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Fall 2005 Faculty Fellowship Applications News Developments in Academic Integrity Provost Emeritus Faculty Teaching Scholar Awards Staff Professional Development |
Summer Highlights I'm delighted to welcome our new faculty and our returning faculty to the beginning of the new academic year. This year, we have five new tenured and tenure line colleagues joining the College. They are briefly profiled after this message. The College's faculty and departments have advanced considerably during the past several years. The results of last spring's US News and World Report ratings, while covering only a few of our departments, demonstrated that, at least in national reputation, all those ranked had gained significantly during the past decade. Several programs were in the top 10 of all publics nationally, and all but one department rated was in the top 20. We know all the arguments for why such ratings need to be taken with the proverbial grain of salt, and yet we also know that reputation matters in attracting outstanding graduate students and faculty and is at least a crude assessment of progress. This year, we are poised for further advancement. I will focus here on the humanities, and next issue will discuss new initiatives in the social sciences. The increasing quality of our humanities units and its faculty is a large part of the overall improvement in the College. Recent support provided by the NEH to our faculty and programs is but one piece of evidence of this quality. Early in the summer, we learned of NEH support for Michael Hogan, professor of communication arts and sciences, and Rosa Eberly, associate professor of communication arts and sciences and English, who are part of a five-person team leading a Voices of Democracy project that will create a Web site containing the great speeches and debates of American history. The Web site will be targeted to classroom use. NEH also recently announced support for the Hemingway Letters Project led by Sandra Spanier, professor of English. The aim of this long term project is to collect, compile, annotate, and publish the estimated 7000 to 8000 letters of Ernest Hemingway in a multi-volume series. Most recently, we learned of a new NEH challenge grant won by the Richards Civil War Center, details of which appear later in this issue. Given the progress in the humanities and desire to improve even more, last spring the University committed to a major investment in the humanities. The first fruits of this are visible, with twenty-five dissertation writers, at least one from each humanities department, supported with funds to allow them to spend this past summer or a semester this year free of teaching responsibilities. As I reported in the summer, sixteen students were chosen by center and institute directors, in collaboration with Jack Selzer in the College's graduate office, and they are or will be spending their research time at the Africana Research Center, the Center for Language Acquisition, the Institute for the Arts and Humanities, the Richards Civil War Center, or the Rock Ethics Institute. An additional nine dissertation writers will be supported for a semester within their home departments. This will be an ongoing program: a new class of dissertation writers will be supported each year. Additional plans for using the funds to strengthen the humanities include new faculty hiring in key strategic areas, a series of master seminars open to faculty, and strengthening the College's investment in the area of science and society. I will be reporting on these and other developments related to the humanities initiative on a continuing basis. The selection of Marica Tacconi, associate professor musicology, as the new executive director of the Institute of the Arts and Humanities and Dennis Schmidt, professor of philosophy, German, and comparative literature, as director of special projects and symposia for the Institute, is another milestone in the progress of the humanities. They will build on the strong foundation laid by Laura Knoppers, professor of English, who has returned to her full time faculty role. Under Laura's leadership (in partnership with associate directors Yvonne Gaudelius and then Marica Tacconi), the Institute expanded and enriched its faculty support programs, initiated new graduate support programs, and developed and implemented outreach initiatives. With Laura as the PI, the Institute won an NEH challenge grant, which, with matching funds raised and provided by the College of the Liberal Arts and the College of Arts and Architecture, supported these enrichments. Marica and Dennis will build on this foundation with the aim of further expanding the external visibility of the Institute while continuing to enhance internal faculty and student support. The institutional support provided by the provost, the external support won by our faculty, and the strengthening of the IAH all bode well for the continuing further advancement of Penn State humanities. The humanities are critical to the education we provide students, to Penn State 's stature as a major research University, and to the larger role of the university in the community. It is gratifying to be part of this progress. Susan Welch All tenured and tenure-line Liberal Arts faculty are cordially invited to a reception to meet new tenure-line faculty colleagues. The event will be held from 4–6 p.m., Monday, September 12, at the Hintz Family Alumni Center (the Hintz Center