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The new Penn State id+ card was created to be both more secure and more versatile.
By Pam Seasoltz
Special to Intercom
It's a new look and new options for the Penn State ID card. Rolling out at the end of spring semester for students, faculty and staff will be the new Penn State ID card -- id+. The card, featuring the Nittany Lion Shrine, will include several optional services in addition to being the University's photo identification card. The new card will feature options such as banking and long-distance phone services.
The new card will be issued between spring and summer semester and full implementation is expected by fall. A carding event will be held in April at University Park to re-photograph and issue new cards to the campus population.
According to Thomas Gibson, assistant vice president for auxiliary services, the new card will continue to be used in the same manner as the old card but will now offer capabilities of several cards in one.
"First and foremost, the new id+ card will serve as the official Penn State photo ID. And it will continue to allow students, faculty and staff access to University services such as library, meal plans, building and lab access, and sporting events," Gibson said. "However, the id+ symbol indicates you can also have additional services and still only carry one card. It can be used on or off campus, is convenient, yet is still personal."
A major new option available to cardholders is they may elect to sign up with local banks to use their Penn State ID card as an ATM card. Although the number of banking institutions that will be participating in the program has not been finalized, Gibson said the University is hoping that most banks near the University will want to participate.
"The exciting thing about this option is that we are creating a network of participating banks. A lot of colleges have done the one card program with only one bank. But we are the first to do it with a multiple bank application. Our goal is to have the major banks in the state be members of our network," he said.
The University has contracted with the Penn State Federal Credit Union to act as the network administrator for all banks participating in the program.
The new card also will feature an optional AT&T calling card service for students. If student cardholders choose the calling card option, a calling card number will be printed on the back of their cards and a PIN number will be issued.
Another noticeable change to the new ID card is the deletion of the nine digit student number from the front of the card to provide increased privacy and security. In its place will be a 16-digit card number which will be used in banking and other card-reading applications. The nine digit student number has not changed and is still used as the primary student identifier in the University's administrative system. The new cards also will not include a signature.
As a first step in initiating the new card, the University upgraded its ID card production system. Across the state, each campus ID station is networked to a common database that stores cardholder photo images. Since the images are stored, lost cards can be replaced quickly and easily without having to retake the photograph.
"The new system has reduced the turnaround time for getting a new ID card from two weeks to several minutes," Joel Weidner, ID project manager, said.
Gibson said he believes the new card is going to generate a lot of interest in the community, as well as across the state and country.
The magnetic encoding on the card's stripe also has been changed to accommodate the new applications. Departments currently reading the magnetic stripe on the ID card may obtain the encoding specifications for the new ID card by writing to Weidner at 133 Housing and Food Services Building, University Park, Pa. 16802.
For more information on the new ID program, check the Web at http://www.hfs.psu.edu/IDCard/id+ or e-mail Weidner at jlw2@psu.edu.
Dickinson School of Law
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Staff attorney appointed
Marritz, a graduate of Swarthmore College and the University of Colorado School of Law, is on leave from his position as managing attorney of the Gettysburg office of Legal Services Inc. In his position with the law clinics, Marritz assists faculty members in supervising law students who represent low-income residents of Cumberland County with family or disability law matters. Marritz is a longtime member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Civil & Equal Rights Committee, which he currently co-chairs. He is past president of the Adams County Bar Association and for several years taught philosophy of law at Gettysburg College. He has published a law review article about the Pennsylvania Constitution and is one of the principal authors of a series of community education pamphlets used by Legal Services offices throughout Pennsylvania. He has been a legal assessment commentator for the American Bar Association's Central and East European Law Initiative program. |
Vice dean welcomed to campus
Navin, who served as dean of the law school from 1987 to 1989, succeeds the late Peter N. Kutulakis. As vice dean, Navin will continue to serve as chair of admissions and financial aid and will oversee the career services, management information services, plant and grounds offices, and the Cafe Per Se. He also will be responsible for non-academic student counseling and will serve as director of Business Services and as human resources representative. Before coming to Dickinson, Navin taught at the University of San Diego School of Law for 14 years. Before that, he taught at Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Ore., and was in private practice in Seattle. He has been active in the law school admission council and the Association of American Law Schools. During the summer of 1994, he served as director and professor for the University of San Diego's Dublin (Ireland) Institute on International and Comparative Law. He has both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Connecticut. |
Special projects consultant joins team
Nicely is a 1969 graduate of St. Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa., and a 1974 graduate of the law school. He previously served in various positions with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for more than 22 years. From 1995 to 1997, he served as the director, Bureau of Transportation and Safety. He has been active with the Pennsylvania Bar Association and is a former chair of the PBA's Public Utility Law Section. He is a life fellow of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation. |
College of Medicine appoints
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Penn State DuBois appoints
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Robert S. Arp has been named director of development and
external affairs at The Dickinson School of Law. Arp will oversee the law
school's ongoing fund-raising and capital campaign activities.
Donald Marritz has been named staff attorney for the
family and disability law clinics at The Dickinson School of Law.
Michael J. Navin has been appointed vice dean of The Dickinson
School of Law.
Ken Nicely has been appointed special projects consultant
at The Dickinson School of Law. In this position, Nicely will work primarily
in the career services and continuing education offices, but also will assist
with student recruitment.
Edward O. Bixler, professor of psychiatry in the College
of Medicine and director of the sleep laboratory at The Milton S. Hershey
Medical Center, has been appointed to the University Chair in psychiatric
research within the College of Medicine.