College of the Liberal Arts Electronic Magazine, Issue 7, July 5, 2002

Issue 7, 7/5/02

Contents

Student Marshal

Books on Violence Published

College of the Liberal Arts

Alumni Relations and Development

WAR, RELIGION, AND FAMILIES: LIBERAL ARTS MAGAZINE SET TO ARRIVE IN NON-ELECTRONIC MAILBOXES SOON

    The summer 2002 issue of Liberal Arts, the print magazine for Liberal Arts alumni, goes into the mail today. Now that the magazine is an annual, complemented by this publication, we’ve made some changes. Most obviously, there are no longer Class Notes. All Class Notes are now on our Web site, and the advantage is that they can provide links to e-mail, personal and professional Web pages, digital photos, and the like, thereby allowing you to better facilitate contact with former classmates and long-lost friends who may see your name.
    Additionally, the print magazine lets us delve more deeply into complicated topics of interest to alumni. And delve we have. The three main stories in this year’s magazine deal with war, family, and religion.
    For the cover story, we show how today’s scholars consider the causes and consequences of war. We did the story because one alumnus funded two fellowships to support graduate students whose work considers World War II. Since so many scholars in the College consider that crucial hinge of the twentieth century, we thought many of you would be interested to see what such study entailed.
    Of course, doing so raised hard questions. How do we write a story on World War II, on war and consequence, and at the same time hear from Liberal Arts alumni about that era? Given our time and resources, how could we cover everything? We decided to try to do both, but in different ways. For the magazine, we focused on research, since we could speak to faculty directly and at length. Since it was impossible to physically visit and speak with such large numbers of alumni, we made an effort to reveal to you some of the most current research on this area.
    That said, we still want to include the alumni side of the experience. For instance, how many readers of this publication remember the “letter-writing hour,” the training groups, the drills in Rec Hall, the patriotic marches down College Avenue? How many have heard stories about them? As the photo to the right shows, thousands of Penn Staters were involved in the effort to support American troops in Europe and the Pacific during World War II. The University was a hub for training men and women in a variety of means to contribute to the United States’ effort in the last truly global conflict. We would like to hear the stories of those men and women.
    The only place that will provide us enough space to share those tales is our Web site. So, we ask that you send us—electronically, if you can—your recollections, your photos, your e-mail addresses. We will post what we receive, and try to organize it by degree and year. If you would like to hear from others with whom you may have lost touch, include your e-mail or your personal Web page. We will build the page as soon as we start receiving replies, and we will include any links to other Penn State information on the war years, including links to the University Libraries’ archive of images. To send us information, simply click on the “Contact Us” button above, or e-mail lazine@la.psu.edu. We hope to provide updates on our progress with the page in future issues of LAzine.
    Therapist Virginia Satir once called the family the “microcosm of the world,” and our story by the same name sheds light on ways Liberal Arts social scientists are studying what influences families and how they behave. Covering issues ranging from the effects of divorce to the changing face of employee benefits packages, the story showcases some of the research that has made Penn State a powerhouse in work and family research. Right now, a number of changes in our social science units are making the College an even better place to study families, from the impending renovation of Moore Building (see below) to the collaboration among our research centers under the auspices of the Social Science Research Institute. Hopefully, the story will illustrate why our sociology and psychology departments are among the most highly regarded in the country.
    Finally, our third feature story discusses Penn State’s role as a public university in teaching religion. The study of religion can cover everything from social research on how religion is practiced in different settings to historical inquiry into the sources of a sacred text. At a time when religious differences are leading, in extreme cases, to violence around the world, providing students with critical insight into the many aspects of religion is key to helping them become responsible global citizens. The article describes how our faculty work to teach religion in such a context.
    Our alumni features include an Emmy winner, a cutting edge designer, and Hong Kong’s 2001 Entrepreneur of the Year. We also have stories on this year’s College and University alumni award winners, new books out by faculty and alumni, and the 2002 Student Marshal for the College. We hope you enjoy the print magazine, as well as the stories included here. As always, we urge you to contact us and let us know what you think.

