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The last third of the semester brings with it some important developments. We now have strategic plans from almost all of our departments. And even calibrating for the public relations aspects of many of the plans, I am impressed with the progress our departments have made during the past several years. It is striking to see the improvements in areas ranging from graduate placement to undergraduate curriculum, and from the quality and productivity of the faculty to the changing programmatic thrusts of many departments. We often do not recognize and appreciate progress because normally it is so incremental, but this is a good time to say thank you for the hard work and creativity that went into not just the strategic plans and assessments, but the progress that they represent. As many of the humanists know, the University has decided to make some new investments in the humanities, an investment that will be phased in over two years. Obviously, I am thrilled and pleased by this recognition of the excellent work that goes on in our humanities departments and centers, and by the confidence expressed that we can do even better. While details remain to be hammered out, included in the first phase, next year, will be an expansion of our support for graduate students in the humanities. By providing a semester free of teaching for our best students at the dissertation stage, we hope to enable them to write better dissertations, complete their work more expeditiously, and be better prepared for a competitive job market. This new humanities support will also allow us to deepen our partnerships with our humanities centers in a variety of ways, and, I believe, make a few strategic investments in selected humanities programs. As part of an initiative to fund more tenure line faculty across the University, the College has received about $1 million to add lines in selected departments facing large enrollment challenges. The funds were to be directed toward one or two units in each college rather than spread around. Based largely on tenure line faculty enrollment loads, the funds will be targeted to psychology and sociology/CLJ. As a stipulation of this program, all new recruits will be at the junior level. In the spring semester, we will welcome Jack Selzer, professor of English, to the Dean's office. Jack will serve as associate dean for resident instruction, and will assume oversight of both the graduate and undergraduate programs. During his years at Penn State, Jack was an excellent director of both the department's composition program and graduate program, so he joins us with much on-the-ground experience. Finally, with both sadness for his departure and gratitude for all the contributions he has made to the University and College over the years, I note the retirement of Ron Filippelli at the end of this semester. Ron has been a Penn Stater for more than forty years, completing his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in history, and while working on his Ph.D. becoming an archivist in the special collections library in Pattee. Later he became the Director of the Pennsylvania Historical Collections and Labor Archives. In 1982, he moved to Liberal Arts, assuming the headship of the Department of Labor Studies and Industrial Relations. In 1992, he became a colleague in the dean's office, where he has served with great distinction. As dean-in-chief of solving a myriad of problems, Ron's activities have ranged from resolving complicated personnel problems, to overseeing our Liberal Arts undergraduate studies operation in a time of tremendous enrollment growth, to spearheading the many-fold growth in our continuing and distance education (C&DE) portfolio, which now generates a significant portion of our discretionary income. He has also led the expansion and rationalization of our study abroad programs and the reorganization and improvement of our information technology services in the College. Ron's work has not only made a real difference of the quality of our College now, but will have an impact beyond his retirement. We thank him for his myriad contributions and wish him well in his retirement. This retirement will not be entirely restful, because he has agreed to handle a couple of specialized tasks after his retirement. Included are managing our C&DE portfolio, including the development of two new master's programs, and chairing the Moore Building committee as we plan for a large renovation and expansion of that building. I wish you all a successful end of the semester and a joyous holiday season. Regards, Susan Welch With Ron Filippelli's retirement, Jack Selzer moving into the associate dean for resident instruction position, and the realignment of Ray Lombra's functions, there have been some other reorganizations in the deans' offices. The senior staff members will continue to have the same functions as before, but some reporting lines have changed. In particular, Jennifer Morris, as director of administrative services, will report to Ray. The attached organizational chart should help in understanding these new reporting relationships. College faculty and staff are invited to the College holiday party, Monday, December 6, 2004, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Hintz Family Alumni Center. Mark your calendar. We hope to see you there! Tamara Golish Afifi, assistant professor of communication arts and sciences, received several awards from the National Communication Association. She was honored for the Top Paper in Family Communication, “Communicative Ways of Coping: Variations in Communal, Social, and Individual Coping;” for the Top Paper in Interpersonal Communication, “The Chilling Effect in Families and the Pressure to Conceal Secrets;” and for the Best Published Article in Interpersonal Communication, “Uncertainty and the Avoidance of the State of One's Family in Stepfamilies, Postdivorce Single Families, and the First-marriage Families,” Human Communication Research. Walid Afifi, associate professor of communication arts and sciences, received the award from the National Communication Association for the Top Paper in Health Communication for “Examining the Decision to Talk with Family about Organ Donation.” James Dillard, head and professor of communication arts and sciences, has been awarded the 2004 Distinguished Book Award: Communication and Social Cognition from the National Communication Association for The Persuasion Handbook: Developments in Theory and Practice. Ron Jackson, associate professor of communication arts and sciences, has been awarded the 2004 Distinguished Article Award in Communication and Social Cognition from the National Communication Association for “The Face of Crime: Viewers' Memory of Race-Related Facial Features of Individual Pictures in the News,” Journal of Communication. Roxanne