| News | . . . . | Arts | . . . . | Calendars | . . . . | Letters | . . . . | Links | . . . . | Deadlines | . . . . | Archive |
You may not know the face, but if you watch Weather World
on WPSX-TV you undoubtedly know the voice of Paul Knight, instructor of
meteorology. Knight does the a voice-overs for the program.
Photo: Greg Grieco
Members of the University Park campus community have several resources for the latest announcements on class or work delays or cancellations related to severe weather.
The most immediate source is WPSU-FM, Penn State's National Public Radio station, at FM channels 91.5; 90.1 in DuBois; and 106.7 and 91.5 in Altoona. Subscribers to TCI Cable Television in the State College and Bellefonte areas also can hear WPSU radio on TV Channel 7 between scheduled programming.
As soon as the decision is made to change class or work activities, that information will go to WPSU for immediate broadcasting. If necessary, WPSU will give periodic updates throughout the day or night. WPSU-FM reaches listeners throughout central and northern Pennsylvania, covering most of the normal commuting radius to University Park. The station also reports on similar weather-related announcements for the Altoona and DuBois campuses.
Individuals also can call (814) 865-4000 to hear major weather-related announcements repeating information broadcast by WPSU-FM radio. The service is coordinated by the Department of Public Information and the Office of Telecommunications. Centre County media also will be notified and asked to broadcast any class or work changes related to severe weather.
"Basically, the University never closes," David Stormer, assistant vice president for safety services, said. "Even in recent storms when classes and offices were actually canceled, essential services and operations continued as usual. For example, laboratory and farm animals had to be cared for, students in residence halls needed meals, and the many operating systems that support our buildings and laboratories had to continue functioning. Several units such as Safety Services, The Nittany Lion Inn and the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel are always open."
Factors in the University's decision making differ greatly from those factors considered by area public schools, Stormer said. University officials look more closely at hazardous conditions, such as the downing of electrical power lines and trees on the road, or the loss of street lighting and traffic signals.
During delays or closings, employees in essential services and operations are expected to report for work in most circumstances, and should contact their supervisor in advance with any questions about their status.
Employees also might review "Handling 'Weather Day' Absences" on the Web at http://www.ohr.psu.edu/policy/hrg10.htm. It spells out how time off and time worked are handled when there is an official closure.
Campaign contribution cards are being distributed on the University Park
campus this week as the 
1997 United Way Campaign moves into
its major stage.
"With Penn State being the biggest employer in Centre County, the University Park campaign has a very obvious impact on our efforts," said John Haas, Centre County United Way Campaign chair. "Historically, approximately one-third of the money raised comes from the Penn State effort. Those who benefit represent a cross-section of all of Centre County."
Haas said efforts are being made to integrate the University Park campaign more directly into the countywide program.
"Last year, for the first time, loaned executives from the University were assigned throughout the county and those from the community were assigned on campus. We are doing it again this year and it has been very positive in terms of coordination between town and gown."
The Penn State campaign steering committee also participated for the first time this year in the United Way's Pacesetter Campaign, raising more than $10,000.
"We hope to involve additional University groups as part of our Pacesetter Campaign next year," Haas said.
Haas attributes the success of the United Way Campaign over the last several years to the University Park campaign.
"With a lot of hard work, we expect that success to continue this year," he said.
A plan to upgrade and improve undergraduate education at Penn State that focuses on active learning, new approaches to teaching, and the idea of continuously improving both was presented to the University Faculty Senate at its Oct. 21 meeting.
The Senate discussed the proposal for an hour, focusing on two of the plan's 10 recommendations -- one that requires first-year students to take a special first-year seminar and another that requires three credits in health sciences rather than the currently required four credits in health science and physical education.
But as intended, the Senate took no vote on the plan. Now the Senate will take the plan to the wider University for additional feedback and bring it back to the Senate for a final vote on Dec. 2. At that meeting the Senate's University Planning Committee will present a costing report on implementing the plan's recommendations.
