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Recognizing our Staff Welcome back to another busy and productive semester! I hope that the holidays were a pleasant time that helped you recharge for the spring. This is the time of year when a lot is going on. The recognition of our outstanding staff is one important event that sometimes gets lost in the frenzy of teaching, faculty and graduate student recruitment, promotion and tenure, and course planning for next year. This year, we are giving outstanding staff awards to Becky Bressler, administrative assistant in the Department of French and the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese; Christine Bundy, Research and Graduate Studies Office; Staci Kelly, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese; Janette Moore, Economics; Ramona Muzzio, Communication Arts and Sciences and Philosophy; and Betsy Will, Human Resources Assistant in the Dean’s Office, for their excellence in their jobs. These staff members were nominated by their heads and directors and recommended by a committee composed largely of College staff. These women, and those women and men who have won our College staff awards in previous years, are extremely deserving of our praise and recognition for the jobs they do in providing outstanding service to students, faculty, and staff. We will formally recognize their service and present their awards at our annual staff recognition reception on February 10, at 3:00 p.m. in the Nittany Lion Inn, to which all faculty and staff are invited. These staff awards can recognize only a small fraction of our outstanding staff. I think often we faculty and administrators take for granted the work our staff do and how dependent we are on them for the smooth running of all of our units. Our full time staff of 187 (including fifty-two fixed-term) has grown only by a handful over the past decade. At the same time, we teach 10,000 more students each year than a decade ago, have hundreds of additional majors, seventy more full time non-tenure line faculty, have many more faculty with active and complex research programs, and have more than doubled our external funding, increased our general funds budget by 60 percent, and quintupled our private philanthropy receipts. In other words, there is a lot more going on here that needs staff leadership and support. This growing level of activity has been accompanied by constant change in the environment for our staff. Part of this is because as a College and University we are getting better and increasing our scholarship. Part of it is because we are getting bigger and have developed new ways to cope with the increased scale. And of course part of it is technology changes that affected all of us but particularly our staff. Some of you are old enough to remember the days when staff members typed manuscripts and manually handled many of the budget chores. Now, of course, the work challenges of most staff are quite a bit more complex. They have become managers and problem solvers on a much bigger scale using more sophisticated technology than in those old days, and managing financial, human, facilities, and instructional resources while at the same time providing courteous service to those outside the University and to our students and supporting the work of faculty members. On behalf of all the faculty and administrators in the College, I would like to thank our staff for the outstanding work they do. We are fortunate to have such a quality staff. Susan Welch Psychology Department Wins Award from the American Psychological Association The Department of Psychology's Specialization in Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) program is the co-recipient of the inaugural American Psychological Association's Award for Innovation in Graduate Study. The newly inaugurated award recognizes excellence and innovation in the training of psychologists. Part of the citation reads: Penn State's winning program is a specialization in cognitive and affective neuroscience which is a department-wide effort to integrate the study of brain and behavior into all areas of graduate study by infusing neuroscience into the traditional areas of psychology. This approach recognizes the rapidly growing and wide-ranging connections between psychology and neuroscience, and is designed to train students to incorporate neuroscience into the traditional areas in which graduate students are trained. There is much to commend this program, we were particularly struck by the manner in which this program maintains the unity of psychology as a discipline along a dimension that is all too often a fault line. David Johnson, director, Survey Research Center and professor of sociology and human development and family studies, from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging for “Management Information Sys: A Hiring and Termination Reporting System for Direct Care Workers in Long Term Care Facilities.” Sherry Roush has been selected as a Resident Scholar of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities. Sherry will be in residence in Ihlseng Cottage, to work on her second book, Ghosts of Poets Past: Political Reincarnations of Dante and Boccaccio in the Italian Renaissance. Faculty Honors Congratulations to: David Day, professor of psychology, who has won the 2004 Graduate Program Chair Leadership Award. This is a University-wide award that recognizes excellence in the role of director of graduate training. Dora McQuaid, lecturer in communication arts and sciences, is the 2003 recipient of the Governor's Victim Service Pathfinder Award for Survivor/Activist. Dora received her award during the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency's fifth annual Pathways for Victim Services Conference in November. Kate Bogle's documentary film, “One Woman's Voice,” about McQuaid's work as poet and activist was released during the conference. Social Science Research Institute Resident Scholars John McCarthy, professor of sociology, and Roxanne Parrott, professor of communication arts and sciences and health policy and administration, will be funded as Social Science Research Institute Resident Scholars for 2004. They will have some release from teaching and will also be provided with research funds for their projects. World Campus Award for Stellar Program The College's Bachelor of Arts degree in Letters, Arts and Sciences, delivered through Distance Education, has been awarded the 2003 World Campus Award for Stellar Programs. This LAS degree is the first baccalaureate degree program offered in the World Campus and already boasts an enrollment of over 700 students worldwide. The first graduate of the program is Yuki Ikeura, who completed the entire program from her home in Hiroshima, Japan. The award committee reported that, even though the LAS degree was established in 1946 and cannot be considered new, the LAS team crafted a dynamic option that appeals to students regardless of their demographics and approaches the challenges of continuing education that face many returning students. Institute of Arts and Humanities Deadlines March 15, 2004: Interdisciplinary Groups Further information on these programs can be found on the Institute of Arts and Humanities Web site at http://www.research.psu.edu/iah/. February 10, 2004: Graduate Student
