Intercom Online......January 13, 2000

News in Brief

Workers in the Office of Physical Plant put up new lightposts along Bigler Road between Park Avenue and Curtin Road on the University Park campus before winter break. Part of the campus master plan includes increased lighting for pedestrians. Photo: Greg Grieco

What goes up must eventually come down, and that's exactly what's happening to this ramp at the south end of Beaver Stadium on the University Park campus. The ramp was removed in late December to allow for the addition to the stadium that is now under construction. The project, which carries a total cost of $93 million, is expected to help meet a growing demand for tickets. Photo: Greg Grieco

Faculty Senate action

At its Dec. 7 meeting, the University Faculty Senate voted to add the title of senior instructor to the academic ranks described in Policy HR-21 and to make interchangeable the titles of lecturer and instructor. View the policy on the Web at http://www.ohr.psu.edu/

Non-resident alien tax information

The IRS recently announced an increase in the amount of additional federal income tax that employers must withhold from wages paid to non-resident aliens. The additional amount of tax withheld from each paycheck is $33 for monthly employees and $15 for a biweekly employee. These amounts are in addition to general tax withholding requirements. This revised tax withholding took effect Jan. 1 and is documented in new IRS Publication 15. For more information, contact the Payroll Office at (814) 865-7621.

Doctoral programs information

Penn State Harrisburg is hosting a Doctoral Programs Information Night at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, in the newly opened library on campus. The information session is aimed at familiarizing area residents with the college's doctoral programs in public administration and adult education. Those attending will have the opportunity to speak with faculty and currently enrolled doctoral students. For information, call (717) 948-6250.

Mentoring Program

The Commission for Women invites all full-time faculty and staff to apply to participate in its Mentoring Program for the 2000-2001 academic year. The program promotes professional and personal development by connecting faculty and staff with others who can advise them on work-related issues.

Faculty and staff can apply to be a mentor or protégé, depending on their needs and goals. Mentors can come from all levels of experience, while protégés do not need to be new to the workforce or the University.

Applications are available in the Commission for Women office, 311 Grange Building, University Park, or on the Web at http://www.lions.psu.edu/cfw/formindex.html. The deadline for mentor applications is Friday, Jan. 21, while the deadline for protégé applications is Wednesday, March 1. For more information, go to http://www.lions.psu.edu/cfw/mentor.html.

Drama for youth and teens

Registration for the School of Theatre Arts' winter/spring drama classes for youth and teens is being held in the Pavilion Theatre on the University Park campus. MetaStages Theatre Centre, an outreach program, offers classes after school and on Saturday for different age groups from K-12th grade. Weekly sessions begin Jan. 24. Students receive performance training from professionals in acting, voice, movement and mime. Classes culminate with an afternoon of final performances.

For information, call Joann Leonard, MetaStages director, at (814) 867-8390.

Internship opportunity

The Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium and the NASA Academy are accepting applications for internships for summer 2000. Full-time undergraduates and graduate students have the opportunity to spend 10-12 weeks at a NASA center, work side-by-side with NASA researchers and meet with NASA officials, as well as industry and government representatives.

A stipend of $3,000 to $4,000 plus travel will be provided by the consortium and room, board, tuition and local travel will be supplied by the NASA Center.

More information and applications can be found at http://www.nasa-academy.nasa.gov/summer00.html.

Applications are due Jan. 28. Call Geraldine Russell at (814) 863-5957 or e-mail paspace@psu.edu for more information.

Course in college teaching

The Center for Excellence in Learning & Teaching (CELT) is offering two spring sections of the Penn State Course in College Teaching. One section will meet on Mondays from 2:30-4:30 p.m., Jan. 24-April 3; and the other will meet Tuesdays from 11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m., Jan. 25-April 4.

This noncredit course is open to all instructors who are either currently teaching or taking a short break from the undergraduate classroom. Course activities are designed to help participants begin building individual teaching portfolios. Those who complete the course are eligible for the CELT certificate. Enrollment is limited and preregistration is required.

To register, call (814) 863-2599. Additional information can be found at http://www.psu.edu/celt/CCT.html.

African American Read-In

An African American Read-In will be held from 4-6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 6, in the HUB-Paul Robeson Cultural Center on the University Park campus. This celebration of African American literature will include food, music, awards, performances and prizes. For more information, call Elaine Richardson at (814) 865-0028 or e-mail ebr2@psu.edu.

This event takes place one day before the 11th National African American Read-In in which a chain of 1 million readers across the country will honor African American literature through their readings on Monday, Feb. 7. Instructors may request a reading list from Richardson. Anyone who would like to participate should go to the Robeson Cultural Center from noon until 2 p.m. on Feb. 7 for food and a discussion of African American culture and literature. Author Ishmael Reed and linguist John Rickford will be on hand to discuss the linguistic roots of African American literature.

AAUW scholarships

The State College Branch of the American Association of University Women has announced its scholarship grants for women for the academic year 2000-2001. The State College branch will sponsor three grants for $3,000 each. The first of these awards is the Simmons-Jansma Project Renew Grant. The other two awards are State College AAUW Scholarships.

The purpose of these awards is to support women who, at some point, have interrupted their academic work for at least three years and who wish to resume their studies.

The grants will be awarded to three women residents of Centre County who have completed a minimum of one-fourth of the degree requirements toward a baccalaureate degree. The awards are made on the basis of financial need, academic promise, clarity of educational goals and service to the community.

Grant applications are available from Morgen Hummel, P.O. Box 185, Pine Grove Mills, Pa. 16868, (814) 237-9233 (home), (814) 238-4844 (work).

Deadline for submission of applications is Feb. 15.

