The end of the calendar year brings with it the 11th annual Penn State Trivia Quiz, drawing on an eclectic mix of current and historical information about the University and its alumni. The quiz, compiled by Michael Bezilla in the Office of University Relations, consists of 12 questions with multiple-choice responses. Your score might depend on how well versed you are in subjects as diverse as Penn Staters who've made it big in Hollywood, academic degrees, philanthropy to the University, and the number 48.
1. Among all colleges and universities nationwide, Penn State is the second-largest purchaser of this product or service:
a. sorghum
b. TGP wireless technology
c. frozen french fries
d. wind power
2. Penn Staters have won numerous awards for their professional contributions to the entertainment industry, but two of them have earned exceptional recognition by having stars on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. Who are they?
a. Julius Epstein and Edward Binns
b. Carmen Finestra and Jonathan Frakes
c. Keegan-Michael Key and Stan Lathan
d. Don Bellasario and Fred Waring
3. Penn Staters have long recognized that the University Park campus is situated in an area of exceptional natural beauty. One famous Penn Stater seemed to dismiss the scenery, however, when he or she said, “Students do not go to college to look out the window, but to study.” Who made that statement?
a. President Evan Pugh
b. Professor of American Literature Fred Lewis Pattee
c. Dean of the College of Home Economics Grace Henderson
d. Head Football Coach Joe Paterno
4. At the December 2008 commencement, Penn State awarded six baccalaureate degrees for the very first time in what field?
a. Security and Risk Analysis
b. Resource Recovery and Analysis
c. Environmental Resource Analysis
d. Physical and Chemical Analysis
5. As of December 1, 2008, Penn Staters have won a total of 48 of these, and more are likely to be forthcoming during the current academic year. They are
a. Fulbright Scholarships
b. Congressional internships
c. Pennsylvania lottery prizes of $1,000 or more
d. Super Bowl rings
6. In 2009, Penn State honored J. Y. Thinley as a Distinguished Alumnus, the highest award the University can bestow upon its graduates. Thinley's achievements include
a. Winning an Emmy award for best original television screenplay
b. Serving as the prime minister of Bhutan
c. Designing the new U. S embassy building in Beijing
d. Playing on the 2007 San Antonio Spurs NBA championship team
7. Although Penn State was among the first land-grant colleges in the Northeast to admit women students (in 1871), when Blanche Patterson Miller earned her degree in 1885, female students were still uncommon. In later years, Miller went on to achieve which of these distinctions?
a. First Penn State alumna known to have given birth to triplets, 1891
b. First Penn Stater, male or female, to volunteer for service in the Spanish-American War, 1898
c. First woman to serve as president of the Penn State Alumni Association, 1903
d. First female assistant secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1911
8. Which of the following organizations does NOT have a Penn State alumnus as president or CEO?
a. U. S. Steel Corporation
b. AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations)
c. Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM)
d. Educational Testing Service (ETS)
9. Approximately 2,500 Penn State students did this in 2008-09, up from 2,100 students who did it two years previously. What did they do?
a. Earned associate degrees
b. Studied abroad
c. Tried out to become the Nittany Lion mascot
d. Donated blood
10. iHear Penn State is a cell-phone tour introduced on June 1, 2009, as a convenient, cost-effective way to deliver interesting information about the University. The inaugural tour highlights 12 University Park campus landmarks. About how many calls did iHear Penn State receive in its first six months of operation?
a. an average of 23 calls daily
b. an average of 3 calls per hour
c. a total of 2,900 calls, excluding telemarketers
d. a total of about 3,200 calls, including telemarketers
11. Penn State alumni and friends made gifts totaling about $182 million to the University during the 2008-09 fiscal year. They designated about one dollar in every four for what purpose?
a. The University Libraries
b. Building construction and equipment
c. Student aid
d. Athletics (intramural and intercollegiate)
12. In addition to offering graduate programs that lead to the traditional academic degrees of M.A. (Master of Arts), M.S. (Master of Science), and Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy), Penn State also offers nearly 30 programs that lead to professional degrees, such as the M.S.E. (Master of Software Engineering) and M.F.R. (Master of Forest Resources), and the M.M.M. What is this the M.M.M. degree?
a. Master of Mining and Metallurgy
b. Master of Micro Materials
c. Master of Modern Maturity
d. Master of Manufacturing Management
Bonus question: Turning back temperatures in University Park campus buildings during the 12-day holiday break in 2008-09 saved Penn State how much money?
Visit http://live.psu.edu/story/43605 for answers.