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Penn State will celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 19, with
a keynote address delivered by Yolanda King, daughter of the slain
civil rights 
leader. King will deliver her remarks at 7:30 p.m. on
Monday, Jan. 19 in Eisenhower Auditorium on the University Park campus.
Born in Montgomery, Ala., two weeks before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, Yolanda King has been in the midst of the struggle for human rights all her life. The oldest child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, Yolanda King has participated in numerous civil and human rights demonstrations and has spoken before countless religious, educational, civic and human rights groups.
Yolanda King graduated with honors from Smith College with a B.A. in theatre arts and African-American studies. She earned her MFA in theatre from New York University and performed in several showcases and off-Broadway productions.
Throughout her career, Yolanda King has combined her involvement in human rights with her artistic pursuits.
Yolanda King's presentation is free and open to the public. Watch for more information on upcoming events planned for Penn State's Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.
C. Kristina Gunsalus, associate provost of the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign, will present "Professional Ethics and Research
Integrity: 
National Issues, Local Challenges" at the Penn
State Forum from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 25. The Forum will
be held at The Nittany Lion Inn on the University Park campus.
Gunsalus has been responsible for conflict-of-interest and academic integrity policies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. A licensed attorney, Gunsalus serves on the committee on research integrity for the Association for American Medical Colleges and the committee on scientific freedom and responsibility for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Her presentation is sponsored, in part, by Penn State's Academic Leadership Forum.
The Penn State Forum is a lunchtime speaker series sponsored by the Penn State Faculty Staff Club and the Penn State Bookstore. Tickets are $10 and include lunch. Reservations can be made by contacting the Faculty Staff Club office in 110 HUB. Departments may reserve 10-person tables in advance; tickets will be on sale at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. followed by the speech at noon. For more information, call (814) 865-7590.
In the coming months, the Forum series will continue with the following tentative lineup of speakers, with topics yet to be announced:
* Jan. 19 or 23: Jesse Arnelle, president of Penn State's Board of Trustees and attorney and senior partner with Arnelle, Hastie, McGee, Willis and Greene of San Francisco.
* Feb. 5: C. Peter Magrath, president NASULGC, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.
* March 5: James Cuno, director, Harvard Museums.
* April 16: David K. Scott, chancellor, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will discuss "Learning to Change: The University as a Learning Organization."
Jack Sheinkman, former president of the Amalgamated Clothing and
Textile Workers Union (ACTWU), will visit the University Park campus from
Nov. 
30-Dec. 4 as the 1997 Distinguished Labor-Leader-in-Residence.
As part of his stay, Sheinkman will give a public lecture at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, in Kern Auditorium.
A graduate of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations and Cornell Law School, Sheinkman began his career with ACTWU in 1953. He served as the union's general counsel, secretary treasurer and vice president, before being elected president.
As part of his work with ACTWU, Sheinkman has played an active role in working to achieve greater equality and justice in the workplace and in promoting civil rights. He has served as commissioner of the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission, co-chair of the Economic Policy Commission of the United Nations Association, and as a member of the President's Committee on Trade under presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton.
Following his retirement from ACTWU, Sheinkman was named chairman of the board of the Amalgamated Bank of New York, which was founded by the union in 1923.
The Distinguished Labor-Leader-in-Residence program is co-sponsored by the Department of Labor Studies and Industrial Relations and the College of the Liberal Arts.
Explore the various issues affecting Pennsylvania's wildlife conservation efforts as Richard Yahner, professor of wildlife conservation, presents "Wildlife Conservation and the Original Nittany Lion" at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, at The Nittany Lion Inn on the University Park campus.
A Penn State alumnus, Yahner helped rescue the "Original Nittany Lion," now on display in Pattee Library, from the University of Pittsburgh. Yahner's research interests concern the dramatic changes in Pennsylvania's forests and the resulting extinction of several wildlife species, including the mountain lion -- the original Nittany lion.
Yahner's free presentation is part of this fall's Huddle with the Faculty, a Penn State Alumni Association continuing and distance education service that features presentations by top Penn State faculty before every home football game.
For more information on upcoming speakers in this year's Huddle with the Faculty series, contact Mary Jane Stout, alumni continuing education, at (814) 865-LION (5466).
