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By Annemarie Mountz
Public Information
This basketball season, half time is the wrong time to make that fast
break to the refrigerator. Instead of leaving 
the room at the
half until the Penn State Nittany Lion or Lady Lion basketball games resume,
stay tuned to your TV set for at least a three-point play from Time Out
Penn State.
Now in its third season, Time Out Penn State has changed its game plan to produce a faster-paced, information packed halftime show.
Producer and program hostess Melisande McCrae, manager of electronic communications in the Office of Public Information, has built on the successes of the last two seasons to establish the show's new look.
"This year's show has a faster pace than last year's," McCrae said. "For the men's and women's games, we've gone to a newscast-type of format, with three shorter segments covering a variety of topics. This allows us to get more information to the viewers in the same amount of time."
The women's games also will include a longer segment.
Another change is in the topics.
"We've gone to more consumer-oriented topics," McCrae said. "Half time is now a time to find out important consumer information, and also to learn about the role Penn State has had in benefiting Pennsylvania consumers and their lives."
During the course of the season, McCrae's guests will talk about everything from how Americans have more leisure time, to how parents and teachers can communicate more effectively with children, to how the University is helping to dramatically reduce salmonella contamination in Pennsylvania eggs. Viewers also will learn about bugs, older driver safety, how garlic and onions can help fight cancer, Pennsylvania's Link-to-Learn program, a night-owl study course at Penn State Altoona, what toys say about our culture and much more.
In addition, each Time Out Penn State will include a "postcard" to the viewers. These are 30-second pieces introducing another aspect of Penn State. Postcard producer Kim Yarnell Bierly, network television specialist in the Office of Public Information, has chosen a variety of topics and locations, including the Penn State Dickinson School of Law; the plastics program at Penn State Erie, Behrend College; a postcard from space featuring faculty member Jim Pawelczyk, who will be a payload specialist on the April 1998 Space Shuttle mission; and more.
"This has been a tremendously successful vehicle for showing Pennsylvanians the good things that Penn State is doing," Stephen J. MacCarthy, executive director of University Relations, said. "This University does more to enrich the Commonwealth than any other entity in the state, and we need to make more people aware of these contributions. Time Out Penn State provides us with a great opportunity to do that."
Most of the interviews will air in Pennsylvania through the ESPN Regional network, hitting the major television markets including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The remaining segments will be shown in all of the Big Ten markets.
The first Time Out Penn State of the season aired Nov. 26 during half time of the Lady Lions basketball game vs. Kansas. Remaining broadcasts are scheduled for half time of men's and women's basketball games on Dec. 6, 14 and 20; Jan. 10, 11, 18, 25, 28 and 31; and Feb. 1, 14, 16 and 25.
For more information, check out the Time Out Penn State Web site at http://www.psu.edu/ur/timeout/.
Robert E. Umbaugh of Carlisle has agreed to lead a team of volunteers to help Penn State DuBois in the University's upcoming capital campaign. Umbaugh will serve as the chief volunteer spokesperson for campus objectives, enlist other volunteers to serve on the campaign committee, accompany staff in top-level cultivation and solicitation visits, and provide guidance and leadership.
Umbaugh had previously lead a scholarship endowment steering committee that helped increase financial aid for DuBois undergraduate students. His success with that effort will help to provide a smooth transition for the new committee. The goals of the Penn State DuBois campaign will be to renovate and enhance existing facilities, increase scholarship endowment for undergraduate students and provide financial support for new campus degree programs. A specific dollar goal and timetable for the campaign have not yet been established.
Umbaugh and his wife, Joyce, have created four endowed funds at Penn State DuBois. Two provide scholarship support for undergraduate students, while the others fund an annual lecture series and provide support for the campus library. Umbaugh was named an Outstanding Alumnus of Penn State DuBois in 1989, the same year he earned a similar award from the College of Education.
Umbaugh is currently president of Carlisle Consulting Group and a consulting editor of Auerbach Publishing Co. of New York City. He is active in civic affairs and for years has served on numerous boards of directors and advisory boards.
Umbaugh graduated cum laude from Penn State in 1963 with a bachelor of science degree in education, participated in business administration graduate studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, and is a graduate of the University of Idaho's management program.
In a landmark cooperative agreement during ceremonies held Nov. 21, Penn State entered into a first-of-its-kind research partnership with the U.S. Marine Corps. The agreement creates the Institute for Non-Lethal Defense Technologies at Penn State, which will conduct research of innovative ideas, technologies and policies in support of non-lethal defense options for both military and civilian applications.
Edward G. Liszka, institute director, said the center will focus on helping the Marine Corps develop "what will be viewed as revolutionary new capabilities."
