The speaker is Karen Plavan, PhD, a former Penn State faculty member, who is now Executive Director of The Oasis Recovery Center of Western PA. Plavan designed a prevention project, "Everything Counts" for The National Media Outreach Center at QED Communications focusing on addictive organizations and communities.

An anonymous donor has made a $2.2 million estate commitment to Penn State Greater Allegheny. The bequest will institute a scholarship fund, two professorships and a chancellor’s excellence fund.

“This commitment is a tremendous gift to the campus,” said Curtiss E. Porter, chancellor of Penn State Greater Allegheny. “It is historic in its size and scope, as well as in the impact it will have on our students, faculty and community. Private philanthropy is a major driving force behind the growth and enhancement of our campus. Gifts from alumni and friends allow us to fulfill Penn State Greater Allegheny’s mission to care for the success of our students and communities.”

The anonymous bequest establishes a scholarship fund with an initial endowment of $700,000.

“This fund will help us address the growing need for student assistance,” said Porter. “Ninety-one percent of Greater Allegheny students qualify for some kind of financial aid. Most of this aid takes the form of loans. The scholarship fund will help us continue to keep a university degree accessible to future Penn Staters.” Annual scholarship awards will be made from the endowment’s income, which will total approximately $31,500 in support each year. Preference will be given to students from the Pittsburgh region who demonstrate financial need.

The bequest will also establish two professorships at Penn State Greater Allegheny, one in the Department of Information Sciences and Technology and an Early Career Professorship in the Department of Business. These two professorships will be the first faculty endowments ever established at the Greater Allegheny campus. They will provide the support necessary to recruit and retain some of the nation’s best faculty members. In addition, Early Career Professorships provide junior level faculty with a stable, dependable source of income for needs such as specialized teaching and research materials, library acquisitions, salary supplements, and travel assistance.

“The most innovative research initiatives must often produce results before greater funding can become available,” said Porter. “The professorships have the potential not only to support the careers of our faculty, but also to fund breakthroughs that will transform their disciplines.” The early career award will rotate every three years to a new recipient who has completed his or her terminal degree within the preceding decade.

In addition, $500,000 of the bequest will create a new chancellor’s excellence fund at the Greater Allegheny campus. These designated funds will provide the chancellor with flexible financial resources to respond to the evolving needs of the campus. The interest from the endowment, approximately $22,500 each year, will be directed to areas in need of support that enhance the campus’ academic and community environments, including faculty research, student projects, start-up funds for new community engagement programs, facilities support, or other steps toward enhancing education at the campus.

“This bequest is a tremendous asset to our campus. The donor’s generosity will enable us to strengthen the most important areas of Penn State Greater Allegheny’s land-grant mission,” said Porter. “Thanks to the incredible commitment represented in this gift, our donor helps us to ensure we keep a Penn State degree affordable during difficult economic times, launch the careers of our newest, most promising faculty members, and continue the Greater Allegheny campus tradition of excellence and engagement.”

For more information about supporting the Greater Allegheny campus or its students, contact Dale DiSanto, executive director of development for Commonwealth Campuses, at dad23@psu.edu. Gifts to Penn State Greater Allegheny count toward the campus’ goals in For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. This University-wide effort is directed toward a shared vision of Penn State as the most comprehensive, student-centered research university in America. The University is engaging Penn State’s alumni and friends as partners in achieving six key objectives: ensuring student access and opportunity, enhancing honors education, enriching the student experience, building faculty strength and capacity, fostering discovery and creativity, and sustaining the University’s tradition of quality. The campaign’s top priority is keeping a Penn State degree affordable for students and families. The For the Future campaign is the most ambitious effort of its kind in Penn State’s history, with the goal of securing $2 billion by 2014.

The Fall 2011 Student Research Conference sponsored by Teaching International, the Honors Program, and Greener Allegheny, was held on November 17, 2011. Sixty posters were displayed and entered into the competition.

The winners are listed below.

Honors category

First Place

“Globalization” by Vallerie Frazier, Cody Scagline, Anthony Tyke, & Yu Wang; Bernie Cerasaro, ECON 104H.

Second Place

Three-way tie:
“A Tale of Love and Darkness: An autobiographical memoir written by Amos Oz” by Erika Vasques. Dr. Kathleen Brown, CAS 100H.
“UV-VIS Spectroscopy” by Ramon Rivera. Bittner, CHEM 210H.
“Health Care” by Samantha Clark, Myan Haviv, Megan Pastore, Mingkang Zhang; Bernie Cerasaro, ECON 104H.

Teaching the Middle East category

First place

“Violence in Yemen” by John Alligood, Dillon O'Hanlon, Cassandra Smith; Dr. Kathleen Brown, CAS 100A.