College students are invited to the Gay and Lesbian Area College Conference (GLACC) on Friday, Nov. 21, at 4:30 p.m. in the Large Conference Room of the Commons Building, at Penn State Delaware County.
The keynote speaker will be Robert Drake, producer of WXPN's weekly gay radio program "Q'zine." The conference is sponsored by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Friends Alliance and the Office of Student Life of Penn State Delaware County.
The conference is being held to provide a networking opportunity to area college students in the southeast part of Pennsylvania. The goal is to initiate a link between college and university gay, lesbian and bisexual student groups and to provide a social network where all groups can effectively use their own resources within the community.
Admission is free and dinner will be provided. For more information or to register for the conference, call (610) 892-1207, or e-mail BLH126@psu.edu.
Jeffrey Masten, Gardner Cowles associate professor in the humanities at Harvard University, will discuss "Reading the Commonplace; or, The Interpretation of Dreams, c. 1610," at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, in 107 Wartik Laboratory on the University Park campus.
Masten, who teaches in the English department at Harvard, is the author of Textual Intercourse: Collaboration, Authorship, and Sexualities in Renaissance Drama (Cambridge, 1997). He has also co-edited Language Machines: Technologies of Literary and Cultural Production (Routledge, 1997), and has published numerous articles on print, manuscripts and material textuality. He is currently an NEH fellow at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Jim Pederson of Clearfield County, a phlebotomist with the
American Red Cross, talks with licensed practical nurse Stacey Summerville,
a Red Cross collections specialist from Gallitizin while collecting a blood
donation from Cindy Phillips, Office of Physical Plant landscaper. Phillips
gave blood at the Hetzel Union Building Ballroom on the University Park
campus during the kick-off drive for the fourth annual Penn State-Michigan
State Blood Donor Challenge. The event continues through Friday, Nov. 21,
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the HUB Ballroom.
Photo: Greg Grieco
Penn State's final home football game of the season against Wisconsin on Saturday, Nov. 22, will be televised by ABC Sports.
The network announced it will regionally televise this Big Ten contest from Beaver Stadium at 3:30 p.m. EST. Previously announced, the Nittany Lions' game against Michigan State, at Michigan, on Nov. 29 also will be broadcast at 1 p.m.
Come visit the Penn State Golf Shop on the University Park campus after that big turkey dinner on Friday, Nov. 28, to purchase items at discounts from 20 percent to 40 percent off. The golf shop is fully stocked with items for your holiday purchases. The golf shop will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To participate in another holiday sale, stop by the golf shop on Thursday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 8 p.m. The shop will be decorated with helium-filled balloons, which contain a coupon with a number that will match a list of discounts from 25 percent to 100 percent. Choose your merchandise and a balloon will be popped at the counter to reveal your discount. Holiday refreshments will be provided in the 19th hole. The Penn State Golf Courses are located at 1523 West College Avenue, State College. Call (814) 863-0257 for more information.
The Forum on Black Affairs will be hosting its 23rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Banquet on Thursday, Jan. 15, 1998, beginning at 6 p.m. The banquet takes place at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in the President's Hall, on the University Park campus. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children (12 and under), or $210 for a reserved table of 10. Tickets may be obtained at the Paul Robeson Cultural Center, or for table reservations, by e-mailing pgh1@psu.edu.
The Penn State Call Center Services Office, formerly operator information, will be closed Thursday, Nov. 27, for the Thanksgiving holiday. It will resume normal hours of 7: 30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28.
Anyone with questions can contact Penny Confer at (814) 865-6881.
Mail service to the University community will be suspended from 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23, until 8 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5, due to the holiday season.
Only buildings that currently receive direct delivery from the U.S. Postal Service will receive mail during this time. To find out if your building is eligible to receive incoming U.S. mail, please call Paul Fetzer at (814) 865-9171 or Gregg J. Asciutto at (814) 863-8153 before Dec. 12, or check with the facilities coordinator for your academic/administrative area. Arrangements will be made with the U.S. Postal Service for eligible buildings to receive mail if desired. Buildings that do not receive direct delivery will receive mail after the University resumes operations on Jan. 5.
Mail Services requests that all excess interoffice envelopes be returned to 108 Business Services Building in order to facilitate equal distribution to all departments. Also, please return any mail tubs that are being used for office storage. A critical shortage has occurred with these items and your help is needed.