is the old University president's house, located behind Sackett Building). Each of our new tenure-line faculty will be introduced. The College will sponsor a panel discussion and information session on promotion and tenure for tenure-track faculty on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 from 3 to 5 p.m., in 124 Sparks Building. In addition to remarks from Dean Welch, the program will include a panel of department heads. The material covered will be similar to previous years (promotion and tenure procedures, dossier preparation, and the responsibilities of the tenure candidate) although we will, of course, touch on changes in promotion and tenure guidelines made during the past year. There will be an opportunity for questions and discussion. Though the panel is targeted for tenure-track faculty, all faculty are welcome to attend. It is a pleasure to report that twenty Liberal Arts faculty from ten departments at University Park, one at the Worthington Scranton Campus, and one at the Hazleton Campus have been promoted or had tenure awarded. Congratulations to all! Tenured and Promoted to Associate Professor: Alexander J. S. Colvin, Labor Studies and Industrial Relations; Karen Gasper, Psychology; Alicia A. Grandey, Psychology; Jane A. Juffer, English and Women's Studies; Claire E. Katz, Philosophy, Jewish Studies, and Women's Studies; Ann E. Killebrew, Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Jewish Studies; Ralph E. Rodriguez, English and Comparative Literature; Stacy J. Rogers, Sociology, Human Development and Family Studies, and Women's Studies; Sherry L. Roush, Italian; Alice J. Sheppard, English and Comparative Literature; Susan G. Strauss, Communication Arts and Sciences and Applied Linguistics; and Theresa K. Vescio, Psychology and Women's Studies Promoted to Professor: Barbara E. Bullock, French and Linguistics; John Dolis, English (Worthington Scranton Campus); William C. Ellis, English (Hazleton Campus); Cheryl J. Glenn, English; Robert E. Lougy, English; Josip A. Novakovich, English; Eric Plutzer, Political Science and Sociology; and A. Jacqueline Toribio, Linguistics and Spanish Linguistics. Provost Emeritus Faculty Teaching Scholar Awards Francis Gentry, Professor Emeritus of German, S. Leonard Rubinstein, Professor Emeritus of English, William T. Sanders, Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, and Daniel Walden, Professor Emeritus of American Studies, English, and Comparative Literature, were named Provost's Emeritus Faculty Teaching Scholars for Fall 2005. As part of the program, each will be teaching an undergraduate course in his respective department. Congratulations to all, and thanks for your continuing contributions to the College. National Endowment for the Humanities Grant The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) named Penn State 's George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center as one of the recipients of its We the People Challenge Grants for 2003. The award provides a grant of $1 million to the center to help build its endowment for programming in the humanities and must be matched by another $3 million raised by the University within a 56-month period. Announced by President Bush in 2002, the initiative supports targeted institutions that can help fulfill the goal of the We the People Initiative to further the study, teaching, and understanding of American history. “From the earliest days of American democracy,” according to the NEH, “the study of history has been essential to the preservation of freedom.” Freedom is a concept that has changed over time, defined and preserved through often hard-won struggles. The NEH challenge grant helps build resources for those projects that explore significant events and themes in our nation's history, and shares these lessons with all Americans. The Richards Center was founded on the premise that Americans will benefit from a more expansive vision of the Civil War period and its impact on freedom in contemporary life. Richards Center director William Blair says, “The war represents both the culmination of debates left unresolved by the founding fathers at the Constitutional Convention and the beginning of new struggles for freedom that emerged in the battles over Civil Rights in our more recent past. The We the People grant is an exceptional honor that marks the formal acknowledgement by the federal government of the outstanding work of the Richards Center in advancing the study of the Civil War Era and related issues of slavery, freedom, and equality up to the present day.” Blair, the principle investigator for the grant, said the fund will provide capital for moving ahead with programs that have been part of its strategic plan. Monies generated from the endowment will provide an undergraduate education fund, lecture programs, summer institutes geared both toward emerging scholars in higher education and teachers in secondary education, resources for conferences and public symposia, and various fellowships to encourage research from faculty both within Penn State and from other institutions. All of this adds to an already strong programming base that has now achieved national recognition. “To say we are ecstatic about this grant is an understatement,” said Blair. “It marks a turning point in the life of the Center and rewards the hard efforts of faculty, staff, administrators, and alumnae who have made this venture such a labor of love over the past seven years. This new support allows us