Archive for November, 2007

Travel Abroad to India this Summer (And Do Very Good Work)

Published by
Dr Brady
November 27, 2007 in International, PSU, SHC News, Service to others and Students. 1 Comment

Dr. Richard Stoller has passed along this important announcement. I met with Ms. Large recently and she is a wonderful woman and this is an amazing program that is transforming lives. 

For the last eight years, the SHC has enjoyed a special relationship with HOINA—Homes of the Indian Nation, a charity started by Penn State Distinguished Alumna Darlene Large.  HOINA operates children’s homes in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, and each year a group of Schreyer Scholars spend three weeks working with HOINA children and helping with a variety of projects at the homes.  To prepare for their India experience, and to learn the wider context of globalization and economic development, Scholars take a two-credit honors course in the spring.  You can view the most recent HOINA/SHC video, produced by our 2006 students, below or at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1635908723585412801&hl=en

If you’re interested in joining next year’s group, you should apply this week – the deadline is 5:00 on Friday, November 30.  You can pick up an application in the SHC office on the ground floor of Atherton Hall, or email Dr. Stoller at rjs27@psu.edu. He can answer any questions you might have about the course or the trip. 

“I pledge my head to clearer thinking…”

Published by
Dr Brady
November 13, 2007 in PSU and Service to others. 1 Comment

From the “I told you so” department (am I that old) and the Penn State Live Newswire:

Studies show 4-H enhances youth life skills, civic involvement

A pair of studies — one conducted in Pennsylvania and the other nationally — suggests that young people who participate in 4-H develop enhanced life skills, become better leaders and give back to their local communities. Over the last four years, researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences evaluated the life skills of about 1,200 Pennsylvania youth before and after their participation in 4-H programs. They found a strong association between 4-H participation and increases in the youths’ abilities in decision making, critical thinking, communication, goal setting and problem solving. “For instance, participants’ communication skills increased by 10 percent and their goal-setting skills increased by 11 percent,” said Claudia Mincemoyer, associate professor of 4-H youth development and co-author of the Pennsylvania study.

Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/26810?nw=1

My brother and I were very involved in 4-H growing up and it was certainly formative for both of us. (I don’t think he will mind my mentioning that he met his wife through 4-H!) Even though neither of us went into ag related industry, not the primary purpose of 4-H in any event, it was and is an excellent program for the formation of youth. In fact, some of the programs I did in 4-H: public speaking, photography (in those days that meant using chemicals in a dark room), demonstration speeches, cooking, poultry judging, sewing, horticulture, small engines, etc.

(And for those wondering, the line in the subject comes from the 4-H pledge.)

Going from Strength to Strength

Published by
Dr Brady
November 12, 2007 in Curriculum, PSU and Thoughts. 0 Comments

I realize that I have not posted very frequently in the last few weeks. I have been on the road, most recently to help review another institution’s honors program. It was a a very enjoyable time and one of great encouragement to me. The university we were visiting has a very strong program, but the review process made me realize again how very fortunate we are. In addition to the strong support of Mr. and Mrs. Schreyer and many other donors, the fact that President Spanier and the PSU administration believe that honors education is a vital part of the university should not be underestimated.

Some of our strengths, made all the more clear in contrast:

  • Scholarship support – You have heard me say many times that we need a larger endowment in order to offer more scholarships, our campaign goal is $91 million, but even at our current size we are doing much better than many other schools and programs.
  • Faculty and Administration support -  We have over 300 faculty across all disciplines and campuses who are regularly engaged and supporting honors education and this is vital to our success. The fact that President Spanier has made honors education a priority has sent a strong and positive message from the top down.
  • International and global opportunities – PSU as an institution has a plethora of study abroad opportunities and enhancing those opportunities is part of the SHC mission. With travel and research grants our Scholars have access to programs that simply are not possible for students at many institutions.
  • Service – Honors education around the nation places an emphasis upon service and the SHC is no exception. Honors education should benefit all the university and the community at large and our students continue to impress me with the events and programs that they initiate which help others around them.

There are always ways in which we can improve and I came away from this review with a number of good ideas and suggestions, so stay tuned!

This week I am on the road again. This time I will be headed to California for meetings with supporters of the college and then on to San Diego for my discipline’s annual meeting (the Society of Biblical Literature).

Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation Commits $1M Scholarship

Published by
Dr Brady
November 12, 2007 in Philanthropy and Scholarship. 0 Comments

Merrill Lynch and their CEO have been in the news lately, but this past week the news about ML, at least for potential Schreyer Scholars, is very good. We just announced a $1 million scholarship endowment from their foundation. Mr. Schreyer is the CEO emeritus of ML. We are very grateful for this outstanding scholarship endowment.

