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Ruth Ann Bast has been appointed director of the Center for Hospitality,
Recreation, Tourism, Outreach and Research. As director, Bast will be responsible
for facilitating research opportunities and educational outreach
programs for the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Recreation Management in
the College of Health and Human Development.
Before assuming her current position, Bast was manager of customer relations for Penn State Executive Programs in The Smeal College of Business Administration.
A member of the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Recreation Management faculty since 1994, Bast's teaching interests include management, marketing and corporate finance. She holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Penn State and an MBA in finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Bast was a sales manager at the Penn State Conference Center in 1993. Before that, she was assistant director of trade show productions at the Houston Astrodome and a senior financial analyst at Sun Oil Co. in Radnor, Pa.
Phillip Bolda has been named director of development for University programs. Bolda joins the Office of Regional and University Programs within the Division of University Development and Alumni Relations.
He will work with donors and initiatives in several programs, including undergraduate student life, undergraduate academic programs, research and the Graduate School and international programs.
Bolda began his development career within higher education in 1980. He served as director of the annual fund for Ripon College and Colorado College; director of development at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, Saint Anselm College; and director of development at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He comes to Penn State from Northern Illinois University, where he was major gifts officer for the College of Business.
He received his undergraduate degree from Ripon College in 1975, with majors in English and political science. He received his MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management in 1978.
Richard D. Cupelli, instructor of business logistics, will serve as acting campus executive officer of Penn State Fayette. He replaces August H. Simonsen, who retired, and will serve in that role until a permanent CEO is named. In addition, James Crawford, associate professor of physics, has been named acting director of academic affairs.
Cupelli, who served as acting CEO at Penn State Fayette in 1991-92, has experience in campus administration. He served on the Commonwealth Educational System Strategic Planning Committee and provided leadership in the creation of the Commonwealth College.
Most recently, Cupelli served as acting director of academic affairs at Penn State Fayette.
As the new acting director of academic affairs, Crawford, a faculty leader and University faculty senator, is responsible for academic program planning and evaluation; faculty recruitment, assessment and development; planning and budget administration; and grant writing.
George W. Franz, associate professor of history and American studies at Penn State Delaware County, has been named acting director of academic affairs. Franz is replacing Madlyn Hanes, who has accepted the position of campus executive officer at Penn State Great Valley.
Since joining the Penn State Delaware County faculty in 1968, Franz has received numerous awards including the Outstanding Teacher Award in 1989, the George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1990, the Liberty Bell Award in 1992 and the College of the Liberal Arts Outstanding Faculty Adviser Award in 1993.
Franz received his B.A. from Muhlenberg College and his master's degree and doctorate from Rutgers University. Franz's scholarly and research interests include American colonial and revolutionary history, and colonial and revolutionary Pennsylvania.
A research committee is being formed to select a permanent director of academic affairs.
Lynne I. Goodstein has been named associate dean of the Graduate School for operations and planning.
Goodstein, professor of administration of justice and women's studies, joined the faculty in 1978 as assistant professor in the administration of justice department. She was promoted to associate professor in 1984 and to professor in 1994. She served as director of the Women's Studies Program from 1987 to 1994, and as a member of the University's Graduate Council from 1993 to 1996.
The author or editor of four books, 14 book chapters and 30 articles, Goodstein's scholarly interests include rape and the victimization of women; women in the criminal justice system; institutional and curricular concerns of women's studies programs; criminal sentencing; correctional institutions; and evaluation of the impacts of criminal justice reform.
Goodstein earned her Ph.D. in social psychology from the City University of New York. She is an associate editor of the journal Criminology and a member of the editorial advisory board of the American Journal of Criminal Justice. In 1996 she was elected executive counselor of the American Society of Criminology.
As associate dean, Goodstein will be involved in strategic planning and implementation activities; budgetary matters related to Graduate School operations; the deliberations of selected Graduate Council committees; preparation of special reports and analyses of graduate education issues; and representing the Graduate School on various committees and organizations internal and external to Penn State, including the Graduate School Alumni Society.
J. Philip Jenkins has been named distinguished professor of history
and religious studies in the College of the Liberal Arts. His broad scholarly
interests include British history from the 17th through the 19th
centuries; Catholic history and contemporary Catholic issues; the history
of right-wing extremism in the United States; American social and political
history ca. 1920-1960; the social construction of stereotyped "dangerous
outsiders" such as cult groups, child molesters and serial killers;
and new religious movements.