Second place

Millennium Development Goals category

First place

“Gender Equality in Turkey” by Andrew Pollman, Lauren Hawkins, Becky Perhach; Dr. Kathleen Brown, CAS 100A.

Second place

“Gender Inequality in Turkey” by Phillip Keib; Dr. Veronica Montecinos, SOC 110.

Sustainability category

First place

“Energy Sources of the Middle East” by Nicole Bacvinskas, Courtney Bailey, Si Zhao; Dr. Eric Lipsky, EGEE 101.

Second place

Two-way tie:

“A Dedicated Biodiesel Building” by Mark Render, Madeline Hamilton; Dr. Eric Lipsky, EDSGN 100.
“Energy: The United States vs. The Middle East” by Courtney Handlovitch, Shelbie McCurdy; Dr. Eric Lipsky, EGEE 101.

Penn State Greater Allegheny hosted its fall 2011 commencement on Thursday, December 15, at 7:00 p.m. in Wunderley Gymnasium. Chancellor Curtiss E. Porter presided as diplomas are conferred to individuals receiving baccalaureate and associate degrees. Keynote speaker was Margaret L. Signorella, Ph.D.

Signorella is Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies and Interim Director of Academic Affairs at Penn State Greater Allegheny. She previously served as Director of Academic Affairs for seven years and has coordinated the campus psychology program since 2003. Trained as a social psychologist, her major research focus is on the development and consequences of gender schemas, and she is collaborating on two grants aimed at understanding gender differences in cognition and career interests. She frequently uses meta-analysis to examine the developmental and gender-related trends in stereotypical schemas. In her teaching, which includes introductory psychology, research methods, and various social psychology courses, she emphasizes involving undergraduate students in research projects. Dr. Signorella was recently named a fellow of the American Psychological Association’s Psychology of Women Division. She serves as an Associate Editor for the multidisciplinary and international journal, Sex Roles, and recently co-edited a special issue of the journal on single-sex education.

The stories in this production have been chosen from a number of Middle Eastern folk tale narratives and then adapted and dramatized for performance as part of the campus Teaching International Program.

The Cave of Three Wishes is about a poor shepherd who uses a pretend magic cave to find out what the womenfolk in his household wish for--with unsettling results.  Prince Naas is about a clever, hard-working girl who deceives a queen who is looking for her missing son, Prince Naas, and hears the girl telling "naas" (which meant "sleepiness" in her language) to stay away from her.  The girl agrees to let "Naas" court her when the queen, hoping this will bring back her son, promises to provide food and clothing for the girl and her sisters.  Complications ensue.  The Farmer who Followed his Dream is about a farmer who has a recurrent dream about going to Jerusalem and standing by Damascus gate.  His wife suggests that he travel to Damascus Gate to find the meaning of the dream--with surprising results.   The Hunchback of Dhafar is about a crippled young man who achieves a happy life (and improved posture), thanks to his good deeds and the prayers of his family and friends.

On November 9 Dr. Charles was interviewed on the NPR program On Point with Tom Ashbrook. The interview is available as a podcast, along with more details about Hoover, at the program web site.

Charles also reviewed the movie from a historical perspective for the Boston Globe (November 24, 2011; boston.com).

More information about Dr. Charles and his research is on his personal web page.

The lecture will be on November 29 at 12:15 p.m. in Crawford 104.

Professor Orbach’s teaching focused on the experience of modern Jewry in the 19th and 20th century in both European and Near Eastern settings.

He has published on Russian Jewry, Zionism and Israel and antisemitism. Currently, he studying aspects of Jewish politics in Tsarist Russia in the 1905-1914 period and the broader issue of dual loyalty as it has challenged modern Jewry in the post-Emancipation era.

As part of the Teaching International initiative, Penn State Greater Allegheny has adopted each year a country or region of the world, and a theme, as a common focus to inspire teaching and scholarship.  The region for the 2011-2012 academic year is the Middle East and the theme is the Millenium Development Goals. Teaching International works closely with the campus sustainability project, Greener Allegheny, and the Honors Program to sponsor events that raise awareness of these global issues.

Orbach's talk is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Nancy Conway (412-675-9143 or nle10@psu.edu).

By the end of the evening, the final tally was $101,293 which brings the overall total raised since 2004 for student scholarships to more than $475,000.

Performing on the William A. Seifert, Jr Stage, was the vocal quintet, 42Five, direct from Orlano, FLorida. Their unique brand of entertainment evolves from a street corner barbershop sound and draws on funk, rock, jazz, and blues. Unlike any musical experience around, 42Five recreates an entire instrumental band with nothing but their voices.

“The entertainment, food, and ambiance added to the excellent achievement of the evening,” said Chancellor Curtiss E. Porter.  “Everyone who contributed to this event should be extremely proud.  We will have the funds available to help students pursue their educational goals here at Penn State Greater Allegheny.”

