Log in to the CAAIS Web site at http://caais.psu.edu/.
Penn State should be able to move into the Year 2000 without any major difficulty with its computer systems, the Board of Trustees was told May 15.
"Year 2000 at Penn State can best be described as work in progress," Kenneth Babe, University corporate controller, said. "So far, our assessment is that we are handling the situation well. Of course, there always will be problems in an institution as technologically advanced as Penn State, but we feel those problems that do arise will be small."
Fortune 500 companies have told the Securities and Exchange Commission they anticipate spending $11 billion dealing with the so-called Year 2000 problem which involves computers that use two digits to identify years, such as 98 for 1998. Without a fix, these computers will not be able to distinguish the century change to 2000 on Jan. 1, 2000.
Babe said Penn State's internal and external auditors have found that the University's central systems for budgeting, finance, human resources, payroll, inventory management, student billing, student services, alumni and fund-raising are under control.
"The managers of these systems started in the late 1980s to use four-digit years as a standard. Although there are a few areas that remain to be corrected, the central systems on a whole are under control."
Internal auditors are more concerned about distributed computer systems that are beyond the scope of central offices.
"In the past decade," Kenneth Blythe, director of the Offices of Administrative Systems (OAS), said, "Penn State has successfully automated most of its routine business, student service, academic and research activities to the point that computers and microcomputers are pervasive in all organizational units of the university. The latest count is that there are 38,000 computers in the Penn State network, each of them with a potential Year 2000 problem."
To address these computers, the auditors recommended that OAS, under Blythe's leadership, serve as Penn State's Year 2000 coordination office. In this capacity, OAS is:
* serving as the focal point for Year 2000 questions.
* increasing awareness of Year 2000 computing issues.
* assessing the impact of the Year 2000 problem on Penn State.
* renovating the remaining central systems that need to be made compliant.
* working with the Purchasing Department to ensure that new computers and software are Year 2000 compliant.
To assist OAS in its efforts, 48 staff members, appointed as Year 2000 officers in each college, campus and budget unit of the University, are working together to divide the distributed Year 2000 problems into their constituent parts.
"Using modern e-mail conferencing tools, these officers are communicating on a regular basis," Blythe said, "and are addressing Year 2000 concerns in a stepwise fashion from the most critical to the least critical concerns in that order."
Four principal areas of concern identified by Year 2000 officers are (1) mission-critical computers, (2) desktop microcomputers, (3) network servers and (4) embedded systems.
"To date, they have focused on mission-critical computers and corrective action being taken in each case," Blythe said. "While there are quite a number of these mission-critical systems to be addressed, none of them is of sufficient magnitude to raise alarms.
"It is a tribute to the managers of each of these systems that they have plans, have identified funds and are on the trail to remediating each of these systems before Jan. 1, 2000.
Log in to the CAAIS Web site at http://caais.psu.edu/.
By Alan Janesch
Public Information
Since fall 1997, Penn State students have used CAAIS, the University's online advising and information service, for hundreds of thousands of transactions that otherwise would have required them to phone or visit their advisers, write a letter or pay a visit to Shields Building. Long after regular business hours, they've used CAAIS to do things like find out how many more credits they need to graduate, look at course descriptions and class schedules for the coming semester, check their cumulative grade-point averages, and change their home address information.
CAAIS -- pronounced "kaz" by the University-wide project team that put the service together -- stands for Comprehensive Academic Advising and Information System. It's a highly reliable, one-stop source of information, available via the World Wide Web, that's key to good advising and education planning.
University Registrar J. James Wager told the Board of Trustees that more than 600 students a day, on the average, tap into CAAIS.
"We have developed CAAIS around a vision of providing service to currently enrolled students as well as future students who are likely to arrive with an even higher degree of information technology expectations," Wager said.
"We also have developed CAAIS around a vision of using technology to supplement the advising process. One CAAIS keystone is that it has been built around the expertise of many of Penn State's best academic advisers."
One of the most useful parts of CAAIS is its interactive advising module, which allows students to check key academic records, calculate their grade-point averages and examine the implications of their grades, and determine what kind of semester average they'll need to earn to get a cumulative grade-point average at a certain level. First-year students can use interactive advising to get early results of freshman testing, see what courses they've tested out of and make an early decision on what to schedule for their first semester at Penn State.
Starting June 1, Wager said, students will be able to register for courses online, using the OASIS component of CAAIS, which allows students to view their own records -- for information on class schedules, grades, unofficial transcripts, loan status and other financial information. Features allowing registration and academic withdrawal will be released soon, and work is progressing on features that will allow students to choose a major and faculty to submit their end-of-semester grades.
