Appointments

Commonwealth College creates senior director position

William G. Curley, currently director of continuing education and training at Penn State Altoona, has been appointed to serve as the first senior director of continuing education for the Commonwealth College, beginning Feb. 1.

Curley has been at Penn State since 1985, when he became a conference coordinator for the Keller Conference Center at University Park. He also served as an area representative for the State College area continuing education office from 1987 to 1990 before relocating to Penn State Mont Alto, where he served as director of continuing education (1990-95), director of business services and continuing education (1995-96), and acting campus executive officer (1996-97).

Curley became director of continuing education and training at Penn State Altoona in July 1997. During his tenure, he coordinated efforts to deliver an extended master of education program through Penn State's College of Education; created joint workforce development programs with the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown; and partnered with the Altoona Blair County Development Corp. to open a continuing education facility in downtown Altoona.

He earned both his bachelor's degree in rehabilitation education (1982) and master's degree in adult education (1994) from Penn State. He currently is pursuing his doctoral degree in workforce education and development from the University.

Commonwealth College announces new associate dean

Nancy L. Herron, a librarian and currently director of academic affairs at Penn State McKeesport, has been named associate dean for academic programs for the Commonwealth College, effective Feb. 1.

Herron joined Penn State in 1984 as head librarian for the J. Clarence Kelly Library on the McKeesport campus. She was named an Administrative Fellow in 1990, during which time she worked in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost at University Park on strategic planning, budgeting and process analysis issues. She returned to Penn State McKeesport in 1991 as acting director of academic affairs and became director in 1992. She has been an adjunct faculty member in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh since 1987.

Herron received a bachelor's degree in English from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1964, a master of library science degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1972, and a doctorate in library and information science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1986. She also completed Harvard University's Management Development Program in 1992.

Wilkes-Barre welcomes institutional advancement director

Jane A. Kanyock has been named director of institutional advancement at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, where she will direct the campus annual fund, endowments, capital campaign, planned giving, alumni relations, marketing and public relations.

Kanyock previously was director of communications at the National Institute for Environmental Renewal where she headed the marketing and communications responsibilities for the company.

She also served as vice president of development for the Greater Hazleton Health Alliance.

In addition, she was dean of admissions and development for MMI Preparatory School in Freeland, where she successfully conducted a $1 million capital campaign that exceeded its established goal.

Kanyock holds a master of science degree in business administration from Wilkes University.

Hazleton announces appointment of reference librarian

Shannon Richie has been named reference librarian at Penn State Hazleton. In this new position, he provides reference services and participates in the library's instructional programs and collection development efforts.

Richie has experience with both academic and public libraries.

Before his new appointment, Richie was a reference librarian at the East Shore Area Library, part of the Dauphin County Library System, since November 1998. From August to December 1998, he was a part-time reference librarian in the Ciletti Memorial Library at Penn State Schuylkill.

Richie received an M.L.S. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1995 and a B.A. in history and religion from Drew University in 1990.

Former NASA administrator heads to Penn State Erie

Robert J. Simoneau has been named director of the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Penn State Erie. Simoneau is a former researcher and administrator at NASA and currently serves as distinguished service professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He succeeds Richard Progelhof, who is retiring after seven years as SEET director.

Simoneau joined Carnegie Mellon in 1996. In 1999, graduating seniors selected him as Mechanical Engineering Professor of the Year.

Simoneau, a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, was elected senior vice president for education for the society and also serves on the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.

He was a leading figure at the NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, starting there in 1963. He served from 1986-96 as chief of the Heat Transfer Branch. He has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Detroit, and a master's degree and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University.

Life Sciences Library gains new librarian from Oklahoma

Kathy Fescemyer has been appointed life sciences librarian in University Libraries. She brings almost 12 years of experience in academic librarianship to the position. Her subject emphasis in the Life Sciences Library is plant sciences.

Fescemyer comes to Penn State from the University of Oklahoma, where she served as a science reference librarian from 1997 until her current appointment. She previously spent nine years at Clemson University, where she served as a reference librarian and agricultural reference librarian.

Before becoming a librarian, Fescemyer was an entomologist. She received an M.S. in entomology from Louisiana State University in 1979.

Fescemyer received an M.S. in library science in 1987 from the University of Illinois, where she won the Frances P. Jenkins Award, given to the outstanding M.S. candidate in science librarianship. She also holds a B.S. in zoology from the University of Illinois.

Altoona appoints new director of multicultural affairs

Todd Eric Taylor has joined the Office of Student Affairs at Penn State Altoona as director of multicultural affairs and international services.

