Weekly Wrap: THON prep; Class gift changes; Gift to place counselor in dorms

      A look back at the top stories for the week of Feb. 14

      Penn State junior Ryan Novalski received a buzz cut from Shannon Liverpool during the 'No Hair Don't Care' THON event at Evolve Salon in downtown State College. The fundraiser is a show of solidarity with children who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy treatment. The 2016 Penn State Dance Marathon begins Friday night Feb. 19 at the Bryce Jordan Center and continues through Sunday, Feb. 21. Credit: Ann Taylor-Schmidt / Penn State. Creative Commons

      This week's top stories from across Penn State:

      THON BEFORE THON: Before the dancers can take to the floor for this year's Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, it takes an entirely different marathon to ensure the annual charity event begins without a hitch.

      '46 LIVE': While some students are dancing for 46 hours straight in an effort to battle childhood cancer, students from the College of Communications will be in the Bryce Jordan Center conducting '46 LIVE,' a webcast designed to deliver the THON experience to viewers around the world.

      SOCIAL MEDIA: Want to find an official Penn State Instagram account? What's the Twitter handle for Penn State Research? Where can you download social media resources? Penn State's Office of Social Media has a place for these and more.

      CLASS GIFT CHANGES: Project LionPath, Penn State's multi-year initiative to replace its student information management system, also will bring changes to the University's Class Gift program. One change will be a difference in how the University manages the general deposit, money paid by all students upon admission to Penn State and held until graduation.

      COUNSELING GIFT: Rodney Kirsch, senior vice president for development and alumni relations, and Michele "Mitch" Kirsch, associate dean for student affairs in the Schreyer Honors College, have committed $50,000 to help launch the Embedded Counselor Program, which will position a therapist in one of Penn State's residence halls.

      $2.2M FOR DIABETES RESEARCH: The College of Medicine has received $2.2 million in funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to participate in a new diabetes research network and study the effectiveness of obesity counseling.

      X-FILES: Uncloaking the flying saucer movement in the United States could offer historians a snapshot of Cold War attitudes at work in society, as well as insights into how science communication may be tied to current denialism and conspiracy theory movements, according to a Penn State historian.

      PARK LOVE: A lot has changed in America since the 1990s, so when Penn State researchers set out in 2015 to study Americans' use and perceptions of local parks and recreation services — as a follow-up to a 1991 Penn State study — they weren't sure what to expect. What they found is that Americans' use and perceptions of local government parks and recreation remain as strong as ever.

      BILINGUALS: Bilinguals use and learn language in ways that change their minds and brains, which has consequences — many positive, according to Judith Kroll, a Penn State cognitive scientist.

      SCHUYLKILL STEM: The John E. Morgan Foundation presented a $1.5 million challenge match to help Penn State Schuylkill facilitate instruction in science, technology, engineering and math-related (STEM) fields and provide financial assistance to students who wish to pursue a degree in a STEM-related major.

      Last Updated February 18, 2016