In addition to OASIS, which stands for Open Access to Student Information Systems, CAAIS includes the following subsystems:
* academic and advising references, which provide links to sources of information in areas such as advising procedures, University programs and courses, career assistance, continuing and distance education, administrative offices, and policies and rules;
* faculty services, which enables faculty members to receive their class lists through CAAIS;
* an advisers services module, which provides pertinent information on students' academic activities and achievements to advisers only; and
* an index, which provides links to a CAAIS list of topics and includes keyword search engines for CAAIS topics and a broader range of Penn State topics.
CAAIS works by accessing and displaying data from ISIS, the Integrated Student Information System. Security and confidentiality are given a high priority. Students can access the information only by entering a valid user ID and password, and the information is displayed on the screen without displaying any names -- in case the students are using CAAIS in a computer lab or other public space where others could be looking over their shoulders.
The system warns students to exit CAAIS and close the World Wide Web browser before leaving the computer. But even if students leave their information displayed on the screen, inquisitive passersby won't be able to link the information with a particular student, since names or identifying numbers are not displayed.
Wager said his office views CAAIS as a process for continually improving service and information and is working continually to expand and improve the system.
"In this sense, the CAAIS project may never really end," he said.
Lares Building, a student center at Penn State Abington,
will be renovated and will gain a 14,000-square-foot addition.
Preliminary plans for additions and renovations to Lares Building, a student center at Penn State Abington, were approved by the Board of Trustees on May 15, as designed by Highland Associates of Clarks Summit.
Lares Building, originally constructed in 1923 with an addition in 1966, will be expanded by 14,000 square-feet and renovated to improve circulation and increase student activities space. It will also increase food service and bookstore spaces and improve access for people with disabilities. The design will unify the exteriors of the original Lares Building and the 1966 addition. The total budget for the project is $5.13 million.
In the first phase of the project, the space between the two wings of Lares will be filled in using a stone exterior. This phase includes the creation of a lower lobby; bookstore facilities relocated from the first floor with a separate entrance; and second floor offices and conference room. Phase two will include a lower portico entry to a multi-purpose room, study space and the bookstore as well as a terrace above it open to a dining room addition.
The board also approved the purchase of several properties near Penn State campuses to either allow for campus expansion or to eliminate the possibility of adverse nearby or adjacent development. Approved were the purchase of the Deplachett property near Penn State Erie; the Miller property commonly known as the "DuBois property" adjacent to Penn State DuBois; and the Keystone Financial Trust property in Carlisle for long-term needs at The Dickinson School of Law (see story below).
The Board of Trustees on May 15 approved the granting of the honorary doctorate of humane letters to legal historian John Hope Franklin and the honorary doctorate of science to Nobel Laureate physicist Leon M. Lederman at the December 1998 commencement ceremonies.
John Hope Franklin is the James B. Duke professor emeritus of history and professor of legal history in the Duke University Law School. Among his publications are The Emancipation Proclamation; The Militant South; The Free Negro in North Carolina; Reconstruction After the Civil War; A Southern Odyssey: Travelers in the Ante-bellum North; and perhaps his best known work, From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans, now in its seventh edition. His most recent book is My Life and an Era: The Autobiography of Buck Colbert Franklin, who was his father, and in progress is Dissidents on the Plantation: Runaway Slaves.
A graduate of Fisk University, he received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history from Harvard University and has taught at Fisk University, St. Augustine's College, North Carolina Central University, Howard University and was chairman of the Department of History at Brooklyn College and the University of Chicago.
Leon Max Lederman, director emeritus of Fermilab, belongs to the small group of theoretical and experimental physicists who revolutionized our understanding of the subatomic world. He participated in the discovery of the K-meson particle and the non-conservation of parity during muon decay and, with Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1988 for the identification of the muon neutrino. The design of ever-more powerful accelerators enabled them to find the first anti-matter particle in 1965 and the bottom quark in 1977. The top quark was discovered at Fermilab in 1994.
Lederman won the National Medal for Science in 1965 and the Wolf Prize in Physics in 1983. He received a B.S. in chemistry from City College of New York and a master's degree and Ph.D. in physics from Columbia University, where he joined the faculty and remained for nearly 30 years.
The Board of Trustees on May 15 approved a proposal to create a School of Languages and Literatures in the College of the Liberal Arts. The purpose of the new school is to promote and facilitate the study of foreign and second languages and literatures.
