I am very pleased to invite everyone (and anyone!) to attend a lecture presented by Marine Explorer, Activist, Educator and Filmmaker Jean-Michel Cousteau on Monday, October 19 at 8:00 p.m. in Schwab Auditorium.
Environmental speaker Jean-Michel Cousteau continues the legacy of his father, the legendary ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, as a world-renowned explorer, environmentalist, educator, oceanographer, and filmmaker. Cousteau founded the Ocean Futures Society, a marine conservation and education organization that serves as a “Voice for the Ocean.” The Society teaches conservation ethics, conducts research, and helps to develop marine education programs.
A prolific filmmaker, Jean-Michel Cousteau has also produced over 70 films, and his work has yielded him an Emmy award, the Peabody award, the 7 d’Or – the French equivalent of the Emmy, and the Cable ACE Award. His first book, Jean-Michel Cousteau’s America’s Underwater Treasures, has also received several awards in independent publishing. Recognized as a voice for the ocean who communicates to a new generation, he continues his quest to “carry forward the flame of his faith” and to educate listeners worldwide on the importance of the oceans and preserving underwater ecosystems.
No tickets are required. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Questions: Please contact the Schreyer Honors College office at 863-2636.
Penn State seventh in Washington Monthly national rankings
Washington Monthly has once again recognized Penn State for its ability to
prepare students to be valuable citizens. The University is ranked No. 7 in
the publication’s 2009 College Guide and Rankings. Washington Monthly is a
political, inside-the beltway publication that prioritizes its annual rankings
based not only on what institutions do for their students but also what they
do for the nation, based on criteria including social mobility, research and
service. Topping the list were three University of California schools –
Berkeley, at No. 1, followed by U.C. San Diego (No. 2) and UCLA (No. 3).
Stanford, also in California, ranked No. 4, followed by Texas A&M University
and South Carolina State University.
The PennState Newswire is a great way to keep up to date on what is going on at PSU. You can sign up for the various listservs on this site and the news summaries will be delivered straight to your email (you can also set up your cell number to receive emergency text messages at that site as well). Or, if you have an iPhone you can download the free PSU Live app.
Two stories from this morning’s newswire deserves to be shared here as well (but do visit their site for many more stories).
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1. Tuition bills to be credited as students await PHEAA grant money
Students who expected to receive a Pennsylvania state grant administered through the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) will have their Penn State fall semester tuition bills credited for the estimated grant amount. PHEAA normally issues grants in August, but is dependent on an authorized state appropriation to do so. With no comprehensive state budget to date and the fall semester rapidly approaching, it seems less and less likely that those funds will be available for the start of the academic year.
2. Penn State plans for flu season, asks for community cooperation
The H1N1 virus (previously called swine flu) has taken a backseat to other news lately, but public health officials expect it to re-emerge this fall, creating a number of challenges for institutions like Penn State. To take a proactive approach to the expected flu outbreak, University officials are ramping up communications efforts to provide guidelines to students, faculty and staff who may be affected in some way by the H1N1 virus, either contracting the illness themselves, caring for family members who may be ill, or avoiding the flu altogether. Minimizing the spread of this highly contagious disease is a significant concern for health officials. The guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for anyone contracting the H1N1 virus require self-isolation — that means not attending classes, not coming to work and not gathering in public spaces or for group activities.
Move in week has finally arrived! Tomorrow our 110+ mentors will be here and then the fun really begins on Wednesday! The stage is set and we are ready for the biggest SHO in college! I just wanted to pass along a few links that will be helpful as parents and students get ready for the big move.
SHO Time – all the information you need about the Schreyer Honors Orientation. A few key links from the site:
Preparing for flu season – We know H1N1 is going to be around this fall as well as the usual seasonal flu. This story from PennState Live news service offers some basic tips.
I thought our graduating seniors and parents might be interested in this bit of news.
Graduation photos in Beaver Stadium
Ever dream of running out of the tunnel at Beaver Stadium? Here’s your chance – The Penn State All-Sports Museum is pleased to announce that a photographer will be at the stadium from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday May 16 and from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday May 17 for those who would like to commemorate their time at Penn State with an image taken in the heart of Nittany Nation. Come create a lasting memory and show your Penn State pride on your graduation.
