HEARD ON CAMPUS YESTERDAY "In good times and in bad, the Board of Trustees needs to be satisfied that the University is operating as efficiently as possible, but the financial outlook for the next years adds a number of issues for the trustees. We need to be prepared to support the hard choices that must be made in leaner times. We have to be especially sensitive to Penn State’s tradition of access to higher education, keeping in mind the pressures rising tuition places on students and their families. The Board must also advocate even more forcefully for public priority and policy that recognize the value of educational opportunity in our state and nation, and that support the mission of public higher education."
--— Ted Junker, chairman, Penn State Board of Trustees, during speech on "Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Issues for the Board" at yesterday’s Penn State Forum. The full text is on the Web at http://www.psu.edu/ur/pinews
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SERVICES AND PROGRAMS TO PREVENT SEXUAL ASSAULT
Penn State takes seriously the problems of sexual assault, and provides an extensive range of educational programs and services for all students, according to a report by Margaret Spear, director of University Health Services, and Sabrina Chapman, director of the Center for Women Students. Spear described what is known about sexual assault nationally and at Penn State citing information from the University’s confidential and anonymous reporting system. According to Chapman, women students who are victims of sexual assault and rape are at increased risk of eating disorders, self-imposed isolation, suicidal behaviors, and academic failure. Other consequences include unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and severe emotional distress. Although Penn State’s educational programming provides information about the healing process and ways to help rape victims, most of the University’s efforts focus on prevention.
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ADVANCES IN RESEARCH, NEW APPROACHES
The importance, range and impact of Penn State research continue to be on the upswing, and Penn State’s new vice president for research, Eva J. Pell, wants to further the University’s pre-eminence in research and the climate for inter disciplinary research. During her presentation, Pell cited many of Penn State’s achievements, research projects, and success stories including the fact that in fiscal year 1999, total research expenditures increased by 5 percent over the previous year, reaching $394 million. She also cited the development of an advanced research visualization instrument called an Immersive Projection Display that allows users to immerse themselves in and interact with the virtual-reality environment displayed on the screen, and a multidisciplinary study on the long-term effects of poverty on children and families in rural areas.
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TECHNOLOGIES BASED ON PSU PATENTS TO BE MARKETED
A new company, EIEICO, Inc. has been established based on licenses to three patented Penn State inventions and plans to develop them into products for the meat and dairy industries. Eva Pell told the Board that the inventions, owned by the Penn State Research Foundation (PSRF), were all made during research conducted by University faculty members or students who will receive a portion of any economic gain. PSRF will retain an equity interest in EIEICO. The company's investors and management will hold the remaining ownership interest.
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ACTION TO IMPROVE TEACHING, COMMUNICATIONS BY TAs
In response to recommendations of a University-wide committee of students and faculty, Penn State has embarked on a series of actions to improve teaching and learning in labs and courses taught by graduate students, especially those taught by international graduate students for whom English is a second language. Nearly one-third of all teaching assistants (TAs) at Penn State are now international TAs. John J. Cahir, vice provost and dean for undergraduate education, said international TAs now have to meet a higher language test score and that programs are in the works to help TAs become more proficient in teaching and promoting learning.
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AG PROFESSOR DON EVANS DIES AT 58
Donald Evans, associate professor of agricultural and extension education, died Friday, Jan. 14, at his home in Morris Township, Huntingdon County. He was 58. From 1985 until 1994, Evans was assistant dean for extension and assistant director of cooperative extension. He has also served as superintendent of the Juniata Valley School District and chief administrator for the Huntingdon County Area Vocational School. He returned to the agricultural and extension education department as associate professor in 1994 where he was involved in international agriculture projects around the globe, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. For a longer version of this story by Kim Dionis, go to the Agricultural Information Web page at http://aginfo.psu.edu/news/
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SANDUSKY RECEIVES HONORS UPON RETIREMENT
Long-time Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky has been honored as the American Football Coaches Association's (AFCA) Division I-A Assistant Coach of the Year, and will also receive a Career Achievement Award by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association. A member of the Penn State football coaching staff for 32 years before his retirement following the Alamo Bowl, Sandusky is largely responsible for Penn State earning the moniker "Linebacker U." Founder of The Second Mile, a charitable organization which addresses the welfare of children, Sandusky plans to be more involved in The Second Mile upon his retirement. For the full story, visit the sports information Web site at http://www.winmill.com/PSUFootball/preview/htpages/home.cfm.