18-YEAR-OLD CLASSICIST HONORED AS STUDENT MARSHAL FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS

    Megaera Lorenz ’02 classics and ancient Mediterranean studies discovered her major the way most students do—she took a class and, moved, declared a major. But Lorenz sat in on in her first college course at age nine, was enrolled in the University of Guam at age thirteen, and the entire time, she knew exactly what she wanted to do: study Egypt.
     In particular, her interests focus on the reign of the pharaoh Akhenaten. “First of all, he was a young pharaoh,” she says. “But also, he took hold of a conservative society and overturned Egyptian polytheism to build a culture of sun-centered monotheism.”That such sweeping cultural change could take place under a single ruler, and during a comparatively short reign of only seventeen years, has kept Lorenz interested even beyond the classroom.
    She channels her historical interests into artwork, a historical novel on ancient Egypt (in progress), and work on-line, including the design of the Akhenaten Temple Project Web site, a project overseen by Donald Redford, professor of classics and ancient Mediterranean studies.
     For Lorenz, Redford has long been an important influence. Even before her family moved from Guam so she could attend Penn State, Lorenz was in regular correspondence with the professor. She has taken classes with him, and this summer is working with his wife, Dr. Susan Redford, on an archaeological dig around the tomb of a nobleman at Luxor, in Egypt. Lorenz says Donald Redford was the big draw for her to come to Penn State. Redford himself, in nominating Lorenz to be the student marshal for interdisciplinary programs, remarked that she “shows the most advanced grasp of ancient history and Egyptology . . . it will be but a matter of time before a stream of research papers begin to emerge from her pen.”
    She credits much of her success to the way she approached college. “By starting out a class at a time at Guam, I had the freedom to build my education,” she says. “I could decide on the pace, I could work at home because I was home-schooled. I slowly built up my experience and skills so that, once I became a full-time student, I was really prepared for the workload and the demands.”
    At the end of this summer, when most students her age will be preparing for their first immersion in the grueling world of an undergraduate, Lorenz plans to take a short break before pursuing graduate school. She has other interests to pursue: jazz and blues, cartoons from the 1920s, and art. She has Egypt to think about, and new demands to consider. And she will no doubt have new ideas, dug out of the earth, far from Happy Valley.

LIBERAL ARTS PROFESSORS PUBLISH THREE NEW BOOKS ON VIOLENCE

    A seemingly disoriented assailant mugs a young woman as she cuts through a dangerous part of Pittsburgh. Though she fights back, the man escapes. Before reporting the crime, the woman returns home to seek the advice of her family. The details of this particular example—the sex and mental state of the attacker, the scuffle that ensues, and the woman’s seeking advice from others on what to do next—are more typical in such an instance than many people realize. Those details and the issues they exemplify are explored in three recent books written by Penn State sociology and crime, law, and justice professors.
    Richard Felson, professor of sociology and crime, law, and justice, asks in his newest book, Violence and Gender Reexamined (Law and Public Policy: Psychology and the Social Sciences, American Psychological Association, June 2002), how violence against women is different from violence against men. For example, does it have special motivation stemming from sexism or are the motives for violence against women similar to the motives for violence against men?
    In his book, Felson suggests that long held assumptions about violence against women are not necessarily true. In cases of domestic abuse, for instance, Felson says, “women are not as passive as many think. They frequently fight back and report the abuse.” Also, statistics show that violence is more likely to occur between men and men than between men and women. Felson explains that “what’s actually surprising is that there aren’t more reported cases of violence toward women.” However, he says, “to even pose this possibility is controversial.”
    Barry Ruback, professor of crime, law, and justice and sociology, has co-written Social and Psychological Consequences of Violent Victimization (Sage Publications, May 2001) with Martie P. Thompson. Their book describes not only how violence causes physical injury, emotional distress, and economic costs to victims, but also how violence produces emotional and economic harm among victims’ families and friends. Moreover, it suggests that violent crimes affect the general community by exacerbating residents’ fears and aggravating businesses’ decisions to stay or move away.
    Finally, Eric Silver, assistant professor of crime, law, and justice and sociology, has published Mental Illness and Violence: The Importance of Neighborhood Context (LFB Scholarly Publications LLC, June 2001). His research primarily asks: Is the neighborhood context where mental patients live important for understanding their propensities toward violence? The answer, he finds, is yes.
     However, “It’s difficult to state empirically why the connection exists,” Silver explains. “The main reason may be that mental patients live in and are discharged into high crime areas in poorer neighborhoods where all people, regardless of their mental condition, are more likely to become involved in violence.”
    By looking at 270 patients from a 1995 survey of the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh, Silver’s research focused not on individuals (as sociologists and psychologists often do), but on the neighborhood locations within which individuals live. His findings suggest that location is indeed important.
    Taken together, the three books provide groundwork for further exploration of violent behavior and the circumstances which influence it.