Penn State Live is reporting on the Governor’s budget proposal that includes $21M reduction in appropriation for Penn State. One part of the proposal, that is good in its intent, but does not go far enough since it excludes Penn State students, is worth highlighting here. I will simply echo by means of quoting President Spanier.
As part of his budget package, Gov. Rendell has proposed a tuition relief program for families earning up to $100,000 a year who have students attending any of Pennsylvania’s 14 community colleges or the 14 public universities in the State System of Higher Education.
“The governor’s recently proposed financial assistance plan for Pennsylvania students from families with income below $100,000 is laudable,” Spanier said, “but it is imperative that it include Penn State students, who for some reason were omitted.
“State funding to help students afford the cost of public higher education in the Commonwealth should be based on the needs of all students attending public universities,” Spanier said. “The plan, as proposed, excludes otherwise qualified students who attend the state-related universities, such as Penn State.”
There are 30,931 Pennsylvania residents attending Penn State this year who come from families who would qualify for this program — the largest number of residents with financial need at any university in the state.
“There are a number of majors in engineering, agriculture, science and business fields that are uniquely offered at state-related institutions. Students graduating in these fields are critical to the future of the state. We think those students should qualify for financial assistance.
Below is a news release from President Spanier regarding the university’s efforts to deal with the current economic situation. We are also working with the other undergraduate colleges to help students who are finding themselves with a shortfall for tuition payments. We know this is a difficult time for everyone and it would be easy for many to view education as a luxury to be deferred. We do not want to see that happen and will continue to do all we can to ensure that our students will be able to continue through completion of their degrees. Many donors have already stepped forward to provide us with additional scholarship funds to make this possible. If you are also able and willing to help, please do contact me and I will be happy to discuss further the needs currently facing our students.
Penn State President Graham Spanier has sent an open letter to the University community talking frankly about the economy and outlining how Penn State and its students and employees will be affected. In this brief video synopsis, the president addresses deep concerns about rising costs, job security, salary increases, construction projects on hold, things Penn State is doing to ease the burden on employees and students, and where additional help can be found. Read his full message at http://live.psu.edu/story/36755 online.
Last week I recorded my essay for our local WPSU “This I Believe” program. It can be heard on Thursday 18 December 2008 at 5:45 pm OR right now online!
I can remember quite vividly a moment in the 5th grade when a classmate hit me, trying to start a fight. David P. was a good foot shorter than I was. He had to reach up to land a decent blow on my chin. My instinct was to hit back, but I remembered my father saying, “It takes a stronger man to take a punch than to give one.” I looked at David and said, “I’m not going to fight you,” and I walked away. The other boys standing around booed and hooted, but David didn’t follow me. In fact, from that day on, none of the boys ever bothered me again.
I was hardly Rosa Parks refusing to move to the back of the bus or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sitting at the lunch counter. Yet with this simple act, I learned a tremendous amount about myself and the true notion of honor: Know what is right and do it. Of course, I would not realize that lesson until much later in life. And many such moments go into building and developing our core convictions. It wasn’t until I became an academic and the dean of the Schreyer Honors College that I really thought about what “honor” means.
We hear the word honor so often and in so many contexts that it is easy to forget its meaning. “Honor” may mean acting in way our society considers noble by our society. It may mean, to be held in high esteem by others. In academia we speak of “honors” almost entirely in terms of the awards that a scholar acquires. Every year students graduate “with honors” in their chosen field. At Penn State Schreyer Honors College Scholars receive a medal that symbolizes their academic achievements. These honors are accolades, praise for exceptional work and prestigious awards.
I would be hypocritical if I said that I think this practice of recognition is wrong. I DO think that we in the academy are in danger of fostering the “win at all costs” environment we so often criticize. I remember, when I was a senior working on my undergraduate thesis, going to section of the library stacks. Two entire shelves of books–the very books I needed–were gone. It turns out a graduate student in our program had removed them, to make sure other students would not have access to them.
