Geysers, geothermal pools, glaciers, volcanoes, columnar basalt, tectonic plates, oh my! Iceland is a geologist’s dream. Just ask Penn State Brandywine Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin, who spent five days studying the country’s unique geological phenomena in early May.

Guertin traveled with 12 colleagues from across the United States as part of a short field study course hosted by the University of Texas Austin called “Exploring Iceland’s Physical Geography and Geomorphology.” Guertin said the experience was one of the highlights of her distinguished career and she can’t wait to share with her students at Brandywine the treasures she uncovered during her trip.

“The best way to learn geology is to go out and do geology,” Guertin said. “I teach my students about Iceland every semester. It’s a unique geologic environment. To be able to go to a geologic setting with fellow geologists, led by an expert of Icelandic geology (Jim Wysong) was really exciting!” she said.

Guertin said she’s most looking forward to bringing Iceland to life in the classroom now that she has seen and experienced its magnificence first-hand.

“It makes it real that I have visited and been there. It’s not someone else’s description, it’s my authentic experience,” she said.

“Instead of using someone’s images I find online or the images in the textbooks, I can now speak more about the specific features in my own photos and I can explain the broader setting and the context. I’ve learned more than what an intro level textbook includes so I can frame it better and get my students to realize the bigger picture about why Iceland is a good environment for us to learn more about and study.”

During her journey, which she documented on her blog, Journeys of Dr. G, Guertin visited volcanoes, glaciers, cinder cones, geysers, geothermal pools and other less-known geologic phenomena. She said the experience helped her better understand what’s going on with the retreat of the ice sheets and climate change and how Icelanders have harnessed their country’s natural energy sources. She was even able to stand on a glacier and see firsthand what is feeding the glaciers and causing them to melt. She said some of the waterfall systems are unique in Iceland compared to other places around the world, and she studied coastal erosion and cemetery stones, too. “There are several different components I can use in many different classroom discussions,” she said.

Columnar basalt at Dyrhólaey, a small peninsula located about 10 minutes from the village of Vik.

“Iceland is right on a plate boundary and I talk with my students about plate tectonics, the founding theory of geology, in my introductory geology courses. Iceland is so unique in its geologic setting because it straddles a boundary. There is no other place in the world like this particular one.”

In fact, standing with one foot on the Eurasian Plate and the other on the North American Plate was “my geekiest moment,” Guertin said with an excited laugh. Not only that, it was also the most terrifying. Where the two plates almost meet, there is a wide gap with a deep, never-ending abyss, which each of the geologists was eager to straddle, to the amusement of their non-geologist Icelandic tour guide, who claimed the experience was a first for her. “Looking down you couldn’t see the bottom. We had no idea how far down it went. It could have been really dangerous,” Guertin added.

During her stay, home base was the capital city of Reykjavik, where Guertin said she hopes to return one day to sightsee, but the field studies were mostly conducted outside of the city, where she climbed a volcano, got dangerously close to a vent in a hydrothermal field that could “melt the soles of your hiking boots,” visited the site of the assassination of politician Snorri Sturluson in 1231 and peered through the backside of a waterfall.

Notable stops on her tour included the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, Gulfoss waterfall, a volcanic crater called Kerið, Geysir and Strokku geysers, Hellisheiði Geothermal Plant, Eyjafjallajokull Visitor Center (as in the volcano whose eruption and subsequent ash cloud grounded flights around Europe in 2010) and the Solheimajokrull glacier snout, to name only a few.

To read more about Guertin’s journey through Iceland and follow along as she continues to travel and study geology in the field, visit www.journeysofdrg.org.

Find the positive, build connections, love your family and experiment. “It's all about your attitude, graduates,” Penn State Brandywine Commencement speaker David Lipson Jr. ’78 Com advised the class of 2013 on May 4 in the campus gymnasium.
 
A Penn State alumnus who has worked hard to build a successful career in magazine publishing, Lipson shared a few life sessions and words of encouragement with the more than 100 graduates.

“Your path ahead will indeed be challenging, your dream job may not come right away, but hang in there,” he said to a rambunctious and excited crowd. “Now is the time to experiment. Find out what really turns you on, what really makes you happy … You can’t let the fear of failure stop you from moving forward.”

Lipson, a native of the Philadelphia area, currently serves as the president of Metro Corp., a publishing company whose signature titles include Philadelphia and Boston magazines. He has been associated with the corporation in numerous ways for more than 30 years. Lipson is a lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association and received the prestigious Alumni Fellow Award in 2008. He remains an active representative of the community. Penn State Brandywine students receiving their diplomas will join the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world that consists of more than 145,000 members worldwide.

Per Penn State Brandywine tradition, graduates were provided a few moments to say a few words of thanks to family, friends and mentors as they crossed the stage to receive their degrees. And as is tradition, these special words were met with many tears, laughs and cheers.

Class of 2013 proceeds into the gym.

Adult student Bethanne Seufert, who graduated with high distinction and a bachelor of arts degree in American Studies, said, “I want to thank all my fantastic professors … I especially want to thank my children who were my biggest cheerleaders and helped me study for tests, and I want to thank my husband for being there with me through it all."

As the sound of screaming supporters echoed through the crowd, Arielle Coleman, who received a bachelor of arts degree in communications, thanked her “crazy family … and my mom for believing in me.”

“To my graduates, our time is just beginning because soon we’re going to take over the world!” said Jamal Ayoub, who received a bachelor of arts degree in English.