NEW PUBLICATION TO PROVIDE LIBERAL ARTS STUDENTS CAREER ADVICE, NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

    We received some good advice from alumni answering the call for career coaching in recent issues of LAzine, including suggestions about landing that first job and leads on helpful career development resources.
    This fall, under the auspices of the Liberal Arts alumni society, we will launch a student-aimed e-magazine, not unlike this one, to focus on career-building and job-finding. It will appear one or two times per semester and will include your advice, profiles of recent graduates, and links to on- and off-campus resources.
    One regular feature will be a “Quick Tip,” for which we are gathering a bank of suggestions over the summer. You can help by sending your helpful hints on the finer points of work-world etiquette. Please limit your suggestion to two or three sentences and send here.
    Below are a few examples of tips we have already received:
    Ø Phone messages—Ever think about how your answering machine message is going to sound to prospective employers, like someone from an HR office calling about your job application? Think twice about background music, humorous greetings, and especially off-color or inappropriate material. If you have roommates, work with them to craft an appropriate answering machine message and an efficient way to take and deliver messages when the phone is answered “live.”
    Ø Firm handshake—Always extend your hand whenever meeting someone, give a firm grasp to shake hands, make eye contact, and say, ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you.’ Don’t give a bone-crushing grip, but also be careful not to give a delicate half-hand grasp that feels limp and fishy. A firm handshake exudes confidence and comfort in meeting new people.
    Ø Thank You’s—Send a simple note after an interview. It’s ok to write a handwritten note as long as your handwriting is neat and legible. Make sure to get the spelling right—get business cards during your interview, or call the company to get it right. If you send individual notes after a group or series of interviews, make sure they’re not all exactly the same, as they’re often routed to the other interviewers by the recipient not anticipating that you’ve written the others.

DO YOU KNOW?

    Dr. Randell E. Newnham ’88 foreign service and international politics, associate professor of political science at Penn State Berks–Lehigh Valley College, wrote, “I felt that someone had to uphold the honor of the LA Alums by taking on your trivia questions!” While we’re happy to say he was not alone in responding, he was the first to send a correct answer to both questions, and so deserves special recognition here.
    He said, “I believe that the two renamed departments are Crime, Law, and Justice (formerly Administration of Justice)and Communication Arts and Sciences (formerly Speech Communication).”
    He’s right, of course. Other guesses included: Languages and Applied Linguistic Studies (LALS), which is actually a new program and not a renamed one, despite the fact that it includes parts of previously existing programs. The School of Languages and Literatures, as well, is a new unit and not a renamed one, reflecting an administrative grouping of the Departments of Comparative Literature, Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures, LALS, the Center for Language Acquisition, and the Max Kade Institute.
    Newnham also correctly answered the question about the person for whom Moore Building is named. Moore houses the Department of Psychology, named for Professor Bruce Victor Moore, longtime chair of the department in the 1930s and 40s. In the next few years, the College will be working hard to raise the funds necessary for a scheduled renovation of and addition to Moore Building.
    While Newnham was correct in answering both questions, he was not the first to answer the Moore Building question. The first correct answer came from Catherine Ludwikowski ’94 psychology. The best story, however, comes from the person who answered second.
    John F. Gillespie ’46 arts and letters, ’48 MS arts and letters, PhD ’51 EDU, says, “Moore was a professor of Industrial Psychology, teacher of clinical hypnosis, President of the American Psychology Association and a warm friend of students; sometimes absent-minded; and a handyman on Saturday mornings. He has a special significance in my life: He had enough confidence in me to promise a V.A. internship if I could do well in my first semester of graduate school.”
    Gillespie retired in 1985 from Philadelphia’s RHR Inc., (a company which provides psychological consultants to management). Newnham, Ludwikowski, and Gillespie will all receive prizes.
    So, for this issue, we ask the following: In 1872, Penn State hired its first two women faculty members. One of the women taught art, the other woman, Mary E. Butterfield, taught a subject that is now included in the College of the Liberal Arts. Was the subject a) English, b) History, c) German, or d) Greek?

