HEARD ON CAMPUS--LISA LING
“The one positive that has come out of the Sept. 11 attacks is that, for the first time, young people want to learn more about what is going on in the world. We all collectively need to step up, because our generation will be dealing with this very crisis and many others in the future.”--Lisa Ling, co-host of ABC’s daytime talk show, “The View,” and former investigative reporter for Channel One News, speaking last night as part of Penn State’s Distinguished Speakers Series in Eisenhower Auditorium on the University Park campus.
ALUMNI GIVE $1.6 MILLION FOR LIFE SCIENCES BUILDING
Penn State’s efforts to raise private funds for a new Life Sciences Building received an important boost in the form of three recent gifts totaling $1.6 million. Penn State alumnus Verne Willaman and his wife, Betty, committed $1 million; alumni A. M. “Don” and Marion MacKinnon gave $500,000; and alumni Woodrow Hoch and his sister, Sylvia Hoch, each gave $50,000. The Life Sciences Building will house interdisciplinary teaching and research activities related to fields as diverse as plant biology, neuroscience and molecular toxicology. Expected to cost $44 million, it will be located along Shortlidge Road between the Thomas Building and Eisenhower Auditorium on the University Park campus. University funds will provide $29 million, and the University is aiming to secure the remaining $15 million from private donations. For the full story by Mike Bezilla, visit http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/lifescigifts.html.
PATERNO’S 324th WIN IS AN ESPN “INSTANT CLASSIC”
Penn State’s dramatic win over Ohio State, which made coach Joe Paterno the NCAA Division I-A career leader with 324 wins, will air on ESPN Classic on Wednesday, Oct. 31. The “Instant Classic” game will air from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST, and re-air one hour later from midnight to 2 a.m. EST. Check local listings to see if your cable system carries ESPN Classic. The Nittany Lions rallied from a 27-9 third quarter deficit to beat the Buckeyes, 29-27, this past Saturday in Beaver Stadium. The comeback was Penn State’s greatest at home in Paterno’s 36 years as head coach and the biggest overall since 1994. For a photo montage of Joe Paterno’s career at Penn State--from win No. 1 through win No. 324--visit
http://www.GoPSUsports.com/features/photogallery.cfm?dir=324&sp=9. For more Penn State football news--including information on purchasing a souvenir game program from the record-breaking win--visit
http://www.GoPSUsports.com/football.
REGULATORY CHANGES CAN HARM MINORITY RELIGIONS
Even modest changes in government regulations have negatively impacted minority religions, which lack the clout of mainstream denominations, a Penn State researcher says. “Minority religions are the first to benefit when religious regulations are lifted and first to be stifled when regulations are allowed. State regulations will prevent the startup of new minority religions and will curtail the activities of existing religious groups that lack power,” notes Roger K. Finke, professor of sociology and co-author of a study that analyzed 2,109 court cases on religion from 1981-1996, paying particular attention to the 1,307 cases involving the free exercise (religious freedom) clause of the First Amendment. The analysis by Finke and co-author John Wybraniec, published in the September issue of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, found that minority religions, Christian and non-Christian, are far more likely to be involved in court decisions than mainline churches and far less likely to receive a favorable ruling. For the full story by Paul Blaum, visit http://www.psu.edu/ur/2001/minorityreligions.html.
FESTIVITIES SCHEDULED FOR GUARDING THE LION SHRINE
The Penn State Lion Ambassadors, the student corps of the Penn State Alumni Association, will host a party to coincide with the traditional event of guarding the Lion shrine following the Homecoming parade on Friday, Nov. 2, from 10 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Students, alumni, faculty, staff and all Penn State fans are invited to attend the festivities surrounding the event. Bare Souls, a local rock band, will provide live entertainment. Free food and drink will also be offered. The tradition of guarding the Lion shrine dates back to 1966. On the eve of the Homecoming football game against Syracuse University, the opposing team’s fans dumped orange paint on the Lion. Since that time, various groups have guarded the shrine to ensure that mischief and vandalism to the Nittany Lion mascot are deterred. Athletes, fraternities, the Penn State ROTC, and more recently, the Lion Ambassadors, have kept watch over the shrine. For additional information, contact the Lion Ambassadors at (814) 863-3752 or visit http://www.alumni.psu.edu/ambassadors. A schedule of Homecoming events is at http://www.greeks.psu.EDU/homecoming.
WEISZ IS FIRST ROBB CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LECTURER
Paul B. Weisz, distinguished professor of bio- and chemical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, will be the inaugural speaker of the Robb Lecture in Chemical Engineering Science at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, in 108 Wartik Hall. He will discuss “Adventures in Basic Molecular Process Science From Catalytic Chemistry to Cell Biology to Medicine.” The event is free and open to the public. Weisz’s discovery and work on molecular shape selective catalysis led to the development of major processes for the worldwide petroleum and chemical industries. The lecture is named for Walter L. Robb, Penn State chemical engineering alumnus and a management consultant and president of Vantage Management, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.engr.psu.edu/news/.