"Initially, we will be working with the Marine Corps to examine the medical, psychological and legal effects of non-lethal technologies and to set standards for their development and use," he said.
The Marine Corps is leading the way in pursuing development and use of non-lethal alternatives. The technologies developed at the new institute are intended to be used as an adjunct to conventional means aimed at controlling conflict escalation and/or achieving conflict resolution.
"There is a great deal we don't know about non-lethal technology, not only the utility of various devices and technologies, but also the legal, ethical, medical and other implications of their use," Gen. Michael J. Williams, commanding general of the Marine Corps Systems Command, said. "That's why our new relationship is so vital and will become a powerful force as the Marine Corps enters the 21st century."
Among the research areas that the institute will explore are: concept/technology development; performance effectiveness; rules of engagement; safety standards; countermeasures; consequence management; measures of lethality; legal implications; medical implications; environment issues; and training.
According to the new institute's mission statement, it will:
-- Promote, coordinate and conduct interdisciplinary research and development of non-lethal concepts and technologies.
-- Network with other universities, research institutions, industry and military/government agencies.
-- Maintain a computerized database on expertise and technologies.
-- Provide simulation and modeling capabilities for assessments and training.
-- Promote workshops and conferences on the study of non-lethal options.
-- Serve as non-vested agent and trusted adviser.
Membership in the institute currently includes Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory; Environmental Resource Research Institute; College of Earth and Mineral Sciences; College of Engineering; College of Health and Human Development; College of Medicine; Institute for Policy Research and Evaluation; and The Dickinson School of Law. In the future, membership will be expanded to faculty and staff members at other colleges and universities, government organizations and not-for-profit research groups. Businesses and industries will participate as associate members.
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The College of Education has named two nationally recognized leaders as its Alumni Fellows. The Alumni Fellow award, presented by the Penn State Alumni Association, is administered in cooperation with the academic units. The Board of Trustees has designated the title of Alumni Fellow as permanent and lifelong.
Bruce Ramirez, who received his doctorate in educational administration from the College of Education in 1980, is deputy executive director for the Council for Exceptional Children. With his long service to the council, he has established himself as a national leader in the field of education for at-risk individuals. Ramirez also has made remarkable strides within the Native American educational community, affecting national policy for children with disabilities. He has served on various boards and advisory committees that have worked to improve the education of exceptional students and/or culturally diverse children.
In addition, Ramirez has been instrumental in assisting teachers and other practitioners by conducting training sessions and publishing materials that have been used to improve educational practice throughout the United States.
Francis Fennell, who received his doctorate in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on mathematics education from the College of Education in 1972, is a nationally recognized mathematics educator whose books and videos are used throughout the world to train kindergarten through eighth-grade mathematics teachers. A professor of education and chair of the education department at Western Maryland College, Fennell is currently on leave from Western Maryland College and is serving as a program officer in teacher enhancement in the Division of Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education at the National Science Foundation.
Fennell has changed the face of mathematics education in this country's elementary and middle schools. A well-respected professor of education, he has developed new and exciting methods for training future mathematics educators. Honors bestowed on him include the Outstanding Mathematics Educator Award from the Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the Sears-Roebuck Foundation Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award. He also was recently named Carnegie Foundation Professor of the Year for the State of Maryland.
Wilkes-Barre welcomes
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Two people have recently joined the student affairs staff at Penn State Beaver.
Melinda R. Koerner will serve as the coordinator of residence life. Koerner is a graduate of Indiana University, Bloomington, with a bachelor's degree in early childhood education.
She will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of residence life, including implementation of disciplinary actions, supervision of a staff assistant and eight resident assistants, and coordination of programming and Residence Hall Advisory Counsel activities for the campus' two residence halls.
Gretchen Wissner has been named assistant coordinator of residence life. Wissner is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
Wissner is responsible for supervising security night receptionists, counseling and overseeing the safety and security of the residence halls.
John M. Mason Jr., professor of civil engineering, has been appointed
associate dean for graduate
studies and research in the College of Engineering. 
Mason takes over
the post from Michael M. Reischman, who left in August for a position
at the University of South Carolina.
Before becoming the associate dean for engineering graduate studies and research, Mason served as the associate director of the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute and director of the Center for Intelligent Transportation Systems. He earned his B.S. from Penn State, his M.S. from Villanova, and his Ph.D. from Texas A&M.
Working as an engineer since 1972, Mason served as a program manager for the implementation and design program of the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M from 1982 to 1986. He then worked as a district transportation manager for Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan in Florida before coming to Penn State in 1987.