Since 1979, he has published 10 books; more than 90 articles and book chapters; and 50 reviews. His 1994 book, Using Murder: The Social Construction of Serial Homicide, won the Outstanding Book Award of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the Distinguished Scholar Award of the Crime and Delinquency Section of the Society for the Study of Social Problems. Among his other recent books are Pedophiles and Priests: Anatomy of a Social Crisis (1996) and Hoods and Shirts: The Extreme Right in Pennsylvania c. 1925-1950 (1997).
Jenkins received his doctorate in history in 1978 from the University of Cambridge, England. In 1980, he was appointed assistant professor of criminal justice at Penn State. He has been professor of history and religious studies since 1993. In 1992, he became director of the Religious Studies Program. He was honored in 1996 with the Class of 1933 Award for Distinguished Humanities Scholarship at Penn State.
Jenkins teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in administration of justice, history and religious studies and serves on numerous department, college and University committees.
After nine years as an officer with Indiana University of Pennsylvania's campus police department, David Tedjeske has accepted the position of chief of police services at Penn State Altoona. He replaces Bob Archey, who retired. The Johnstown native, a graduate of Bishop McCort High School, was a sergeant with IUP's police department in charge of criminal investigations. Tedjeske earned an undergraduate degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1987 and a master of arts degree in 1993.
Morris Weinstock, instructional programmer for the Center for Academic Computing Education Technology Services Division, has been promoted to manager of the Computer Accounts Office.
Weinstock had been an instructional programmer with Penn State's Education Technology Services (formerly CBEL) in the Center for Academic Computing since November 1990. Before his employment with Penn State, Weinstock worked as a database and instructional programmer with the Du Pont Co.
He has a bachelor of arts degree in computer science from the University of Delaware with a minor in psychology. While a student at the University of Delaware, he worked with instructional technology and the PLATO system.
Weinstock has presented at many conferences and has taught several national seminars on instructional development tools. He has developed a number of instructional programs and tools, and had managed technical support for ETS. He also is the past chair of the Commission on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equity.
To register for these or other Human Resource Development Center programs, complete the registration form found in the back of the Fall HRDC catalog and fax it to (814) 865-3522.
LEADING THE TRANSFORMATION, LDR 056 -- Learn strategies for communication, cooperation and empowerment. Sept. 23, 1:30-3:30 p.m., 319 Rider Building. Cost: $29.
POWERFUL COMMUNICATION SKILLS, COM 005 -- Sept. 24, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., 319 Rider Building. Cost: $89.
THE SCRIBE'S ROLE: CONSTRUCTING MEETING MINUTES THAT WORK, COM 049 -- Sept. 25, 1-4 p.m., 319 Rider Building. Cost: $44.
WRITING SKILLS, COM 006 -- Sept. 25, 9:30 a.m. to noon, 319 Rider Building. Cost: $199.
INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE, COM 023 -- Sept. 26, 8:30-11:30 a.m., 319 Rider Building. Cost: $44.
Shaver's Creek Environmental Center will hold its annual Family Wildlife Arts Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28. Celebrate Pennsylvania's wildlife with Shaver's Creek, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and several area wildlife artists. Admission is $2.50 per person for members and non-members, with children age 3 and under admitted free. Proceeds benefit the wildlife at Shaver's Creek.
As part of the festival, the Game Commission will sponsor an amateur wildlife photography contest. To submit photos to the contest, contact Don Garner at (814) 643-1831.
The center has a variety of other activities planned for September. Registration is required for each program.
* Beaver Tales at Dusk, Sept. 19, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
After an introduction at the center, stroll to the cove to listen for the slap of a tail and to glimpse these fascinating creatures. Fee: non-members, $4; members, $3; children 12 and under, $2.50
* Beginning Birdwalk, Sept. 20, 7 to 9 a.m.
These programs are designed to teach the basics to beginners, but experienced bird watchers also may join the group and share their expertise. Fee: non-members, $4; members, $3.
* Local hike, from the top of Big Flat, Sept. 21, 1 to 4 p.m.
Meet in the parking lot of the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg to carpool to the trailhead for this three-mile, level hike. Enjoy the great views overlooking Bear Meadows and the surrounding ridges and learn about local flora and fauna. Fee: non-members, $5.50; members, $4.
For information on membership or any of the programs, call (814) 863-2000 or (814) 667-3424, or visit the center's Web site at http://www.cde.psu.edu/ShaversCreek/.
The Fifth Annual Penn State Engineering Society Golf Classic will be held Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Penn State Blue Course on the University Park campus. Tee-off begins at 9 a.m. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit the society's newly established endowment for undergraduate student scholarship. The Golf Classic is a scramble format and is open to the public. A barbecue lunch will follow the game.