Since February 1996, a Special Committee on General Education created by the Senate has been taking a hard look at undergraduate education at Penn State. The committee's 10 recommendations (Intercom, Oct. 16) are intended to ensure that the general education program gives students both the skills they'll need in an increasingly competitive international economy and a broad understanding of scientific, cultural and artistic events and accomplishments.
Robert N. Pangborn, chair of the committee and associate dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Engineering, said the committee's report was a forward-looking plan that places a large emphasis on continually assessing and making adjustments in the curriculum where necessary to continue improving the quality of learning.
During the discussion, some Senate members urged that the first-year seminars be more cross-disciplinary than the committee language seemed to call for and also spoke against the committee's recommendation to restructure the health sciences requirement.
In response, Pangborn said that committee members want to encourage "as creative and cross-disciplinary a collaboration (on first-year seminars) as we can possibly inspire faculty to produce" and feel that they have proposed a flexible, broad-based health sciences requirement that emphasizes an academic approach to health issues and allows physical activities that should focus on lifelong wellness and fitness.
Pangborn suggested that Senate members send possible amendments directly to him and Louis F. Geschwindner, chair of the Senate. He urged that amendment language be sent to the Senate office in advance of the Dec. 2 meeting. The meeting will be held at 1:30 p.m. in Room 112, Kern Building.
In other business, the Senate approved a policy revision that would allow no more than 91 credits of previous work to be applied to a degree for a student changing from one college to another, from one major to another, or from the Division of Undergraduate Studies from a College. The Senate also heard informational reports on faculty salaries by gender, faculty insurance and benefits, tenure issues, University Planning Council activities, and the University's 1997-98 budget.
To view the complete committee report, point your Web browser to http://www.psu.edu/president/cqi/gen_ed/cover.htm.
James Pawelczyk, the assistant professor in the College of Health
and Human Development who was chosen to be a payload specialist aboard the
U.S. Space Shuttle next year needs help.
Pawelczyk, assistant professor of physiology and kinesiology, is the first Penn State faculty member ever selected to go to space aboard the shuttle. When he blasts off in the Space Shuttle Columbia on April 2, 1998, he will carry a Penn State item with him in the Official Flight Kit, and now Pawelczyk wants student input on what that item should be.
NASA allows only certain kinds of items in the Official Flight Kit for safety reasons. The allowed types of items include: flags, banners, emblems, decals, seals, patches, small medals or medallions, anything made of cloth and anything made of paper (as long as it can be folded). The items will be hermetically sealed and will not be opened in-flight. After the flight, the item will be returned for display.
Students at all Penn State campuses are eligible to make suggestions.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to make students aware of this unique opportunity.
Suggestions received before Dec. 1, will be reviewed by President
Graham B. Spanier and NASA to determine suitability for space flight.
Students should send your suggestion via e-mail to Shuttle Flight Kit at
np3@psu.edu; campus mail at Shuttle Flight
Kit, 312 Old Main; or U.S. mail, Shuttle Flight Kit, 312 Old Main, Penn
State, University Park, Pa. 16802.
The items can relate solely to Penn State or to Penn State and some aspect of the shuttle mission. Some of the items previously flown by Penn Staters aboard the space shuttle and now housed in the collections of the Penn State Room in Pattee Library include: photographs, a flag, flight patches and bumper stickers.
Pawelczyk is one of two primary payload specialists on the Neurolab mission, designated STS-90. The other is Jay C. Buckey, associate professor of medicine at Dartmouth Medical School, who served as an alternate on the second Spacelab Life Sciences mission. Payload specialists conduct experiments in space on behalf of ground-based investigator teams.
Neurolab, a 16-day mission, is dedicated to research on the nervous system and behavior. Its goal is to increase the understanding of the mechanisms responsible for neural and behavioral changes in space. Pawelczyk has studied irregularities in blood pressure control associated with deconditioning. Many astronauts experience problems with blood pressure after returning from a flight, and some crew members have reported bouts of dizziness and unsteadiness for several hours after returning to Earth. To determine the cause of these changes, some of the experiments to be conducted aboard Neurolab will use the astronauts themselves as subjects.