The author and coauthor of numerous publications, Mason has received several honors, including the 1984 Collingwood Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the 1990 Villanova University Carl T. Humphrey Memorial Award for professional achievement in engineering, and outstanding paper awards from the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the Transportation Research Board and ASCE.
Penn State Shenango has hired Heather A. McGuirk as an academic adviser for the campus. In this position, McGuirk will be responsible for student advising and scheduling. She also will assist students in choosing a major and exploring career interests. Through the campus' Freshman Testing, Counseling and Placement program (FTCAP), McGuirk answers questions from incoming students and their families about the University. She is trained in stress management and plans to work with the student organizations on campus in offering stress management seminars.
McGuirk received a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from The Ohio State University and a master of science degree in counseling from Youngstown State University. She also received a certification in crisis intervention and suicide prevention through the Help Hotline of Youngstown, Ohio.
She is a member of the American Counseling Association and the Chi Sigma Iota sorority.
Mary Q. Negri has been appointed associate director of development at Penn State Erie, Behrend College. Her duties include identification, cultivation and solicitation of business, corporate and alumni prospects of the college. She also serves as staff liaison to the Penn State Erie Alumni Society in activities supporting development.
Negri is an alumna of Allegheny College of Meadville and received her master's degree from Bowling Green State University. She formerly served as a board member with the March of Dimes and chaired that organization's campaign committee. She also was involved in the Library 21 campaign, which raised funds for Erie's Blasco Memorial Library.
State College native Tammy Russell has been hired as coordinator of diversity and international student programs at Penn State Altoona. In her new position, Russell hopes to bridge the gap between the college's diverse student population and the community by creating an outreach program and forming new organizations geared toward helping students of different cultural, religious or sexual orientations.
In the past, Russell has worked with run-away teens in Washington, D.C. While obtaining her master's degree in counselor education from Penn State, she worked in child support services at the Altoona Out Patient Health Clinic as well as an in-take counselor, counseling physically and sexually abused kids on crisis management, and drug and alcohol awareness.
Russell holds a B.S. degree in rehabilitation service education.
By Barbara Hale
Public Information
In his most recent State of the University Address, President Graham B. Spanier voiced a commitment to building academic excellence by selective investment in Penn State's strongest programs and areas of greatest potential and need. During his talk, information science and technology was one of the four areas mentioned as having compelling societal interest and worthy of this special type of investment. Recently, a special strategic planning group was appointed to help realize the president's vision.
Rodney A. Erickson, vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School, will chair the new group -- which will identify current and planned programs at Penn State in information technology and will seek input concerning future industry needs. The group is scheduled to forward recommendations by May 1, 1998. The committee is charged with formulating recommendations to strengthen the academic activities at Penn State in information technology, including new and expanded curricula and research opportunities. The group will explore the feasibility of creating a new academic unit focused on information science and technology.
"Employers expect Penn State graduates to be broadly educated and to be able to apply their knowledge effectively in functional or cognate areas," Erickson said. "The group is looking across colleges, across campuses, at undergraduate and graduate programs, at libraries, distance delivery of courses, in fact, the whole spectrum of Penn State activities in the information sciences and technology."
Part of the group's charge is to survey existing programs and planned programs at other universities and seek input from experts in both the academic and corporate sectors. Corporate representatives will be visiting Penn State to share their insights concerning the future demands, knowledge base and skill requirements of graduates in this key area of the economy. In addition, members of the University community will be asked to contribute to the information gathering process and share their ideas with the committee.
"We are looking for ways to improve what Penn State is doing in information science and technology," Erickson said. "We want to see how the University can best help to address the problems of critical labor shortages in these fields through high quality educational programs."
In his State of the University Address, President Spanier noted that "the scientific, technological and sociological dimensions of accessing, storing, retrieving, communicating and using information are of great economic and cultural importance. What better university to lead progress in this area than Penn State, one of the nation's most technologically advanced universities, with comprehensive strengths in computer science and engineering, communications, management information sciences and the social and behavioral sciences?"
Faculty, staff and students are welcome to communicate directly with members of the committee via e-mail (istp@psu.edu) or to Erickson at rae@psu.edu Other committee members are: J. Gary Augustson, executive director of computer and information services, Terri Brooks, dean of the College of Communication, Nancy L. Eaton, dean of the University Libraries, Barbara Grabowski, associate professor of adult education and instructional systems in the College of Education, John Harwood, director, Center for Academic Computing, Elizabeth Hawthorne, associate dean for academic affairs, Penn State Berks, Mary Jane Irwin, professor of computer science and engineering, David Russell, academic division head of engineering, Great Valley, James Thomas, senior associate dean, Smeal College, and David Wormley, dean, College of Engineering.
