News in Brief
Penn State Intercom......December 5, 2002

Palliative care is subject
of Spanier radio/TV call-in

Symptom and pain management for terminally-ill patients will be the topic of the next edition of "To the Best of My Knowledge," President Graham B. Spanier's monthly call-in show airing at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17, on WPSU-FM and WPSX-TV.

Joining Spanier to discuss relief for those with advanced end-stage disease will be Dr. Dennis Johnson, director of the Center for Palliative Medicine at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and Susan Spencer, nurse coordinator for the center.

Listeners and viewers with questions or comments are encouraged to call (800) 543-8242 during the one-hour broadcast. Internet users worldwide will be able to link to sound and pictures from the program at http://www.wpsu.psu.edu/ttbomk/; and they will be able to contact the president during the program via e-mail to response@psu.edu.

"To the Best of My Knowledge" is a series designed to explore topics of national and local interest and to allow listeners a chance to communicate directly with Penn State's president.

Library hours

To accommodate end-of-semester study needs, operating hours throughout Pattee and Paterno Libraries will be extended until 2 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 15, through Thursday, Dec. 19. Concurrently, the University Libraries and ITS (Information Technology Services) are partnering to sponsor extended CATA bus service to help students and others return to their apartments, residence halls or homes after these late-night study hours.

During the semester, bus service on the Town Loop and Campus Loop ends at 12:30 a.m. The sponsorship will extend one bus on each route -- helping those staying late at the Libraries or working in the ITS 24-hour computer labs to make it safely home. This free service will run approximately every 20 minutes. The last trip leaves the Pattee Library stop on Curtin Road at 2:20 a.m. on the Campus Loop and 2:24 a.m. on the Town Loop.

The University Libraries will have limited hours during the December holiday and January intersession period, Saturday, Dec. 21, through Sunday, Jan. 12.

Pattee and Paterno Libraries and the University Park branch libraries will be closed Dec. 22-26, Dec. 28-29, Jan. 1 and Jan. 4-5. The University Libraries will begin spring semester hours on Jan. 13.

For more information on Libraries hours, visit http://www.libraries.psu.edu/hours/ or call (814) 865-3063. For information on ITS computer lab hours, visit http://clc.its.psu.edu/labs/locations/hours/. For bus schedules and stop locations, go to http://www.catabus.com/ or call (814) 238-2282.

Midnight Clear reminder

The holiday season is fast approaching and many employees will be using some vacation time to leave early and extend the winter break. The Office of Physical Plant asks that all department vehicles are placed in an appropriate Midnight Clear location before the semester shutdown. All vehicles, both private and departmental, should be removed from the surface lots for the holiday season.

If there is a snowfall while the University is closed a Midnight Clear may be declared. The fact that the University has shut down all non-essential services does not negate the need to have all vehicles moved to one of the designated areas.

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, Academic Administrative Policy on Religious Holidays (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 and make special arrangements for the student affected. The Faculty Handbook says that "Faculty members are encouraged to entertain requests for exemptions from class attendance for purposes of religious observances."

In consultation with campus and community religious leaders, The Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs has compiled a listing of those holy days of the major world religions for which observance may require a student to depart from his or her normal routine at the University. Only those holy days which occur when classes are in session are included. This is not, therefore, an exhaustive list of all major holy days in each religious tradition. The list is available on the Web at http://www.sa.psu.edu/cera/relhol.html.

Students as teachers

Faculty may receive one-on-one computer/technology consulting from a student Technology Learning Assistant (TLA). TLAs tutor faculty one-on-one in their offices on topics such as Penn State's Course Management System, ANGEL; e-mail organization; how to create basic Web pages; and how to use Excel as a gradebook.

Qualifying TLAs are required to have a working knowledge of Microsoft Office and HTML and have created at least one Web site with multiple pages. TLAs enroll in a one-credit course; participate in training sessions; then schedule meetings with the faculty to whom they are assigned.

Faculty interested in participating in the TLA program should apply by Dec. 9 by completing the application form on the Web at http://tlt.its.psu.edu/support/tla/. For more information e-mail Carol Dwyer at cad6@psu.edu.

The Technology Learning Assistants program is sponsored by the Schreyer Honors College, Information Technology Services, the School of Information Sciences and Technology, and the Instructional Systems program of the College of Education.

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