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Summer 2005 |
Summer Highlights The summer is already moving along very fast, and for those of you still in e-mail reach, I did want to bring you up to date on some recent news. Let me first thank our two retiring faculty, Jim Eisenstein and Mike Johnson, whose careers are briefly summarized elsewhere in this issue. Both Jim and Mike are examples of scholars whose fine teaching went hand and hand with active and productive research programs and good university citizenship. For all this, we are very grateful. I would also like to congratulate Neil Wallace, Liberal Arts Research Professor of Economics, who was just named to the very prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Neil is only the second member of the College to earn this designation. The Academy is a society composed of the world's leading scientists, scholars, artists, and business and government leaders. In addition to Neil's honor, several other faculty have recently won national fellowships. Kudos go to Hester Blum, assistant professor of English, and Adam Rome, associate professor of history, who won prestigious and highly competitive NEH summer fellowships. This is the time of year when heads and deans are working on dividing a small amount of salary increase money among many deserving faculty and staff. I do want to alert you that the salary pool is considerably smaller this year. While final salary recommendations have not been made at this level or approved at higher levels, only a small proportion of raises will exceed 3.5 percent. In the past several years, this proportion has been significantly higher, so do not compare your raise this year with that of last year and conclude you are valued less! The raise pool is smaller this year because the University decided that we could not ask our students to pay another double digit, or nearly double digit, tuition increase. Since tuition essentially funds the salary increase, when tuition increases are less, so too are salary increases. Rising costs of benefits, particularly health insurance, are also taking another big bite out of University revenues, a problem that every sector of society is confronting. On a much more positive note, I am happy to report that the first piece of our humanities initiative programming has now been put in place. In collaboration with the directors of graduate studies and directors of several of our humanities centers, including Beverly Vandiver, Jim Lantolf, Laura Knoppers, Bill Blair, and Nancy Tuana, Jack Selzer's office has awarded twenty-five dissertation writers with grants that will allow them to spend a summer or a semester free of teaching so the students can focus on making good progress on their dissertations. Sixteen students were chosen by center and institute directors and will spend their summer or semester 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 but will not be part of a center. All of our Ph.D. granting humanities departments have at least one student participating in the program. I am delighted by this initiative, appreciative of the cooperation of the center and graduate directors, and looking forward to even better dissertations, more timely completion, even more intellectual ferment in the centers, and better placement records as a result. On that note, I wish you all a pleasant and productive summer. With regards, Susan Welch
All college faculty and staff are invited to attend an ice cream social honoring our staff. The ice cream social will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, July 27, in the lobby and on the steps of Sparks Building. Please join us for a summer treat and good fellowship. This spring, we have two retirees, James Eisenstein, professor of political science and crime, law, and justice and Michael Johnson, associate professor of sociology and women's studies. Both joined Penn State in 1972 as assistant professors, and thus have been part of the Penn State family for thirty-three years. Jim is well known for his work on the courts. As a political scientist I can attest that his book, Felony Justice, is a classic in the field of criminal court organization and behavior. More recently, Jim has published on the federal courts, and is currently supported by the NSF for this project. In addition to his outstanding research, Jim is an award-winning and innovative teacher who was recognized with the University's Amoco Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching in 1986, the Provost's Special Collaborative Teaching Award in 1992 and 1998, and a Schreyer Institute Faculty Innovation Award in 1999. He was also recognized by the College for outstanding advising in 1984 and for Distinction in the Social Sciences in 1992. Michael is also an award-winning teacher, having won the College's Outstanding Teaching Award in 1994 and the Penn State Alumni Teaching Fellow Award in 2000. He is a highly visible scholar in the areas of domestic violence and relationship commitment, and is currently working on a book on family violence. Michael has been one of the mainstays of the women's studies program and has been an important part of its growth and development over the past decade. He also served the sociology department in many ways, including as associate head for four years. Both Jim and Michael have been important contributors to the College and to their departments and students over the years. We are sorry to see them go, but wish them well in their retirement life. Faculty Grants and Honors Faculty Grants Congratulations to the following faculty who have won new grants during the past few weeks. D. Scott Bennett, Liberal Arts Research Professor of Political Science, from the National Science Foundation for “Improving the EUGene Software Program.” Ann C. Crouter, professor of human development and family studies, PI, and Jeanette N. Cleveland, professor of psychology, Co-PI, Center for Work and Family Research, from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for “Hotel Work and Well-Bring: The Penn State Hotel Managers Initiative.” Vijay Krishna, professor of economics, from the National Science Foundation for “Collaborative Research: Mechanism Design with Imperfect Commitment.” Kenneth N. Levy, assistant professor of psychology, from the Borderline Personality Disorder Research Foundation for “Mechanisms of Change in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder,” and from the International Psychoanalytical Association for “Affective Communication in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder.” Isabelle Perrigne, associate professor of economics, and Quang Vuong, professor of economics, from the National Science Foundation