to expand our unique mission to serve a multitude of publics both inside and outside of the academy, and find productive ways of connecting scholars and the public over this most fundamental issue in American lives.” Reginald B. Adams, assistant professor of psychology, received his Ph.D. from Dartmouth College. He is interested in how we extract social and emotional meaning form nonverbal cues, particularly via the face. His work addresses how multiple social messages (e.g., emotion, gender, race, and age) combine and interact to form unified representations that guide our impressions of and responses to others. His current work examines the influences of eye gaze, social group memberships (e.g., gender and race), and facial appearance on the way we process and perceive others' mental and emotional states. Before coming to Penn State, he was awarded a National Research Service Award (NRSA) from the National Institute of Mental Health to train as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard and Tufts Universities. Recent publications have appeared in Emotion and Personality and Social Psychological Bulletin. Ginger Moore, assistant professor of psychology, received her Ph.D. in clinical and developmental psychology at the University of Pittsburgh in 2000. She is a child clinical psychologist with research interests in infant emotion development in high-risk social contexts, including parental psychopathology, marital conflict and domestic violence, and maternal incarceration. Her most recent research is focused on the development of normal and abnormal patterns of physiological and behavioral regulation in response to high-conflict and violent environments and the mechanisms that explain risk and resilience in response to these experiences. Clinical interests include mother-infant emotion regulation, treatment of children exposed to trauma, and family systems and emotion-focused therapy approaches. Recent publications have appeared in Developmental Psychology and Infant Behavior and Development. John Casterline, professor of sociology and demography, earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1980. Prior to joining Penn State, John was a senior associate for the Policy Research Division, Population Council in New York. His interests lie in fertility transition; family change; social networks and demographic processes; and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab region, and South Asia (Pakistan). John's research in social networks and fertility has been supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the United Nations Population Fund, and the Rockefeller Foundation. José Soto joins Penn State as assistant professor of psychology. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004. He is a clinical psychologist interested in the influence of culture on psychological and physiological processes. Much of his work has centered on understanding the role that culture plays in emotional functioning. For his research efforts, Dr. Soto was awarded the University of California 's President's Postdoctoral Fellowship, but he declined the opportunity to begin his appointment at Penn State. Barry Wimpfheimer, assistant professor of religious studies and Jewish studies and the Mal and Lea Bank Early Career Professor in Jewish Studies,will be awarded the Ph.D. with distinction from Columbia University 's Department of Religion in October 2005. Before beginning his doctoral work at Columbia, Barry received Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshiva University in 2000. Barry's research focuses on the intersection of law and literature in the Babylonian Talmud. His dissertation analyzes the Talmud's legal narratives, drawing attention to the generally unnoticed literary life of such stories. A portion of this research is published as “But It Is Not So': Toward a Poetics of Legal Narrative in the Babylonian Talmud.” Prooftexts 24 (2004): 51-86. Barry has been an Associate Editor of Prooftexts: A Journal of Jewish Literary History since January 2005. During the Spring 2006 semester, Barry will be a Harry Starr Fellow at the Harvard University Center for Judaic Studies. Faculty Fellowship Applications This is the time of year when many of you, especially among our humanities faculty, are thinking of applying for fellowships for 2006-07. We encourage you to do this. However, please note the College policies surrounding fellowships that do not pay full salary or are not taken in conjunction with a funded sabbatical: http://www.la.psu.edu/facstaff/handbookprint/felwpolc.htm A key first step is for faculty members to consult with their department heads. Any subsidy by the department or College needs prior approval by the dean (subsidy is payment of your salary when you are off campus and not on a sabbatical). Any subsidy will depend on the prestige and size of the fellowship. Please do not wait until you get a fellowship to talk with your department head about how you are going to be able to afford to take it. Lila Corwin Berman, the Lea and Malvin Bank Early Career Professor in Jewish Studies, has been chosen as one of this year's Young Scholars in American Religion, a program sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. Paul Rose, Mitrani Professor of Jewish Studies, has been appointed by Christ Church, Oxford, to the Fowler Hamilton Senior Research Fellowship for spring 2006. Bernard W. Bell, professor of English, has won a 2005 American Book Award for his book, The Contemporary