As always, the person with the first correct answer will receive a prize.

EXCERPT: DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS LECTURES ON ETHICS, ENRON

As regular LAzine readers will know from our last issue, Bruce L. Claflin ’73 political science has served as chief executive officer and president of Santa Clara, California’s, 3Com Corporation since 2001. 3Com produces networking products and solutions for enterprise and telecommunications customers. Claflin’s move is the latest in a number of leadership positions he has held in the hi-tech industry over the years. One result of those experiences has been a distinct perspective on matters of management and ethics. (For more on Claflin’s biography, see issue six of LAzine).
His perspective has made his advice valuable to a number of constituents recently. This spring, Claflin agreed to sit on the advisory board for the Rock Ethics Institute. Also this spring, he addressed students and faculty at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania as part of the 2002 Wharton Technology Conference. Below, for LAzine readers, is an excerpt from Claflin’s Wharton address:

    “We now live in the age of Enron. Enron was, up until very recently, the sixth largest company in the United States as reported by Fortune magazine. Its stock traded at close to $90 a share, yet in a period of just a few months it dropped to 90 cents and then ultimately nothing. Its collapse devastated their employees, share holders, lenders, suppliers, and the communities in which they worked. It spawned eleven Congressional investigations, and one death. And it did something that I didn't believe was possible; it made accounting newsworthy.
    “As this debacle unfolds, there will be a lot of finger pointing. We’re going to conclude that a lot of people didn't do their jobs. Included in that group will be the audit committee and the board, their auditors, the regulatory agencies who provided oversight and financial analysts who interpreted Enron’s financial performance. While much of this criticism will be justified, it must never cloud the fact that Enron was first and foremost a failure of management. It's management’s responsibility to set up their corporate entities, assign and appraise key executives, oversee their operations, and report their results. Now, I don't know if the actions taken by Enron management were criminal or not. But I do know they were disgraceful.
    “The terrorists picked the World Trade Center Towers, in part, because they were a symbol of our free enterprise economic system. I was asked shortly after September 11 if I believed the terrorists' destruction of the twin towers would undermine confidence in our economic system. I said, 'absolutely not!' For the free market economies of the world are built on something far stronger than steel and concrete; they are built on trust and confidence. In fact, trust and confidence are the twin towers of our economic system, and Enron flew their corporate jets right into them.
    “Public companies are a public trust. The public has a right to fully understand the true financial performance of a company at a sufficient level of detail that they can make informed decisions as to whether invest or not. The public has a right to understand all of a company’s risks and contingencies, as well as their opportunities. The public should have complete confidence that the rewards given to management and executives of the company are completely aligned with the interests of shareholders and that there is no conflict, whatsoever.
    “So, who sets this standard? It is management, and it starts at the top. The Chief Executive Officer sets the standards of conduct for his company. He must ensure every employee understands he is as concerned about how he makes the numbers as he is about whether he makes the numbers. The Chief Financial Officer is responsible for establishing the controls that ensure compliance to the corporate and regulatory standards. All officers must reinforce these policies throughout their operations.
    “But it doesn't end there. One of the things most intriguing about Enron is that there was only one Sharon Watkins. Enron had thousands of employees. Certainly tens if not hundreds knew the gravity of these problems. Yet only one person took the personal risk of bringing this matter to the attention of the CEO. It's easy for us to criticize Enron’s management. But what would you have done if you had become aware of these problems? Would you have had the courage to bring this behavior to an end?
    “You are the future leaders of our economic system. You will benefit enormously from being in those positions of leadership. In all likelihood you will generate personal wealth far beyond what the average man or woman makes. You will be accorded the esteem that comes from achieving a position of power.
     “But with all that comes a responsibility for integrity. If you fail to live up to this responsibility, at a minimum you will undermine the welfare of your company. But in so doing, you join the senior management team at Enron who undermined the welfare of our economic system.
    “If you remember nothing else I have said here today, remember this—ethics matter. And when you are in a position of leadership, they matter a lot.”

To learn more about what the College of the Liberal Arts is doing about ethics in leadership, as well as in a host of other areas, visit the Rock Ethics Institute’s Initiatives Web page.