His fellow graduate in the English department, Cordelle Mercer, had a more solemn moment. He dedicated his degree to his grandmother, who recently passed away. “I wanted her to know that I’m never going to let her down and I will always love her,” he said.

There was much love for staff and faculty, too. “I’d like to say thank you to the professors, they really made the school more like a second home and I would like to thank my classmates. We are small, but we are mighty!” said Stephanie Byers, who received a bachelor of science degree in education.

“I would like to thank my family and all of the families that are here today for supporting us mentally, physically and financially. Thank you!” added Kim Ngan Nguyen, who received a bachelor of science degree in psychology.

To hear all the thanks and relive these sacred moments as the graduates say their final farewells before heading off the stage into the “real world,” watch the complete graduation video at http://bit.ly/PSUBWCommencementSP13.

To view and purchase photos from the ceremony, visit http://bit.ly/12bTmGf.

Penn State Brandywine Global Programs has released its upcoming study abroad lineup for the 2013-14 academic year.

In November 2013 (over Thanksgiving break), the campus will travel to Barcelona, Spain, followed by spring break 2014 in Rome and Florence, Italy and an additional trip in the spring to China. More details about these programs will be released shortly.

Students who wish to travel to Barcelona will receive a $50 discount if they sign up and pay their deposit by August 1.

Each of the three programs provides distance education courses with short-term travel to destinations worldwide. Courses, while not yet finalized, are available to students at any Penn State University location. Each course in each program includes pre-travel and post-travel coursework to be completed on an independent study basis, working with the instructor through distance education technologies and on one’s own schedule and pace.

The travel component of the courses is six to nine days in length, taking place during breaks in the University’s academic calendar. The program’s aim to bring international, academic and immersion experiences within the financial reach of as many Penn State students as possible. Accordingly, travel arrangements through Celestial Voyagers tour agency are designed to be very affordable, and scholarship opportunities are available, including the Brandywine Global Programs Award.

Please stay tuned for updates and visit the Global Programs page for more information.

This year, students in Instructor in Marketing Lori Elias’ Business Negotiations class hosted a number of charitable and awareness events on campus that raised more than $500 for various causes.

The class was awarded the Rosenberg Civic Engagement Scholarship, which provided the funds for the students to plan a number of initiatives on campus throughout the year. 

There were many teachable moments during the planning and implementation of these events,” Elias said, “but one of them was negotiating with each other for their portion of the seed money in exchange for other resources or needs. Another was educating each other on causes about which each student is passionate.”

After pitching their ideas and negotiating with classmates, each team chose their beneficiaries and started the journey of "daily business negotiations" with classmates, campus faculty and staff, and several persons and businesses off campus as needed to pull together successful events, Elias added. “They secured EMTs, donors for food (not paid for by the scholarship), facilities and many other resources that might surprise you.”

One of the teams, Team Komen, sold various items on campus to raise money in the support of Breast Cancer Research.

Team Red hosted a whiffle ball tournament and sold various items to raise awareness of and money for multiple sclerosis. The event, called Strike Out MS, was held on the campus lawn.

Team Awesome and the Dog Team pooled their resources to promote awareness of and raise money for the Delaware County SPCA. The groups sold a number of items and held fun events on campus to raise money for their cause.

Team Somaly Mam hosted a dodgeball tournament to raise awareness of and money for the rescue of victims of human sex trafficking.

Four Penn State Brandywine students presented their research at the Regional Undergraduate Research Symposium at Penn State Hazleton on Thursday, April 18. The event featured some of the best undergraduate research from five area Penn State campuses – Schuylkill, Wilkes-Barre, Lehigh Valley, Worthington Scranton and Brandywine.

Freshman Corey Young won second place in the arts and humanities category for her research and presentation, "The Rutgers Tomato, Super Foods and Environmental Philosophy." Her research mentor was Associate Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies David Macauley.

Sophomore science major Zachary Peterson presented his research on "The Earliest Stars in the Universe: Evolution of High-Mass Population III Stars" in the STEM category. His campus mentor was Associate Professor of Physics and Astrophysics Tim Lawlor.

Junior mechanical engineering major Rainaire Hansford presented his work on "Chronicles of Nair" in the STEM category. His campus mentor was Associate Professor of Engineering Asad Azemi.

Zachary Peterson, Corey Young, Rainaire Hansford (left to right)

Senior English major Rebecca Brophy's poster on "Evolution of Gender Perceptions During the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries in England and the Twentieth Century in America" was displayed, although she was not able to attend the event in person. She was mentored by Associate Professor of English Paul Orlov and Assistant Professor of English Elizabeth Womack.

Azemi and Macauley served as judges at this annual event celebrating outstanding research contributions made by undergraduates at Penn State.

Members of Penn State Brandywine’s business fraternity, Phi Beta Lambda (PBL), received top honors at the Pennsylvania PBL State Leadership Conference in Gettysburg in April.

Nine Brandywine students competed in sixteen competitive events and two members placed, qualifying them to compete at the PBL National Leadership Conference at Anaheim, Calif. in June.
 
Junior Kimberly Nowak, of Media, placed first in the state in the Computer Applications category and sophomore Steven Hargis, of Cherry Hill, N.J., placed second in the state in the Marketing Concepts category. Hargis placed first in the nation last year in Retail Management after winning at States.

Sophomore business majors Justin Chau and Theressa Ha competed in the Microeconomics and Macroeconomics and Marketing Concepts and Management Concepts categories, respectively; junior engineering major Norris Hua competed in Sports Management and Marketing and Microeconomics; freshman business major Ashish Kondapaturu competed in Financial Concepts; sophomore Chris Kramer competed in Accounting Principles and Impromptu Speaking and sophomore engineering majors Nga Lam and Steven Nguyen competed in Management Concepts and International Business and Word Processing and Hospitality, respectively.