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TRUSTEES ACT ON BUILDING PLANS
The Board authorized University officers to obtain bids and award contracts for a number of projects, including for a $725,000 outdoor running track and field for men’s and women’s track and soccer teams at Penn State Altoona; a $1.8 million parking lot and landscaping at Penn State Dubois; and phase I of student housing at Penn State Harrisburg, which is estimated will cost $16.5 million. It also approved the $4,million purchase of Rider II Building on or before the lease expiration date of Nov. 15, 2006, and to lease .625 acres of land on Juniata Gap Road to a subsidiary of the Altoona Hospital for the construction of the Sheetz Family Health Center. The center will house the University’s Nursing Program and the Student Wellness Center at Penn State Altoona.
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NEW SPIRITUAL CENTER GETS PASQUERILLA NAME
The Board unanimously approved naming the addition to the Eisenhower Chapel, The Frank and Sylvia Pasquerilla Spiritual Center in memory of the Pasquerillas, who contributed $5 million toward the $9 million construction project that will add 22,500 square feet to the Eisenhower Chapel. The addition comes at a time when the Eisenhower Chapel can no longer meet the needs of the 32 registered student religious organizations on campus. Plans for the spiritual center include increasing seating in the worship area to accommodate 800 to 1,000 people and adding state-of-the-art audio, visual and telecommunications technology. The addition will also increase the number of meeting areas for the student groups and office space for campus ministries, and will complement the existing Eisenhower Chapel and its surroundings.
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BOARD APPROVES THREE TO ADMINISTRATIVE POSTS
Today, the Board approved the appointment of Eva J. Pell as vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School, effective immediately. Pell has been serving as interim vice president for research and dean of the graduate school since July, when Rodney Erickson left the position to become executive vice President and provost. They also approved the appointment of Madlyn L. Hanes as provost and dean of Penn State’s Capital College, effective July 1. She is campus executive officer of Penn State Great Valley, School of Graduate Professional Studies, and associate dean of the Graduate School. She is on leave this year serving as senior adviser to the chancellor at the University of Georgia System. In addition the Board approved the appointment of Raymond Thomas Coward, dean of the School of Health and Human Services and professor of health management and policy, social work and family studies at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), to be dean of Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development, effective July 1.
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BOARD RE-ELECTS OFFICERS
Edward P. Junker III, retired vice chairman of PNC Bank Corp., and Edward R. Hintz, President of the New York investment firm Hintz, Holman and Hecksher, Inc., were re-elected chairman and vice chairman of Penn State’s Board of Trustees today (Jan. 21). Junker has served on Penn State’s Board since1986, when he was elected by the delegates of the industrial societies. Since then, he has been re-elected for succeeding terms and was elected chairman in 1998 after having served as vice-chairman for two years. Hintz has been a member of the board since 1994, when he was elected by delegates from industrial societies. He was elected vice chairman in 1998.
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BOARD SETS ELECTION DATE FOR MAY 11
The Board approved Thursday, May 11, as the date for the delegate election of Trustees and for counting the ballots in the alumni election. Six Trustees are elected by delegates from organized agricultural societies within the Commonwealth, and six Trustees are elected by delegates from organized engineering, mining, manufacturing, and mechanical societies in Pennsylvania, referred to as the industrial societies. The term of service for industrial and agricultural trustees is three years, and two terms from each category expire each year. Nine Trustees are elected by the alumni for three-year terms, with three terms expiring each year.