For more information on registration or sponsorship, contact Cindy Jones, director of alumni relations, College of Engineering at (814) 863-3384; e-mail cjjdo@psu.edu.
The Penn State chapter of the National Association of Science Writers will hold its first meeting of the academic year at noon Tuesday, Sept. 30, in 201 Kern Building on the University Park campus. The group will catch up on summer experiences and plan the next series of meeting topics.
NASW brownbag lunch-time programs are open to anyone interested in science communication. For more information, contact A'ndrea Messer at (814) 865-9481 or e-mail aem1@psu.edu.
* The Penn State University Cooperative Wetlands Center, Millbrook Marsh Nature Center and Children's Museum of Centre County are sponsoring "It's Wet! It's Wild! It's a Day at Millbrook Marsh!" for children ages 8-14 from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4. Sleuthing through the marsh, searching for beaver and muskrat, peering at scuttling water critters through a microscope, birdbanding and sculpting at the water's edge are a few of the activities youths will experience at the Millbrook Marsh Nature Center. Cost: $20 for museum members, $25 for non-members. Scholarships are available for this event. To register for either program, call (814) 237-5555.
* The College of Engineering and Children's Museum of Centre County present "Shocks, Shorts and Shenanigans" for children ages 10-12 from 4-5:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Oct. 8 to Nov. 12. This is a hands-on introduction to basic concepts of electrical engineering and how they are used in everyday devices. Participants will explore static electricity, magnetism, motors and generators, radios and computer logic. Cost: $60 for museum members, $75 for non-members.
The Institute for the Arts and Humanistic Studies has announced the proposal deadline for the next funding period (January-June 1998). Proposals for individual faculty grants, faculty research groups and planned programs are due at Ihlseng Cottage on the University Park campus by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15. Guidelines may be obtained from 103 Ihlseng or by calling (814) 865-0495.
The closing date for receipt of Evan Pugh Professorship nominating materials is Friday, Oct. 31. All nominations must be submitted in accordance with established guidelines and should be sent to the dean of the academic college in which the nominee is appointed. For current nomination guidelines, call (814) 863-9580, e-mail vxi2@psu.edu or visit 304 Old Main, University Park.
A revised edition of the Staff Employee Handbook has been issued to all full-time staff employees by the Office of Human Resources and can now be accessed online. This online version will be updated regularly in order to reflect changes in University policies, services and facilities.
In addition, benefits forms and information are now available online.
To access the handbook on the Web, go to http://www.ohr.psu.edu/erelations/staffhandbk.htm; for benefits forms, go to http://www.ohr.psu.edu/benefits/forms.htm; and for benefits information, go to http://www.ohr.psu.edu/benefits/benefits97.htm.
Comments about the handbook should be sent to Angela Johnson, Office of Human Resources, at amj109@psu.edu.
The University Libraries Do-It-Yourself Searching Service is available Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. in 105 East Pattee Library.
This service gives students, faculty and staff a chance to do their own computer searches using a choice of more than 150 dial-up databases in a variety of subjects. Self-study guides provide users with the basic skills needed to do searches, but for best results users are advised to consult a librarian in their subject area. The search process is similar to CD-ROM searching but more databases are available, and it provides more years of coverage. For University students, faculty and staff, many searches are provided free of charge.
For more information, contact the search service coordinator at (814) 865-3705 or jah@psulias.psu.edu. To make an appointment, call the Life Sciences Service Desk at (814) 865-7056.
The 1998 Senior Class Gift Committee is seeking proposals from anyone in the University community for an appropriate gift. Proposals can be detailed plans or simple ideas.
The committee is looking for a gift that would cost about $100,000 and would benefit the most students for the longest period of time. Gift proposals will be reviewed by a volunteer committee of students, faculty and administrators and placed on a ballot for senior class voting.
For more information, contact committee chair Paula Shaki or committee adviser Sue Powell at (814) 863-2052. Proposals are due Tuesday, Sept. 23, and may be delivered to 17 Old Main or e-mailed to srclgift@psu.edu.
Because the Emc2 mail system was eliminated on July 3, the mail hosts @OAS.PSU.EDU and @PSUADMIN are obsolete. Mail sent to these hosts is undeliverable. References to these obsolete addresses on Web pages also should be updated.
For a listing of alternatives for Emc2 features and functions, visit the Web at http://www.oas.psu.edu/news/emc.htm.
Students, faculty and staff now have access to the world's most comprehensive interdisciplinary engineering database through the Web. CompendexWeb, the Web-based version of the Compendex database, covers engineering literature such as journal articles and conference papers from 1970 to the present. More than 220,000 abstracts are added each year.