Penn State Brandywine Professor of Management Veronica Godshalk and Assistant Professor of Business Administration Don Taylor attended the conference and Taylor judged in three of the competitive events.

Left to right: Norris Hua, Kimberly Nowak, Chris Kramer, Nga Lam, Ashish Kondapatury, Steven Hargis, Steven Nguyen, Theressa Ha, Don Taylor (adviser), David Vesely (alumni, professional member)

Penn State Brandywine’s annual Spring Soiree fundraiser held in April raised nearly $70,000 for students at the campus. The semi-formal event was held at the Phoenixville Foundry in Phoenixville.

Emceed by 6ABC Anchor Karen Rogers, the Spring Soiree brought friends, alumni and the community together for an exciting night of celebration and entertainment and to provide critical dollars to support new academic programs, scholarships and student-focused campus enhancements.

Left to right: Joe and Mary Jane Linker, Nittany Lion mascot, Kristen and Chris Casalenuovo

Guests enjoyed a live performance by alumnus Bill Handy’s five-piece jazz band and delicious food stations provided by Robert Ryan Catering. The event’s live auction featured vacation getaways to Jamaica, the Jersey shore and a trip to State College. Lucky guests also went home with a Coach bag, Phillies tickets, reservations to Talula’s Table, fine art and more.

Since 2008, this annual event has raised more than $300,000 for the students of Penn State Brandywine.
The Spring Soiree was made possible through generous donations from platinum sponsor Communications Test Design, Inc. (CTDI); gold sponsor Mrs. Jean Schaeffer; silver sponsors Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union and Wawa; bronze sponsors Connor Strong & Buckelew and Robert Ryan Catering and event sponsors Mark and Lauren Dambly, Exelon Power, Tranda Fischelis, Gailey Murray Communications, LLP and Sandra Ford and Stephen Mellor.

Zanya Stephenson received the Eric A. and Josephine S. Walker Award, a University-wide award given annually to full-time undergraduate students from each of the campus locations. The Walker award recognizes a student whose outstanding qualities of character, scholarship, leadership and citizenship have been directed into programs and services that have positively influenced fellow students and have contributed to the prestige and well-being of their campus and, hence, to the reputation of the University as a whole.

Labanaya Mookerjee received the Outstanding Student Service to Campus and Community Award, which recognizes a student who has given outstanding service to the campus and community through volunteering their time by assisting others or impacting the lives of others, thereby gaining positive recognition for herself and for the campus.

Theresa Malatesta received the Barbara Jackson-Williams Cross Cultural Understanding Award, which recognizes a student who has clearly demonstrated that individual differences are valuable and that learning about others who are culturally different is necessary and rewarding; who has shown the ability to gain the trust and respect of individuals who are culturally different from themselves; who has initiated programming efforts involving multicultural issues at Penn State Brandywine or who has provided outstanding service in a variety of cultural student organizations at Penn State Brandywine.

Eileen Fresta received the Outstanding Adult Student Award, recognizing an outstanding adult student who demonstrates initiative, tenacity and flexibility in overcoming obstacles to furthering her education; who serves as a role model for other adult students by sensitizing the institution to the needs of adult students and by establishing herself as a leader in the peer group; who achieves academic excellence as measured by cumulative GPA and whose clearly defined short and long term goals reflect the values and ideals of higher education.

There was a tie for the Student Club/Organization of the Year between the Gay-Straight Alliance and the Marketing and Advertising Club. This award recognizes a student club or organization that has shown exceptional involvement throughout the year. These clubs or organizations were active in recruiting new members and keeping them engaged and involved and contributed to the quality of student life and promoted campus involvement.

The No H8 (pronounced “hate”) Campaign was named Outstanding Program or Event of the Year, an award
that recognizes a program or event that has enhanced the quality of student life by promoting campus community and Penn State pride. This program demonstrates creativity, uniqueness and inclusion.

Advising and Career Services staff member Sally Ent was honored with the Club/Organization Adviser of the Year Award, which recognizes a faculty or staff member that volunteers their time to serve as a club or organization adviser. This adviser has shown that they are truly engaged in the activities and mission of the student organization and are committed to enhancing the student life experience.

Student Government Association President Pawel Zwierzchowski received the Deborah J. Erie Student Leader Award, recognizing a student leader who displays commitment and dedication to multiple organizations while maintaining solid academic standards. This student has shown how leadership involvement contributes to building pride in one’s campus and enriches the overall college experience.

Aimee Ralph received the Diane D. Shorter Service Award, recognizing a student or event, which contributes to the spirit of civic engagement through raising awareness of and enlisting campus involvement towards supporting a cause.

Linda Truong was the recipient of the Student Affairs Excellence Award.

Simeon Freeman received the Lion Pride Award for demonstrating commitment and dedication while acting as the Nittany Lion mascot. 

Three budding high school journalists from Delaware and Chester counties were recognized for their outstanding reporting and writing at Penn State Brandywine’s inaugural Communications in the Future Symposium on April 24. For its Pride in Print Competition, the campus received 74 articles written by students from 10 high schools for judging in three categories – news, features and sports. A finalist was chosen in each category and a Nook Color Tablet was awarded at Wednesday’s culminating event.

Woodlynde School senior Patrick Torphy, of Bryn Mawr, won the award for Best News Story for his article titled “Concussions: A dangerous risk finally being taken seriously,” which he wrote for his high school’s student newspaper, The Informer.