Summer Residency Program, (2004) March 1, 2004: Individual Faculty Grant Program (for the period July-December
2004) The 2004 Leibowitz lecture will be given on Wednesday, January 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Nittany Lion Inn (reception to follow). This year’s Leibowitz Lecture, “Work In The Twenty-first Century: It's Not Your Father's Oldsmobile,” will be delivered by Frank Landy, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and a world-renown applied psychologist. Vernon Jordan to Speak at Liberal Arts Spring Commencement Mark your calendar for the Liberal Arts spring semester commencement on Saturday, May 15, 2004, at 12:00 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center. We are delighted to announce that the commencement speaker will be Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. He will also be receiving an honorary doctoral degree. Vernon Jordan received his J.D. from Howard University School of Law in 1960. In 1971, Jordan was appointed president and CEO of the National Urban League. In 1981, after a successful recuperation from an assassination attempt by a white supremacist, Jordan resigned and accepted a position as legal council with the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, and Feld. During Clinton's presidency, Jordan became one of Washington's most influential power brokers. Currently he is a partner in the investment firm of Lazard Frere and Company in New York. Africana Research Center Undergraduate Research Symposium The Africana Research Center will hold its third annual Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS) on Sunday, March 28, 2004. More information is on the Africana Research Center Web site: The WebEvents Calendar features, lectures, talks, and conferences between January 16 to February 27. It is with great sadness that we report the death of our colleague, Mike Begnal, Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature, who passed away Wednesday, January 7, at the Mount Nittany Medical Center where he had been hospitalized since December 28. A campus memorial service was held January 11. It is also sad to report the death of Robert Brubaker, Professor Emeritus of Speech Communication, who died Tuesday, January 13, 2004 at the Fairways at Brookline Village. Bob joined the Penn State speech communication department in 1952 and remained on the faculty until his retirement in 1984. He served as head of the department from 1975 to 1984. Memorial contributions may be made to Schlow Memorial Library. If you need to obtain or exchange parking permits, please come to Room 111 Sparks Building Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 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 Louise Sharrar at lsharrar@psu.edu or 865-7691. Thank you to all of the faculty and staff who contributed to the College United Way Campaign. Special thanks go to the volunteers who organized events like the pizza and candy sale, the Web auction, and participated in the community Day of Caring. Staff and faculty from the Liberal Arts pledged over $46,000 to this year’s United Way campaign for the Centre County unit alone. Almost 20 percent of the entire faculty and staff contributed. This is a significant increase over last year’s record-breaking amount. Because of your generosity we exceeded our 2003 goal by more than eleven percent. Again, thank you for your support of the United Way Campaign. You make a difference! Congratulations to this year’s staff award winners. The Staff Achievement Award (previously the Alumni Society Outstanding Staff Award) winner is Betsy Will, Human Resources Assistant in the Dean’s Office. The Staff Mentoring Award recipient was Becky Bressler, administrative assistant in the Department of French and the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. Other winners are Christine Bundy (Research and Graduate Studies Office), Staci Kelly (Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese), Janette Moore (Economics), and Ramona Muzzio (Communication Arts and Sciences and Philosophy). The winners will be honored at a reception on February 10, 2004, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Nittany Lion Inn, Ballroom C. This year’s awards committee included Wendy Clark, Joyce Flynn, Nancy Fogleman, Chris Gamble, Alicia Grandey, and Sheri Miller. Chad Beam, microcomputer information specialist, Liberal Arts Computer Support Services (LACSS) Charlene Harpster, staff assistant V, undergraduate studies Joseph Mascitelli, microcomputer information specialist, Liberal Arts Computer Support Services (LACSS) Rose Niman, staff assistant VI, history and religious studies Catherine Watlington, research support technician I, communication, arts, and sciences Claudine Widmer, staff assistant VII, political science Rebecca Wysong, research technologist, psychology, Head Start, REDI Amy Bennett, staff assistant VI, history and religious studies Shannon Ranio, staff assistant VI, languages and literatures Marie Reese, staff assistant VII, political science Joshua Schiefer, microcomputer information specialist, sociology and crime, law, and justice program Kimberly Smith, conference planner, psychology, CASSP Lisa Stock, administrative assistant II, undergraduate studies Chantelle Weaver, staff assistant IV, psychology, Child Study Center, Psychological Clinic LA Times is compiled by Louise Sharrar, Dean’s Office, 110 Sparks, 865-7691, lsharrar@psu.edu LA Times is also available on the Web at: http://www.la.psu.edu/ 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 04-162 |