Title Sponsors of the All That's Jazz Scholarship Benefit included Amy and Dave Michaliszyn and Nancy Seifert. Chancellor's Circle Supporters were McKeesport Hospital Foundation and UPMC.    

"The Mortal Cry of a Gazelle," is the title of Angele Ellis's talk on the Ghazal in modern literature. Ellis will be appearing on Thursday November 10 at 12:15 p.m. in the Ostermayer Room of the Student Community Center.

Her work has appeared on a theater marquee - after winning Pittsburgh Filmmakers' G-20 Haiku Contest in 2009 - and in journals, periodicals and anthologies. The author of two books of poetry, Spared (Main Street Rag, 2011) and Arab on Radar (Six Gallery Press, 2007), she was a 2008 recipient of an Individual Creative Artist Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and a prizewinner in the 2007 RAWI Competition for Creative Prose.

In 1997 she co-authored the diversity workbook Dealing With Differences (Corwin Press).

An honors graduate in English from the University of Pittsburgh, Angele Ellis makes her home in Pittsburgh's Friendship neighborhood.

As part of the Teaching International initiative, Penn State Greater Allegheny has adopted each year a country or region of the world, and a theme, as a common focus to inspire teaching and scholarship.  The region for the 2011-2012 academic year is the Middle East and the theme is the Millenium Development Goals. Teaching International works closely with the campus sustainability project, Greener Allegheny, and the Honors Program to sponsor events that raise awareness of these global issues.

The Ellis presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Nancy Conway (412-675-9143 or nle10@psu.edu).

The revolutions shaking the Arab world are not yet complete and it is unclear what shape emergent new governments will take. Along with questions about domestic developments for each Arab country in political tumult arises another question: what are the implications for Arab-Israeli peace?

Laurie Zittrain Eisenberg will address these issues at the next Teaching International lecture on October 18 at 12:15 p.m. in the Ostermayer Room of the Student Community Center.

Eisenberg is Teaching Professor in the History Department at Carnegie Mellon University, where she specializes in Middle East history. She holds a Ph.D. in modern Middle East history from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (1990). Her areas of research and publication include the Arab-Israeli conflict and peace process. She has published numerous articles and is the author of My Enemy's Enemy: Lebanon in the early Zionist Imagination, 1900-1948 (Wayne State, 1994) and, with Neil Caplan, Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace: Patterns, Problems, Possibilities (Indiana University Press, 2010).

An unusual project for which Eisenberg served as consultant was the development of “PeaceMaker,” a video game simulating Palestinian-Israeli interactions (www.peacemakergame.com). Ongoing research projects concern the legacy of Jordan's King Hussein and the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

As part of the Teaching International initiative, Penn State Greater Allegheny has adopted each year a country or region of the world, and a theme, as a common focus to inspire teaching and scholarship.  The region for the 2011-2012 academic year is the Middle East and the theme is the Millenium Development Goals. Teaching International works closely with the campus sustainability project, Greener Allegheny, and the Honors Program to sponsor events that raise awareness of these global issues.

Eisenberg's talk is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Nancy Conway (412-675-9143 or nle10@psu.edu).

Catori Carter-Hutching interviewed Chancellor Curtiss Porter.

The psychology department at the campus has a strong record of providing undergraduate students with research opportunities.

Lacey Richards began working with Elizabeth Mazur, associate professor of psychology, as a research assistant on a project Mazur was conducting with another undergraduate student (Mazur & Kozarian, Journal of Adolescent Research, 2010).

Richards enjoyed the experience and thus decided to continue with the new idea Mazur had developed. Mazur and Richards used public postings on MySpace to examine the numbers and types of friends seen in the social networking interactions.

The work was honored when Richards received the Undergraduate Research Award from the Pennsylvania Psychological Association. She later presented their work at a national conference, the Society for Research in Adolescence. Richards graduated with a B.A. degree in applied psychology in 2008.

The Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology recently published the Mazur and Richards paper (2011). The article is entitled “Adolescents' and Emerging Adults' Social Networking Online: Homophily or Diversity?”

Mazur is currently working with Yidi Li, who began at Greater Allegheny and is completing her psychology and media studies degrees at University Park. Mazur and Li presented their work, “What are They Blogging and Blurbing? A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Chinese and American Emerging Adults’ Online Social Profiles,” at the American Psychological Association conference in August 2011 in Washington, DC. The project began as part of the campus international curriculum program, Teaching International, during the year the regional focus was on East Asia.

Margaret L. Signorella, professor of psychology and women's studies, is also working with Li on a project examining research that compares outcomes in single-sex versus coeducational schools. Signorella recently published an article with former student Jeanna E. Cooper, "Relationship Suggestions from Self-Help Books: Gender Stereotyping, Preferences, and Context Effects." The research, which appeared in Sex Roles in 2011, began with Cooper's undergraduate research independent study class.