Located at http://cpxweb.ei.org, the system logs visitors on automatically if they are connecting from an on-campus computer or via a Penn State access account. Compendex Web will replace the EIP database and the Compendex CD-ROMs as the University Libraries' primary database access to the engineering literature.
The College of Education has selected Richard Wise as chair of
its committee for the capital campaign, Penn State's comprehensive
fund-raising effort.
Wise will serve as a spokesperson for the College of Education's goals and objectives, enlist other volunteers to serve on the campaign committee, accompany staff on solicitation visits and provide guidance and leadership.
He is president and co-founder of Valuenet International Inc. in Hartford, Conn., a management consulting firm that provides strategic planning, executive training and development, inventory management, overhead expense reduction and other services. Before starting Valuenet, he was director of corporate training for The Travelers.
Objectives of the campaign, the monetary goal of which has not been set, include:
* Providing undergraduate scholarships to keep education at Penn State competitive, affordable and accessible; and merit scholarships to retain the brightest and best students.
* Investing in graduate education fellowships to recruit and retain exceptional students in the college's master's level and doctoral programs.
* Investing in faculty enhancement, teaching and training to attract and retain outstanding faculty.
* Providing endowment support to sustain the Penn State Educational Partnership Program (PEPP), an early intervention program for at-risk middle and high school students designed to increase retention and graduation rates, and to encourage post-secondary education.
Wise received his master's (1976) and doctoral (1980) degrees in instructional systems at Penn State. He and his wife, Kathy, who received a master's degree in counselor education from Penn State in 1977, have been long-time supporters of the University. Throughout the years, the Wises have made many financial contributions to the college. They belong to both the Mount Nittany and the Atherton societies.
Children and adults alike enjoyed last year's Great Insect
Fair, sponsored by the Department of Entomolog. This year, the fair will
be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, in and around the Ag
Sciences and Industries Building on the University Park campus. Those attending
the fifth annual event will see insects perform amazing feats of strength
and agility -- in relative terms -- at the Insect Olympics and Peep Show.
In addition to such attractions as cockroach races, children and their families
will be able to match their own physical skills to those of six-legged competitors.
The day also will feature "Water World," an exhibit of aquatic
insects; displays of social insects, such as ants and honey bees (including
a live, working hive); an insect petting zoo; tours of the Frost Entomological
Museum; displays on garden pests; fly-tying demonstrations; insect collections
and collectors; balloons, face-painting and an insect puppet show; and an
Insect Deli, where delicacies such as mealworm stir-fry and chocolate-covered
chirpies (crickets) will be served. Admission is free, although donations
will be accepted. Free parking is available in the Orange A lot at the corner
of Curtin and Bigler Roads. For more information,
call the entomology department at (814) 865-1895.
File photo courtesy of the College of Agricultural Sciences
Bob Archey, Penn State Altoona's chief of police services, has announced his retirement. He has been with the University for 37 years.
Archey began his career at Penn State in 1961 with University Park's Ordinance Research Lab, now the Applied Research Lab. In 1971, he took a position with University Park's campus security patrol.
"I always had an interest in law enforcement," said Archey, who has since graduated from numerous law enforcement academies and classes.
During his 14-year stay at University Park, Archey, a resident of Tipton, helped in the unit's transformation into an armed campus police department.
In 1985, Archey moved to Penn State Altoona and aided that campus security force's transition to an armed unit.
While Archey said he will miss the camaraderie of working with Altoona's faculty, staff and students -- and working Penn State football games -- he will occupy his time fishing, biking and working with Pennsylvania's Game Commission.
William C. Brown, senior extension agent in College of Agricultural Sciences, from Dec. 1, 1964, to July 1.
John L. Hershbine, senior research programmer in Computer and Information Systems, Center for Academics, from Aug. 31, 1979, to July 1.
Patsy L. Hollobaugh, staff assistant IV in the University Libraries, from Sept. 19, 1967, to June 30.
Charles V. McCullough, director of sports clubs in Intercollegiate Athletics, from Sept. 1, 1971, to June 30.
Jane Meyers, residence hall, utility worker in Housing and Food Services, from March 2, 1982, to June 28.
Mary Strauss Noll, associate professor of English and women's studies at Penn State New Kensington, from Sept. 1, 1974, to July 1.
Joyce A. Parsons, staff assistant V in College of Agricultural Sciences, from May 1, 1972, to June 28.
Robert M. Peters, senior project associate in College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, from July 1, 1974, to June 30.
Ron Petak, Penn State Altoona registrar, has retired after 29 years of service. Petak, an avid golfer who is involved in several church activities, spent all of his years as campus registrar while occassionaly teaching classes.