Susan Welch, dean of the college, said the new school "will promote innovation and interdepartmental collaboration in language and literature teaching and research, and will house a graduate minor in second language acquisition. It also will provide an administrative and academic home for any new languages that we might decide to offer but which might not fit within the missions of existing language departments."
The new school will "serve as a point of innovation, cooperation and interchange among all the language and literature units, whether they're inside or outside of the school," Welch said. "In addition, it will facilitate conferences, symposia and speakers series, coordinate collaborative grant proposals, house visiting scholars and help to promote interdisciplinary education abroad programs that center on language and literature."
Included in the new school will be the Department of Comparative Literature; the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages; the linguistics program; the Center for Second Language Acquisition, which focuses on technology-assisted learning of second and foreign languages; and the Max Kade German-American Research Institute, a center for studying German immigration to America and how German immigrant life and culture have blended into the social and cultural fabric of the United States.
The creation of the new school will become effective July 1. The school's director will be named and announced around June 1.
The Board of Trustees on May 15 authorized The Dickinson School of Law to purchase a Carlisle property for $1.5 million to use for library storage and administrative functions.
The property at 310 Allen Road, Carlisle, housed the former Financial Trust Corp. operations center. It includes an 18,980-square-foot main administrative office complex and a 10,000-square-foot storage warehouse, together located on almost 11 acres on the western edge of Carlisle Borough, near Exit 12 of Interstate 81.
Law school officials said there are no plans to increase enrollment at the 164-year-old institution, but rather to use the facility for library storage and administrative and student offices.
Law school Dean Peter Glenn said the purchase is subject to certain conditions related to environmental and zoning issues. The purchase, however, said Glenn, affirms the law school's commitment to Carlisle following its affiliation with Penn State last July and allows the school to acquire much-needed space without disrupting the residential neighborhood in which it is located.
"We have long felt the need to find additional space for library and other storage and for administrative and student functions," said Glenn. "The Allen Road property is ideal, particularly the warehouse, which will provide a convenient, climate controlled storage facility for infrequently used parts of our library collection."
Work is progressing on the physical changes to Pattee Library on the
University Park campus. In addition, the Libraries are undergoing
organizational changes that promise to improve service.
Photo: Greg Grieco
By Alan Janesch
Public Information
The Board of Trustees on May 15 approved a new organizational structure for the University Libraries that will align units for better coordination and delivery of services.
The new structure is geographical rather than functional, placing University Park libraries under an associate dean for University Park libraries and libraries at other locations under an associate dean for campus college libraries.
"The new organizational structure reflects the growing importance of libraries at Penn State campuses across the state and the growing need for information services since the launching of Penn State's World Campus and growing interest in distance education initiatives," said Nancy L. Eaton, dean of University Libraries. "It also recognizes the increasingly integrated nature of services and operations across the University Park libraries."
The World Campus, launched in January with two online courses, is an educational institution with no walls, where learning is accomplished via the Internet and other new information technologies. As envisioned by University leaders, it is a distinctive outreach campus of the University that will eventually offer a broad spectrum of educational activities beyond the existing Penn State system.
Currently under construction at the University Park campus and slated for completion by fall 1999 is the Paterno Library, which will significantly increase the size of University Park's main Pattee Library. The project also includes renovation of existing space. The five-story expansion will add 110,000 square feet of floor space to the 130,000 square feet that already exists in the west, central and east wings of Pattee.
When completed, the new Pattee and Paterno Libraries will include subject libraries with specialized holdings in life sciences, humanities, arts, social sciences, business and education, a new library for special collections, and state-of-the-art information retrieval and telecommunications technologies.
No new administrative positions will be created to implement the libraries' new organizational structure. Under the reorganization, library-wide offices such as public relations, human resources, facilities, and development will report directly to Eaton. The positions of associate dean for University Park libraries and associate dean for campus college libraries are reconfigurations of existing positions. A third existing position will be reconfigured as assistant dean for technical and access services.
The reorganization also will help the University libraries system carry out its growing role in instruction, Eaton said.
The Office of Greek and Community Life is exploring a number of new initiatives in an effort to counteract declining fraternity and sorority membership and the problem of alcohol use and abuse, the Board of Trustees was told on May 15.
A report on the status of the University's 61 fraternities and 25 sororities -- the largest number of chapters at any university in the country -- was presented by Andrea Gaspardino, director of Greek and Community Life, and Brad Nestico, president of the Interfraternity Council and brother of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.
New programs instituted at the University include "Our Chapter, Our Choice," a peer-facilitated program that addresses the norms of a chapter in terms of alcohol use and abuse, and "Greeks Advocating the Mature Management of Alcohol."
