Lectures
Penn State Intercom......September
19, 2002
African studies expert
to discuss pluralism 
Lucius T. Outlaw Jr., professor of philosophy and director of the African-American Studies Program at Vanderbilt University, will deliver the Penn State Forum lecture at noon Thursday, Oct. 3, at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel on the University Park campus.
The topic of his presentation is "On Courage and Democratic Pluralism."
Outlaw, formerly T. Wister Brown professor of philosophy at Haverford College, teaches, researches and writes about African philosophy, African-American philosophy, Karl Marx, critical social theory, social and political philosophy, and the history of philosophy in the West.
The Penn State Forum is a lunchtime speaker series offered by the Faculty Staff Club and is sponsored in part by the Penn State Bookstore. It is open to the public. Tickets are $10 for members and $12 for non-members and include lunch. Reservations can be made by mail or by stopping by the Faculty Staff Club office at 103 HUB-Robeson Center. Tickets will be on sale at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. followed by the speech and a question-and-answer session at noon. For information, call (814) 865-7590.
Get free composting bin
by attending workshop
The Master Gardeners of Centre County will hold a composting workshop and free compost bin distribution from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, in the Ag Arena on the University Park campus.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has donated 200 black plastic composting bins for distribution to county residents who attend the workshop.
There will be an educational presentation, informational displays and a question/answer period.
Bins will be distributed immediately afterward.
To receive a free bin, register by e-mailing name, address and phone number to mbr10@psu.edu or by calling the Centre County Cooperative Extension Office at (814) 355-4897 and leaving a message on the Master Gardener voice mail.
Halberstam, Greenberg
to be at Foster Conference
A free public forum featuring author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Halberstam will highlight the fall Foster Conference of Distinguished Writers at Penn State.
The two-day event on the University Park campus begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, when Halberstam joins Katie O'Toole of WPSX-TV for a conversation and public question-and-answer session in Schwab Auditorium.
A second session, featuring Pulitzer Prize-winner Paul Greenberg, editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, concludes the conference at 10:10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, in Foster Auditorium of Pattee Library.
R. Thomas Berner, professor of journalism and American studies, will moderate the second session.
Professor to discuss utility
of arts, humanities
Michael Bérubé, Paterno family professor in literature, will deliver the Paterno Family Lecture in Literature at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, in the Palmer Museum of Art on the University Park campus.
Bérubé will speak on "The Utility of the Arts and Humanities." According to Bérubé, artists and humanists who work in universities are profoundly ambivalent about the idea of defending their enterprises in terms of social utility. His talk will explore this ambivalence, in part by contrasting the arts and humanities with the speculative sciences, and will argue that artists and humanists can justify the utility -- and the uselessness -- of studying both ancient and contemporary works of art and literature.
The talk is sponsored by the Department of English and the Palmer Museum.
Children's author
to talk about story quilts
Faith Ringgold will present "Story Quilts and Children's Books" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, in the HUB-Robeson Center on the University Park campus.
The event is free to the public.
The talk is in conjunction with a touring retrospective exhibit of Ringgold's work on display through Dec. 4 in the Robeson Gallery. Ringgold, a painter, sculptor, writer, children's book illustrator and teacher, has received much notice for her story quilts, soft sculptures and book illustrations that recognize African-American art and women's history.
For information, call (814) 863-2141 or visit http://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu.
Educating policymakers
is topic for commissioner
Patricia Morrissey will discuss "How to Educate Policy Makers" from 3 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, in 124 Cedar Building on the University Park campus.
Morrissey, commissioner of the Administration on Development Disabilities in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has worked to expand the notion of diversity and to ensure fair and beneficial treatment of all citizens, especially those with disabilities. Morrissey will be on campus to accept a 2002 Alumni Fellow award. She is an alumna of the College of Education.
Lecturers to explore
spread of weeds in talk
David Mortensen, associate professor of weed ecology/biology, and Robert Humston, postdoctoral scholar, will discuss "Understanding Weed Spread: Examples of Two Spatial Scales" from 3:35 to 4:25 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, in 101 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building on the University Park campus.
The Department of Crop and Soil Sciences is the host. For information, call (814) 863-1601.
Ethics and trust explored
in business seminar
Allen Weltmann and Douglas B. Sieg will discuss "Disappearing Act: Corporate Ethics, Profits and Trust" from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, in Foster Auditorium, 101 Pattee Library, on the University Park campus.
Weltmann is a member of the class of 1965 and partner in charge of government relations at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Sieg is a member of the class of 1992 and partner and director of marketing at Lord Abbett and Co.
The two will discuss recent events, such as the Enron scandal and its impact on the business world; government's role in business; the adequacy of current legislation; predictions of future changes and other topics.
This seminar is free to the public.
For information, call Gary White at (814) 865-9268 or e-mail gww2@psu.edu.