Graduate Research Exhibition

The annual Graduate Research Exhibition is set for March 22-23 on the University Park campus. The research exhibition, now in its 15th year, will include both performances and poster sessions. The exhibition is a way for graduate students to showcase and explain their work to a general audience and to compete for awards totaling about $10,000.

The performance option of the exhibition will be held Wednesday, March 22, from 8 to 10 p.m. in the Music Building Recital Hall. The poster sessions will be held at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel on Thursday, March 23. Exhibits will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The deadline for abstract submissions is 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4. For more information on the event or for guidelines, visit The Graduate School home page at http://www.gradsch.psu.edu/exhibition/. This year, for the first time, the applications process will be conducted electronically. For individuals lacking ready access to the Internet, paper entry forms and guidelines may be obtained from the Office of the Dean of The Graduate School, 114 Kern Building. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Adult Learners Workshop

A second Adult Learners Workshop is set for May 18 on the University Park campus in the HUB-Robeson Center. More than 100 people, representing all campuses, attended the inaugural adult learners workshop last November. The workshops, sponsored by the Commission for Adult Learners, focus on the concerns of adult learners. Best practices for educating adult learners will be the topic of the upcoming workshop which is open to all staff, faculty and adult learners.

Adult learners at Penn State are those students 24 years of age or older, veterans or students that have assumed multiple roles such as parent, spouse/partner, employee and student. Adult students represent approximately 24 percent of the University's enrollments for all campuses, excluding University Park. At University Park, the adult learner population is 7 percent.

For more information on the May 18 event, call the Center for Adult Learner Services at (814) 863-3887, or visit the Web at http://www.sa.psu.edu/cals/.

Libraries news

The Schreyer Library for Business and Social Sciences Library are now in their final locations in Paterno Library on the University Park campus.

The Schreyer Library for Business and its collections are located on the third floor. For more information, call (814) 865-6369 or visit http://www.libraries.psu.edu/crsweb/business.

The Social Sciences Library's reference desk and most collections are now on the second floor of Paterno Library, with some collections housed on the third floor. For more information, visit http://www.libraries.psu.edu/crsweb/docs/ssmain.htm.

Library closings

The first, second and third floors of Pattee Library, west, on the University Park campus are closed for renovations. The ground floor, which contains microforms and the newspaper collection, remains open and can be accessed via the west entrance of Pattee Library. The rest of Pattee Library, west, will reopen in summer 2000.

Some periodicals and the reserve materials previously shelved on the second floor of Pattee Library, west, are now in 105 Pattee Library, central. The periodicals housed here include arts and humanities and education journals, plus mass media publications such as Time, Newsweek and Life. Journals covering other subject areas have been incorporated into the appropriate subject library. Patrons should consult the service desk in room 105 if they have questions about periodicals or reserve materials.

Purchasing transition under way

Purchasing Services has implemented a new software platform for purchase order processing. The new system provides Purchasing Services with enhanced capabilities, including online access to current and historical purchasing activities, autofaxing, on-demand printing of purchase orders, and electronic purchase order changes.

The current REQR electronic order entry procedure used by departments will be retained in its entirety and departments should experience no change in the requisitioning of goods and services.

Payments on open orders issued before the implementation of the new platform will continue to be processed under the existing system until closed. This would include both regular orders and standing orders issued for the 1999/2000 budget year. Your patience is requested during this transition. Anyone with questions can contact Purchasing Services at (814) 865-7561.

Carpooler for University Park

Lisa is looking for someone to carpool from Port Matilda to University Park. Work hours can be 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Call 863-6389.

Easier to access

The University Libraries are making it easier to access communications reference materials by indexing their contents in Mass Media Articles, a database available through LIAS on the Web at http://www.lias.psu.edu/. More than 3,000 entries from a variety of mass communications encyclopedias and handbooks have been indexed so far. The project should be completed by summer 2000.

The Mass Media Articles database indexes more than 30,000 articles from mass communication research and media criticism journals published since 1984, including American Journalism Review, Columbia Journalism Review and Brill's Content.

Support network available

A Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Support Network is available to provide a more hospitable environment for people who are lesbian, gay and bisexual. Sponsored by the Commission on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equity and the Equal Opportunity Planning Committee, the group is a network of individuals who can provide support, information and a safe haven within the University community.

Network members include faculty, staff, administrators and students at University Park and Commonwealth campuses who are respectful of confidentiality.

Anyone who would like to participate in the network should contact the Commission on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equity in the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity, 281 Grange Building, University Park, Pa. 16802; or call (814) 863-7696. Applications can also be submitted online at http://www.lions.psu.edu/lgbt/lgb_network.html. Following approval of the application, the network will provide resource information as well as a sticker, button or sign for its members to identify themselves.

New Web page

The World Campus released a new Web page, "The World Campus Instructor's Frequently Asked Questions," to offer answers to the most common questions asked by both current and potential World Campus faculty. The Web page can be found at http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu:8900/public/ID/instructorfaq.shtml.

Need geographic data?

Finding the right geographic data about a community can lead down different and confusing paths. But thanks to the Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access, government planners, engineers and even school students can quickly locate free geographic data and images about Pennsylvania communities through the Internet.

Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access is the official state geospatial data clearinghouse for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PASDA is a collaborative project of Penn State, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Geospatial Information Council.

Currently, visitors to the Web at http://www.pasda.psu.edu/ can download more than 10,550 data sets and 8,228 metadata records, which are descriptions of data and where to obtain the complete data. Sample data in the catalog includes aerial photographs for parts of Pennsylvania; groundwater and drinking data; county elevation information; fish species database; and countywide floodplain coverages.

For more information, send e-mail to pasda@psu.edu or visit the Web at the above address.

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