Daily menus for Cafe Metro in the Student Community Center are now available online.

The site also provides users with the option of getting the nutrition information for a meal.

The Penn State Greater Allegheny Women’s Volleyball Team is hosting a coed volleyball tournament to raise funds to benefit breast cancer awareness. The event will take place on Sunday, November 6, from 8:30 a.m. to approximately 5:00 p.m. at the Wunderley Gymnasium, 4000 University Drive.

Come on out to support the event! Grab a snack and watch some competitive volleyball....cheer or kindly heckle your favorite team! There will be fun events to participate in throughout the day!

Tax-deductable donations are welcome and there will be event t-shirts for sale. 

For more information, contact Tracy Gibbs: tng2@psu.edu or 412-675-9472.

The United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) announced that Penn State Greater Allegheny and Robert Morris University in Springfield, Illinois, have been selected to host the 2012 through 2015 USCAA Baseball Small College World Series. Robert Morris has been selected as the host for 2012 and 2014 at Chamberlain Park.  Penn State Greater Allegheny will host in 2013 and 2015 at Pullman Park in Butler, Pennsylvania. The 2012 Small College World Series will be held May 7-12.

“The United States Collegiate Athletic Association is extremely proud and excited to bring the 2012-2015 Baseball National Championships to Springfield, Illinois and Butler, Pennsylvania,” states USCAA Chief Operating Officer Matt Simms.

“We are extremely honored to host the 2013 and 2015 USCAA Small College World Series,” stated Penn State Greater Allegheny Athletic Director Jim Chester. “We are very excited to showcase Butler County and Pullman Park to the rest of the memberships. We are excited and proud to represent Penn State University and the PSUAC in such a prestigious event.”

Young, who is also an associate professor of women's studies, argued for the value of research in helping to develop crucial skills that are important both in and out of the classroom.  

Mohammed A. Bamyeh, professor of sociology at the University of Pittsburgh, will open this year's Teaching International Speaker Series on the Middle East. His talk, "Dynamics of Revolt in the Arab Spring," will take place on September 14 at 11 a.m. in the Ostermayer Room of the Student Community Center.

Bamyeh, who received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1990, is the incoming editor of the International Sociology Review of Books (ISRB).

His most recent book, Islam and Society: Social Movements, Global Structures, Social Critique, is expected to appear in 2012. His other books include Anarchy as Order: The History and future of Civic Humanity (Rowan & Littlefield 2009); Of Death and Dominion: The Existential Foundations of Governance (Northwestern UP 2007); The Ends of Globalization (Minnesota UP 2000); The Social Origins of Islam: Mind, Economy, Discourse (Minnesota UP 1999, winner of the Albert Hourani Honorable Mention from the Middle East Studies Association). He just finished editing the forthcoming volume Intellectuals and Civil Society in the Middle East (I. B. Tauris 2011). 

Teaching International began in 2004 to promote greater awareness of global trends and civic engagement and to broaden students' understanding of intercultural and international issues. This event is free and open to the public. For information, call 412-675-9143.

An internship preparation session for students

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

4:30 – 6:00 pm
Ostermayer Room, Student Community Center
Please RSVP to psuga-careers@psu.edu (so that we have appropriate food and seating)

What students can expect during this session:

• Answers to commonly asked questions about internships
• Learn about resources to locate internships; hear from other students/alumni about their internship experiences
• Learn about Penn State policies for the internship process
• Learn what you need to do before applying for an internship
• An opportunity to meet with your faculty internship advisor for information specific to the following baccalaureate programs on campus: Business, Communications, IST, and Psychology  

The video below, also cited by Time Magazine, shows Hepner discussing the process.

Tuesday August 23 and Thursday August 25
Common Period 12:15-1:30
Crawford Building Lab 1

Take advantage of this event and get involved in your success. Stop by to resolve any issues you may have regarding:

• Student accounts
• Due dates
• Payment plans/deferred payments
• Student aid
• Signing student loans
• Entrance loan counseling
• Academic concerns

Penn State Greater Allegheny staff will be there to assist you.

Students in the summer STEM bridge program at Penn State Greater Allegheny prepare solar panels as part of a group project. The program's cost was defrayed by grants from the Pittsburgh-based EQT Foundation and the National Science Foundation. During the month of July, incoming freshmen at Penn State Greater Allegheny honed their academic skills in engineering, mathematics, English composition and physics as part of The Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) summer bridge program. Twenty-four openings were available to students who applied to the program by submitting essays describing how participation would help them to achieve their academic and career goals.

During the four-week session, students experienced the academic and social aspects of a Penn State education. Students attended classes each day until 3 p.m. After class, they participated in tutoring, study skills classes and other activities to prepare them for college-level work.

