PENN STATE, 3 OTHER RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES FORM ALLIANCE
Four major universities with a tradition of leadership in distance education have formed an alliance to facilitate development of their on-line distance learning capabilities. The University of California, Berkeley, University Extension; Penn State University's World Campus; the University of Washington; and the University of Wisconsin's Learning Innovations have agreed to work together to advance on-line learning practices at their institutions. Together, the institutions offer 500 on-line distance education courses in a broad range of curricula. The alliance will focus initially on four areas: benchmarking institutional practices and standards, assessing opportunities from the private sector, joint sales efforts, and exploring opportunities for collaborative program development. The four universities saw a need to analyze and explore the best practices of providing on-line educational programs at a university level. Groups from these institutions are being formed to study, discuss, compare, and disseminate standards and best practices. They expect the results to be of immediate use to guide their own strategic planning for this educational delivery mode, as well as to raise the bar for on-line education and training in general. For more on this story by Celena Kusch, go to http://www.outreach.psu.edu/News/Headlines.html.
2002 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE FEATURES EIGHT HOME GAMES
An unprecedented eight home football games, including non-conference visits by perennial national powerhouse Nebraska and ACC contender Virginia, highlight the recently announced 2002 Penn State football schedule. For just the third time ever and first time in 80 years, Penn State will play five straight home games — from the season opener with Central Florida on Aug. 31 through a match-up with Big Ten foe Iowa on Sep. 28. Other 2002 home dates feature opponents Louisiana Tech, Northwestern, Illinois, and Michigan State. The 2002 season is the first year teams can play 12 regular season games, and will be Penn State's second year in an expanded Beaver Stadium. The expansion and renovation project, which will add approximately 12,000 seats to the current capacity of 93,967, is scheduled to be complete for the 2001 season opener with Miami (Fla.) on Sep. 1. For the full story, including a complete 2002, go to http://www.GoPSUsports.com/football/pressrelease/pressrelease.cfm?anncid=830
BETTER TEACHING THROUGH WEB PORTFOLIOS
When Michele Daughenbaugh’s first-graders study magnetism in their science class at Park Forest Elementary School, they’re not just reading about the properties of magnets in an old textbook. They perform experiments, write down what they observe, form hypotheses, and draw conclusions – and they really get it. "After the classes they tell me how magnets attract and repel, and all about the Earth’s magnetic force, and they’re not just repeating my own words back to me," says Daughenbaugh, a recent Penn State graduate. Where did Daughenbaugh learn to teach like this – combining pertinent hands-on activities with ample time for the kids to reflect on and write about their experiences? In Carla Zembal-Saul’s class at Penn State, a course called Science Education 458, "Teaching Science in the Elementary Schools." Daughenbaugh was taking the course as part of the Professional Development School (PDS), a partnership of Penn State’s College of Education and the State College Area School District, which provides year-long teaching internships for Penn State students in district elementary schools. For more on this story by Alan Janesch, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/webportfolios.html.
STUDENT AFFAIRS SPONSORS "HATE-FREE MILLENNIUM"
"Journey to a Hate Free Millennium," a program at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 30 in Schwab Auditorium will feature the work of two Los Angeles filmmakers, Brent Scarpo and Martin Bedogne. Their documentary centers on many of the recent hate crimes that have captured national attention, and features interviews with family and friends of many of the victims. Scarpo is touring college campuses with a program centered on the documentary. This is the only project in which the family of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard has agreed to participate. The goal of the project is to begin productive discussions about hate in this country, and to help people understand how hate affects their lives. The program is sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs, with support from the Vice Provost for Educational Equity. For information on the Educational Equity office, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/diversity/.
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS FORUM
Allan E. Goodman, president and chief executive officer of the Institute of International Education, will give a talk on "I Sell Goats: The Future of Education a Borderless World" on Thursday, Feb. 1, in the Ballroom at the Nittany Lion Inn. Goodman was formerly executive dean of the School of Foreign Service and professor of international affairs at Georgetown University, where he built the graduate program into one of the top programs in the country for advanced training in diplomacy, leadership, and international relations. While at Georgetown, he also founded the "Women in Foreign Service Program," for which he recruited Madeleine Albright as director. For the full story by Amy Neil, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/goodmanforum.html.
WEINTRAUBS, AUTHORS OF LETTERS TO PRESIDENTS, ON CSPAN2
Retired Penn Staters Stanley and Rodelle Weintraub, editors of "Dear Young Friend. The Letters of American Presidents to Children," are tentatively scheduled to appear on C-Span-2 Cable TV Channel on Inauguration Day, Saturday January 20, at 8:a.m. with a repeat at noon, EST. Stanley Weintraub, who is Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Arts and Humanities, and Rodelle, who have collaborated on several previous books, talked about their book, and presidential letters to children, from George Washington to the present, to a 5th grade class at the Edison Elementary School in Eugene, Oregon. One of the students in the class is their granddaughter Sophia. C-Span 2 information is at http://www.cspan.org.