African American Novel: Its Folk Roots and Modern Literary Branches (University of Massachusetts Press, 2005), from the Before Columbus Foundation. The foundation, established in 1976, is devoted to redefining our notion of mainstream American literature to reflect the country's multicultural, multiethnic, and multiracial diversity. Since 1978 the foundation has sponsored the American Book Awards, which honor a wide spectrum of books that reflect this heritage and to acknowledge the excellence and multicultural diversity of American writing. Keith Gilyard, Lovalerie King, Linda Selzer, and John Farris comprised the planning committee whose program was selected as an exemplary program award winner at the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA) recent Mid-Atlantic conference. The conference was in honor of the many contributions to the field of African American literature by Bernard W. Bell, professor of English. The Bridge (Bloodaxe Books, 2004), by Romanian poet Marin Sorescu, co-translated by Adam J. Sorkin, Distinguished Professor of English at Penn State Delaware County, and Lidia Vianu, University of Bucharest, has recently been short-listed for the biennial Corneliu M. Popescu Prize for European Poetry in Translation. The competition, named after a Romanian translator who died in 1977, represents a major international prize for the best translation from a modern European language in the past two years. There are five other titles short-listed for the prize, which will be announced in London on September 8, 2005. Michael Wenger, associate professor of psychology, has been elected as a Fellow of Division 3 (Experimental Psychology) of the American Psychological Association.Congratulations to the following faculty who have won new grants during the past few weeks. James M. Hogan and Rosa A. Eberly, professors of communications arts & sciences, from the University of Maryland College Park, for “Voices of Democracy: The U.S. Oratory Project.” Paola E. Dussias, assistant professor of Spanish and second language acquisition, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for “Ambiguity Resolution in Spanish-English Bilinguals.” Josip Novakovich, professor of English, has won a Fulbright grant to travel to Russia for work on a novel dealing with emigrants from the Balkan parts of Austria-Hungary preceding and during World War I. Daniel J. Weiss, assistant professor of psychology, from the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, for “Bilingual Speech Segmentation.”New Developments in Academic Integrity The College has developed a new web site to help both faculty and students understand and properly engage the College's academic integrity policy and procedures. I urge all faculty to take a few minutes to bookmark the site and review its content. Here's the address: http://www.la.psu.edu/CLA-Academic_Integrity/faculty_resources.shtml Among the resources included there, you'll find the College's official academic integrity policy, resources for detection and prevention of internet plagiarism, "G-9" (the official University academic integrity policy), and an academic integrity statement for inclusion in your syllabi. Important new additions to the site are the revised College form for use when filing an academic dishonesty charge, as well as step-by-step instructions for what to do (and what not to do) when you suspect academic dishonesty has occurred. Also new this year are guidelines to assist faculty in their consideration of sanctions for academic integrity violations. The site also contains a page designed specifically to serve as a resource for students; feel free to include it in your syllabi or share it with your students as you deem appropriate: http://www.la.psu.edu/CLA-Academic_Integrity/student_resources.shtml The "understanding and avoiding plagiarism" link on that page should prove particularly useful. It contains the English department's "Types of Plagiarism" site, the University Libraries' "Information Literacy and You" site, and Diana Hacker's "A Writer's Reference" site. The Diana Hacker site has specific samples from the MLA, APA, and Chicago style manuals. .. it's a gem. As new developments occur in College and University policy related to academic integrity, they will be posted on this site. Stay tuned! New Leadership at the IAH Institute Marica Tacconi, associate professor of musicology, has been appointed executive director of the IAH. Dennis Schmidt, professor of philosophy, comparative literature and German, is the new director of special projects and symposia. Together, they will build upon the solid foundations laid by former Director Laura Knoppers, Professor of English, and will move the Institute toward expanded programming and increased national and international visibility. Five Liberal Arts faculty have been named as resident scholars at the Institute, each for a semester: Dan Beaver, associate professor of European history, will work on an exploration of the concept of “forest” and how it can contribute to our understanding of the English Civil War. Cecil Giscombe, professor of English, will work on a prose nonfiction book about trains, train metaphors, and train references in art and in more common usage. Jeffrey Nealon, professor of English, will work on an interdisciplinary book concerning the changing role(s) of cultural production in the face of the American “new economy.” John Lipski, professor of Spanish and linguistics, will work on a study of contemporary Afro-Hispanic