“The STEM program gives these students a head start and better prepares them for some of the difficult classes they will encounter as college students,” said Kristin Kokal, assistant director of academic affairs and an organizer of the program. “We also plan outside activities to help them bond and give them an opportunity to develop a support system.”

As part of the program, students put what they were learning to practical use at Blueroof, a McKeesport company that develops state-of-the-art living facilities for senior citizens. The project, referred to as BIM, or Blueroof Independence Module, was designed as a free-standing modular unit that could be attached to a house and used primarily for returning disabled veterans. Each team presented their findings at a final semester presentation.

The three teams researched and designed components for the BIM dealing with architecture, energy and technology.

“I found the project to be very interesting and beneficial," said Katherine Yoho, one of the students in the STEM program from the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts magnet school. "Being on the campus this summer and working on this project helped me to get familiar with the campus before the fall semester starts. It also made me more aware of the kind of school work that is expected of me and better prepared me for the semester."

The program’s cost of $750 included meals, field trips, text books, extracurricular activities and faculty instruction. Costs were defrayed by grants from the Pittsburgh-based EQT Foundation and the National Science Foundation.

On Thursday, August 4, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. college-bound veterans are invited to an information day in the Admissions Office, Frable Building. Lunch will be proved between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Participants will receive a Penn State Greater Allegheny T-shirt for attending.

The day provides a one-stop opportunity for veterans to move forward with plans for college. While on campus, veterans can: 

• Apply for admission and have the $50 application fee waived. 
• Request your official high school and college transcripts. 
• Request your official military transcripts. 
• Start your online application for GI Bill benefits - Bring your DD214. 
• Submit for financial aid - Bring your 2010 filed income tax forms.

Penn State Greater Allegheny offers the first two years of 160 Penn State majors as well as all four years of bachelor’s degrees in Business, Communications, Psychology, Information Sciences & Technology, Letters, Arts, and Science, English, and Organizational Leadership.

To register for the workshop or for more information about applying to Penn State, call 412-675-9010. Fall classes begin August 22, don’t delay!

For the 2011-2012 academic year, the campus will study the Middle East, with a theme of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

The regions and themes are chosen by a vote of faculty and staff. After a region is chosen, participating faculty and staff discuss the definition of the region. In some cases, there is consensus on what constitutes a particular region, whereas in other cases, such as with the Middle East, there  is much less agreement.

For information on the countries to be studied, the Millennium Development Goals, and resources and events, consult the Teaching The Middle East web page.

Chancellor Curtiss E. Porter, Ph.D., conferred degrees on 35 students at Penn State Greater Allegheny’s spring commencement on Saturday, May 14, in the Wunderley Gymnasium. Diplomas were awarded in a number of areas, including organizational leadership, political science, business, communications, applied psychology, and information sciences and technology.

Chancellor Porter also gave the commencement address, as he marked the end of his 12th year leading the campus.

Penn State Greater Allegheny's chapter of Psi Chi, The National Honor Society in Psychology, inducted new members on April 14. Present for the induction ceremony were Chelsey Angelone, Amber Corpa de la Fuente, and Karry Smith. Also inducted were Brittany Emerick, Aleksandra Evstiounina, Tiara Greenawalt, and Scott Polena.

Welcoming the new members were outgoing chapter president Brandon Garner, chapter adviser Dr. Elizabeth Mazur, and psychology program coordinator Dr. Margaret Signorella.

Membership is open to students who are at least second-semester sophomores, majoring or minoring in psychology with at least 9 credits in psychology completed, who rank in the upper 35% of their class in general scholarship, earn an overall GPA of at least 3.0, and a psychology GPA of at least 3.0.

Psi Chi was founded on September 4, 1929 for the purpose of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in scholarship, and to advance the science of psychology. Psi Chi is one of the largest honor societies in the world. Since 1929, Psi Chi has installed more than 1,050 chapters and inducted more than 500,000 members at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. These chapters not only recognize academic achievement by granting membership in the Society, but also sponsor programs that augment the regular curriculum, offer service to the campus and the community at large, develop leadership skills, and provide fellowship through affiliation with the chapter. For more information about Psi Chi and its grants, awards, and service programs, go to the Psi Chi website at www.psichi.org. Psi Chi is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and an affiliate of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science.

For more information on the campus Psi Chi chapter, contact Dr. Elizabeth Mazur.

The Spring 2011 Student Research Conference on April 14 featured student posters from many disciplines. Submissions in the categories of Teaching Eastern Europe and Honors were considered for prizes based on the all-campus voting that took place on the same day.

