College of the Liberal Arts Electronic Magazine, Issue 11

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Issue 11, 2/13/03

Contents:

Class Notes

New Endowment

National Scholarship Won by Student

Philly Swirl

Rock Ethics Institute

Institute for the Arts and Humanities

Alcohol Abuse and Job Performance

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College of the Liberal Arts

Alumni Relations and Development

Greetings from Kuwait
By Jeffrey L. Phillips ’90 political science, Captain, U.S. Army

   Editor’s Note: Captain Phillips sent LAzine a note some weeks ago, stating his pleasure at receiving word from home, as it were, while in Kuwait. He is one of a number of far-flung Liberal Arts grads living and working in China, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Bhutan, Europe, and many other locales. Captain Phillips expressed an interest in communicating to fellow alumni how his experiences in Liberal Arts helped to shape his career, and given what he does and current political events, we thought readers might enjoy his particular greetings.

    “When I graduated with a B.A. in political science from Penn State in 1990, I could not have predicted it would lead to my current career as an officer with the United States Army Judge Advocate Jeffrey Phillips General’s (JAG) Corps. However my journey from Penn State first began as an analyst with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This gave me an opportunity to help set national environmental policy standards while working for EPA’s radiation protection and Superfund programs.
   “Following a detail to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section in 1996, I entered an evening law school program at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Upon graduating in 1999 and passing the bar, I ended my nine-year career as a civilian and was direct-commissioned into the JAG Corps. After serving in Korea and the Washington D.C. area as a prosecuting attorney, I am now with the 3rd U.S. Army in Camp Doha, Kuwait, which is poised on the southern border of Iraq along the western coast of the Persian Gulf.
   “My duties as a U.S. Army officer and attorney in this deployed environment are extremely varied. As an Army Captain, I must always be proficient with my weapon, maintain good physical conditioning, and execute basic concepts of military leadership. As an attorney, I am part of the legal profession with soldiers and army commanders as my clients. All JAGs are part of a legal team, and I support the mission of the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA), Colonel Richard E. Gordon, who is responsible for providing all legal advice to the Coalition Forces Land Component Commander, Lieutenant General David D. McKiernan. On an average day, our team drafts international agreements with our coalition partners, provides advice to commanders regarding the Geneva Convention and other international treaties, and plays a vital role as our forces prepare to execute any decision the President makes to ensure the success of Operation Enduring Freedom.
   “My B.A. in Political Science from Penn State gave me a chance to pursue diverse career options, and just as importantly, it opened doors. Dr. Robert O’Connor’s class on environmental politics included a trip to the Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. As a direct result of that class and Dr. O’Connor’s professional reputation and interest in his students, I began my career as an environmental policy analyst. Dr. Nancy Love’s class on the foundation of political thought, which was my first Liberal Arts class, provided a roadmap for critical thinking and persuasive writing that is central to my current profession.
   “In no small way, the people of Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts provided me with an academic vision to follow, the confidence to compete with solid intellectual credentials, and a sense of professionalism I will always try to emulate. These tools have given me the chance to serve my country in a significant way at an important time in our history.”

New Endowment Promises to Advance Holocaust Studies at Penn State

Some high school students learn about the Holocaust only through brief historical accounts or assigned books such as The Diary of Anne Frank or Elie Weisel’s Night. While such sources and texts offer an initial awareness or moving personal accounts from before and after World War II, the scope of information is limited. By the time students reach college, their knowledge of the Holocaust may include Hollywood interpretations as illustrated in movies such as Schindler’s List or Life is Beautiful.
   Now, thanks to a generous endowment from alumnus Gene Chaiken ’62 Business Administration and his wife, Roz Chaiken, the College of the Liberal Arts will be able to expand its array of courses that offer in-depth studies about the Holocaust and surrounding topics. Entitled the Gene and Roz Chaiken Endowment for the Study of the Holocaust, these funds will assist in creating and enhancing courses in various disciplines—such as comparative literature, world history, Jewish studies, religious studies—that connect in some way to the Holocaust. By focusing further attention on classes with subjects linked to the Holocaust and Holocaust survivors, the Chaikens hope to offer students an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of one of the greatest human atrocities in recent history.
   In addition, new classes will incorporate at least one visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. The funds might also finance class materials, instructors including visiting lecturers, and student and travel expenses associated with the course. The courses may also include visits by Holocaust survivors.
   Part of the intent of the courses is to examine the causes and consequences of ethnic, religious, and other group-based hatred, not only as an examination of past acts of racism and genocide, but also as a way to understand the conflicts of today.
   Caroline Eckhardt, interim director of the Jewish Studies Program, emphasizes the endowment’s importance. “We need to make sure that knowledge of the Holocaust is not only preserved, but also actively conveyed to upcoming generations,” she explains. “ My colleagues and I are very grateful to Gene and Roz Chaiken for their generosity.”
   Mr. Chaiken explains the importance of such studies. “I hope that this course will help people better understand why such a terrible event could occur; why neighbors and friends could turn against neighbors and friends,” he says. “With education, maybe such tragedies will not take place again.”

