September 12, 1996.Vol. 26 No. 4

Audience enthused,
encouraged by talk

After President Spanier's State of the University address, Intercom gathered reactions from trustees, administrators, faculty, students and others in the University community. Their reactions centered on the optimism and enthusiasm of the address, and touched on some of the president's specific proposals, such as the ones to increase the number of faculty and to do more to internationalize the curriculum. Here are some of their comments:

What I love about Graham is his tremendous optimism and enthusiasm, which is grounded in a solid plan, a vision and an understanding of how the University operates and what its potential is."
-- H. Jesse Arnelle, chairman, Board of Trustees

"I was particularly enthused by his comments about cynicism and pessimism, and the lack of passion, in higher education. That resonated with me, because of the particular business I'm in, which is communications. To see a national leader like Graham Spanier stand up and speak to this issue, and not in a Pollyanna sort of way, is a welcome thing."
-- Jock Lauterer, assistant professor of journalism

I was delighted with his emphasis on improving the faculty-staff ratio ...(it) sends an important message about our values as we attempt to strike a good balance between our teaching and research responsibilities."
-- R. Scott Kretchmar, chair of the University Faculty Senate

"His speech was courageous and visionary in several ways. The three points that resonated most clearly with me were his calls for optimism and passion, for international perspectives based on pragmatic needs, and for active promotion of the values of good citizenship, particularly civility."
-- John Lilley, provost and dean, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College

"I was pleased at his continued enthusiasm and optimism for the future of Penn State and higher education ... particularly his commitment to the tripart mission, because it addresses the interests graduate students have in their own education and their contributions to undergraduate education."
-- Julie Ann Bubolz, president of the graduate student association

"I found his optimism refreshing."
-- Dan Stearns, associate professor of landscape contracting

"I'm excited about the importance he places on information technology, partly because it's part of my work but also because I think it's what the University should do to be established in the 21st century."
-- Mike Halm, senior research programmer, Center for Academic Computing.


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Last updated at 9:30AM on September 11, 1996.