"There has been a steady decline in membership in Greek organizations over the last seven years, both nationally and at Penn State," Gaspardino said. "Many students today don't join any club or organization since their main goal is to do better academically in an effort to get a better job. There also is a financial concern.
"Another major factor is the negative publicity and information about hazing and alcohol abuse in Greek organizations, part of which is true. As a result, it may not be attractive for some students to join."
To counteract that trend, she said the Office of Greek and Community Life is encouraging movement toward a national trend of more value-based education.
"We're also moving toward a substance-free recruitment period that we hope will help increase membership. And we're planning to develop a social policy that will be more consistent with the individual chapter policies and help reduce risk."
At Penn State, the Office of Greek and Community Life is responsible for advising three major councils: Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Council and the National Pan-Hellenic Council. It is working closely with the newly-formed Greek Alumni Interest Group and also provides advising for a number of special annual events, including Homecoming, Spring Week and Greek Week, the Dance Marathon, and Ebony and Ivory Week.
Another trend cited by Gaspardino was the continued involvement of Greek organization members in community and philanthropic projects. She noted that a community service project, participation in the Red Ribbon Walk, was added to this year's Spring Week activities, and that the annual IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, which raised more than $2 million this year, will move in 1999 to Recreation Building on the University Park Campus.
"I have faith and confidence that the Greek community will see the value and merits of the new initiatives we have undertaken," she said. "We recognize that we have problems, but I know that members of the Greek community are willing to confront them."
If the University were to form a School of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn State would quickly be positioned as a national leader in integrating information sciences and technology into the curriculum. That was the finding of a 14-member strategic planning group, commissioned last December by President Graham B. Spanier.
"The school will integrate studies in information science and technology with core competencies in management, communications and other fields," Spanier said to the Board of Trustees on May 15. "This will expand and strengthen the number of technology graduates at Penn State, as well as increase the technology skills of students in every field."
In addition to providing a high-quality education to students, the University always has been concerned with the competitiveness of Pennsylvania's workforce, Spanier said. The degree programs which would be launched at all of the University's undergraduate locations through this school are good examples of that commitment.
Specifically, the report recommends:
* New educational opportunities leading to associate, baccalaureate and graduate degrees, as well as minors and certificates;
* Interdisciplinary approaches that capitalize on University strengths at all locations;
* A fundamental academic core that stresses analytical and problem-solving abilities, and builds strong communication, teamwork and project management skills;
* Leading-edge research and outreach programs, including distance education and the World Campus;
* Strategic partnerships with industry and government; and
* Positive impacts on economic and workforce development.
A special committee of the Faculty Senate will review the full report over the summer, and is expected to bring the proposal before the full Faculty Senate in the fall.
By Karen I. Wagner
Public Information
The Center for Counseling and Psychological Services -- better known
as CAPS -- provides a wide variety of counseling services, from facing a
crisis to coping with day-to-day stress. The Board of Trustees got an update
on CAPS at its May 15 meeting on the University Park campus.
In a typical academic year, CAPS serves nearly 2,000 students, offering individual counseling, psychological and psychiatric evaluations. Individual and group therapy address topics such as alcohol abuse, sexual assault, eating disorders, diversity issues, test anxiety and depression. CAPS also offers consulting services to colleges and departments at all Penn State locations.
While most students cope successfully with the demands of college life, for some, the pressures can be overwhelming and unmanageable. Students may feel alone, isolated, helpless and even hopeless -- feelings that can disrupt academic performance and result in harmful behaviors such as substance abuse and suicide attempts. Even students who do not feel overwhelmed will benefit from CAPS programs, including its Personal Issues Series, covering topics such as roommate problems, homesickness and coping with loss.
"Our role is to aid students in adjusting to college and life circumstances in general," said Dennis Heitzmann, director of the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services. "We make that transition more comfortable, and help restore a sense of order."
Restoring order in the midst of crisis aptly describes the role CAPS played in the aftermath of the shooting on Penn State's HUB lawn during the fall semester of 1996. CAPS staff contributed to the Student Affairs crisis team, monitoring and offering counseling to students. In the six weeks following the crisis, counseling sessions increased by 81 percent.
On a day-to-day basis, the CAPS staff helps faculty and staff detect student distress -- before it becomes a crisis. At the beginning of the 1997 fall semester, the CAPS brochure, Students in Distress: A Guide for Faculty and Staff, was mailed to all faculty and staff at the University Park campus. Faculty and staff members who have frequent contact with students are in a unique position to spot the warning signs. Among those signs:
* a marked change in academic performance or behavior;
* unusual behavior or appearance; and
* references to suicide, homicide or death.