Avon Grove High School senior Bekah Curran, of Landenberg, won the award for Best Feature Story for her article “Klesius: Superstitions to scholarship,” which appeared in her high school’s student newspaper, Herald Sports.

Alex Roberts, of Brookhaven, also a senior at Woodlynde School and writer for The Informer, won the award for Best Sports Story for her article “Cheerleader loves to fly.”

Their stories were judged for value or importance, quality of reporting and quotes and quality of writing, by faculty and staff at Penn State Brandywine and members of the Press Club serving the Philadelphia Suburbs, who co-sponsored the event.

The talented finalists received their awards in front of a packed room that included fellow budding journalists who also submitted stories for the competition, communications majors at Penn State Brandywine, community members, friends and families.

Retired communications instructor and Regional Director of University Relations at Penn State Joe Biscontini served as the emcee for the evening.

A panel of four communications professionals representing key disciplines in the field – print journalism, radio, new media and public relations -- engaged in a lively discussion about the future of journalism, its changing landscape and cats (yes, cats).

The Communications in the Future Symposium panel (left to right): Phil Heron, Delaware County Daily Times; Elizabeth Fiedler, WHYY; Lauren Yapalater, BuzzFeed; Blair Cardinal, Buchanan Public Relations; Joe Biscontini, Penn State

Delaware County Daily Times Editor Phil Heron represented the “old school” side of journalism as he shared his thoughts on where the field is headed and how he’s adapted since the creation of social media and the rise of online-only news. He lamented that he spends far too much time on Twitter and one could find “pieces” of him scattered across the platform, but said he’s confident investigative journalism and local coverage will remain a vital piece of the news cycle.

WHYY Correspondent Elizabeth Fiedler has a passion for politics and urban life, and she, too, practices old school reporting techniques while using social outlets to reach her audience. She drilled home the point that “being a good writer could never hurt you.” Her advice to the students in attendance: exceptional writing skills will help them in any job in any field, not just communications. Fiedler said WHYY interns who work hard, write exceptionally well and prove themselves almost always land a fulltime offer.

BuzzFeed Associate Editor Lauren Yapalater was proof of that point. Having started at the internet-only, blog-like platform as an intern just over a year ago, she’s proving that there are careers to be had in new media. Yapalater shared the importance of online community, saying most new hires at BuzzFeed come from within the platform’s user community, and how she manages to work hard and produce engaging, viral content on a daily basis while spending several hours a day playing with the famous cats that visit the office and then blogging about them.

Rounding out the panel with a unique perspective on the intersection of her colleagues’ disciplines was Buchanan Public Relations Account Supervisor Blair Cardinal. Having begun her career as a journalist and editor for The University of Delaware’s student-run newspaper, The Review, Cardinal shared how mastering the art of news writing helped create a solid foundation for her career. She said understanding the inner workings of all communications channels is vital to a career in public relations. Success in the field takes determination, excellent verbal and written communications skills and the ability to find relevance in almost every story. Almost. Cardinal’s job is to pitch her client’s stories to print, radio and TV journalists as well as bloggers and other new media writers, so she was in good company. 

Since January 2010, senior American Studies major and Schreyer Honors Scholar Eileen Fresta has been a significant member of the Penn State Brandywine community. Her participation in civic engagement, academic achievements and undergraduate research successes has given her recognition as one of the most talented and involved students on campus.   

Fresta had the opportunity to present her research and senior honor thesis titled “Charting the Health History of Middletown Township, Pennsylvania, through a Study of the Cumberland Cemetery Interment Records” during the Pennsylvania Historical Association’s (PHA) annual meeting in November. The PHA honored Fresta with the Outstanding Poster Award, which is given annually to graduate and undergraduate students who present their research as evolving scholars in the field of Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic history.

She worked on her research during her involvement with the historic Cumberland Cemetery in Media. Fresta interned with the cemetery during the summer and had the opportunity to study the cemetery’s interment records that dated back to the 1800s. She was able to transfer the information into a computer program for further analysis, which included Delaware County residents’ date of birth, date of death, cause of death and where they where living at the time.  

“It was interesting,” she said. “It’s a cultural reflection of what was going on in Middletown Township at the time. I was happy to win the award and it was a very nice recognition.”

Fresta was also able to present her findings at the Eastern American Studies Association’s (EASA) annual conference in March and became the first Penn State Brandywine student inducted into the EASA’s honor society, Epsilon Alpha Kappa.

Assistant Professor of History at Penn State Brandywine Julie Gallagher attended the EASA’s conference and was delighted to see Fresta’s hard work pay off. “I am really proud to see our student’s accomplishments being recognized and the Eastern American Studies Association’s honor society is a wonderful example of that recognition,” Gallagher explained. “I think the American Studies program is a really great major here and it’s nice to see our students getting this exposure.”

During her three-and-a-half years at Penn State Brandywine Fresta has been named to the Dean’s List every semester and has been honored with seven different awards for her strong academic performance, undergraduate research, leadership in civic engagement and volunteer efforts. Most recently she was presented with the Undergraduate Faculty and Student Research Award during Brandywine’s Academic Recognition Ceremony on Tuesday, March 26. The award is presented to an outstanding faculty mentor and a student for their contributions to undergraduate research at Penn State Brandywine.

“Participating in undergraduate research here at Brandywine has been a great experience for me. It was not something I ever thought I would be doing when I decided to go back to school three years ago,” she said. “Receiving the Undergraduate Student Research Award was an amazing honor!  I know that none of my research would have been possible without the encouragement and assistance of my professors at Penn State Brandywine.”