for “Econometrics of Auctions and Regulation.” David L. Webster, professor of anthropology, from the National Science Foundation for “Re-evaluation of the Earthworks at Tikal, Guatemala, Phase 2.” Faculty Honors Neil Wallace, Liberal Arts Research Professor of Economics, has been named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is one of seven economists elected as fellows this year and the second faculty member in Penn State 's College of the Liberal Arts to receive this honor. Wallace is a contributor to the fields of monetary theory, regulation of financial intermediaries, and central bank policy. He has worked on deposit insurance, the role of inside money, deficits and inflation, and the determination of exchange rates. Wallace was elected into the Academy as a member of the 2005 class, a class 196 new Fellows and seventeen new Foreign Honorary Members which includes a Supreme Court Justice, four Pulitzer Prize winners, and two Nobel Prize winners. Stuart A. Selber, associate professor of English, won the 2004 Distinguished Book Award in Computers and Composition for Multiliteracies for a Digital Age (Southern Illinois University Press, 2004). The award honors book-length works that contribute in substantial and innovative ways to the field of computers and composition. Sophie A. McClennen, Penn State associate professor of comparative literature, Spanish, and women's studies and co-director of the graduate program in comparative literature, has been awarded a Visiting Research Fulbright 2005–2006 Chair in Globalization and Cultural Studies at Dalhousie University, for research on Globalization and Resistance in Latin American Cinema. The Visiting Research Chair awards are part of the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program, which supports collaborative efforts between U.S. and Canadian academic communities on thematic issues of bilateral and global significance at Canada 's leading universities and research centers. The award enables prominent and promising scholars and experienced professionals to conduct research and guest lectures. James P. Lantolf, professor of Spanish and applied linguistics, has been awarded the George C. and Jane G. Greer Professorship in Language Acquisition in Penn State 's College of the Liberal Arts. This endowed professorship was made possible through the generosity of George and Jane Greer, who have previously given to Penn State 's Civil War Era Center in support of the McCabe Greer Professorship in the American Civil War Era. Lantolf, who is also the director of the Center for Language Acquisition (CLA), studies the limits of language learning and explores people's ability to learn meaning and metaphor in non-native languages and how gestures differ between languages. Lantolf recently co-authored a book with Penn State colleague, Steve Thorne, assistant professor of applied linguistics, entitled, Sociocultural Theory and the Genesis of Second Language Development, published by Oxford University Press. This work is an extensive treatment of second language learning from the perspective of sociocultural psychology, a theory of mind developed by the Russian psychologist L.S. Vygotsky and his colleagues. The book discusses the major statements and principles of theory and demonstrates how they are relevant for learning additional languages in adults. J. Michael Hogan, professor of communication arts and sciences, and Rosa A. Eberly, associate professor of communication arts and sciences and English, have been awarded a grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to promote the study of great speeches and public debates in undergraduate humanities classrooms with the goal of helping students learn the habits and practices of active engagement in a democracy. Gerald (Gary) Knoppers, professor of religious studies, Jewish studies, and classics and ancient Mediterranean studies, was awarded the 2005 R.B.Y. Scott Award for his books, I Chronicles: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (2 volumes; Anchor Bible, vol. 12 and 12A; New York : Doubleday, 2004). This award is offered annually by the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies in Recognition of an outstanding book in the areas of Hebrew Bible and/or the Ancient Near East written by a member of the society. Professor of Anthropology George Milner has accepted the position of interim head of the Department of Anthropology for 2005–2006. New tenure-line faculty are invited to a luncheon on Friday, August 26, at 12 p.m. at the Nittany Lion Inn, the Penn State Room. A brief program will focus on College expectations and resources. Labor Studies and Industrial Relations Department is holding its annual Pennsylvania AFL-CIO/Penn State Safety and Health Institute at the Atherton Hotel, Sunday, June 26, to Thursday, June 30, 2005. 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. 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 Brandy Bower at bvb2@psu.edu. Richard Carlson, Department of Psychology; Nancy Landale, Department of Sociology; and Denise Solomon, Department of Communications Arts and Sciences; were elected to represent the College in the Faculty Advisory Committee. These faculty represent your views. Please let them know of your concerns. 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 Alice Fogg at axf1@psu.edu or 863-8328. As a reminder, if you are leaving the College, you will need to return your parking permit to 111 Sparks Building. Jennifer Hillebrand, assistant coordinator contracts and grants management, associate dean for administration, research and college advancement Amy Homan, administrative assistant IV, political science Mary Jo Schillings, staff assistant VI, history, religious studies, classics and ancient Mediterranean studies, and Jewish studies Michelle Aitkin, staff assistant VI, dean's office PromotionsSuzanne Bennett, academic counselor, psychology Connie Stahlman, finance and accounting assistant, financial office Susan Gunsallus, system administrator, Liberal Arts Computer Support Services (LACSS) Rayme Hetrick, staff assistant VI, history, religious studies, classics and ancient Mediterranean studies, and Jewish studies Brent Hurley, advising program coordinator, undergraduate studies Anna Nachman, research technologist, psychology Louisa Shawver, finance and accounting assistant, financial office RetirementsArlene Smith, academic counselor, African and African American Studies, labor studies and industrial relations, and women's studies Karin Weaver, administrative assistant IV, history, religious studies, classics and ancient Mediterranean studies, and Jewish studies 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 05-239 |