Taylor's primary responsibilities are coordinating efforts with various diversity related departments; serving as liaison to University Park's international student office; coordinating study abroad programs; advising multicultural and international student organizations; developing, coordinating and presenting campus-wide programs; and implementing programs designed to enhance the retention of international and multicultural student populations.

Taylor's background includes various positions in higher education at Florida Atlantic University-Broward campus, State University of New York College at Cortland, Morehouse College, Florida A&M University and The Florida State University.

Taylor has a bachelor's degree in social science and a master's degree in higher education from the Florida State University.

Professor earns first Graham H. Jeffries Professorship

Dr. Thomas J. McGarrity, professor of medicine in the College of Medicine, has been named the first recipient of the Graham H. Jeffries Professorship in Medicine at Hershey.

McGarrity, a graduate of the University of Virginia Medical School, did his internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at Penn State's College of Medicine. After completing his medical training in 1984, he joined the faculty of the College of Medicine.

The endowed position is named for Dr. Graham H. Jeffries, professor of medicine in the College of Medicine, who was recently honored for 30 years of service to Penn State. Jeffries was recruited in 1969 to be the first chairman of the Department of Medicine at Penn State's newly established College of Medicine, a position he held until 1988.

An endowed professorship provides funding to reward a renowned professor for past academic achievement and enables the professor to pursue new lines of research or innovative teaching methods.

Health and Human Development names interim dean

Lynne Vernon-Feagans, professor of human development and family studies and associate dean for research in the College of Health and Human Development, was named interim dean of the College of Health and Human Development.

Vernon-Feagans has been serving as associate dean for research since 1995. She joined Penn State in 1985 as professor of human development. Her extensive research focuses on the development of children at risk for poor school performance, including children born into poverty and children with middle ear disease.

She is author or co-author of many publications, including a recent book on the language of and the transition to school for a group of African American children she followed from birth through elementary school, and a chapter, "Language and Preliteracy Skills at Home and at School for At-Risk Children," in The Handbook on Research in Early Literacy, Guilford Publishers, N.Y.

She has served on many college and University committees, and is currently associate editor of the International Journal of Behavioral Development. She has served on the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, the national guideline panel for the diagnosis and treatment of otitis media and was on the editorial boards of Development Psychology and Journal of Learning Disabilities.

She holds a B.A. in economics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D. in psycholinguistics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

WPSX-TV names new director of programming, production

Tracy Vosburgh Frieden has been named the new director of programming and production for Penn State Public Broadcasting's WPSX-TV. Joining the station in 1997 as the production manager for the national PBS series "Legendary Lighthouses," co-produced with Driftwood Productions Inc., she became the assistant director of production at the station in 1998. Shortly after, she was appointed interim director of production.

Vosburgh Frieden has more than 20 years creative and management experience in broadcast, public television and documentary arenas.

Vosburgh Frieden also served as supervising manager of the Multimedia Unit, overseeing Web site creation, academic presentations, streaming and graphics, and technical support.

Office of Outreach Development announces restructuring

The Office of Outreach Development has been restructured to provide greater support to Continuing Education, Distance Education, Cooperative Extension and Public Broadcasting. Newly appointed director William Speakman and his staff Susan Powell, Joy Vincent-Killian, Brain McCullough and Rob Butler are combining their expertise and working to identify funding for a variety of Penn State outreach programs.

As director, Speakman is responsible for all fund raising for Outreach and Cooperative Extension (O&CE).

Before assuming his current position, Speakman was interim general manager at Penn State Public Broadcasting. Previously, he was director of marketing and development at Penn State Public Broadcasting. While there, WPSX-TV received the 1998 Development Award. During his four-year tenure, the annual viewer/underwriter support for Penn State Public Broadcasting increased by 57 percent.

Speakman previously worked in the State College area as vice president of Snavely-Vidmar and Associates.

He earned his bachelor's degree from Slippery Rock University and is working toward his master's in nonprofit management from The New School in New York, N.Y.

Sue Powell is the new associate director of Public Broadcasting special gifts. WPSX-TV is moving to a digital format in 2002, and Powell is heading the effort to raise $5 million for new equipment and construction of a new transmission tower.

Joy Vincent-Killian will serve as associate director for Public Broadcasting membership. In this role, she is responsible for assisting in the development and operation of fund-raising programs.

Brian McCullough has been named assistant director of development for Outreach and Cooperative Extension. He is responsible for securing corporate and foundation funding for the outreach units. His responsibilities include determining a potential program's fundability, consulting faculty and staff about potential funding sources and establishing and maintaining relationships with donors.

Rob Butler has been appointed as outreach development assistant. His responsibilities include research, cultivation and solicitation of foundations and corporations. He is seeking support for children, youth and families initiatives within Cooperative Extension and outreach programs produced by WPSX-TV.