English and Philosophy Student Wins Prestigious National Scholarship

   Like most of us, Alex Doehrer yearns for spring, but not just because he’s sick of scraping the ice off his car every other day. Doehrer wants to get back outside, back to his writing.
   During his time as an English and philosophy major, he has supplemented his course work and his job with work as a freelance writer, penning articles for local publications, including State College Magazine, as well as outdoor interest magazines like Backpacker Magazine, and several newspapers. While it has been difficult juggling a job, writing, and courses, Doehrer has done so, earning honors for it this past fall.
   In September, Doehrer won an Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) scholarship. Winners are talented communicators with outdoor interests who aim to become professionals in the outdoor communications field. The scholarship is open to outstanding students in writing, radio and television, photography, art, lecturing or filmmaking. Only three undergraduate students in the nation are distinguished as winners of this prestigious award. For Doehrer, it was not only a substantial pat on the back, but a needed relief from the stress of full-time work and full-time study.
   Doehrer is a free-lance writer for State College Magazine and, when applying for the award, submitted an article on ice fishing he wrote for the publication. He has also written about bald eagles, hiking in the mountains of Pennsylvania, and hot-air ballooning. While it sounds, to some ears, like adventure writing, Doehrer says, “I really appreciate the outdoors, and going outside and writing about those experiences is more powerful than just reading about it. I like to bring my daughter along as well, to Mount Nittany, other places, so she grows up to appreciate wilderness.”
   When Doehrer talks about his writing, he does so mixing ideas about transcendence and natural law with a concern for matters of craft and marketing. Thus, given his penchant for philosophy as well as his winning a major writing award, it is unclear whether his future will have him pursue a graduate philosophy degree or to go into a writing program.
   He came to Penn State after leaving the Air Force so he could be near his daughter, Bridget. At the same time, the area suited his interests in the outdoors. Originally from what he calls “the concrete expanse of southern California,” Doehrer found escape and solace in high school by heading to the Sierra Nevadas and camping or hiking. It was during those trips that he began to understand the writings of Thoreau and Emerson, leading to his interests in Transcendentalism as well as the philosophy of religion. “When I am out in the wilderness,” he says, “I feel my soul is enriched.”
   Now, with graduation approaching and his daughter moving to Florida, his future is uncertain. His work is finding its way to editors at larger publications, and he looks forward to more adventures, specifically ones in which he can involve Bridget.