Yoshimitsu Takei, associate professor of education in College of Education, retired Sept. 1, after 27 years of service.
Chris Minson, left, doctoral candidate in kinesiology, and
his adviser, W. Larry Kenney, professor of physiology and kinesiology, prepare
to run tests on Gretchen Keisling. Minson is studying the differences in
tolerance to heat in healthy young and old subjects.
Photo: Greg Grieco
By Barbara Hale
Public Information
In extreme heat waves, young and old don't suffer alike. A study has found that, although both the healthy young and old may report similar discomfort, tolerate similar temperature levels and endure similar exposure times, their cardiovascular responses are very different. Even at rest, healthy men over age 64 had a decreased ability to pump and redistribute blood to the skin to cool their body core in extreme heat. The older men's hearts also had to work harder compared to a group of men 18 to 27 years old.
Christopher T. Minson, doctoral candidate in kinesiology, and his adviser, W. Larry Kenney, professor of physiology and kinesiology, conducted the study.
"During heat waves, older individuals who don't have air conditioning -- particularly if they have heart disease -- need to be in cooler surroundings since the chance of them having cardiovascular problems is significantly increased," Minson said. "Even average healthy older people should be careful and get into cooler conditions to minimize the strain on their hearts."
The study was specifically designed to examine the heat stress sedentary older people experience during serious heat waves like the one in Chicago in 1995 during which 733 people died. Kenney said, "When older people die during a heat wave, they usually are not exercising. They are typically sitting in a very hot room without air conditioning. And they seldom die of heat stroke; rather there is almost always an underlying cardiovascular cause."
In the experiments, eight men 64 to 81 years old and eight men 18 to 27 years old donned special body suits that rapidly raised their skin temperature to just below the pain threshold, about 108 degrees Fahrenheit. The suits have a system of tubing through which the experimenters piped water kept at 122 degrees.
Catheters in each arm and one threaded through a vein to a position just above the heart were used to measure the men's blood flow to the skin, the liver and the kidneys as well as the filling pressure of the heart. The heart's pumping capacity also was monitored. The men were asked to rest quietly in the heat until they couldn't take it anymore.
Minson said the older men's outward appearance wasn't different from the younger ones' during heating and their reports of how they felt didn't differ either. Their tolerance to the heat stress also was similar. The shortest exposure time, 45 minutes, was recorded by an older man but so was the longest exposure time, 85 minutes.
However, their skin blood flow was markedly different as was the energy expended by the heart to pump blood. The younger men experienced increased skin blood flow 2.5 times greater than that observed in the older men.
"The hearts of the older men were just not doing the job that the younger ones' were doing. The older individuals' left ventricles were stressed much more by the heating than the younger ones'," Minson said.
The study is the first to examine a very high level of heat stress in old and young people at rest.
Television and radio advertising for beer and wine reinforces brand loyalty but does not significantly increase either consumption or demand, a study shows.
In addition, the graying of America may be responsible for a decline in U.S. per capita consumption of alcoholic beverages since the late 1970s.
"The drop in per capita consumption of ethanol or pure alcohol is attributable to an increase in the proportion of the population aged 65 and over and simultaneous decline in the proportion of the population aged 18-29," said Jon P. Nelson, professor of economics.
Studies have already shown that alcohol use declines with age, especially among the elderly, and the proportion of abstainers increases with age for both sexes.
"Thus, government policy makers would be ill-advised to issue laws and regulations affecting alcohol advertising in the hope that these will automatically drive down consumption," Nelson said. "My published studies have already shown that state bans of price advertising and restrictions on billboard advertising on alcohol beverages do not lead to a reduction in drinking."
Nelson used quarterly data for 1974-90 to weigh the significance of economic and demographic factors on patterns of alcohol consumption.
Total alcohol consumption in the United States has not increased since the mid-1980s and is now at about the same level as in the mid-1960s, Nelson said. Measured on a per capita basis, liquor consumption has been declining since 1975, beer since 1980 and wine since 1985.
"Three possible explanations may account for this," Nelson said. "First, advertising in slow-growth industries does not create demand. Product sales determine the level of advertising, rather than the reverse."
Second, increases and decreases in advertising around some base level are often associated with the introduction of new products. A prime example would be the growth and decline of consumption and advertising of wine coolers. Third, advertising in slow-growth industries affects how much of the market the individual brand has captured, with little or no effect on overall demand for that product.
"The overall aging of the American population is proving more effective at reducing alcohol consumption than anti-advertising campaigns could probably ever be, since advertising does not seem to affect the total amount of alcohol consumption," Nelson said.