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Equestrian events are among the happenings that will appeal to people of all ages at Ag Progress Days. The event will be held Aug. 12-14.
Visitors can take a cutting-edge lawn tractor out for a whirl, participate
in a high-tech agricultural quiz show or get a close-up look at insects
at Ag Progress Days, sponsored by the
College of Agricultural
Sciences, Aug. 12-14.
This year's theme, "Pennsylvania Agriculture ... A Moving Force in a Changing World," focuses on the economics of Pennsylvania's farms. Ag Progress Days features more than 500 acres of educational and commercial exhibits at the University's Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, nine miles southwest of State College on Route 45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, with extended hours on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission and parking are free.
Several new exhibits will explore the role agriculture plays in Pennsylvania's economy, as well as the opportunities to market Pennsylvania products on a national and international scale.
At the College Exhibits Building, visitors can see how a family-owned dairy farm, a transportation and trucking firm and a food processing company have changed and adapted to changing market conditions from 1940 to today. A farm finance demonstration, staffed by University faculty, will crunch the numbers in financial questions using a cutting-edge computer analysis program.
Visitors can participate in SciQ, played daily at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the College Exhibits Building Theatre. A special version of the show for children, called SciQ Jr., is played daily at 11 a.m. and Wednesday at 6 p.m.
At the Pasto Agricultural Museum, visitors can examine items ranging from a vintage cream separator to an antique potato harvester and more.
Ag Progress Days' popular Insect Zoo in the new ImAGination Station will feature displays on good bugs and bad bugs, insect pests and such creeping attractions as large lubber grasshoppers, cockroaches and tobacco hornworms.
Storyteller Jan Kinney will perform in the College Exhibits Building Theatre every day at noon, creating tales from memory for up to 45 minutes. The Family Room offers visitors demonstrations on using the food pyramid to maintain a healthy diet. In addition, faculty will offer information on credit, financial management and financial life skills.
Another exhibit that will appeal to children and their parents is a display sponsored by Penn State's Students for the Responsible Use of Animals. Young calves, lambs, pigs and other livestock will be on display, and University students staffing the display will answer any questions.
Other family-oriented exhibits include equestrian events, educational displays and food booths offering culinary treats ranging from breaded mushrooms to University Creamery ice cream.
A variety of informative booths can be found at the Conservation Education Tent on West 11th Street on the Ag Progress Days site. Buses will depart from the tent each day to take visitors on various tours demonstrating conservation techniques.
Bus tours leaving from the corn crib throughout each day will illuminate Penn State's scientific work in potato research, integrated crop management, fruit and vegetable production and many other programs.
There will be free CATA bus service all three days of the exhibition. The shuttle departs from College and Allen Streets (near the Corner Room restaurant) at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Aug. 12-14. On August 13, when Ag Progress Days remains open until 8 p.m., there will be an additional departure at 2:30 p.m. Departure times for the return trip are at noon, 3 and 4 p.m. Aug. 12-14, with a 7 p.m. shuttle Aug. 13.
For more information, call (800) PSU-1010 through Aug. 15. Or visit Ag Progress Days on the Web at http://www.cas.psu.edu/docs/CASHOME/APD/APD.HTML.
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Observing 25 years of service at the University are, from left: Filomena Cramer, staff assistant VIII in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center; Kent A. Crossland, maintenance foreman; Gerald K. Riggar, maintenance mechanic B; August H. Simonsen, campus executive officer; and Doris Wright-Coldren, former acting DUS coordinator, University Scholars adviser and English 4 testing coordinator, all at Penn State Fayette; and J.L. Duda, professor and head of the Department of Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering.
Thomas A. Hale, professor of African, French and comparative literature, and Stephen P. Belcher, assistant professor of comparative literature, are co-editors, with John W. Johnson (Indiana University) of Oral Epics from Africa: Vibrant Voices from a Vast Continent (Indiana University Press).
The anthology of excerpts from 25 African oral epics is the first volume of its kind to appear in print. Together, the texts represented in it refute the long-held view by scholars that the oral epic does not exist in Africa.