Fresta has also taken advantage of the opportunity to help others in the community and around the world. Her involvement has inspired others and has created a caring culture at Brandywine.   

She has served as president of the Brandywine Adult Student Club for the past year, which has made numerous contributions to the community. The club recently teamed up with Philabundance in the “Spread the Love” campaign, which is dedicated to providing food for families in the Delaware Valley region by collecting jars of peanut butter and jelly. By setting up collection boxes on campus and holding fundraisers, the club was able to collect 115 jars for hungry families in the area.       

Her commitment to civic engagement has not only aided the local community, it has had a positive influence on different places around the globe. During her Foundations of Civic and Community Engagement course at Brandywine, Fresta and fellow classmates were able to raise more than $3,000 for a Haiti relief project. The class also supplied 50 drawstring schoolbags packed with school supplies for children in the country after it was devastated by an earthquake in 2010.    

When asked about her involvement in the Haiti relief project she said, “It was wonderful! It felt great to see the other students and the community so excited, they really got behind it.”

After graduating in May, Fresta plans to attend graduate school, where she will study American studies. Her goal is to one day bring history and technology together to help the subject become more appealing to younger generations. 

-by Mike McDade
 

Shawn Manderson’03 IST is ten years out of the collegiate halls of Penn State Brandywine and is already making a name for himself in the field of IT auditing. Since earning his bachelor of science degree with a minor in business administration, Manderson has traveled nationally and internationally, for the likes of Ernst and Young, ARAMARK and his current employer, FMC Corporation -- one of the world’s foremost diversified chemical companies, headquartered in Philadelphia.
 
In 1999, Manderson started college at the Hazleton campus with mechanical engineering as his intended major. But, that all changed two years later when he discovered the newly created IST major. Always the extravert, Manderson believed IST better suited his outgoing personality by combining his people skills with his love for computers and technology. With a well thought-out plan for success -- graduate in four years, live near a city for internship opportunities, networking and, ultimately, find a job where he could travel the world -- Manderson chose to finish his degree at the Brandywine campus due to its proximity to Philadelphia.

“I remember coming on campus and I just fell in love with the campus because the student body was diverse. The admissions staff that showed me around and the Lion Ambassadors were just amazing,” enthused Manderson. “Walking through all the buildings on campus, I felt at home. I knew Delaware County [the name of the campus at the time] was where I wanted to be. It was one of the best decisions I ever made because it set me up for my career where I am at today.”

While a student at Brandywine, Manderson was involved with a very active student government (SGA). They made diversity their mantra by creating the International Awareness club. He also wrote for the student newspaper The Lion’s Eye, played intramural basketball and baseball, worked part-time and interned with several local companies, including the campus’ ITS department. 

“Remember at this time (2001), IT was really starting to blossom,” said Manderson. “This is when IT was beginning to get more sophisticated than just fixing computers and going online. That was good timing for me because it gave me the hands-on experience and confidence I needed to go out in the real world.”

Retired employee Gordon Crompton, Manderson’s boss and mentor in Brandywine’s ITS department, had this to say about the driven undergraduate: “We loved him in IT. We were impressed with his work.” Speaking of Manderson’s involvement with SGA, Crompton continued, “Shawn practically rewrote the student constitution. He was a key member of one of the best student governments Brandywine has ever seen.”

After graduating in 2003, Manderson began his career as a consultant in Ernst and Young’s Risk Advisory Services practice in the Philadelphia office. After four years, he transitioned to ARAMARK’s Corporate Audit and Controls Services division. He obtained his Certified Information System Auditor (CISA) designation in 2010 and then joined the internal audit department of FMC in 2012, where he continues to work today. As an IT auditor for each of these companies, Manderson has traveled beyond the city of Brotherly Love to more than 30 states, parts of South America, most of Europe and he’ll be traveling “down under” this summer.

Manderson’s intense travel schedule -- more than 50 percent of his time -- doesn’t seem to hinder his ability to give back to his alma mater. He continues his connection with Penn State as an active member of the Alumni Council -- the governing body of the Penn State Alumni Association -- while concurrently serving his second term as president of the Penn State Brandywine Alumni Society, which helps keep alumni and students connected to the campus by hosting graduation dinners, networking events and fundraisers for the alumni and chartering an alumni-student mentoring group. The society is active, vocal and has a presence on the suburban campus. 

However, the biggest accomplishment of his tenure as president, according to Manderson, has been the establishment of the Penn State Brandywine Alumni Society Trustee Matching Endowed Scholarship in November 2011. Nearly $15,000 has been raised to date. “The best thing about this scholarship,” Manderson said, “is once we reach our goal of $50,000, it turns into a $100,000 gift for the campus. That’s a great feeling to have, knowing you are leaving that sort of legacy behind, but it’s a humbling one as well.”

Crompton added, “Shawn has done some incredible things for Penn State Brandywine. He is really dedicated to the students and the campus … he is out there really doing a lot of things for the campus from an alumni perspective.”

“Sometimes it’s important to take care of home as an alum,” Manderson said. And this is home.”

To get involved with the Penn State Brandywine Alumni Society or for more information visit http://alumni.psubw.org online.

-by Nancy McCann

Penn State Brandywine held its annual spring showcase called EURECA (Exhibition of Undergraduate Research, Enterprise and Creative Accomplishment) on April 16, in the campus’ Tomezsko Classroom Building Lounge. The annual event allows undergraduate students to present their research and creative endeavors that they have conducted during their time at Brandywine.