language in Latin America and its impact on African American culture in the Americas. Mrinalini Sinha, associate professor of British imperial and modern south Asian history and women's studies history, will work on a study of the impact of transnational encounters on the racial antinomies of mainstream Indian nationalism. IAH Individual Faculty Grant Recipients Four Liberal Arts faculty won Institute for the Arts and Humanities Individual Grants for fall: Jonathan Burgoyne, assistant professor of Spanish, for a project on the manuscript transmission and reception of Flores de filosofia. Patrick Cheney, professor of English and comparative literature, for a comprehensive edition of the entire body of Spenser's work according to modern scholarly standards. Greg Eghigian, associate professor of history, for a comparative study of how liberal, fascist, and socialist states interacted with emerging psychological sciences to define and manage the individual. Marcy North, associate professor of English, for an analysis of the relationship between manuscript production resources such as scribal labor and the literary choices of poetry collectors. Please note the following approaching deadlines for Institute competitions: October 7, 2005 : Team Teaching Across the Disciplines, 2006–2007 This IAH competition provides opportunities to bring interdisciplinary into upper-level undergraduate and graduate classrooms through collaborative teaching. Funding will cover expenses directly related to faculty team-teaching, including use of multi-media resources; guest speakers; faculty/student travel to museums, to performances, or for learning-related projects in other locations. Course buy-out for one faculty member may be requested if accompanied by justification. Supported by a Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Maximum grant award: $7,500. October 17, 2005 : Individual Faculty Grant Program (for the period January–June 2006) This program helps to fund the research and creative projects of individual faculty members in and across the arts and humanities at Penn State. Awards support materials, travel for research / creative activity, costs related to publication, wages for research assistance, and release time. Maximum grant award: $4,000. November 1, 2005 : Resident Scholars and Artists Program, 2006–2007 This program, jointly sponsored with the College of the Liberal Arts and the College of Arts and Architecture, provides up to eight faculty members per year with one semester of release time from teaching, a $1,000 grant for research expenses or materials, and the use of an office in Ihlseng Cottage. November 15, 2005 : Interdisciplinary Groups Funding for interdisciplinary groups covers expenses directly related to group programming such as travel, lodging, and honoraria for invited speakers, performers, or artists; costs of publicity; research assistance to help with programming; costs related to publication ensuing from symposia or lecture series; and costs of exhibition or performance. Well before the application deadline, group leaders are required to schedule a meeting with the IAH Directors to discuss the nature of their group and the proposed activities. Group programs may be funded for one academic year (2006–2007) or for two years (2006–2008). Maximum amount per group per year: $7,500. February 15, 2006 : Graduate Student Summer Residency Program, 2006 This competitive program provides up to eight advanced graduate students with a $3,000 stipend and the use of an office in Ihlseng Cottage during summer term 2006, enabling them to spend focused time working on their theses, dissertations, or final creative projects. Graduate officers may nominate up to two students per department or program. March 1, 2006 : Individual Faculty Grant Program (for the period July-December 2006) For further information and complete guidelines on these programs, please call the Institute at 865-0495, e-mail arts-humanities@psu.edu, or visit www.research.psu.edu/iah. Provost Emeritus Faculty Teaching Scholar Awards Francis Gentry, Professor Emeritus of German, S. Leonard Rubinstein, Professor Emeritus of English, William T. Sanders, Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, and Daniel Walden, Professor Emeritus of American Studies, English, and Comparative Literature, were named Provost's Emeritus Faculty Teaching Scholars for Fall 2005. As part of the program, each will be teaching an undergraduate course in his respective department. Congratulations to all, and thanks for your continuing contributions to the College. Nature writer Marcia Bonta will deliver a slide-lecture titled “Suffer the Mouse to Play: The Landscape of Nature Writing” in the Foster Auditorium, Pattee Library, on Tuesday, September 13 at 7:00 p.m. Her presentation is sponsored by the Institute for the Arts and Humanities, University Libraries, the Department of Landscape Architecture, and the Department of English. Bonta is a Bucknell University graduate who has lived in Central Pennsylvania since 1971, most of that time on the isolated, forest-covered mountaintop farm near Tyrone that has become the setting and subject of some of her most memorable writing. Her latest book, Appalachian Winter, completes her four-book cycle devoted to loving seasonal explorations of the nature of her rural home. For more information contact Bob Burkholder, Department of English, Penn State (Phone: 865-7105, email: reb5@psu.edu)Daniel and Bea Walden Lecture in Jewish Studies “Cultural Studies and Jewish Historiography,” by Jonathan Boyarin, newly appointed to a Chair in Jewish Studies at the University of Kansas, will offer the first Daniel and Bea Walden Lecture in Jewish Studies. Professor Boyarin, who is both an anthropologist and a lawyer, will discuss the constantly changing experience of being Jewish in America on Thursday, September 29, 2005, at 4 p.m. at the University Club. Rock Ethics Institute “Health as a Human Right” Lecture Series Speakers for 2005-06 “The Best Health Care in the World?” by Darrell G. Kirch, M.D. Senior Vice President for Health Affairs, Dean, Penn State College of Medicine, and Chief Executive Officer, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center on September 19, 2005, at 3:00–4:30 p.m., Foster Auditorium, 101 Pattee Library. Dr. Kirch has served in leadership positions for a number of professional organizations, including as Chair of the American Medical Association Section on Medical Schools and on the Administrative Board for the Council of Deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). From 2003 to 2004 he was Chair of the Council of Deans, and he continues to serve on the AAMC Executive Council. Currently, Dr. Kirch is Co-chair of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the body overseeing medical school accreditation in the United States. He has had an active career as a clinician and researcher interested in the biological basis of and treatments for severe neuropsychiatric disorders. The Child Study Center at Penn State is pleased to announce that Dr. Joseph Campos will present the Child Study Center 's Fall 2005 Lois Bloom Lecture. Dr. Campos is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and a member of the University's Institute of Human Development, as well as the President of the International Society on Infant Studies. Dr. Campos' current research, conducted in both the United States and China, has two overlapping foci: the universality of emotional development in infancy across cultures and contexts, and the relationship of motor development to other domains of infant development. For this lecture, entitled “Explaining Developmental Transition in Infancy,” Dr. Campos will be discussing the relations between infants' motor experience and transitions in emotional, perceptual, social and self development. To read the abstract for his talk, please visit our Web site at http://csc.psych.psu.edu/. The Child Study Center 's Fall 2005 Lois Bloom Lecture will be held at the Nittany Lion Inn in Ballroom A & B on Thursday, September 22, 2005, at 4:15 p.m., with a reception to follow. We look forward to seeing you there! Poet and critic Yunte Huang will present a reading from his new book, Cribs, at Webster's Book Store, on Monday, September 19, 2005, at 7:30 P.M. Earlier the same day, Professor Huang will present a talk in the Comparative Literature noon-time series at Kern Building. He has just published his first book of poems, Tinfish, and has also translated Ezra Pound's work into Chinese. On Saturday, October 22, 2005, the Penn State Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures will host its fourth annual Pennsylvania German Day. The purpose of this event is to explore, showcase, and celebrate the German heritage in Pennsylvania with lectures, field trips, and banquets. Alumni, faculty, friends, students, and teachers are invited to attend. This year's events are centered around the topic of Pennsylvania German textiles. The lecturers will be Janneken Smucker from the University of Delaware and Elaine Mercer of Belleville, PA. Janneken Smucker is an expert in textile history who has worked as a curator and consultant on Amish quilts. Her publications include the co-authored book Amish Crib Quilts from the Midwest: The Sara Miller Collection (2003). Elaine Mercer, a native of California, previously lived in an Amish settlement in Conewango Valley, New York, and now lives in Belleville where she owns a Bed & Breakfast and sells Amish quilts through a mail order catalog. She enjoys visiting her many Amish friends and neighbors. The program will include two lectures in the morning, lunch at rustic and picturesque Peachey's Restaurant near Belleville, and an afternoon visit to an Amish family in Big Valley with a practical quilting demonstration. For further information, contact Adrian Wanner at 814-865-5481 or ajw3@psu.edu. Information is also available at http://german.la.psu.edu/. If you have not done so already, I invite you to take a look at the WebEvents Calendar which features lectures, talks, and conferences sponsored by units within the College of the Liberal Arts and by the College itself. I encourage you to use this great source of information. If you have something that you would like posted to the calendar for your department, please send entry submissions to Carol Sonenklar at cas499@psu.edu September 19, 3-4:30 p.m., Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., “The Best Health Care in the World?” Foster Auditorium, Pattee Library, September 13, 7:00 p.m., Marcia Bonta, “Suffer the Mouse to Play: The Landscape of Nature Writing” Foster Auditorium, Pattee Library, on Tuesday, September 13 at 7:00 p.m. September 19, 7:30 p.m., Yunte Huang, Webster's Book Store. September 22, 4:15 p.m., Dr. Joseph Campos, Nittany Lion Inn Ballroom A & B. September 29, 4 p.m., Jonathan Boyarin, “Cultural Studies and Jewish Historiography,” University Club. If you need to obtain or exchange parking permits, please