In the introductory chapter, the editors give readers both an overview of the African epic today and insights into current issues such as the evolving definition of the genre, ethno-specific terms for these long, poetic narratives and the existence of epics by women. A map marking the location of the epics, essays introducing the different ethnic traditions, an extensive bibliography and a detailed index help readers to place the diverse text in a comparative context.
Some of the epics in the volume are appearing in print for the first time, while many others have been accessible until now only in French. Nearly all of the texts were recorded during the last two decades and represent the work of a new generation of scholars in African literature. Oral Epics from Africa is the third volume to appear in the African Epic Series edited by Hale and Johnson for Indiana University Press.
The latest in a series of all-color, illustrated railroad histories from Jeremy F. Plant, professor of public administration and public policy at Penn State Harrisburg, is now in area bookstores. Boston and Maine, by Plant and Jeffrey G. Plant, features the photography of the authors along with contributions from 25 other photographers.
The 128-page, hardcover volume covers the history of the New England railroad in color pictures taken between 1939 and 1989. It traces the dramatic years of change on the Boston and Maine as it pioneered diesel freight power in the East, used steam power in Boston-area commuter service in the 1950s, and declined as a result of competition from roads and highways in the 1960s and 1970s.
The final section of the book notes the Boston and Maine's remarkable recovery from bankruptcy in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the takeover by the Guilford Corp., and the assumption of commuter service on B&M routes by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
Beyond Instruction: Comprehensive Program Planning for Business and Education, written by William Rothwell, associate professor of education, and Peter Cookson, professor in the Centre for Distance Education at Athabasca University in Alberta, provides an overview of the program planning process for both new and experienced "directors of learning" in business, education and other organizational settings. The book outlines a systematic planning process that analyzes emerging planner roles and offers guidance for the full range of planning tasks -- assessing needs, setting goals, monitoring effectiveness, supervising instructors, budgeting, promoting and recruiting. The book can be used as a how-to manual for those new to the field, or as a reference book for experienced trainers and educators.
In June, John Brighton, executive vice president and provost, appointed a "data working group " to explore opportunities to better support University-level decision making through the use of information and data analysis. P. Richard Althouse, budget officer of the University, and Louise E. Sandmeyer, executive director of the Center for Quality and Planning, are sponsoring this project.
The members will look at reports currently generated, how well significant University-level information needs are being met, how information crosses units and levels, opportunities for increased effectiveness and efficiency in data collection and analysis, and similar issues. Penn State already has important, related initiatives dealing with the University's operational electronic data bases (such as the data warehouse and the Executive Information System). The focus of this working group is on the use of high-quality, accessible information -- from a variety of internal and external sources -- to enhance understanding, planning and actions.
Michael J. Dooris, director of planning research and assessment, is chair of the data working group. Members include Robert W. Barlock (Quality and Planning); Leslie Frye and Donley Hogg (the Graduate School); Thomas Gesell (Affirmative Action); Cynthia Hall (University Relations); Edith C. Hertzog, Katherine B. Holsworth, and Richard D. Sheeder (Budget and Resource Analysis); Ronald F. Kreidler (Administrative Systems); Michael R. Laubscher (International Programs); Ralph Locklin (Undergraduate Education); Frederick D. Loomis (Continuing and Distance Education); Thomas A. Moore (Alumni Association); Robert E. Quinn, James J. Wager, and Mark Weaver (Enrollment Management and Administration); Susan R. Rankin (Educational Equity); Stephen R. Selfe (Human Resources); Donald T. Suit (Student Affairs); Kenneth E. Varcoe (Commonwealth College); and Jere J. Willey (University Development).
The University is a big place and dissemination of information can be difficult. A new University function called Broadcast News provides a solution.
The concept is simple. Broadcast News uses Web and e-mail technology to deliver news to the existing e-mail in-boxes of subscribers. Composed of various "channels," Broadcast News has two channels in operation: the GURU channel provides notification of changes to University policies and other documents and information available in GURU; the Travel Services channel provides news similar to that provided by the now defunct Travel Services bulletin board in EMC2.
To subscribe, a user initially must go to a Web site and register for each channel he or she wishes to receive. The user must provide a userid and password of their choosing, and e-mail address. The userid and password allow subscribers to change or cancel their subscription any time in the future. And a user may want to receive news at more than one e-mail account. The user simply enters an additional subscription for additional e-mail accounts.