Penn State Brandywine is dedicated to giving its students the opportunity to conduct research alongside scholars, which takes undergraduates beyond traditional learning methods. By working on research projects students sharpen their critical thinking skills, become better team players and develop into more effective problem-solvers.

This year’s EURECA featured 20 poster presentations and four oral presentations from students in disciplinary programs such as technology, engineering, mathematics, social science and humanities.

“It is very important for students to engage in the type of long-range or substantial projects which were presented at EURECA,” explained Hans Schmidt, assistant professor of communications at Penn State Brandywine. “Through these types of projects, whether they involve research, enterprise or creative accomplishment, students learn about the thrill of discovery and gain many of the real-world skills that are so critical for success after graduation.”

Senior human development and family studies (HDFS) major Sarah Huppman, of Brookhaven, was presented with the Civic Engagement Award for her enterprise project “The Impact of Recent Educational Budget Cuts on Public Pre-Kindergarten in Texas.” The award recognizes a project that has made a positive difference in civic life for communities.

The STEM Research Award recognizes a project that is in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering or math and possibly holds significance to the general public. Sophomore science major Zachary Peterson, of Avondale, received the honor for his work titled “The Earliest Stars in the Universe: The Evolution of High-Mass Population III Stars.”

Senior human development and family studies (HDFS) major Jill Gillin, of Springfield, was this year’s recipient of the Social Science and Humanities Research Award for her research titled “Parent Perceptions of Educational and Electronic Products in an Electronic Era.” The honor recognizes a social science and humanities project that holds importance in the field of study and has a potential impact on the public.

“I'm very grateful for the experience I've had at Penn State Brandywine, especially working with Dr. Jennifer Zosh in the Brandywine Child Development Lab,” Gillin said. “Technology has changed children's culture dramatically, and Dr. Zosh and I believe strongly in the power of play. I have three young children of my own, so it meant a lot to me as both a parent and a student to take on this project. I'm proud of our work and participating in EURECA was truly rewarding."

The Enterprise Award, which honors an endeavor from any field, was presented to senior HDFS major Krista Jean Schug, of Berwyn, for her project “Family Move Nights: Health Promotion Council.” This award acknowledges a project with a meaningful undertaking and results in the possibility of everyday use.

Penn State Brandywine will host the Communications in the Future Symposium for budding high school journalists in the region on Wednesday, April 24.

The campus received nearly 70 articles written by students and published in their high school newspapers for judging in one of three categories: news, feature writing and sports. Submissions were judged based on value or importance of the story, quality of reporting and quotes and quality of writing for the campus’ Pride in Print Competition.

A winner will be announced in each of the three categories during the April 24 Symposium and reception, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Tomezsko Building. Each of the three winners will receive a Nook Color Tablet®.

Students who have submitted articles for the competition are encouraged to attend this exciting event with their parents and newspaper advisers, which will feature a panel of professionals currently working in print journalism, public relations and new media. The community is also invited to attend.

The panel of speakers includes Blair Cardinal, account supervisor at Buchanan Public Relations; Elizabeth Fielder, urban life correspondent for WHYY; Phil Heron, editor at the Delaware County Daily Times; and Lauren Yapalater, associate editor for BuzzFeed. The panelists will share their tips, experiences and thoughts on the future of communications and journalism.

Former Penn State Regional Director of University Relations and retired Instructor in Communications Joe Biscontini will emcee the event, which is sponsored in part by the Brandywine Communications Degree program and the Press Club Serving the Philadelphia Suburbs.

For more information about this event, please contact Gail Wray at 610-892-1472.

Directions to the campus

Penn State’s Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses Madlyn L. Hanes announced on Wednesday, April 10, the appointment of Director Emeritus of Academic Affairs George W. Franz as interim chancellor of Penn Sate Brandywine, effective July 1.
The search for a new chancellor, to replace Chancellor Sophia Wisniewska, who has accepted a position as regional chancellor at University of South Florida St. Petersburg, will begin this summer.

Franz is a long-standing, accomplished member of the Brandywine community and is well acquainted with the campus’ mission to provide high-quality, affordable education in the Philadelphia region. He taught history at the campus for three decades and served as director of academic affairs (DAA) from 1997 until his retirement in 2007.

“I am confident that Penn State Brandywine will benefit from his leadership and sense of community in this period of transition,” Hanes said. “We are grateful to George for his willingness to serve at this critical juncture.”

At the time of his retirement, Franz was lauded for his dedication to recruiting top-quality, innovative faculty. He was the recipient of the University's George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the McKay-Donkin Award for contributions to the welfare of faculty and was recognized by his colleagues for his leadership and contributions as a teacher, scholar and adviser with the Madlyn Hanes Award.

To honor Franz' commitment to hiring and retaining first-rate faculty, the campus created the George W. Franz Advising and Mentoring Award, which annually recognizes faculty or staff for their efforts in helping others achieve their potential.

During his tenure as DAA, Franz helped launch five four-year degree programs at Penn State Brandywine, including Business, Human Development and Family Studies, Information Sciences and Technology, Corporate Communication and Organizational Leadership.

Franz is an active community volunteer, serving on numerous non-profit boards and commissions, including the Chadds Ford Historical Society and Saint Michael Lutheran Church in Unionville.

He resides in Kennett Square with his wife, Kammy.

Schreyer Honors Scholar Labanya Mookerjee, a senior English major at Penn State Brandywine, was honored by the Eastern American Studies Association (EASA) with the Francis Ryan Award, in March. The honor is given annually to the undergraduate with the top research paper.