University Park, Pa.–The Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation has committed $1 million to endow four undergraduate scholarships in Penn State’s Schreyer Honors College.

Consideration for the Merrill Lynch Honors College Scholarships will be given to students in the college who have earned a high school grade point average of 3.5 or higher, and who contribute to the ethnic or cultural diversity of the student body.

“The funding of these scholarships and the enhanced relationship between Merrill Lynch and the college is in keeping with the vision that William and Joan Schreyer had when they made their gift to establish the college,” said Dean Christian M.M. Brady. “Their vision — to provide the highest level of academic excellence, build global perspective, and foster leadership and civic engagement — is being realized thanks to Merrill Lynch’s support.”

William A. Schreyer, Penn State class of 1948, retired as chairman emeritus of Merrill Lynch in 1993. The Schreyers gave $30 million to endow the college in 1997, and in 2006 contributed an additional $25 million.

The foundation is the philanthropic arm of Merrill Lynch & Co., one of the world’s leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies, with offices in 38 countries and territories. Previous support to Penn State includes a faculty chair in the Smeal College of Business.

Penn State’s Schreyer Honors College enrolls about 1,800 undergraduates and affords students exceptional opportunities to engage in research, travel abroad and leadership. Each Schreyer Scholar majors in a program in one of the University’s academic colleges and takes any of more than 300 honors courses that emphasize active and in-depth learning. Many Scholars have multiple majors and minors, and their academic career culminates in an honors thesis. The college is widely acknowledged as one of the best in the nation.

To learn more about the Schreyer Honors College, visit www.scholars.psu.edu online.

Lecture in Science and Religion

Published by
Dr Brady
November 2, 2007 in Event. 0 Comments

I want to let Scholars know about a lecture coming up. The SHC is co-sponsoring this series and Dr. Hoffmann is fantastic. Not only is he a Nobel prize winning chemist, he is also an accomplished author, poet, and playwright.

Inaugural Lecture in Science and Religion Lecture Series and
the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences Distinguished Lecture Series
presents

Dr. Roald Hoffmann
Frank H.T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters
Chemistry and Chemical Biology of
Cornell University

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5
“One Culture or the Commonalities and Differences
Between the Arts and the Sciences”
104D Keller Building, 8 p.m.
and
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6
“Science and Ethics: A Marriage of Necessity and
Choice for the Millennium”
100 Life Sciences Auditorium, 4 p.m.
Also video conferenced to Hershey room C4702

Seminars are free and open to the public.

For additional information, please call 814-865-1626.

This series is co-sponsored by the Department of History and Religious Studies Program, the Schreyer Honors College, the Institute for the Arts & Humanities and the Huck Institute of the Life Sciences.

More information about Dr. Hoffman: As a writer, Dr. Hoffmann has carved out a land between science, poetry, and philosophy, through many essays and three books, Chemistry Imagined with artist Vivian Torrence, The Same and Not the Same and Old Wine (translated into six languages), New Flasks: Reflections on Science and Jewish Tradition, with Shira Leibowitz Schmidt.

Professor Hoffmann is also an accomplished poet and playwright. He began writing poetry in the mid-1970s, eventually publishing the first of a number of collections, The Metamict State, in 1987, followed three years later by Gaps and Verges, then Memory Effects (1999), Soliton (2002), and most recently, in Spanish, Catalista. He has also co-written a play with fellow chemist Carl Djerassi, entitled Oxygen, which has been performed worldwide, translated into ten languages. A second play by Roald Hoffmann, should’ve, had its initial workshop production in Edmonton, Canada in 2006. Unadvertised, a monthly cabaret Roald runs at the Cornelia Street Café in Greenwich Vilage, “Entertaining Science,” has become the hot cheap ticket in NYC.

RSS SHC Stammtisch

  • Greg Lucier '86 Eng
  • Dr. James A. Pawelczyk ’85g
  • Asra Nomani
  • Sean Lobar
  • Louis J. D’Ambrosio ’86 Bus

RSS SHC Podcasts

  • The Jewishness of Jesus
  • SHC Oxford Debate 2009
  • Building College Communit Through Technology?
  • First Night 07
  • "Go and do likewise," Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial 2007

What I'm Doing...

  • It has been a great few days in New Orleans at the SBL conference. Met colleagues at Tulane to plan possible PLA trip in 2011 Home tomorrow 2 days ago
  • Just saw PSU's own Dr. Rubin at the conference. If you need a class take his Intro to Old Testamenr/ Hebrew Bible CAMS 110U 4 days ago
  • Visiting my old stomping grounds at Tulane. http://yfrog.com/3lottj 5 days ago
  • More updates...

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