Pawelczyk will be the first faculty member and the fourth Penn State graduate to fly aboard the shuttle.
The president's office has put out a call for nominations for individuals eligible to receive the Faculty Scholar Medal, which recognizes scholarly and creative excellence. The medal will be awarded to individuals in up to five different scholarly areas, including arts and humanities, engineering, life and health sciences, physical sciences and social and behavioral sciences. For information on the deadlines for submitting nominations and accompanying materials, check with the Dean's Office in the individual colleges. Deans at University Park should submit final rankings of the recommendations from their areas to the Vice President for Research, 304 Old Main, University Park, Pa. 16802, by Jan. 8, 1998. This is a change from previous years when the deadline was early February. Campus executive officers and deans from areas outside of University Park, should submit recommendations to the dean of the Commonwealth College or the dean of the Graduate School (as appropriate) by Dec. 5.
The Faculty Scholar Medals, established by the Board of Trustees in 1980, will be given at the University Awards Program on Sunday, March 29.
Those eligible for the Faculty Scholar Medal include faculty members holding full-time academic appointments, with professorial, research or librarian titles, as well as individuals who are full-time instructors or assistant librarians. The achievement for which the faculty member is to be honored should have occurred or culminated during the preceding five years. Special attention should be given to the objective of honoring "a single contribution or a series of contributions around a coherent theme."
Nominations must include biographical data, a detailed description of the achievement itself and documented evidence in the form of letters substantiating the claim of the national or international importance of the achievement, specifically citing the value of the recent work. Renominations from the previous year are acceptable. A committee of faculty peers reviews nominations and selects candidates' names to be sent to the president. Selection panels, one in each of the five main scholarly areas, are currently being identified.
On April 21, 1998, the Center for Quality and Planning will sponsor a Quality Conference at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. The conference will precede the sixth annual Quality Expo, which will be held in The Nittany Lion Inn on April 22 on the University Park campus.
The conference theme is "Building Structures that Support Quality Initiatives in Colleges and Universities." An agenda is currently being planned and a call for proposals is being distributed to past and current CQI team sponsors and leaders. Proposals for presentations, workshops or panel discussions are solicited in four thematic strands that focus on processes and structures that support change.
You are invited to propose a session. Quality conference thematic strands are:
I. Leadership's Role in Gaining Institutional Support
Quality-Speak: Leaders describe lessons learned using the Baldridge in education integration of quality principles into core processes;
II. The Customer Focus
Obtaining Customer Feedback; Responding to students as stakeholders: Collaborative learning industry/education quality partnerships; Improving services to customers
III. Teaming for Success
Creating an environment for teams; Maintaining team momentum
IV. Benchmarking Best Practices
Examples of best in class case studies in process benchmarking
If you would like to submit a proposal for a 60-minute concurrent session, interactive session, or workshop on any of these topics, or if you would like to discuss ideas for sessions in any of the conference themes, please contact Carol Everett, associate director, Center for Quality and Planning, at (814) 863-8721 or e-mail cle2@psu.edu. Proposals are due Nov. 24.
For more information about Continuous Quality Improvement, please contact Louise Sandmeyer, executive director of the Center for Quality and Planning, at (814) 863-8721, LES1@PSU.EDU or see the center's Web site at http://www.psu.edu/president/cqi.
|
|
|
|
Observing 25 years of service at the University are, from left: Lynn M. DuBois, assistant director, administration, Housing and Food Services; Char Myers, staff assistant VII with the Alumni Association; William J. Scheuchenzuber, research assistant in the Life Sciences Consortium, Office of the Vice President for Research; and Sandy Thompson, administrative assistant to the vice president for Development and Alumni Relations. Not pictured, but observing 25 years of service at the University, is Peggy L. Stewart, staff assistant VII, Office of Student Aid.