In response to a challenge earlier this year by President Graham B. Spanier, the national higher education community has stated its unified positions on a broad range of information technology and intellectual property issues affecting higher education and the nation.
The statement by the group is unprecedented because of its breadth and because it represents a unified declaration by all of higher education's presidentially-based associations in addition to many key organizations concerned with information technology.
Higher Education Policies for the Digital Age, released in Washington, D.C., and endorsed by 17 national organizations that speak for higher education, addresses some of the most critical information technology issues facing higher education today and outlines a set of national policies and principles that will permit universities to make full use of the digital environment and continue to advance its capabilities.
This first-of-its kind information technology/higher education policy document was created by the Higher Education Alliance for Information Technology, a coalition of the major higher education associations that represent nearly 3,000 colleges and universities and their presidents, as well as allied associations that have as members college and university chief information systems officers, library directors and university continuing education directors.
"Technology is dramatically changing teaching, research and public service at all of our nation's colleges and universities. These institutions must assure that national policies enable us to take full advantage of these emerging opportunities for fostering new knowledge and educating the nation's workforce. This document is an important first step to define higher education's position on many critical information technology policy issues," said Spanier, who serves as chair of the Presidential Advisory Board on Information Technology.
The publication focuses on a number of issues of immediate importance due to legislative or regulatory developments and rapid technology change. It includes discussions of intellectual property issues relevant to higher education such as copyright, preservation, databases and copyright infringement liability. It also refers to issues of free speech and inquiry, advancing the Internet, telecommunications policy and regulation, and distributed education.
Educom is another organization active in the coalition that helped develop the new set of higher education/technology policies.
Individual copies are available by e-mail request to briscoek@nasulgc.nche.edu; by fax at (202) 296-6456; or by writing to the Office of Public Affairs, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, 1 Dupont Circle NW, Suite 710, Washington D.C., 20035-1191.
Good news for anyone paying the price of a college degree. Beginning Jan. 1, a new tax credit will become available for individuals who are paying for tuition either at Penn State or any other college or university.
The Hope Scholarship Credit provides a maximum allowable credit of $1,500
per student for the first two years 
of college. Specifically,
the credit allows taxpayers a 100 percent credit per eligible student for
the first $1,000 of tuition expenses and a 50 percent credit for the second
$1,000 of tuition paid. This does not include related expenses such as room,
board, books, athletics, transportation and similar personal, family or
living expenses. (See special note.)
The credit is available for qualified tuition and related expenses incurred for the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse or the taxpayer's dependent. Although the benefit's maximum is $1,500, the allowable amount of the credit is reduced for taxpayers who have a modified adjusted gross income above a certain amount. The phaseout of the credits begins for most taxpayers when their adjusted gross income reaches $40,000. The credit is completely phased out when the modified AGI reaches $50,000. For joint filers, the phaseout range is between $80,000 to $100,000.
The Hope Credit is not available to married taxpayers who file separate returns. However, it is available to married couples who file jointly. In addition, the credit is available only for the first two years of post-secondary education for each eligible student. The credit is calculated on a per student, rather than a per family, basis. Therefore, eligibility could be for any member at the freshman or sophomore level.
In order to claim the Hope Credit, the student must be an eligible student, meaning they are enrolled in a program leading to a degree, certificate or other recognized educational credential; and the student must be carrying one-half of the normal full-time course load for the degree being sought.
Students studying abroad are also eligible as long as the program is approved for credit by the institution at which the student is enrolled.
Most Penn State spring semester tuition payments are due on Dec. 5. Those taxpayers who wish to take advantage of the Hope Credit for 1998 should delay their tuition payment until January 1998. Please note that a $25 late payment fee will be charged for tuition received after the December due date. However, taxpayers may prefer to pay the late fee in order to take advantage of the $1,500 tax credit. For those making their tuition payment in early January there will be no adverse effect on the registration of the student -- classes will be retained.
Anyone interested in pursuing the Hope Credit should consult with their tax adviser for their eligibility before determining the timing of their payment and possibly incurring a late tuition payment fee.
Penn State cannot provide individual tax advice for people interested in pursuing the Hope Tax Credit and the University is not liable for damages of any kind in connection with this information. The Hope Credit is part of President Clinton's recently enacted Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997.
For more information, contact Roseann Sieminski, University bursar, via e-mail at rks1@psu.edu.
Harrisburg, Capital College. With more than 10 years of experience in
advertising and promotion, Gardner will direct the activities of the recently
created college marketing unit, which includes public information, publications,
advertising, conferences and special events.