Competition was fierce, with numerous papers submitted from universities all over the East Coast, such as Boston, Rutgers and La Salle universities.

Mookerjee attended the EASA Conference, which was held at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va. and despite the strong competition, took home the esteemed award. She also delivered a presentation to conference attendees that highlighted her studies.  

Mookerjee submitted a chapter from her senior honors thesis paper to the EASA in February, which explores the connections between transcendentalism, feminism and social activism in the late nineteenth century through the life of Margaret Fuller’s disciple, Ednah Dow Cheney.

“I was really interested in learning about the research projects that others at different campuses were conducting. I saw some amazing presentations, ranging from Boston architecture to women in combat to the Harlem Renaissance,” she said.

Brandywine Professor of English, Women’s Studies and American Studies Phyllis Cole served as Mookerjee’s senior honor thesis supervisor and worked closely with her leading up to the conference. “Labanya's work is certainly evidence of what can be achieved on our campus,” Cole said.  “She has been a joy to work with and makes us all Penn State proud.”

“I had a very good supervisor in Dr. Cole. She really prepared me,” Mookerjee said. “We were up several nights in a row getting this piece ready for the conference. When I received the award, my first thought was ‘I wish Dr. Cole was here!’”

Assistant Professor of History Julie Gallagher attended the event and was thrilled to have Brandywine represented at the conference. “Knowing the quality of the papers that hers was up against speaks very highly of Labanya and her work,” Gallagher said. “I think we put out an opportunity on our campus for students to really seize the most of an educational experience.”

In preparation for her senior honor thesis Mookerjee conducted numerous hours of research using a variety of different outlets. During the summer she visited Harvard University’s Houghton Library in Cambridge, Mass. and the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston to obtain information used in her paper.

“I was always really interested in transcendentalism, even since high school,” she explained. “In my first semester at Brandywine I had a class with Dr. Cole, who specializes in transcendentalism and feminism, so it was perfect. In my junior year, I took a women’s studies class with Dr. Gallagher, and I knew I also wanted to do something with feminism when it came to my thesis.”

Mookerjee will share her research at Penn State Brandywine’s Exhibition of Undergraduate Research Enterprise and Creative Accomplishment (EURECA) event, on Tuesday, April 16. 

Upon graduating in May she plans to attend graduate school, where she will study English.
 
 

To ordinary folks, stars in the galaxy may seem like tiny specks of light. But to Penn State Brandywine Professor Timothy Lawlor and undergraduate researcher Nick Rufo, one of those bright balls of gas is actually more massive than scientists originally reported and holds implications to the understanding of the universe’s evolution. 

Research conducted by Rufo and Lawlor about the irregular characteristics of what is known as “Caffau’s Star” suggests that it could actually be considered part of the sub giant category rather than a main sequence star. Translation: Caffau’s Star could actually be much more immense than initially described. This finding plays an important role in strengthening the understanding of star formation and helps researchers comprehend the evolution of the 13.8 billion-year-old universe. 

“The puzzle of stellar evolution is really about the origin of every one of us,” Lawlor explained. “One of the most fascinating things about stellar evolution and the evolution of the universe is how it becomes clear that a huge majority of all atoms that make up you, me and the entire planet can be traced back to the center of a very massive star that blew up long ago.”

Rufo, who spent his first two years at the Brandywine campus and is now a meteorology major in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at University Park, worked closely with Lawlor to analyze data about Caffau’s Star. He was able to complete calculations using a computer code and produced all of the models that were compared to Caffau’s Star in the research process.

“Nicholas was a dedicated researcher,” Lawlor said. “He helped uncover that the mass did not fit that of a main sequence star, and that for the observed composition of lithium to match, the star would have to be significantly less massive, which was not likely based on the temperature. Working with Nicholas was one of the most productive collaborations I have had with an undergraduate researcher.”

While at the campus, Rufo participated in Penn State Brandywine’s spring undergraduate research exhibition called EURECA, where he presented the beginning discoveries of the studies he conducted alongside Lawlor. 

“I feel honored to have worked with a great professor like Dr. Lawlor,” Rufo said. “I never imagined I would have an opportunity working with Dr. Lawlor on a paper and doing research on a fascinating subject like astronomy when I was a student at Brandywine. I really enjoyed the experience and feel it gave me confidence and motivation.”

Rufo aspires to pursue a career in weather forecasting after receiving his degree from Penn State.  

-by Mike McDade

Penn State Brandywine will hold its annual Spring Commencement at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, when more than 100 Brandywine students will receive their associate and baccalaureate degrees. Joining them in the Commons Building Gym will be hundreds of family members, campus community members, friends and this year’s keynote speaker, David Lipson Jr. '78.

Lipson, a native of the Philadelphia area, currently serves as the president of Metro Corp., a publishing company whose signature titles include Philadelphia and Boston magazines. He has been associated with the corporation in numerous ways for more than 30 years.

He began his career in advertising at Boston Magazine and worked his way to Philadelphia after a period of time in New York with Metro Magazines, the national sales organization that was also a part of Metro Corp., and Manhattan, Inc. magazine.

Metro Corp. strives to improve the lives of readers while helping advertisers and sponsor companies reach the luxury high-end market. The company is credited with launching well-known programs such as the Philadelphia Wine Festival, Philly Cooks!, Design Home and the annual Best of Philly Event.

Lipson is a lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association and remains an active representative of the community. He is a member of the Corporate Leadership Council at the Philadelphia Zoo, Boy Scouts of America and sits on the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

Penn State Brandywine students receiving their diplomas will join the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world that consists of more than 145,000 members worldwide.  

