Awards
Penn State Intercom......February 8 , 2001

University's PENNTAP earns
multiple major awards

The University's Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PENNTAP) has been named the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association's (PEDA) Economic Development Partner of the Year for 2000, the first year for the award.

PEDA is a professional organization of regional, county and state economic developers; utility executives whose primary responsibility is area development; industrial development authority directors; operators of industrial incubators; chamber of commerce executives; and municipal directors of development.

During PEDA's fall conference, PENNTAP was honored for innovation in helping businesses statewide improve their competitiveness; implementation of technical assistance programs for small companies that do not have their own resources; and an economic impact in Pennsylvania of $9.9 million over the last year.

In addition, PENNTAP has won two Outstanding Project of the Year awards from the National Association of Management and Technical Assistance Centers (NAMTAC).

Two PENNTAP technical specialists who helped businesses in central and southern Pennsylvania were recently presented with the awards at NAMTAC's annual awards banquet in Norfolk, Va.

John Pletcher, a forest products specialist at
PENNTAP's University Park office, won in NAMTAC's technology transfer category. Pletcher assisted Appalachian Wood Products, a company in Clearfield that manufactures cabinet doors for the kitchen and bath industry.

Appalachian Wood Products was experiencing a 22 percent rejection rate from their panel department because the panels were coming apart at the joints. Working one-on-one with the company's engineer, Pletcher recommended several process and environmental improvements that helped the company reduce its rejection rate to 8 percent. The changes saved the company $665,000, and Pletcher estimated that the savings will increase to approximately $1 million a year.

A project by Warren Weaver, senior technical specialist based at PENNTAP's York office, was named outstanding in NAMTAC's special assistance category. Weaver worked with a food processing company in south central Pennsylvania.

Weaver, along with a team of two professors and two graduate students from the environmental engineering department at Penn State Harrisburg, evaluated the company's processes and procedures and provided technical assistance as part of a pollution prevention grant program. The goal of the program, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was to help firms become sustainable by minimizing their waste quantities and environmental impact. After spending $40,000 to implement some of the process improvements recommended by the PENNTAP team, the company saved $962,000 the first year. The company also reported that the team may have prevented a plant closure, possibly saving 250 jobs.

PENNTAP is a federal-state-university partnership that provides free technical assistance and information to businesses in Pennsylvania. For more information about PENNTAP, check the Web at http://www.penntap.psu.edu/ or call Jack Gido at (814) 865-0427.

Penn Staters of the Quarter
named in Commonwealth College

Following are the recipients for the October-December Penn Stater of the Quarter awards. The awards are given to faculty, staff and students at Commonwealth College campuses in recognition of their outstanding service to the University.

Penn State Beaver

Carol Schafer, assistant professor of theatre arts. Schafer organized the campus theatre group (Masquers) in support of campus recruiting and community relations. She facilitated several hundred high school students' visits to the campus to view the play she had written, and invited admissions to offer information and campus tours to the students.

Penn State Delaware County

Francine Stackhouse, administrative assistant to the CEO. This award is given posthumously to Stackhouse, who died in December. She is honored for giving her best to the campus: interacting with community leaders, implementing events and organizing office workflow.

Penn State DuBois

Rebecca Pennington, Student Life coordinator. In addition to her regular duties, Pennington served as interim financial aid coordinator from September through December -- the very busiest time in financial aid. She juggled these responsibilities in a mature and focused manner and has been able to bring the campus through the August-December time-frame with minimal disruption, particularly in the financial aid area.

Penn State Fayette

Cheryl H. Duncan, staff assistant in Student Affairs. Duncan is recognized for the outstanding manner in which she performs her duties as primary contact for campus visitors. She also is visible at dozens of charitable activities and community events; notable during this quarter was her involvement with the Salvation Army bell for the kettle drive.

Penn State Hazleton

David Sosar, instructor in political science and evening administrator. In addition to giving quality instruction, Sosar is the face of the campus to evening students and faculty. He is a valuable academic adviser, available on demand to evening students.

Penn State McKeesport

Merwin Weed, professor of engineering. Weed's support to the campus reaches beyond his academic contributions. Merwin donated his time and effort to arrange, organize and collect items for the Annual United Way Flea Market. He also extended his volunteer efforts by his participation as a member of the campus Grand Destiny Campaign Committee.

Penn State Mont Alto

Donna Weber, staff assistant. Weber is honored for her contributions this past quarter in coordinating the Early-to-College Program. Her involvement has improved communications with students and their families and streamlined the flow of paperwork. With her improvements, school guidance counselors have mentioned how much better processes are now.

Penn State New Kensington

Wayne Smouse, instructor and coordinator of the IST program. Smouse spearheaded the implementation of the IST program. He has been instrumental in creating a partnership with Community College of Butler County and in offering the Webmaster Certificate Program. In addition, he created a database for admissions and Continuing Education, simplifying their record-keeping and tracking system.

Penn State Shenango

Louise Brydon, staff assistant in Academic Affairs. Brydon performed two jobs: her own and a vacant position of faculty secretary. She performed the dual roles with her usual expertise, grace and good humor.

Penn State Wilkes-Barre

Margie Esopi, admissions counselor. Although she works part time, Esopi's level of activity in recruiting is exceptional. She combines a high degree of professional competence with a caring personal touch, and is a part of the "glue" of the campus. A student identified her as one person he could always count on for getting the answers he needed -- but more importantly, he knew that she really cared about him as a person.

Penn State Worthington Scranton

Tim VanDoren, engineering student. VanDoren's dedication and hard work were instrumental in reviving the Veterans' Club, of which he is president, and its annual veterans' breakfast. He has been successful in obtaining media coverage and fund raising to refurbish the Veterans' Memorial on campus.

Penn State York

Alana Werner, staff assistant in Business Services. Werner is the person who makes sure everyone at York gets a paycheck. Whether it's IBIS forms, benefits and health insurance questions, physical plant requests or safety and security issues, Werner accomplishes it all with an eye on the end result -- the good morale of the faculty and staff of the campus.

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