The CAPS staff recommends that faculty and staff talk with students in private, when they suspect that the student is having personal problems. They should listen with sensitivity and avoid criticism, while maintaining the professional nature of the faculty/student, staff/student relationship. The goal for faculty and staff is not to solve the problem for the student, but to help them understand their options and give them hope.
The brochure emphasizes that when referring a student for professional help or counseling, it's important to remind them that help is available, and that seeking help is a sign of strength and courage, rather than a sign of weakness.
"It may be helpful to point out that seeking professional help for other problems -- medical, legal, financial, etc. -- is considered good judgment and an appropriate use of resources," said Heitzmann.
Faculty and staff can refer students to CAPS or other campus and community organizations. CAPS is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. After hours and on weekends, students in crisis are advised to call the Centre County CAN HELP crisis line at (800) 643-5432.
"At CAPS, for one hour per week, students can have an adult figure's undivided attention," said Heitzmann. "It is a confidential, protected and comfortable place, where students can explore serious concerns and private matters."
The Board of Trustees on May 15 approved an interim maintenance and operating budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. It was approved at the same level as the 1997-98 total operating budget of $1,412,620 for all divisions, including the College of Medicine at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and all auxiliary enterprises.
"The University adopts an interim budget so that it has an approved fiscal operating plan from July 1 until the new 1998-99 budget is approved at the July Board of Trustees meeting," said Gary Schultz, senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer. The final 1998-99 total operating budget will be submitted for approval at the July 9-10 Board of Trustees meeting at Penn State Erie.
The board took no action on changes in tuition, salaries and wages, employee benefits or other necessary expense increases.
By Karen I. Wagner
Public Information
Penn State alumni and delegates of agricultural and industrial societies elected two new members and re-elected five incumbents to serve on the Board of Trustees in elections held Thursday, May 14, at the University Park campus. All will serve a three-year term beginning July 1.
Joining the board as new members elected by the alumni are Steve A. Garban and Dr. Paul V. Suhey. Garban is a 1959 graduate and senior vice president of finance and operations/treasurer emeritus of Penn State. Suhey is a 1979 graduate and an orthopedic surgeon now practicing in State College.
Re-elected to the board by the alumni is Barry K. Robinson. Robinson is a 1967 graduate and vice president and deputy general counsel for the Recording Industry Association of America Inc.
Re-elected by the agriculture society delegates are Roger A. Madigan and Boyd E. Wolff. Madigan, a 1951 graduate, is a state senator representing the 23rd senatorial district. Wolff is a 1953 graduate and member of the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission, and is the former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
Re-elected by the industrial society delegates are Edward P. Junker III and L.J. Rowell Jr. Junker is a 1960 graduate and retired vice chairman of PNC Bank Corp. Rowell, a 1955 graduate of Penn State, is retired chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Provident Mutual Life.
Garban is a director of Metropolitan Life Series Fund in New York and State Street Research and Management Mutual Funds in Boston. He was an officer of the University for 22 of his 33 years at Penn State; 10 years as controller and 12 years as senior vice president and treasurer.
Suhey was chief of orthopedics and director of sports medicine at Riverside Hospital and vice chairman of orthopedics at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Jacksonville, Fla. He co-founded the Atlantic Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center and was clinical assistant professor at the University of North Florida.
Robinson served as senior counsel for international investment and trade in the U.S. Department of Commerce before joining the Recording Industry Association of America. In 1987 he received the Department of Commerce's Silver Medal Award in recognition of his work on the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement.
Madigan served as state representative in the General Assembly from the 110th district until 1984 when he was elected a state senator representing the 23rd senatorial district. He serves as chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and vice chairman of the Senate Local Government Committee.
Wolff served the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as secretary of agriculture from 1987 to 1995. He has received numerous awards from agricultural organizations throughout Pennsylvania. He has served as a VOCA volunteer in Venezuela and Russia.
Junker joined Marine Bank in 1964 and rose through numerous management positions before being named an executive vice president in 1972. He was elected president in 1974 and chief executive officer in 1983. In 1984, Marine Bank merged into PNC Bank. He was elected chairman and CEO of PNC Bank Northwest PA and vice chairman of PNC Bank Corp. Junker continues to represent the bank externally since his retirement in March of 1997. He was elected vice president of Penn State's Board of Trustees in January 1996 and president in 1998.
Rowell was a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and served on active duty from 1955 to 1957. He is retired chairman of the board, president and CEO of Provident Mutual Life. He serves on the boards of directors of the Southeast Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross, the PMA Group, the American College and the Foundation at Paoli.