Honor can something a community considers worthy of esteem, or it may be awards for outstanding work. Honor is not success at any cost. In its simplest sense honor is knowing what is right and doing it. The challenge, of course, is knowing what is right. The very act of seeking out that knowledge is itself honorable. As I tell prospective honors students, we are not just looking for the “smartest guys in the room.” Instead, we are looking for the smartest people who want to use their intelligence to help other people in the room and especially those outside. This I believe.
I know that our honors students have already registered for classes and that this is late, but I just managed to get my course for the spring into the computer. So please consider signing up if you have the time!
The information is below and the class time will be TR 2:30-3:45.
CAMS 110 (GH;US;IL) (J ST 110, RL ST 110) Hebrew Bible: Old Testament (3) Introduction to the history, literature, and religion of ancient Israel.
(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.
The Hebrew Bible is the record of the interaction between the people of ancient Israel and their God. As a religious text, the Bible is inextricably intertwined with the cultures of Israel’s neighbors, including the Canaanites, Syrians, Greeks, Assyrians, Babylonians, Arabs, Egyptians, and the peoples of the eastern desert. To study the Hebrew Bible and its development during the first millennium BCE is to study the history, culture, and literature of the entire region. Hebrew Bible introduces students to the literature of ancient Israel, its rituals, the stories which established a people’s identity, and which defined their moral behavior. Great figures of the texts, such as Moses, David, Solomon, Bathsheba, Ruth, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezra, teach us important lessons about life and how people of faith attempted to relate to one another, to God, and to people outside their ethnic group. Students will read from the text and from a textbook which contains scholarly opinion from a variety of sources. Recent archaeological and epigraphical studies will be incorporated into the course to enhance our work. The ultimate goal will be to assess the meaning of the texts in their ancient Near Eastern environment, and to understand the development of Hebrew religion and the beginnings of Rabbinic Judaism. Students will be evaluated using an hour examination, a 6-8 pp. “hermeneutical essay,” a final examination, class attendance and discussion. As an introduction to the scriptures of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, RL ST 110 utilizes the methodologies used in the academic study of religion. The course is related or linked to many courses in religious studies which use these same methods or which are related to the history and development of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. RL ST 110 may be used to fulfill requirements for the Religious Studies major. RL ST 110 may also be used to fulfill the US;IL or GH requirements in the major or minor in RL ST, CAMS and J ST.
General Education: GH
Diversity: US;IL
Bachelor of Arts: Humanities
Hank Foley, Dean of the College of Information Science and Technology sent this email. Please feel free to share your experiences at the anonymous survey or right here in our comments. I was very fortunate, our neighborhood had no real line. On the whole it sounds like most polls were very friendly places and efficient, even where there were lines. I have to comment that even had I to wait in line I would not have complained. That seems a small price to pay for the freedom and liberty of privilege to participate in our democratic process.
Friends, This was a momentous election. Now that it is over, as a pubic service IST@PENNSTATE has created a website for you to report on your polling/voting experiences. Many have already responded and have taken the survey this week. If you are interested in doing so, then please point your web browsers to http://ist.psu.edu/voterexperience. We hope that you will point this site out to other friends and colleagues who may also be interested in the survey.
The poll is completely voluntary; we will not divulge any personal information and the respondents may chose to answer as many or as few of the questions as they feel comfortable doing. We will work up the results and post them next week.
A short story on the site is below.
Thank you!
Hank Foley
Dean IST@PENNSTATE
IST Launches Voter Experience Survey
11/04/2008
by Jenna Spinelle
Did you have a good experience at the polls in Tuesday? Wait in line for hours to vote? Good or bad, Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) wants to know about it.
Researchers in the college have launched an online voter survey to gauge reaction to factors including voting equipment, election staff and atmosphere at the polling places.
“This survey provides a timely online service to allow voters to share information regarding their voting experience, both positive and negative,” said John Yen, IST’s associate dean for research and graduate programs. “The data gathered can help voters to see whether their voting experience is similar to or different from others in the same city, county or state”
The project also will benefit the college’s Global Prescience research effort, which aims to detect and predict global trends by analyzing current events and the relationships among them. The data collected from the 2008 voter survey will provide a basis for comparing data from similar projects in the future.
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