SEEN AND HEARD ON CAMPUS -- "The Internet, coupled with increased computerization and substantial reductions in communications bandwidth costs, will play a transforming role in how government, industries, and universities operate. The Internet will be a great leveler as it makes more and more information available to everyone, forcing governments in some countries to reassess their current policies that limit the free and open exchange of data and ideas." -- Dr. Joel N. Myers, founder, president, and chairman of AccuWeather, Inc., the world's largest commerical provider of weather forecasting services, spoke yesterday at the Penn State Forum luncheon. Myers is also a University Trustee. The Forum is sponsored by the Faculty Staff Club and the Penn State Bookstore. For Video clips of his presentation, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/stories/Myers_Forum/index.html.
CAMPUS DIVERSITY REPORT PRESENTED TO BOARD
Nearly half of Penn State's minority student population is at campuses other than University Park, with the highest percentages at Penn State Abington and Penn State Delaware County. The Board of Trustees today heard a report on racial and ethnic diversity at Penn State's campus college locations from W. Terrell Jones, vice provost for educational equity and affiliate professor of counselor education and African and African American studies. Jones reported that there are distinct demographic challenges and opportunities associated with the diversity profiles at the campus college locations. "Just like the three rules of buying or selling a house, the percentage of minority students at any campus college is a function of location, location, and finally, location," he said. "Those campuses within a reasonable proximity to large minority communities, such as Penn State Abington, which has a minority student population of more than 20 percent, have been more successful in attracting larger percentages of minority students." For the full story by Amy Neil, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/19jan01botdiversity.html
INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO TECH TRANSFER SUCCESSFUL
Penn State is moving forward with vigorous and innovative approaches to technology transfer, the process whereby the University’s creative and scholarly work is put to public use and/or commercial application, Dr. Eva J. Pell, vice president for research, told the Board today. These technology transfer efforts are being met by broad financial and educational success. For example, the patenting and licensing of University creative and scholarly products or "intellectual property," is one of the more focused mechanisms for transferring this knowledge. In 2000, Penn State licensing revenues from University intellectual property totaled $1,796,781. In 1999, the most recent year for which rankings are available, the University was ranked 16th in the United States in an Association of University Technology Managers survey of the number of patents issued. "Universities are major sources of the new knowledge that underlies novel commercial concepts, products and processes," Pell noted. "The speed and efficiency with which university-based knowledge is transferred to industry is an increasingly important aspect of the competitiveness of technology-intensive U.S. firms and of the economy as a whole," she said. For the full story by Barbara Hale, go to to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/19jan01bottt.html
BUSINESS DEAN ANNOUNCES MBA CHANGES
The phrase, "this is no longer your father’s Oldsmobile," applies well to The Smeal College of Business Administration as the dean outlined a vision for the future of the college to the Board. "Reacting to changing conditions is not enough, we must lead," explained Dean Judy Olian during her informational presentation. "A business school must enhance the understanding of business concepts and skills for those entering and operating in the marketplace, prepare students as leaders of tomorrow’s global organizations, and contribute to a knowledge-base that improves market performance," said Olian. "Being a leader for tomorrow’s business education model requires Smeal College to come to grips with the constancy of change and the growing impatience of financial and consumer markets for the time it takes to engineer change," she said. Olian noted that Smeal College is taking a proactive role in shaping business practice through its internationally known faculty and research centers. The college is also positioning itself as a leader in preparing graduates for tomorrow’s converging economies. Smeal College is hiring aggressively to address its faculty resource needs over the next five years. Olian also revealed plans for a revised MBA Program. For more on this story by Steve Infanti, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/19jan01botolian.html
SUSAN SPEECE APPROVED AS DEAN BERKS-LEHIGH VALLEY
The Board approved the appointment of Susan Phillips Speece, associate dean of instruction and dean of the Division of Mathematics, Science and Engineering at Fresno City College as Dean of the Penn State Berks-Lehigh Valley College and Campus Executive Officer of the Berks Campus effective February 1. The announcement that she had been recommended was made Dec. 1. For more, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/19jan01botspeece.html
BOARD APPROVES WEST CAMPUS MASTER PLAN REFINEMENTS
The Trustees approved refinements to plans for the University’s West Campus. Eliza Pennypacker, director of campus planning and professor of landscape architecture, outlined a number of key challenges campus planners have met in adopting the 1999 West Campus plan into physical design. "The first of our challenges is traffic and transportation. We must be very careful that cars accessing the parking deck or our housing does not overload Atherton Street or municipal neighborhoods to the south," she said. "The second is pedestrian safety. We must provide pedestrians safe crossing of Atherton Street – ideally not just in one location, but in multiple spots. Other challenges identified were the creation of a landmark building for the new Information Sciences and Technology School; connections that link West Campus visibly and symbolically to core campus, and good design to emulate the qualities valued most in the physical environment of core campus. For more, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/19jan01botwestcam.html
