Although he announced
his retirement this summer, Jerry Sandusky remained active as defensive coordinator
for the Penn State Nittany Lion football team this fall. Sandusky, the senior
member of Coach Joe Paterno's staff, served the
University for 31 years. His retirement will allow him to devote more time to
The Second Mile, a charitable organization
he founded to address the welfare of children. The Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 will
be
Sandusky's last game as defensive coordinator, although he will continue
to volunteer his services to the athletic department's lifeskills and outreach
programs.
Photo: Greg Grieco
Edward F. Linder, director of academic, administration, student and business services at Penn State Lehigh Valley, will retire on Dec. 31 after more than 35 years of service to the University.
After serving with the United States Marine Corps, Linder earned a bachelor of science degree in elementary education and special education from West Chester University in 1962. He earned his master's degree in education in counseling and guidance from Ohio University and also has taken doctoral courses at Penn State. In 1987 and 1988, he completed courses at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and the college executive management program at Carnegie Mellon University.
Linder joined University Park's dean of men's staff in 1963. He was appointed coordinator of residence hall operations for the North Halls area in 1964 and later the Pollock area. In 1967, he accompanied John Vairo to Penn State Delaware County to help with the University's most-recently built Commonwealth campus. During his 22 years at Delaware County, he served as the first dean of student affairs and director of student programs and services. Many programs that were developed at Delaware County during Linder's tenure, were later instituted throughout the University.
In 1989, Linder transferred to Penn State Lehigh Valley as the coordinator for the Division of Undergraduate Studies program. In 1996, Linder's role with Penn State Lehigh Valley broadened from academic advising, learning support services and pre-college programming to include the administration of student affairs and business services. Linder has been the recipient of many honors acknowledging his diverse activities and service to the University, students, professional organizations and community agencies throughout his career. He is a member of the American Association of Counseling and Development, the American College Personnel Association, the American Psychological Association and the Pennsylvania Counseling Association.
In his retirement, Linder plans to continue teaching at the Montgomery County Community College, where he is a professor of psychology, while continuing his private counseling practice. In addition, he looks forward to traveling with his wife, Donna.
Ross Shiman, professor emeritus of biochemistry and molecular biology at the The Hershey Medical Center, has retired after 30 years at Penn State.
Shiman's research focused on the regulation of essential amino acid metabolism in animals, and particularly on the regulation of the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase. He published many peer-reviewed manuscripts in biochemical journals over the years, and was an established authority on phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolic pathways.
Shiman was thesis adviser to 10 Ph.D. students and two M.S. students.
Shiman earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry and physics from Columbia University, and received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1966. He did postdoctoral work at the National Institutes of Health and came to Hershey in 1969 at the rank of assistant professor. He rose through the ranks to professor in 1983. In 1996, he took a sabbatical leave to work at The Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Chemistry on RNA structure. After retiring from Penn State, Shiman has returned to Hopkins as a research professor to continue studies on RNA.
Eugene R. Lower, senior engineering aide in energy science and power systems, retired from the Applied Research Laboratory after 39 years .
Lower began working for ARL in 1960, when it was known as the Ordnance Research Laboratory. He served as supervisor of the sheet metal shop from 1963 until 1976, when he became an engineering aide. In 1984, he received an ARL outstanding performance award.
Lower was in the U.S. Navy for four years before coming to the laboratory and graduated from the U.S. Navy Metal Smith School in 1957. He was a special adjunct student at Penn State from 1960 to 1970.
In retirement, Lower plans to travel, volunteer and spend time with his family.
Richard Betts, assistant professor of English and assistant to the director of academic affairs at Penn State Delaware County, retired after more than 30 years with the University.
Betts received his bachelor's degree from Colgate University and his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. His scholarly interests include 20th-century American literature, particularly historical fiction and literature using historical materials.
Betts, who joined the campus faculty in 1968, served on many campus and University committees, including the Baccalaureate Advisory Group, Student Retention Committee, Strategic Planning Committee and the Work Load Study Task Group. In 1998 Betts was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach American studies and literature at the University of Presov, Slovakia.
The following individuals are retiring from the University after many years of service:
Patricia A. Melzer, staff assistant VI at Penn State Erie, from Jan. 1, 1977, to Oct. 1.
Barbara J. Phillips, unit coordinator, Montour County Cooperative Extension, from Feb. 3, 1969, to Oct. 1.
The following individual has earned emeritus rank from the University for his longstanding and productive years of service:
Ronald L. Poland, chairman emeritus/professor emeritus of pediatrics in the College of Medicine, The Hershey Medical Center, from Oct. 1, 1989, to July 31.