A channel directory is located at http://GURU.PSU.EDU/broadcast.html.
The Penn State Agricultural Experiment Station, in cooperation with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's Soil Quality Institute, has published Bulletin 873, "Soil Climate Regimes of Pennsylvania."
The Penn State Bulletin was authored by William J. Waltman, Edward J. Ciolkosz, Maurice J. Mausbach, Mark D. Svoboda, Douglas A. Miller and Philip J. Kolb.
It includes a series of color soil temperature-moisture maps, other maps, weather station data and text.
The bulletin is available from the College of Agricultural Sciences, Mail Room, 112 Agricultural Administrative Building, Penn State University, University Park, Pa. 16802.
The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has accredited Pennsylvania College of Technology's plastics and polymer engineering technology and surveying technology majors. ABET's Technology Accreditation Commission, responsible for engineering technology programs, performed the accreditation function.
The accreditation of plastics and polymer engineering technology, a bachelor's degree major, is one of only three ABET accreditations in the country. The other two accredited programs are at Penn State Erie, Behrend College and Pittsburg State University in Kansas.
Penn College's surveying technology major provides graduates with an associate of applied science degree. Both majors are under the School of Industrial & Engineering Technologies.
ABET is primarily responsible for monitoring, evaluating and certifying the quality of engineering, engineering technology and engineering-related education in colleges and universities in the United States.
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Children compare their masterpieces in the Castle Creation class at the HUB Center for Arts and Crafts, above. Students made castles, like the ones pictured at right, in the class, taught by Lisa Hill. For information on the variety of classes offered by the center, call (814) 863-0611, Photos: Greg Grieco |
The Penn State Fayette campus recently recognized four faculty and staff members who have announced their retirements.
Paul Agate has retired after 31 years of service at Penn State. Agate began his career as a physical education instructor and later held the positions of assistant professor of kinesiology and director of athletics, intramurals and recreation. He served as ombudsman and faculty representative to the alumni society and was the recipient of both the Outstanding Faculty Award and the Public Service Award.
Don Leapart has retired after 31 years of service at Penn State Fayette. After beginning his career as an instructor of accounting, Leapart eventually became professor of accounting and management information systems. He served as The Smeal College of Business Administration's representative to the Faculty Senate and as chair of the Senate; was an active member of the Fayette campus Speakers Bureau; and served on various faculty committees. Leapart is a certified public accountant and a member of both P.I.C.P.A. and A.I.C.P.A. He assisted with the Fayette campus' basketball team for 26 years.
Nancy Treat has retired after more than 19 years of service at Penn State Fayette, where she served as assistant professor of human development and family studies. She served as the acting director of academic affairs, a member of the University Faculty Senate, chair of the Fayette Campus Faculty Senate and Health and Human Development College representative. During her career at Penn State, Treat received various research grants.
Doris Wright-Coldren has retired after 29 years of service. She began her career as a part-time English instructor and since then has served as Fayette campus' English teachers representative for the Commonwealth Educational System and as a member of the University Faculty Senate and chair of the Fayette campus senate. At Fayette, Coldren served as the coordinator for the Division of Undergraduate Studies, University Scholars Program, English 4 testing, and the Learning Enrichment Center, which she established. She received the ORSAF Research Grant in 1989 and numerous other awards throughout her career.
Robert W. Schroeder has retired from Penn State Altoona, after 26 years of service. Schroeder worked for Physical Plant as a maintenance worker.
According to his supervisor, Schroeder was always flexible and willing to take on a job.
"Bob's retirement is his gain, but Penn State Altoona's loss. I always appreciated his candidness and honesty -- two attributes from which you can never retire," said Rick Wareham, his supervisor.
Sidney E. Barnard, professor of food science in the College of Agricultural Science, from May 1, 1964, to March 1.
Barbara P. Bernard, staff assistant V, University Libraries, from Jan. 28, 1965, to April 1.
Henry D. Bretherick, operations center coordinator, The Hershey Medical Center, from Jan. 17, 1972, to March 28.
