HEARD ON CAMPUS – MAXWELL KING AT PENN STATE FORUM
“The soul of the American city must also be about opportunity, not for a few, but for all.”
– Maxwell King, executive director of the Heinz Endowments and former Philadelphia Inquirer editor speaking at last Friday’s Penn State Forum. King joined the Heinz Endowments, one of the nation’s largest philanthropic organizations, as the executive director in 1999. The Endowments’ mission is to support progress in economic opportunity, arts and culture, education, health, human services and the environment. King’s speech presentation was titled, “The Soul of the New American City.” To hear and see excerpts of his speech via Newswire Plus, visit http://www.psu.edu/ur/stories/king/index.html
AUGUSTSON TO RECEIVE LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE AWARD
EDUCAUSE, an association of colleges, universities, education organizations and corporations dedicated to addressing issues surrounding the incorporation of information technologies into higher education, is honoring J. Gary Augustson, Penn State’s vice provost for information technology, with its 2001 Excellence in Leadership Award. The national award – the association’s highest individual one – recognizes extraordinary effectiveness, influence, statesmanship and lifetime achievement at both individual campuses and within the wider higher education community. For more than 20 years, Augustson has led Penn State’s nationally recognized efforts in applying information technology to the challenges faced by higher education. He will be recognized in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at the EDUCAUSE annual conference. As part of this award, EDUCAUSE will make a $5,000 contribution in Augustson’s name to the Renaissance Fund, which provides support for the brightest Penn State students with the greatest financial need. For the full story, visit http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/augustsonaward01.html
ARBORETUM WOULD SERVE AS OUTDOOR CLASSROOM
The planned Arboretum at Penn State could provide students with many unique learning opportunities, its organizers say. Students majoring in urban forestry, horticulture, and related programs may tap the 395-acre arboretum’s resources to experience a wide variety of species in distinctly different fields, woodlots and gardens that will serve as laboratories for projects such as research on new plants that may be pest resistant or have unusual ornamental merit. Due to its location between major developed areas of the town and campus, the arboretum would also enable students to acquire practical experience in planning urban landscapes, specifically through the evaluation of certain species for use in lawns and along streets. The Arboretum at Penn State is seeking a $10 million lead gift to begin construction. For the full story in the Summer 2001 issue of the arboretum newsletter, and artwork of the plans, visit http://www.opp.psu.edu/upmp/arbor/arbor.htm.
STARLING NAMED RENAISSANCE WOMAN OF THE YEAR
Martha Lewis “Marty” Starling, of State College, will be honored as the Renaissance Woman of the Year at the 25th annual Renaissance Scholarship Fund dinner on Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel on the University Park campus. The dinner raises funds for Penn State’s Renaissance Scholarships for academically talented students who have great financial need. Each dinner honors a local leader in the community, and contributions are used to endow scholarships in the honoree’s name. Starling’s graduate studies in clothing and textiles first brought her to Penn State, where the College of Health and Human Development later appointed her an assistant to the dean, then director of alumni relations, and finally director of development. She retired from the University in 1996. For the full story by Laura Stocker, visit http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/starling01.html
MARKER LECTURES IN GENETIC ENGINEERING THIS WEEK
Alexander Varshavsky, Smits Professor of Cell Biology at the California Institute of Technology, will give the Marker Lectures in Genetic Engineering next week at Penn State’s University Park campus. The two-lecture series, titled “How and Why Cells Destroy Their Proteins,” is sponsored by the Eberly College of Science and is open to the public free of charge. The lecture schedule includes “The N-end Rule Pathway and Its Functions in Chromosome Segregation, Peptide Import, Meiosis, and Angiogenesis” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, in 101 Thomas Building and “Understanding the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System” at 11:15 a.m. Friday, Sept. 21, in 101 Thomas Building. For the full story, visit http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/MarkerGen9-2001.htm.