Teaching Eastern Europe

First place:

Luiza Sarbu, Don Shulock, Brandon Diana, Jake Samudovsky; "FluroFlav: Dental Hygiene in Romania;" IB303 Cerasaro

Second place:

Lori Benack, Matt Kiss, Marie Popovich, Janet Zayas; "HealthyWave, Poland;" IB303 Cerasaro

Honors

First place:

Marie Popovich; "Food or Fuel?" IB 303 Cerasaro

Matthew Kiss; "Kohls: Smeal Case Competition;" BA 422W Hough

Second place:

Xuerong Xiao, Sheng Wei; "Tensile and Bending Test Using Strain Gauge;" EMCH 213 Lipsky

During Spring 2011, a psychology student intern, Lorelei Molinari, is working with the Disability Contact Liaison office.

On Tuesday, April 12, Molinari demonstrated the Kurzweil Educational Program system implemented on the campus during this past year.

Kurzweil is an assistive technology device that converts text to speech and can be used to support out of class learning and testing administration.

Staff members JeanMarie Jacob and Dianne Lacock from the Penn State Greater Allegheny Continuing Education Department have been selected to receive the University Professional Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) Community of Practice (CaPP) Exemplary Program Award for 2011. This international award recognizes the Penn State Greater Allegheny Personal Care Home Administrator Training Program.

Penn State Greater Allegheny has been registered and approved as a training institution by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare for purposes of Chapter 2600. The 100-hour standardized Department-approved curriculum for Personal Care Home Administrators can also be used to fulfill annual training requirements for Personal Care Home Administrators and other health care professionals. In addition, many of the courses can satisfy PA State Nurses Association Contact Hours.

The award selection committee noted that the award proposal was thorough and well-prepared. Committee members commented that the program was “far superior to other programs submitted” this year, and were impressed by 98 percent pass rate program graduates have secured on the state exam. The committee also was impressed that the program could be offered via video-conference to other regions of the state.

The award was announced at the UPCEA Annual Conference in Toronto in April.

The Penn State Greater Allegheny Players presented their spring production, "The Flower Queen's Daughter," on April 28, 29, and 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the Fitness and Cultural Center.

Opening night featured a reception at 6:30 p.m. with Eastern European delicacies.

The production was supervised by Dr. Jay Breckenridge, professor of Theatre Arts, and is part of the campus Teaching International Program.

The event will feature the best literary and visual art produced by members of the campus community during the past year. The event will also celebrate the arts with live performances, featuring: a preview from campus Spring play, The Flower Queen’s Daughter: A Retelling of the Demeter/Persephone Myth based on Slavic Folklore, which runs April 28-30, at 7:30 p.m. at the new campus theatre; performance by the Barbershop Quartet, Reckless, performance by the campus choir; and a presentation of the Sixth Annual Chancellor’s Prizes for the Best Literary & Visual Art. This event is free and open to the public. Copies of this year's issue, Volume 13, will be available at the event. 

From 1968 until his retirement in 2004, Sam Zabec was an instructor in computer science at Penn State Greater Allegheny. He also served as an adviser to the Phi Kappa Delta Fraternity and Residence Hall Coordinator to the campus’ dormitory. To the staff and faculty of the campus, Sam was a valued colleague. To the students with whom he studied, laughed, and shared his legendary record collection, Sam was a mentor and friend. Sam remains a valued member of the Greater Allegheny community by providing additional teaching on occasion and sharing with everyone his irrepressible good humor.

On Saturday, May 21, 2011, at 6:00 p.m., Penn State Greater Allegheny will hold The Sam Zabec Roast to honor this outstanding educator and celebrate the scholarship that has been established in his name. This indoor/outdoor picnic buffet will take place at the Student Community Center, 4000 University Drive, McKeesport, PA, 15132. The evening will include jazz music provided by the 2011 All That’s Jazz performers the David Pellow Trio, dinner with an open bar, a Roast of Sam, and dancing to music from the Sam Zabec years (1968-2004).

The scholarship, which will support students studying the sciences, has raised nearly $99,000 in cash and pledges to date. These funds have all been generously donated by people whose lives had been touched by Sam.

Come and celebrate Sam Zabec’s contributions to the campus, community and –through his students—the larger world!

For more information about The Sam Zabec Roast and the Scholarship, contact Andy Holtz, Director of Development, Penn State Greater Allegheny, at abh16@psu.edu or 412-675-9047.

Penn State Greater Allegheny students will highlight their research projects at the campus Student Research Conference. Student work will be displayed in the Ostermayer Room of the Student Community Center from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 14. (Download the program)

Over 30 projects will be on display, representing many disciplines. The assignments also relate to one or more campus programs: Teaching Eastern Europe, Greener Allegheny, Honors, and Civic Engagement.

Members of the campus community will have the opportunity to vote for the best submissions.

The lecture was arranged by Galen A. Grimes, associate professor of information sciences and technology, for his Security and Risk Analysis 111 course and his Instructional and Information Sciences and Technology 110 course. The lecture is open to the campus community.