BOARD APPROVES SKETCH PLANS FOR NEW IST BUILDING
The Trustees approved sketch/preliminary plans for a new building for the University’s School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST). The building’s unique design, inspired by the Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence, Italy, is the work of Rafael Viñoly/Perfido Weiskopf Joint Venture of New York City and Pittsburgh. The IST building will literally bridge Atherton Street, a busy thoroughfare that divides the core campus from the rapidly growing west campus, with a pedestrian-safe walkway. A joint project of IST and the computer science and engineering department, the building will also serve as an "academic bridge" that links the humanistic and scientific domains of the curriculum, says IST Dean James B. Thomas. For more, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/19jan01botist.html
BOARD APPROVES WEST CAMPUS STUDENT HOUSING PLAN
The Board took action today to meet the growing demand for on-campus family and graduate student housing. It approved final plans and gave authorization to obtain bids and award contracts for a complex of new housing on the West Campus that will include 75 four-bedroom apartments, 124 units of family housing and 379 parking spaces. This plan is a slight revision of the plan first approved by the Board last May. "The architectural firm of Weber Murphy Fox has developed plans for a 21.5 acre complex on the western edge of West Campus," said Gary C. Schultz, senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer, in a presentation to the Board. For more, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/19jan01bothousing.html
ARCHITECT NAMED FOR ARCH, LANDSCAPE ARCH BLDG
The University Park Master Plan proposes to relocate the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture to a new building between the Palmer Museum and North Halls, close to other College of Arts and Architecture buildings. "The School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture is now housed in the Engineering Units, which were built in the early 1900s," said Gary C. Schultz, senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer. The Board approved the appointment of Overland Partners of San Antonio, Texas, and WTW of Pittsburgh to be architects for the proposed 110,193 gross square-foot building, which will include classrooms, office space and state-of-the-art studios. For more, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/19jan01botsala.html
FINAL PLANS FOR NEW CHEMISTRY, LIFE SCIENCES BLDG OK
The Board approved final plans for a new chemistry building and a new life sciences building, both off Shortlidge Road. The unique design of the two buildings includes a physical connection at upper-floor levels, to facilitate collaborative research activities in the two buildings. The board also approved authorizing bids and awarding contracts for the life sciences building. In September, the board approved sketch/preliminary plans for both buildings; minor changes have been made to the project since then. For more go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/19jan01botchemlifesci.html
BOARD APPROVES LEASE OF LAND TO PDA, SALE IN ERIE
Governor Ridge recently announced the release of $5.6 million to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) for the construction of a new Pennsylvania Livestock Evaluation Center. The current facility on Fox Hollow Road near the Agricultural Arena was built in 1965 on land provided by Penn State, and has been outdated for some time. PDA desires to build a larger facility at the University’s Russell E. Larson Agricultural Center at Rock Springs. For more, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/19jan01botpdaerie.html
SCHACHT AND SCHRIESHEIM TO RECEIVE HONORARY DEGREES
The Trustees approved the granting of honorary degrees to Lucent Technologies chairman and chief executive officer Henry B. Schacht and Argonne National Laboratory former chief executive officer Alan Schriesheim. Schacht will be awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters at a May 2001 commencement ceremony. Schriesheim will receive an honorary doctorate of science at an August 2001 commencement ceremony. For more, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/19jan01botdegree.html
MEDICAL CENTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., senior vice president for health affairs, dean, Penn State College of Medicine, and CEO of The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and Edward P. Junker III, chairman, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center board of directors, announced today that the board took action at their regular board meeting on Thursday, Jan. 18, to elect J. Bruce McKinney to the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Board of Directors. McKinney is the retired chairman and CEO of Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company (HERCO). For more to go http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/19jan01botmckinney.html
HINTZ ELECTED CHAIRMAN; BALDWIN NAMED VICE-CHAIR
Edward R. Hintz, president of the New York-based private money management firm Hintz, Holman, and Hecksher, Inc., and Cynthia Baldwin, judge in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, were elected chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of Penn State’s Board of Trustees today. A 1959 graduate of Penn State, Hintz went on to earn an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1963. He began his career as an investment manager and analyst, working for several top firms in the securities field before founding Hintz, Holman, and Hecksher, Inc. in 1974. The firm has been consistently cited in The Wall Street Journal as having an outstanding long-term investment record. Baldwin, the first African American female judge elected to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, is a gubernatorial appointee to the Board of Trustees. She received her B.A. and M.A. from Penn State, and holds adjunct law faculty posts at Duquense University and Widener University. She has served as chair of Penn State’s international alumni association from 1991-1993. For more, go to http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/19jan01botbaldwin.html