Parrott, professor of communication arts and sciences and health policy and administration, has been named ICA/NCA Outstanding Researcher in Health Communication for her leadership and intellectual contributions to the study of health communication. Paul Zeleza, professor of African Studies and history, is a finalist for a book award by the U.S. African Studies Association for his book Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century African History, London; New York: Routledge. I join Steve Grecco's (associate professor of English) colleagues in thanking him for his many years of service to Penn State as he retires at the end of this semester. Steve, joined Penn State in 1970. A specialist in creative writing and drama, Steve has played a major role in the undergraduate creative writing program for many years. Please note the following approaching deadlines for Institute competitions: Tuesday, February 15, 2005: Graduate Student Summer Residency Program, 2005 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 2005, enabling them to spend focused time working on their dissertations or final creative projects. Graduate officers may nominate up to two students per department or program. Tuesday, March 1, 2005: Individual Faculty Grant Program (for the period July–December 2005) Further information on these programs, please call the Institute at 865-0495 or e-mail at iah1@psu.edu. Rock Ethics Institute Disability Studies Program Lecture Series James Trent, professor of sociology and social work, Gordon College, will present “'Defectives' at the Fair: Constructing Disability and the 1904 Saint Louis World's Fair,” on Friday, December 3, at 3:00 p.m. in Foster Auditorium, 101 Pattee Library. Comparative Literature Luncheon The Comparative Literature Luncheon is a weekly informal lunchtime gathering of students, faculty, and other members of the University community. Each week there is a short (twenty-minute) presentation, by a visitor or a local speaker, on a topic related to a humanities discipline. Daniel Walden (dxw8@psu.edu) is the coordinator for the series this semester. We meet every Monday in 102 Kern at about 12:15 p.m. Coffee and tea are provided (no charge). You can bring your lunch or buy something on a tray in Kern Cafeteria (next door) and bring it into 102. The speaker will begin at about 12:40 p.m. Allowing a few minutes for discussion, we'll conclude in time for you to get to classes that meet at 1:25 p.m. All students, faculty, colleagues, and friends are welcome. For details; check the WebEvents Calendar. The Fall 2004 Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony will be held on Saturday, December 18, 2004, at 12:30 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center. Corinne Thatcher was chosen to represent all Liberal Arts students during the commencement ceremony. Jon Olson, assistant professor of writing, will accompany Corinne as her faculty marshal. The Graduate School Ceremony will be held on Saturday, December 18, 2004, at 4 p.m. in Eisenhower Auditorium. Congratulations to Corinne and all the Fall 2004 graduates! The WebEvents Calendar features, lectures, talks, and conferences from November 13 to January 13. Many of you will remember former Dean Stanley F. Paulson, of Silver Spring, Maryland, who passed away on Monday, October 11, 2004. Stanley came to Penn State in 1966 as head of the Department of Speech Communication. In 1969, he became the Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts where he served until he retired in 1984. In his post retirement years, he was first the Vice President of American Colleges and Universities and then a consultant for an academic search firm, where he was active until 1998. Memorial contributions may be made to the Stanley F. and Margaret N. Paulson Scholarship Fund of The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 or the National Presbyterian Church, 4101 Nebraska Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. . 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 Louise Sharrar at lsharrar@psu.edu or 865-7691. As a reminder, if you are leaving the College, you will need to return your parking permit to 111 Sparks Building. University offices and operations will close at the end of normal business times on Wednesday, December 22, 2004 and will reopen at normal starting times on Monday, January 3, 2005. Some information technology support people may be working over that period of time as a result of the social security number conversion project. These people will be eligible for compensatory time off and should contact the Liberal Arts Human Resources Office at 865-6487 for information on how to document their time. Our College campaign is well underway and our events have been very successful. Both faculty and staff members in the College of the Liberal Arts have a history of generous contribution to the annual United Way campaign. Please help us increase participation in the College-level events and our overall donation total by supporting the remaining activities and continuing to contribute at an individual level. Thanks to all those who participated in the auction for the benefit of United Way, one of several very successful United Way events. Not only did we have several very generous individual contributions and enthusiastic buyers from around the University, many departments contributed “baskets” of items for the auction. Most focused around themes ranging from chocoholism to supplies for football Saturdays or cozy winter evenings. Thanks to the efforts of the donors and our creative United Way committee, $2,000 was raised. Committee members included: Suzanne Bennett, Susan Gunsallus, Tanya Hockman, Tracey Jackson, Bonnie Marshall, Jennifer Morris, Jeremy Poletto, Elaine Prestia, Missy Price, Robin Robinson, Lois Seitz, Aaron Settlemyer, Sherri Shawver, Linda Spangler, Jan Wallace, and Betsy Will. Departments and units contributing included African and African American studies, labor studies and industrial relations, and women's studies; alumni relations and development, anthropology; LACSS (Computer Support Services); dean's office; economics; financial office; French and Spanish, Italian and Portuguese; School of Languages and Literatures; PA Sentencing Commission; political science; psychology; RGSO; sociology and crime, law and justice; and undergraduate studies. Darla Houseman, staff assistant VI, political science Tammy Russell, associate director (advising coordinator), undergraduate studies Christine Woods, proposal and grant assistant, associate dean for research and graduate studies Ann Morris, administrative assistant I, African and African American Studies, labor studies and industrial relations, and women's studiesLA Times is compiled by Louise Sharrar, Dean’s Office, 111 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 05-114 |
