| News | . . . . | Arts | . . . . | Calendars | . . . . | Letters | . . . . | Links | . . . . | Deadlines | . . . . | Archive |
Steve Allison, facilities mechanic for Farm Operations in
the College of
Agricultural Sciences, does a little bit of repair work to equipment. Farm
operations employees help raise crops for research projects. They also repair
and service equipment for the research barns and other areas of the University.
Photo: Greg Grieco
Mary Jean Smeal, 77, one of the most prominent benefactors
to Penn State's educational programs, died at her home in Rumson, N.J. on
Thursday, March 12. Her husband, Frank P. Smeal, survives.
Mary Jean and Frank Smeal graduated in Penn State's class of 1942, she with a degree in arts and letters and he with one in economics. They married the same year. Her father was a professor in, and former head of, Penn State's Department of Botany.
The Smeals were joint supporters of many University projects. The Mary Jean and Frank P. Smeal College of Business Administration was named in their honor in 1989 following a $10 million gift.
The Smeals shared a love of literature and, in addition to their gifts to The Smeal College, they gave $1 million in 1980 to establish an endowed faculty chair in literary theory and comparative criticism. In 1982, they established the Katey Lehman Creative Writing Awards in memory of Mrs. Smeal's sister. In 1983, they established the Henry W. Popp Graduate Assistantship in Botany and Plant Pathology in honor of Mrs. Smeal's father.
The couple also has supported Penn State DuBois, where Mr. Smeal, a native of Sykesville, Pa., began his college studies. An academic building on that campus is named in memory of Mr. Smeal's mother. Other gifts to the University from the Smeals have supported the Matson Museum of Anthropology and the University Libraries.
Donations in memory of Mrs. Smeal may be sent to The Pennsylvania State University, Office of University Development, 1 Old Main, University Park, Pa. 16802, or to the American Cancer Society.
Robert William Ott, 63, of Bellefonte, formerly of State College, died Friday, Feb. 27
He earned three degrees from Penn State, completing post-doctorate work at the University of London, with research at the Victoria Albert Museum, the Tate Gallery and the National Gallery. He was professor emeritus in the College of Arts and Architecture and was the international Fulbright adviser.
He was a member of the University Faculty Senate; a vice president of the National Art Education Association, eastern region; a distinguished fellow of the Pennsylvania Art Education Association in 1994, Art Educator of the Year in 1993, and Pennsylvania Art Educator of the Year in 1992.
"Commitment to Community" is the theme for Open House '98 at Pennsylvania College of Technology. The annual event will be held on Sunday, March 29, from noon to 4:30 p.m., at Penn College's main campus in Williamsport as well as its Aviation Center at the Williamsport Regional Airport, Earth Science Center near Allenwood, and North Campus near Wellsboro.
Among the visual highlights at the main campus will be an 18-wheel, General Electric truck featuring innovations in plastics, an electronic 'insect' navigating a 'city' of children's blocks, a keyboarding tournament, and the launch of a giant weather balloon. Information sessions aimed at enriching the lives of visitors include healthy cooking demonstrations, a "Pets Have Teeth Too" presentation, waste water analyses, a look at job trends, and various health care screenings and presentations.
Penn College's Open House draws more than 15,000 visitors each year. For more information, call the college at (717) 327-4761 or (800) 367-9222.
The seventh edition of Residential Architecture: Design and Drafting, written by Ernest R. Weidhaas, professor emeritus of engineering graphics, and Mark D. Weidhaas, alumnus of Penn State's building construction engineering technology program, has been published by Delmar Publishers of Albany, N.Y.
The text includes plans and photographs of a contemporary atrium home, a traditional two-story English garrison home, an A-framed solar home and a multi-level modular home. It also features a five-story commercial building of bolted and welded steel, and an award-winning community church.
A comprehensive student workbook and an instructor's manual, both keyed to the textbook, were published concurrently.