Departments will sponsor informational booths about bullying in the concourse area.

At 2:00 p.m. Jeannetta Thomas from the Penn State Educational Partnership Program (PEPP) Office will make a presentation in the Ostermayer Room about the negative impact of bullying. Thomas will present audience participants with ten questions to determine if they can recognize bullying behavior.

Approximately 30 students from McKeesport Area High School will attend the presentation. “It is important to get this information out because everyone should be able to live without being taunted” said Jordan Pruett, a Penn State Greater Allegheny resident assistant and one of the event organizers,” adding, “by having this event on campus we are setting an example for high school students.”

“Stood Up” t-shirt shirts are available for adults for $10 and for students for $5.

Charles is the author of J. Edgar Hoover and the Anti-interventionists, which describes how FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover catered to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s political interests in order to preserve his position and to expand FBI authority. In his effort to service administration political goals, Hoover employed illegal wiretaps and informers, collected derogatory information, conducted investigations, forwarded political intelligence to administration officials, and coordinated some activity with British intelligence. This all occurred within a crisis atmosphere created with the onset of the Second World War, and it was this political dynamic that permitted Hoover to successfully cultivate his relationship with President Roosevelt and expand FBI authority.

The presentation will be held in 117 Frable Building. The event is open to the campus and the public. Charles’s appearance is a part of the Globalization and Sustainability Speaker Series sponsored by Penn State Greater Allegheny’s Teaching International, Greener Allegheny, and Honors Programs.

Penn State Greater Allegheny junior guard Darius Prince was recently named the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) All-American in basketball at a ceremony at Nemacolin Woodlands. Prince is among ten student athletes selected for first team from USCAA schools coast to coast. He is the first basketball player in the school’s history to receive this honor. Prince averaged 22.5 points per game and was named USCAA Honorable mention All-American for the 2009-10 season. “This is a tremendous honor for Darius and the entire Penn State Greater Allegheny Athletic Department,” said Athletic Director Jim Chester. Prince is pursuing a degree in Administration of Justice at Penn State Greater Allegheny and is from West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.

On Saturday, April 9, at 9:00 a.m. Penn State Greater Allegheny will hold a 5K Run/Walk open to students, faculty, and staff of Penn State Greater Allegheny and its surrounding communities.

Participants can register online at https://sites.google.com/site/psga5k/registration.

The web site for the 5K is https://sites.google.com/site/psga5k.

Registration is $25 for adults/staff and $15 for students. The registration fee includes a T-shirt.

The 5K will benefit the McKeesport-based Sonshine Community Ministries. The ministry provides clothing, food and counseling services to area residents. The event was created to provide students at Penn State Greater Allegheny the opportunity to be challenged both physically and mentally while contributing to their surrounding community.

The 5K is being hosted by the Penn State Greater Allegheny Student Government Association. It is being sponsored by the Penn State Greater Allegheny Alumni Society.

The event will be timed by Runner’s High, a race and time management company based in Grove City. Check in for the race/walk is at the Residence Hall parking lot from 8-8:30 a.m. The run/walk is expected to wrap up by 10:30 a.m.

For more information, contact Sara Holtzman at snh14@psu.edu or by calling 412-675-9223.

The Penn State Greater Allegheny Alumni Society will hold a Penn State Creamery Ice Cream and Ye Old College Diner Stickies Sale.

The deadline for orders is Friday, April 1. To order, download and complete the order form and mail the form with payment to Penn State Ice Cream Sale, 4000 University Drive, McKeesport, PA 15132. Checks should be made out to "Penn State Greater Allegheny Alumni Society." Ice cream may be picked up from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, on the loading dock of the Student Community Center. Purchasers should bring along a cooler for easier pick-up. This year's sale features 11 flavors of ice cream including Peachy Paterno, Death by Chocolate and Black Raspberry Yogurt. The cost is $6.25 per half gallon of ice cream and $3 per package of stickies. Proceeds benefit the Penn State Greater Allegheny Alumni Society. For more information, contact Penn State Greater Allegheny Alumni Society at 412-675-9048.

Mr. Hvozdovich is a graduate of Baldwin-Whitehall High School and the University of Pittsburgh, where he majored in history. He now works for the environmental organization Clean Water Action as its spokesman on Marcellus Shale drilling issues.

Clean Water Action is an organization of 1.2 million members working to empower people to take action to protect America's waters, build healthy communities and to make democracy work for all of us. For 36 years Clean Water Action has succeeded in winning some of the nation's most important environmental protections through grassroots organizing, expert policy research and political advocacy focused on holding elected officials accountable to the public.

The showing of Gasland at 12:15 p.m. in the Ostermayer Room of the Student Community Center is open to any students and faculty using the film to support their classes.

The speaker series is co-sponsored by Teaching International, Greener Allegheny, and the Honors Program.

