News in Brief
Penn State Intercom......November 30, 2000

Penny Kauffman, information operator, takes a call at her station on the University Park campus. The Call Center Services Office will be operating on limited hours through the winter break. Hours will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 18 through Dec. 21 and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 22 through Dec. 31. It will be closed Christmas and New Year's days.
Photo: Greg Grieco

Peace Tree to shine

For the 12th consecutive year, the Association of Faculty and Friends of The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is sponsoring The Peace Tree in memory of, or in honor of, a loved one.

Each light on the large evergreen tree in front of the main entrance of the medical center represents a gift of love from a donor. The tree will remain lighted each night throughout the holiday season. The tree lighting ceremony is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, in the hospital's main lobby and is open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the ceremony.

Money donated to this project is returned to the medical center for a variety of programs. Contributions may be sent to The Association of Faculty and Friends, Mailbox 460, The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pa. 17033.

For more information, call Barbara Messmer at (717) 520-5938.

Taste of the Town

The Third Annual Taste of The Town benefiting The AIDS Project will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel on the University Park campus. Patrons of this event will enjoy a selection of specialty cuisine, desserts and coffees from 20 of the area's finest eateries including The Allen Street Grill, The Victorian Manor and The Hummingbird Room.

There also will be a silent auction held before dinner and a live auction afterward. Auction items have been donated from many area businesses.

All proceeds from this event will support The AIDS Project, a local not-for-profit organization that offers support and services to residents of Centre and Clinton counties dealing with HIV/AIDS either directly or indirectly.

Tickets, which are $30 and tax-deductible, may be purchased at King Printing, 1305 W. College Ave., State College, (814) 238-2536 or The AIDS Project, 315 S. Allen St., Suite 116, State College, (814) 234-8087.

Abstracts sought

The Center for Environmental Chemistry and Geochemistry (CECG) is soliciting abstracts for the Fourth Annual Environmental Chemistry Symposium. The symposium is open to all undergraduate and graduate students conducting environmental chemistry research.

An interdisciplinary student group organizes the annual symposium, which provides students with exposure to a broad scientific audience and the opportunity to gain experience presenting technical material. Presentations may be given orally or as poster presentations summarizing student research. The research presented should have a strong chemical foundation and an environmental component.

Awards are given for best oral presentations, poster presentations and undergraduate presentations based on originality, quality of presentation, environmental relevance and chemical foundation. In total, more than $9,000 in prizes are awarded each year.

The deadline to submit abstracts is 5 p.m. Dec. 4. The conference will be held March 16­17, 2001, in the Agricultural Science and Industries Building at University Park.

For more information on the symposium or for an entry form, visit the CECG Web site at http://www.essc.psu.edu/CECG/symposium.htm.

Kopp Award nominations

Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2001 W. LaMarr Kopp International Achievement Awards, to be given in spring 2001.

The awards were established in 1995 and named in honor of W. LaMarr Kopp, retired deputy vice-president for international programs.

The awards recognize an undergraduate student, a graduate student, a faculty member and a staff member for "contributing significantly to the advancement of the international mission of the University." Each award carries a $1,000 stipend and a certificate. Recipients will be recognized at The University Awards Ceremony and at a special Recognition Reception for the University's International Ambassadors, hosted by Beverly Lindsay, dean of the Office of International Programs.

This year, Patricia A. Book, associate vice president for outreach and executive director of the Division of Continuing Education, chairs the International Achievement Awards selection committee.

Application/nomination deadline is Dec. 12. For complete guidelines and nomination/application forms for each of the awards, call Terry McGrail at (814) 865-6348 or e-mail tlm10@psu.edu. Information and forms also are on the Web at http://www.international.psu.edu/.

Mailing update

The following information has been provided by Mail Services:

* Holiday mail service

Mail service to the University community will be suspended from 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 21, until 8 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2001 due to the holiday season.

Only buildings that currently receive direct delivery from the U.S. Postal Service will be eligible to receive mail during this time. To find out if a building is eligible to receive incoming U.S. mail, call Paul Fetzer at (814) 865-9171 or Gregg J. Asciutto at (814) 863-8153 before Dec. 8 or check with the facilities coordinator for the academic or administrative area. Arrangements will be made with the U.S. Postal Service for eligible buildings to receive their mail if so desired. Buildings that do not receive direct delivery will receive their mail after the University resumes operation on Jan. 2, 2001.

* Interoffice envelopes

Mail Services requests that all excess interoffice envelopes be returned to 108 Business Services Building to facilitate equal distribution to all departments. Also, please return any mail tubs that are being used for office storage. A critical shortage has occurred with these items, and your help is needed to keep these items in circulation and to avert unnecessary expense.

* Standard 'A' bulk mail

Because of the increase of standard "A" mailings presented to Addressing Services in December, it may not be possible to process standard "A" bulk mailings that come in after Dec. 10 until the start of the new year.

* FedEx, UPS and brown paper wrapping

Please refrain from using brown paper wrapping when sending packages through United Parcel Service. Because of the use of automation equipment, brown paper wrapping with addresses on them is ripping off the box. If the address separates from the box, the packages may become undeliverable.

Carpool

Michele is interested in starting a car or van pool from Altoona to University Park. Hours can be either 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information, e-mail mrb2@psu.edu.

Blood Donor Challenge

Students and fans rallied to overtake Michigan State during the final days of the annual Penn State-Michigan State Blood Donor Challenge. The final tally has Penn State donating 1,748 pints to Michigan State's 1,678 pints.

According to Connie Schroeder, campus coordinator for the American Red Cross Blood Services, the event brought out the great determination among Penn State students to pull together after last year's 19-pint loss to Michigan State. This was the seventh year of the event, and the overall score is now Penn State-5, Michigan State-2.

Absence policy reminder

Faculty and students are reminded of the University's policy regarding students' requests for absence from class for the purpose of observing a religious holiday. The University Faculty Senate Policy on Class Attendance (42-27) states that instructors should provide, within reason, opportunity to make up work for students who are obliged to miss classes for legitimate reasons.

As further clarification, the Academic and Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual (R-4) states that while the University makes every effort to avoid conflicts with religious holidays, when conflicts are unavoidable, the policy is to try to make special arrangements for the students affected.

A list of holy days of the major world religions that may require students to depart from their normal routine is published by the Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs at http://www.sa.psu.edu/cera/relhol.html.

For the record

The call for nominations for the Administrative Fellows program is for the 2001-2002 program. The incorrect academic year was given in a story on the back page of the Nov. 16 Intercom.

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