Because of the increase of standard 'A' mailings presented to Addressing Services during the month of December, it may not be possible to process standard 'A' bulk mailings that come in after Dec. 10 until the new year.
In an effort to keep the University Park campus litter-free, everyone is asked to place all announcements on the general-purpose bulletin boards. Announcements posted in other areas, such as trees, doors, windows, buildings and other University structures, will be removed by Physical Plant employees. Due to the high cost of removing unauthorized announcements, the organization responsible will be charged for removal.
* Enlightening Lunch --Depression ... It's More Common Than You Think!
Do you feel tired or have low energy most days? Have you recently experienced a major loss or life-changing event? You may be experiencing depression. Come to this session to learn more about the signs and treatment of this prevalent affliction. Meets Friday, Dec. 5, from noon to 1 p.m. in 110 Henderson Building (The Living Center) on the University Park campus. Cost: None. To register, contact Jan Hawbaker at (814) 865-3085 or JQH3@psu.edu.
To register for these or other Human Resource Development Center programs on the University Park campus, complete the registration form found in the back of the Fall HRDC catalog, and fax to (814) 865-3522.
* Managing and Organizing Your Electronic Files, PRO 002 -- Improve your Windows-based filing systems and enhance your information management skills. Dec. 8, 10 a.m. to noon, 116 Wagner Building. Cost: $35
* Becoming an Exceptional Assistant, PRO 050 -- Dec. 10 and 12, 1:30-4:30 p.m., 118 Agricultural Sciences Building. Cost: $89
* From Frazzled to Focused: Positive and Productive Telephone Skills, COM 045 -- Dec. 10, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 319 Rider Building. Cost: $99
* Planning and Implementing Strategies for Organizational Change, LDR 057 -- Dec. 12, 8:15 to 11:15 a.m., 319 Rider Building. Cost: $44
The University Faculty Senate will meet at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, in room 112 Kern Graduate Building on the University Park campus. Some of the items to be addressed are:
* Final report and recommendations of the special committee on general education (legislative)
* Reserved spaces program (informational)
* Report of high school students enrolled in nondegree credits courses (informational)
* Faculty retiree rights and privileges (informational)
* Faculty rights and responsibilities annual report for 1996-97 (informational)
* Annual report of academic eligibility and athletic scholarship for 1996-97 (informational)
* Alcohol-abuse issues related to organized student housing (informational)
* Grade distribution report (informational)
* Mid-semester evaluation process 1992-96 (informational)
* Costing of special committee on general education report (informational)
Members of the University community may attend this meeting. Any member of the University community not a member of the Senate may request the privilege of the floor on any item of business already before the Senate. Such a request must be made to the chair, through the executive secretary of the Senate, at least four calendar days before the meeting at which the individual wishes to speak.
Do you know the authentic origin of the word "Nittany"? How well do you know other aspects of Penn State lore? Now you can test your knowledge, thanks to a new quiz offered on the Office of University Relations Web site. You might even win a prize.
"What is a Nittany Lion?" is a joint effort of University Relations, the Center for Academic Computing, the Penn State Archives and the Penn State Bookstore. It consists of 25 multiple-choice questions. The address is http://www.psu.edu/ur/quiz/. Respondents who answer all 25 questions, regardless of how many they get right, will be eligible for prizes to be awarded in a random monthly drawing. Prizes consist of Penn State T-shirts, caps, posters or other University-related items courtesy of the Penn State Bookstore.
"The quiz measures how much you know about the University and gives you a chance to increase your understanding of Penn State," said Michael Bezilla, director of development communications and special projects in University Relations. "But we wanted it to be entertaining as well, so we've included some just-for-fun questions and answers." A co-developer of the quiz, he based part of the content on his book, Penn State: An Illustrated History.
Doug Stanfield, coordinator of information technology in University Relations, developed the concept of using the quiz as an interactive medium to connect the University to alumni and others. When visitors check their answers at the end of the quiz, they will find descriptive background information about each question.
The quiz was programmed by former graduate student Senaka Balaskurya, who worked in CAC. Graduate student Shrikant Vijay Ranade maintains the program. University Archivist Leon Stout also contributed photos and information.
