the breeding and hunting seasons, says a wildlife biologist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. "Bucks seem to lose their caution when breeding and run across roads without even thinking about traffic," says Gary San Julian, professor of wildlife resources. "Also, does being chased by bucks often don't heed roads. Then, on November 27, nearly a million gun hunters will enter the woods and stir deer up even more." Breeding season for white-tailed deer ranges from October to December but peaks in November, San Julian explains. Each year, PennDOT and individual contractors pick up more than 40,000 deer from the state's highways, he says. Probably another 40,000 get hit and go off into the woods to die. It is estimated that deer-vehicle collisions cost insurance companies and motorists more than $130 million each year in Pennsylvania and cost drivers an average of $2,000. For more, go to http://aginfo.psu.edu. 

PENN STATE HARRISBURG FALL FESTIVAL TOMORROW
If you are out and about in Harrisburg tomorrow -- Sat, Oct. 7 -- go to the fifth annual Penn State Harrisburg Fall Festival. Arts and crafts, music and theater, a kids’ tent, storytelling and non-stop music, including blues and polka and more are part of the entertainment planned for the day. Last year’s event drew more than 10,0000 people; proceeds benefit community organizations. Special activities are planed for the recently opened library. The main entrance to the campus is on Route 230, just west of Middletown. For the Fall Festival schedule and more on events at Penn State Harrisburg, go to http://www.hbg.psu.edu/staff/sdh4/events.htm 

COLEMAN TO TALK ON AFRICAN AMERICAN RELIGION, CULTURE
Will Coleman, CEO/President of BT Forum, theologian and minister, will speak on "Living with Ancestral Memory and Prophetic Vision: A Study of the Values Formation and Transformative Powers of African American Religion and Culture" on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in HUB-Robeson Center Heritage Hall. The event is sponsored by The Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs. Coleman is author of many books, including "Tribal Talk: Black Theology, Hermeneutics, and African/American Ways of Telling the Story," published by Penn State Press. "Tribal Talk" examines the process by which religious beliefs were passed down from generation to generation, and links Black theology with the language and the religious experiences of enslaved Black people. Coleman will hold a book signing on Tuesday, Oct. 10, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Eisenhower Chapel. For information on The Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs, go to http://www.sa.psu.edu/cera/ For more information on Penn State Press, go to http://www.psu.edu/psupress 

"NASA'S SEARCH FOR LIFE," A PUBLIC LECTURE OCT. 14
Charles Beichman, the NASA Origins Scientist, will give a lecture on "NASA's Search for Life" at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14, in 101 Thomas Building. He will describe humanity's attempts to answer the questions: "Where do we come from?" and "Are we alone?" As well as serving as the Origins Scientist for NASA, Beichman is the Chief Scientist of NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder Mission at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Beichman says that NASA's Origins Program offers the prospect of revolutionizing humanity's perception of its place in the universe by identifying life-bearing planets orbiting other stars. The Terrestrial Planet Finder is expected to produce the first "family portraits" of planetary systems beyond our own. Beichman's talk is part of a series of lectures hosted by the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and largely funded by the Ronald M. and Susan J Friedman Outreach Fund in Astronomy. For more, go to http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/Friedman10-2000.htm 

THE ALUMNI STORE @ PENN STATE ONE YEAR OLD
College traditions remain alive for alumni thanks to The Alumni Store @ Penn State, an online store, now in its second year of operation. Since its debut one year ago, 3,000 orders have been placed for such sentimental favorites as Peachy Paterno ice cream, music of the Penn State Blue Band, and replicas of the Heinz Warneke lion. According to Patrick Scholl, Director of the Business Office of the Penn State Alumni Association, "We saw the introduction of an online alumni store as an opportunity to serve alumni. This venture allows us to reach out to alumni who can't get back to Penn State to buy merchandise, but who want it," he continues. The most popular items in the online Alumni Store are Creamery ice cream, grilled stickies from Ye Olde College Diner, and Penn State clothing, all reminders of life at Penn State. "The items rekindle memories," notes Scholl. One life member of the Alumni Association regularly orders ice cream as birthday gifts for his friends. Since November of 1999, he's placed 12 telephone orders with the Alumni Store. The Alumni Store @ Penn State offers more than 200 items for sale online. Orders may be placed via the Alumni Association's secure Web site at http://www.alumni.psu.edu and click on shopping. 

STUDENT PREPARES FOR IRONMAN WORLD TITLE
For months, Penn State student Ben Haldeman has visualized swimming in crystal blue waters, bicycling through winding island roads, and long runs through a tropical paradise. Sound like a dream vacation? For Haldeman, it is a dream — but certainly no vacation. A junior in the University’s Schreyer Honors College, Haldeman has been invited to Hawaii to compete in the 2000 Ironman Triathlon World Championship on Sunday, October 14. He will be one of only 40 athletes in the 24-and-under age bracket that will compete in the grueling 140.6-mile test of human endurance. The triathlon begins with a 2.4 mile ocean swim, followed immediately by a 112-mile bicycle race, and concluded with a full 26.2-mile marathon. Haldeman qualified for the event based on his finish in Ironman Canada in August, which featured an international field of 1,800 participants, including 50 professionals. He has trained 25 to 30 hours per week with the Penn State triathlon club and cycling club in preparation for the event — all while while carrying a 14-credit academic load in mechanical engineering and maintaining a 3.8 grade point average. For more on this story, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/ironman1.html 

SMALL TALK: ARE YOU PREPARED FOR AN EMERGENCY?
When an accident happens, you don't want to rack your brain for phone numbers or other crucial information. Here's how to gauge if you're well prepared:

- Do you have the local poison control number, the emergency access number (if it's not 911) and your pediatrician's number posted by the phone?

- Do you know where the nearest emergency room is--and the fastest route to get there? Which hospital in your area has the best trauma or pediatric center?

- Is your child's immunization record up to date and in a place where you can quickly grab it?

- Do you know to which medications your child is allergic?

- Does your child wear a Medic Alert bracelet to make caregivers aware of medical problems such as diabetes, medication allergies or heart problems?

- Have you been trained in CPR or basic first aid techniques? If not, contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross or American Heart Association.

- Do you have a first aid kit at home? It should contain Ace bandages, antibiotic cream, Band-Aids, adhesive tape, gauze, tweezers, scissors with rounded tips, acetaminophen, instant-activating ice bags, a first aid manual and ipecac syrup. "Small Talk" is a weekly column of safety and health information for parents and other caregivers for children. It is a community service of the Penn State Children’s Hospital, located at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa. Please direct any comments or questions to Patricia Millner, director of nursing at the Penn State Children’s Hospital, at mailto: .