Alex Plotkin’s Swirling Success

   If you go to the PhillySwirl Web site, you’ll have a hard time not smiling. Bubbly swirls pop in your speakers, the color bends into shapes seen through a fish eye. Kids love the site, and for Alex Plotkin ’91 general arts and sciences, PhillySwirl co-founder, that’s very important.
   As Alex will quickly tell anyone, kids are the force behind PhillySwirl’s success, a success that has its roots at Penn State. The two partners met their first summer at Penn State, when Alex, leaving Atherton Hall in a hurry, hit Max Lapin in the head with the door. They became good friends, pledged Beta Sigma Beta, and discovered a shared passion for Italian water ice, having both gobbled the stuff during Philadelphia’s stifling city summers. Their fever for freeze, however, did not become important for a few years.
   Max went on to finish college at the University of South Florida, in Tampa, a city he came to know well. Alex earned his degree in arts and letters, and the two ended up at Widener Law School for a year. “I liked to argue, and I thought law school would be the best thing to do at the time, mainly because I didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” Plotkin says. “Turns out, it was the furthest thing from what I wanted to be.”
   Frustrated, they relocated to Tampa, and not long afterward, decided they wanted to make water ice. Alex recalls, “We just started—thought we could open a walk-up window and could sell water ice.” He laughs, “We had no clue. We were just hustling, no business plan, and we were way under-budgeted. It was difficult, and we really struggled.”
   According to the official story, they lived in the shop for a year, and even had to share a mattress. But they persevered. “More than anything else, I think, we didn’t want to go home. We wanted to make it and stay away from Philly.”
   They had incorporated under the name Philly’s Famous Water Ice, but since a very famous Philadelphia company already had a license for the majority of that name, they had to come up with something else. As well, no one outside of Philadelphia and the New Jersey shore knew what water ice was. “We wanted the Philly’s, but Philly’s what?” Alex says.
   When the business started, kids could order one of three flavors, in cherry (red), lemon (white), and blueberry (blue). But, being kids, they almost invariably ordered all three flavors in a dish. Alex started to produce all three flavors in the same container so he could scoop “swirls” every time. Hence, PhillySwirl.
   Now, PhillySwirl mixes a dozen flavors, combining tastes ranging from tangerine to pineapple to cotton candy. But just as kids gave the company its name, they also kept it alive. PhillySwirl was basically out of money after its first year, and ready to fold. A regular client to their walk-up window also managed a school cafeteria, and once the cups of swirled icy goodness made it into schools in Florida, PhillySwirl took off.
   Except, every summer, for two and a half months, the business would thaw. Without the schools, PhillySwirl could not endure on window sales alone. One day, Alex drove past a Sam’s Club with a trunk full of PhillySwirl cups he had picked up from a school on its last day. Worried about the summer ahead, Alex decided to take a chance and see if he could interest the Sam’s Club manager to carry the product.
   After some cajoling from Alex, the manager examined a PhillySwirl cup, and took a bite of cotton candy. He said, “Wait—my kid gets this at school. She loves this stuff.” The manager connected Alex to a buyer for Sam’s Club, and now you can get PhillySwirl in fifty states—and soon, in other countries. Costco International is working now to make PhillySwirl available in England, Canada, and Mexico.
   On every package sold in retail stores, the labeling mentions Penn State. “I am very proud of being a Penn Stater,” Alex says, “even though I will admit that I did not take the fullest advantage of the educational opportunities I had there. But I did take advantage of the social aspects, which shouldn’t be ignored. And I don’t mean partying and all that. There is such an incredible mix of people there, from all over the country and the world, all doing different things, that you can really learn from that. It’s very diverse, very multi-dimensional.”
   He himself contributed to that environment, having emigrated to the United States from the (then) Soviet Union in 1981. He credits his parents with helping to instill drive in him, something he does now for kids all over the country. “I’ve done about 250 presentations, to about 300 kids at a time, and my message is always the same: you have to try things and not be lazy. If you try it and it’s not for you, that’s okay, there’s no shame in quitting—as long as you keep at it and go try something else.”

Rock Ethics Institute’s Disability Studies Lecture Series Continues in 2003

   A man in a wheelchair is unable to eat at a new and popular restaurant because he cannot navigate his wheelchair up the stairs that lead to its entrance. Though legislation requires businesses and educational institutions to accommodate people with disabilities, they frequently face such difficulties, as well as more complex issues that accompany living with a disability. For Penn State’s Rock Ethics Institute, investigation of problems and questions raised by disability studies is key.
   To facilitate these inquiries, the Institute is sponsoring a Disability Studies Lecture Series. By bringing in scholars from departments such as English, philosophy, film studies, and women’s studies, the lecture series offers an approach to disability studies that incorporates the sharing of knowledge across disciplines. Lecture topics range from an in-depth look at the treatment of people with disabilities during the Holocaust, issues of disability and democracy, and how current practices of genetic screening may be linked to the oppression of those with disabilities.
   Nancy Tuana, DuPont/Class ’49 Professor of Ethics and Philosophy and director of the Rock Ethics Institute, explains the importance of the series. “The lectures are designed to provide an opportunity to think about critical ethical issues surrounding these topics, as well as publicizing the initiatives of the Institute to encourage those with common interests to participate.” Like other projects of the Rock Ethics Institute, the series is geared not solely to the University, but is also open to the public.
   On March 24, Janet Lyon, professor of English and Women’s Studies at Penn State will present “About Faces and Disability.” Eli Clare, poet, essayist, activist, will present “Stolen Bodies, Reclaimed Bodies” on March 4. On March 31, Susan Squier, Brill Professor of Women’s Studies, will present “Meditating on Disability.” Also, the Rock Ethics Institute Disability Studies Initiative is co-sponsoring a lecture entitled “The Laws of Disability Studies: Gender, Disability, and the Politics of Discrimination by Appearance,” which will be given by Susan Schweik on April 29.
   For more information, please contact the Rock Ethics Institute at 814-863-0314 or visit their Web site at http://rockethics.psu.edu.