come to Room 111 Sparks Building, Monday through Friday, from 9 to 11 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. only. Please remember to bring your license plate number(s) with you when you register for your permit. Once you have a permit, please be sure you report new or changed license plate numbers to Michele Aitkin, mla12@psu.edu. As a reminder, if you are leaving the College, you will need to return your parking permit to 111 Sparks. Human Resources and Administrative Update Program: On September 15, the College will have an administrative update session for administrative and staff assistants who handle departmental promotion and tenure matters. The workshop will include promotion and tenure and human resources issues as well as several presentations. The program will be held in the Alumni Lounge of the Nittany Lion Inn from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Staff Professional Development To present opportunities for professional development for LA staff members, the LA Office of Human Resources will continue to offer monthly workshops on a variety of topics. The workshops will begin in September; most workshops will be held on the third Wednesday of each month from 8:30-10:30 a.m. in room 124 Sparks. The schedule of workshops will be posted on the Liberal Arts Human Resources website after September 1. Interested staff members may register by contacting Betsy Will (ejw5@psu.edu). Some of the planned topics include:
If you have specific suggestions for workshops, please let us know. An informational session is being offered for college staff on Friday, October 14, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in room 121 Sparks Building. Dean Welch will discuss College initiatives and directions, and Jennifer Morris will speak about human resources programs and initiatives. All staff members are invited to attend this informational program and to bring any questions you may have. The twelfth annual United Way Day of Caring will be held on Thursday, October 6, 2005. Over the years the faculty and staff of the College of the Liberal Arts have donated many volunteers and hours to the United Way Day of Caring. If you or a team of employees from your area, are interested in donating a day of vacation to be of service for improvement projects throughout the county, please contact the Day of Caring Office at 238-2941 or at dayofcaring@ccunitedway.org for details. For a volunteer application, please see the following Web site: http://www.ccunitedway.org/pdf/VolunteerProfile.pdf A list of projects and locations will be available on the following Web site by September 1: http://www.ccunitedway.org/pncdoc.html Our College campaign committee is busy once again planning upcoming events and they will be announced very soon. Please help us continue our long history of successful United Way events by continuing to support them. Vicki Blazer, administrative assistant IV, history, religious studies, classics and ancient Mediterranean studies, and Jewish studies Mary Cameron, academic counselor, political science. Karen Davis, staff assistant VI, English. Christine Foster, staff assistant VII, economics. Jennifer Gilbert, staff assistant V, communication arts and sciences. Gregory Halpin, systems administrator, Liberal Arts Computer Support Services. Katy Heltman, staff assistant VII (publications assistant), alumni relations and development. Cathy Holsing, instructional designer, dean's office. Laura Poulter, staff assistant V, psychology clinic. Gabriel Welsch, manager publications/public relations, assistant to the dean for advancement, alumni relations and development. Chad Beam, microcomputer information specialist, Liberal Arts Computer Support Services. Philip Brannen, microcomputer information specialist, Liberal Arts Computer Support Services. Charlene Harpster, staff assistant VI, undergraduate studies. Jennifer Moore, staff assistant VI, English. Penny Smith, staff assistant VII, alumni relations and development. Carol Spotts, staff assistant VII, political science. Three members of our faculty and staff serve as College sexual harassment resource officers. These individuals may be contacted for confidential advice on matters relating to sexual harassment: Mel Mark, professor of psychology, 863-1755; Jennifer Morris, director of administrative services, 863-8426; and Deborah Clarke, associate professor of English and women's studies, 863-9592. Alternatively, the University Affirmative Action Office (863-0471) may be contacted directly. LA Times is compiled by Carol Sonenklar, Alumni Relations and Development Office, 13 Sparks, 865-8085. LA Times is also available on the Web here. This publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please consult Louise Sharrar 814-865-7691 in advance of your participation or visit. The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities. It is the policy of the University to maintain an academic and work environment free of discrimination, including harassment. The Pennsylvania State University prohibits discrimination and harassment against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Discrimination or harassment against faculty, staff, or students will not be tolerated at The Pennsylvania State University. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to the Affirmative Action Director, The Pennsylvania State University, 328 Boucke Building, University Park, PA 16802-5901; Tel 814-865-4700/V, 814-863-1150/TTY U. Ed. LBA 06-73 |