Penn State Greater Allegheny recently hired a new women's basketball coach. Louis V. Zadecky of Belle Vernon, Pa., began his new position on Feb. 1.

The women's basketball program began at Penn State Greater Allegheny in the 2007-08 academic year. The team has a 25-game schedule in 2011. Next year, the campus will host a tip-off tournament that includes Lourdes College in Ohio, Pitt-Titusville and Bennett College.

“This is a very exciting time to bring on a new coach,” said Jim Chester, director of athletics for the campus. “Coach Zadecky possesses the fire and determination to take our women’s basketball program to where it belongs, the top of the PSUAC,” he added.

Zadecky earned a master of science degree in sports administration and management from California University of Pennsylvania in 2008. He holds a Pennsylvania State Certification (K-12) in Health and Physical Education. He earned a bachelor of science degree in health and physical education from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 1996.

Zadecky began his career at Elizabeth-Forward School District as a substitute teacher. Since that time he’s held several teaching and coaching positions. He’s currently a physical education teacher at Yough Intermediate/Middle School in the Yough School District. He has 11 years of experience as a high school head coach and 11 years of experience as an assistant coach. For the past several years he’s coached three teams simultaneously -- as head coach of the Yough High School Girl’s Basketball team, assistant coach of the Yough High School Girl’s Lacrosse team and assistant coach of the Southmoreland High School Varsity Football team.

Another plan in development is the Business Continuity Plan. The plan outlines the steps to get the campus up and running after an emergency. It prioritizes the mission essential tasks and who should complete them. It also identifies the time frame within which mission essential tasks should be completed. The plans are to be completed by this summer.

A Symposium for Primary Care Mental Health Professionals

Of all the states, Pennsylvania has the highest number of National Guard or Reserve members deployed in military operations. Many of these Service members return to their primary care professionals in their civilian lives rather than use military health-care systems; however, they have just as many long-term, combat-specific health issues as active duty military personnel. Meeting the needs and realities of military families is a vital support needed to maintain the resiliency of our Service members and their families. Penn State Hershey College of Medicine is proud to present this important one-day information session. It will be held at the Penn State Greater Allegheny Student Community Center on Saturday, April 16, 2011 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Continuing education credits will be awarded.

This conference is designed for primary care and behavioral health-care professionals to improve understanding, assessment, and treatment of the invisible wounds of war; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain-injury (TBI) patients. The information can be easily generalized to non-military patients as well.

The fee for this conference is $45 per person, which includes instruction, handouts, refreshments, and lunch. For further information, please call JeanMarie Jacob at 412-675-9058, e-mail gace@psu.edu, or register online at www.pennstatehershey.org/ce.

Penn State Greater Allegheny will recognize the commemoration of one of the greatest civil rights leader and activist of all time, Dr. Martin Luther King. The night is themed “How would today be different had not Martin Luther King lead the civil rights movement?” Enjoy a night of celebration and remembrance from 6-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 18th  in the Fitness and Cultural Center. Light refreshments will be provided. Come witness the past, present, and future from a man who changed the nation.

Professor Ronald H. Linden will be speaking on Human Rights and Changes in Eastern Europe as part of the campus's Globalization and Sustainability Speaker Series.

The talk, entitled "1989: The Meaning and Consequences of the Year of the Fall,” will focus on changes in Eastern Europe after the fall of Communism and the Soviet Untion.

The lecture will be held at 12:15 p.m. in the Ostermayer Room of the Student Community Center.

Ronald H. Linden is Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. A Princeton Ph.D. (1976), he was Director of the Center for Russian and East European Studies at Pitt from 1984-89 and 1991-98. From 1989 to 1991 Dr. Linden served as Director of Research for Radio Free Europe in Munich, Germany with responsibility for observing and analyzing the extraordinary changes in East Europe.

His most recent publications on the region include introductions for and editing of two Special Issues of Problems of Post- Communism, on “The Meaning of 1989 and After,” (2009) and on “The New Populism in Central and Southeast Europe” (2008). He is the author of “EU Accession and the Role of International Actors,” in Sharon Wolchik and Jane Curry (eds.) Central and East European Politics: From Communism to Democracy, 2nd edition and “The burden of belonging: Romanian and Bulgarian Foreign Policy in the New era,” Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies (2009).

During 2009-2010 Dr. Linden was a Transatlantic Academy Fellow at the German Marshall Fund, in Washington, where he was co-author and editor of the forthcoming volume, Turkey and Its Neighbors: Foreign Relations in Transition.

Dr. Linden has received research grants from the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research and from the International Research and Exchanges Board. He has been a Fulbright Research Scholar, a Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer, a Research Scholar at the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies of the Woodrow Wilson Center, a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace under the Jennings Randolph Program on International Peace, and a Guest Scholar of the East European Studies Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center.