Penn State DuBois
appoints head librarian
Lisa A. Beinhoff has joined the faculty as head librarian at Penn State DuBois. She is a former assistant professor of library science at Emporia State University in Kansas.
At DuBois, Beinhoff's acquisition efforts will focus on expanding sections relevant to the five programs introduced at the campus during the 1990s.
The Penn State DuBois library currently houses more than 35,000 volumes and serves as the gateway to Penn State's 4-million volume library system.
As a professional librarian with managerial experience, Beinhoff has developed expertise in collection development; the installation of new library systems; the purchase of computer hardware and software; and staffing. Her research interests lie in issues involved in teaching library cataloging and classification systems; diffusion and adoption of personal computers; uses and gratifications theory applied to personal computers; electronic copyright and intellectual property issues; and the history of women's publications.
Beinhoff holds a doctorate from Syracuse University in mass communications with a specialization in the adoption and use of personal computers by undergraduate students. Both her M.L.S. in library information science and B.F.A. in theatre, with honors, were earned at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
She has a number of professional affiliations, has been awarded many grants and honors and is author of numerous professional papers and several book chapters. Beinhoff conducts copyright workshops and has served as a speaker at several national and international professional gatherings. She has also accepted leadership roles in community activities.
Commonwealth College
welcomes assistant to the dean
Gail G. Gilchrest has been named assistant to the dean of the Commonwealth
College. 
Gilchrest's primary responsibility will be to provide
leadership for the student records and student academic actions for the
college. In this role she will work collaboratively with college staff and
faculty, as well as with college and University administrators, on issues
related to both the administration of University academic policies and the
development and management of protocols for student records at the 12 campus
locations. She also will assume responsibility for various projects and
activities of the college.
Gilchrest has been with Penn State since 1980, most recently as admissions officer at Penn State Shenango. Earlier appointments at Shenango were with the Division of Undergraduate Studies and Career Services. She has served on Commonwealth College committees including strategic planning, student academic records and student services. Gilchrest has presented regionally and nationally on issues of gender equity in education, diversity, adult student outreach and adult development.
She has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Northeastern University, a master's in education from Youngstown State University and a doctorate of education in counselor education from Penn State. During 1997-98, Gilchrest served as an Administrative Fellow with the dean of the Commonwealth College.
World Campus announces
two new appointments
Elizabeth M. Hawthorne, associate dean for academic affairs at Penn State Berks-Lehigh Valley and acting associate dean for faculty for the Commonwealth College, has been appointed director of academic programs for the Penn State World Campus, and Jean A. McGrath has been named director of student services for the World Campus.
Hawthorne joined Penn State in 1993 as associate professor of higher education and director of academic affairs at Penn State Berks. She also was a program associate in the Center for the Study of Postsecondary Teaching, Learning and Assessment. As the chief academic officer at Berks, she provided academic leadership for the campus and also was responsible for the merger of the academic units of the two campuses forming the new Berks-Lehigh Valley College.
In 1997, Hawthorne was appointed associate dean for academic affairs
for Berks-Lehigh
Valley. Previously, Hawthorne was assistant
and associate professor with the program in higher education at the University
of Toledo (1986-93), where she also served as the director of the Russel
Center for Educational Leadership. She was director of research for the
Carroll Group Inc. in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1985-86 and research associate
at the University of Michigan Office of the Vice President for Academic
Affairs from 1983 to 1985. Before beginning doctoral studies at the University
of Michigan, she worked as a teacher, consultant, trainer, college instructor
and evaluator in the field of child study for 14 years.
Hawthorne is author and editor of several books, book chapters and monographs, as well as numerous journal articles and other publications. She also has made many presentations on teaching, learning and the use of technology in teaching and learning in the United States and in other countries.
She earned a bachelor's degree in education (child study) from Tufts University in 1965, a master's degree in educational psychology from Temple University in 1971, an A.M. in political science from the University of Michigan in 1982 and a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Michigan in 1985. She also studied social casework at the University of Chicago from 1965 to 1966.
Since January, McGrath has served as acting director of student services. During the past several months, she has overseen the transition to online registration, the use of Cybercash for online payment of tuition and other innovations critical to the World Campus. She will continue to guide enhancements to services for students studying at a distance.
McGrath will continue to provide overall leadership, supervision, fiscal
management, goal 
setting and resource allocation for all student
services for the World Campus. Her responsibilities also involve leadership,
coordination, direction and oversight for admissions, advising, registration,
collection of tuition and fees, grade reporting, record management and learner-support
services for students studying at a distance. In addition, she will participate
in strategic planning to establish direction and new and revised policies,
processes and procedures for the World Campus.
While serving as acting director, she led efforts to enable students to obtain access accounts so that they could register for courses and pay tuition online.
McGrath came to Penn State in 1987 as a staff member and later environmental analyst for the Low Level Radiation Monitoring Laboratory in the Department of Nuclear Engineering. In 1990, she was appointed program specialist in the Department of Independent Learning.
In 1994, McGrath was named assistant director for Contract Programs in the Department of Distance Education. She later was promoted to associate director, serving in this role until January 1998.
McGrath is a member of several organizations and is active in the community. She received a bachelor of science degree in secondary education, mathematics, in 1971 and a master of education degree in adult education in 1994, both from Penn State.
Head named for Council of College
Directors of Minority Programs
Josie B. Herrera, director of diversity enhancement programs in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, has been named chair of the Council of College Directors of Minority Programs. The council is a network of representatives from the University's academic colleges who bear the primary responsibilities for planning and implementing programs and initiatives to promote ethnic and racial diversity in the student population in each college.
Herrera has been in her present position since January of 1996. She holds a B.S. in geology from Columbia University and an M.Ed. in earth and mineral sciences from Penn State. She is currently working on a dissertation to complete the requirements for a D.Ed. in earth sciences.
Herrera was a member of the environmental sciences faculty at Penn State DuBois before returning to University Park to take on her current position. She serves on the WISE Institute's executive board and the college's environment committee. She also is a member of the Commission for Women and the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equity Commission.