Carole A. Brobeck, library assistant II, University Libraries, from Feb. 1, 1967, to April 1.
Betty L. Butler, residence hall utility worker, Housing and Food Services, from Jan. 3, 1983, to June 14.
Carol A. Crawford, campus health services nurse, Altoona campus, from Feb. 6, 1978, to June 16.
Martha M. Dailey, staff assistant VI, College of the Liberal Arts, from June 15, 1970, to May 31.
Mary Ann Dobransky, staff assistant VI at Penn State McKeesport, from Aug. 15, 1977, to June 1.
Marjorie A. Eakin, nutrition adviser, College of Agricultural Sciences, from June 16, 1980, to June 1.
Rosella F. Fetterolf, staff assistant IV, University Libraries, from Nov. 1, 1972, to April 1.
Virginia E. Fetters, press operator, in Business Services, from Sept. 23, 1966, to March 29.
Sandra L. Ficarro, staff assistant VI in Computer and Information Systems-Administrative, from April 1, 1965, to April 1.
Sue Y. Garber, staff assistant V at The Hershey Medical Center, from Feb. 27, 1984, to May 28.
W. Thomas Gingher, research support technologist III, Research and Graduate School, from March 1, 1983, to June 1.
Robert A. Guiser, senior computer specialist in Computer and Information Systems-Administrative, from Nov. 2, 1970, to April 1.
Gordon A. Hamilton, professor of chemistry, Eberly College of Science, from Sept. 1, 1966, to April 1.
D. Fred Horner, coordinator, equipment and stock room, Intercollegiate Athletics, from Sept. 25, 1967, to April 1.
Beverly M. King, staff assistant VIII, College of Education, from Jan. 13, 1975, to May 31.
Marianne V. Matich, staff assistant VI at Penn State Beaver, from July 1, 1983, to June 1.
Marion R. Miles, nutrition adviser in the College of Agricultural Sciences, from Jan. 5, 1981, to May 1.
Garin L. Moore Sr., assistant manager environmental services at The Hershey Medical Center, from Oct. 4, 1976, to May 1.
Thomas H. Obourn, senior extension agent in the College of Agricultural Science, from May 21, 1962, to May 1.
Gilbert R. Steele Jr., director of special projects in Computer and Information Systems-Telecommunications, from Jan. 3, 1984, to May 1.
Miriam R. Smith, staff assistant VI, Corporate Controller's Office, from Aug. 1, 1981, to May 31.
Kenneth L. Wood, cutting machine operator, Business Services, from Feb. 1, 1968, to April 27.
Mary E. Litzinger, quality and planning consultant/facilitator in Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.
Dayna R. Lowe, staff assistant VI in Business Services.
Jeffrey F. Luck, manager, Information Systems in Continuing and Distance Education.
Steven A. Maczuga, information analyst in Vice Provost and Dean for Enrollment Management and Administration.
Michelle A. Marquardt, staff assistant V in The Smeal College of Business Administration.
James B. McGinley, network coordinator in Computer and Information Systems-Telecommunications.
Robert L. McLaughlin, senior communications engineer in Computer and Information Systems-Telecommunications.
Elaina M. McReynolds, conference planner at Penn State Great Valley.
Theodore A. Mellors, project coordinator IV at Penn State Fayette.
Mary A. Metz, administrative assistant I in The Smeal College of Business Administration.
Kevin M. Morooney, assistant director, CBEL in Computer and Information Systems-Center for Academic Computing.
Ellen C. Moyer, administrative assistant II in Eberly College of Science.
Jack E. Moyer, manager, materials and cable assignment in Computer and Information Systems-Telecommunications.
Norma J. Muck, staff assistant V in Continuing and Distance Education.
Todd E. Myers, network coordinator in Computer and Information Systems-Telecommunications.
Robert E. O'Connor, systems engineer II in Computer and Information Systems-Administrative Systems.
Mark F. Paige, senior network coordinator in Computer and Information Systems-Telecommunications.
Laureen M. Palmer, staff assistant VIII in Applied Research Laboratory.
Virgil N. Perry, counselor at Penn State Delaware County.
This page was updated by Chris Koleno.
J.L. Duda