Institute for the Arts and Humanities Wins National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant

   In December 2002, Penn State’s Institute for the Arts and Humanities was awarded a $500,000 Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. These funds, which will be allocated over a three-year period, must be matched 4 to 1 by non-federal dollars. The Institute, an interdisciplinary research unit under the Office of the Vice President for Research, will be working with the College of the Liberal Arts and the College of Arts and Architecture to raise $2 million in matching funds. The funds will provide endowment monies to support a range of new Institute programs such as a named lecture series, an annual symposium, collaborations with university museums, and civic and educational outreach.
   The IAH also funds individual faculty research and faculty and graduate residencies. Laura Knoppers, director of the Institute and professor of English, underscores the importance of bringing together faculty and graduate students from varied fields. “The most fruitful conversations are the result of interdisciplinary efforts. Such collaborations allow for critical reflection on creative works that might not otherwise take place.”
   The Challenge Grant will also make possible a number of outreach initiatives. Yvonne Gaudelius, associate professor of art education and women’s studies and associate director of the IAH, explains the importance of this new outreach. “This new collaborative programming will take the Institute—and the arts and humanities at Penn State—up to a new level of visibility and impact. The most successful and thriving institutes around the country have endowments, often started by precisely this sort of Challenge Grant.”
   This grant is the second Challenge Grant received by Penn State. In 1985, the College of the Liberal Arts was awarded a Challenge Grant of $1 million that was used to hire new faculty in the core humanities disciplines, to support faculty and graduate student research, and to increase the visibility of the humanities at Penn State. The 2002-2006 Challenge Grant will foster new collaborations in the humanities at Penn State, with the Institute acting as a bridge between otherwise discrete communities.

Economist Joe Terza Documents Link Between Alcohol Abuse and Job Performance

   An employee consistently arrives to work half-an hour late. She forgets appointments, misses meetings, and drinks excessively at business related functions. Consequently, she is fired. This scenario raises several important questions. Does the abuse of alcohol and/or narcotics affect job performance? Does it mean one is less likely to look for a job? What percentage of users is unemployed but actively seeking jobs? A recent grant awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Substance Abuse Policy Research Program allows Joseph Terza, associate professor of economics, to undertake just such an examination.
   Terza’s work focuses on three key issues: are abusers out of the labor force actively seeking employment, are they unemployed but looking for a job, and, if employed, how is work performance affected (in other words, are they able to keep the job or do they return to being unemployed)?
   Using the 1988 survey’s larger scope of statistical information and its broader focus helps Terza to avoid the pitfalls of researchers who rely solely on clinical trials that scrutinize similar issues. In other words, when trials focus on answering a small range of particular questions, the outcomes may be less objective and/or “polluted” by the approach.
   Though others have studied how substance abuse influences employability and job performance, Terza’s work uses a new statistical method to isolate factors that may lead to a clearer understanding of the links between employment status and addiction. Rather than relying on clinical trial findings (which may be limited only to direct links between the use of drugs or alcohol and job performance), Terza applies data taken from the 1988 Alcohol Supplement of the National Health Interview Survey that collected statistics including factors related to substance abuse, such as an individual’s age, place of residency, educational level, race, and biological history. In addition, the survey’s information provided averages among both men and women across a national spectrum. Terza will use the data from this survey to put together a methodological picture that takes into account a myriad of factors. His research will also estimate the effects of multiple substance abuse (such as alcohol, marijuana, cocaine).
   “Being able to examine a wide array of variables allows us to calculate other factors that a controlled study does not,” Terza says. He further explains, “In addition to the distress something like alcohol abuse has on those closest to the abuser, it jeopardizes public safety and imposes substantial costs on the economy as a whole.”
   While his research cannot yet conclusively provide information linking substance abuse's negative impact on employment factors, the current data supports this hypothesis. In the long run, Terza’s statistical approach may be key in encouraging policy-makers to consider the benefits of prevention and treatment programs.