If you are unable to attend the program, you may watch it live from your computer. Go to our IT website the day of the event to watch the program.

“Softball is a huge step for us,” said Athletic Director Jim Gastner. “It’s a great fit for our campus as a spring sport and it allows us to enhance the opportunities for our athletes. Between the players we have on hand, along with potential recruits that have already expressed an interest in our program, we anticipate being a contender right out of the block.”  

Caserta, a Philadelphia resident, brings exceptional experience to the new Brandywine softball program as he most recently served as the head coach for Archbishop Carroll High School in Radnor. During his five seasons at Archbishop Carroll he led the Lady Patriots to the playoffs four times. In 2011, Caserta’s squad reached the Catholic League semi-finals at Arcadia University only to fall a run short of reaching the finals. He finished his tenure with the Lady Patriots with the record for most wins, with 66-37 during his five year’s there.

“I will do my best to put together a team that the University can be proud of,” Caserta said. “Recruiting high quality character student athletes is the [key] to a successful program. The name Penn State alone brings a sense of pride and responsibility … It is quite rewarding to know that a new program has the confidence in me to lead, especially at such a prestigious place like Penn State Brandywine.”

The Lady Lions will compete in the Penn State University Athletic Conference, challenging 10 other Penn State Commonwealth campuses. The women’s squad will also have the opportunity to face other opponents during the spring, as they will take a team trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C. for a week of softball competition.

“I feel blessed, fortunate and, of course, very honored to be coaching at this University,” Caserta added. “This is something I love doing, obviously, but being the head coach at Brandywine is even more special.” Caserta said his priority is “to be able to put a competitive team together.” To accomplish this, he will teach his players to  “play as a cohesive unit, make sure we continue to grow as a team and ensure that we are having fun.”

A land survey is currently underway, which will determine the best placement for the women’s future softball field. The team will host home games at an off-campus location until the new field is completed.

Recruiting for the new team is underway. Current and future students who are interested in playing softball for Brandywine can visit the Penn State Brandywine Athletics webpage and click on the “recruit me” tab. For additional information regarding the program, email Athletic Director Jim Gastner at JLG257@psu.edu.

-by Mike McDade 

Penn State Brandywine junior Rebecca Berkowitz, of Chester Springs, was one of 181 student leaders from across the country named a 2013 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a coalition of college and university presidents committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education. Berkowitz is a dedicated volunteer committed to lending a helping hand whenever she is able.

Berkowitz is known across campus for having her hand in just about every charitable endeavor she can find. From passing out cupcakes to children from the Walden School during their Fair Trade Art show, to supporting the University’s efforts to raise funds for sexual abuse prevention, she is constantly in search of volunteer opportunities.

“What can I do to give back with everything that is going on with Penn State?” Berkowitz found herself wondering. The answer: working with other students to bring the Blue Out movement to the Brandywine campus. She and other students from the group Penn State M.A.D.E (Making A Difference Everyday) coordinated bringing the University’s official Blue Out t-shirts to campus to be worn on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, the day before the official Blue Out football game at Beaver Stadium. “Being a small campus, we were able to put a hand out just a little bit to help people who have been sexually abused,” she said of the day of awareness, which featured an information table, manned by Berkowitz and a representative from Delaware County Women Against Rape.

Berkowitz also helped with the campus’ Paper Plate Advocacy Project for Philabundance last fall. In honor of Constitution Day, students wrote messages about hunger on paper plates, which were submitted to Philabundance, the region’s largest food bank. For every plate submitted, the organization provided a meal to someone in need. The campus submitted nearly 300 plates.

She helped raise money for the MS Walk in Philadelphia, worked with Knittany Lion Needleworks to knit and donate scarves the Special Olympics and even distributed fair trade bananas to the community to help raise awareness about the fair trade movement.

A psychology major with a passion for helping children, Berkowitz hopes to pursue a law degree and eventually make a lasting difference in the lives of children in the juvenile system.

“I have a special interest in the legal system and being able to help people rebuild and reshape their lives,” she said. “Being able to give back is the greatest feeling and I definitely want to continue to do that. I would love to get involved with kids who are struggling … get involved with juvenile delinquents through criminal law.”

She added, “I like hands-on helping in the community. If I can be with a group of people, talking to them and listening to what their needs are, I’d like to be there to help.”

This goes for animals, too. “I would like to help with the SPCA or animal rescue,” she said. “Over Thanksgiving my sister and I donated [essentials] to the local Chester County, SPCA … crates, food, toys, old newspapers, paper towels. We wanted to donate to the local food banks, but they had everything they needed, so we found a list online of things needed at the SPCA and drove over to donate.”

As if all that volunteering isn’t enough to keep Berkowitz busy, she works part time as a clinical aid at a local treatment facility and conducted research about short-term study abroad programs alongside Assistant Professor of Psychology Dana Martin.

On being named a Newman Civic Fellow, Berkowitz said she’s honored to be among such an inspirational group of students.

“It felt great to be nominated,” she said. “It’s an honor to be recognized for doing work in the community. There are tons of students on this campus who are also involved and it was an honor to be one of them who was selected. I was shocked. I think this campus contributes a lot to the community, too, so it was definitely nice to be nominated.

Each year, the final total is revealed amidst tears of exhaustion, elation and absolute pride as Penn Staters across the commonwealth celebrate another year that will go down in history. After months of canning, fundraising and prepping for the most intense all-nighter most of these students will ever experience, THON broke yet another record.

$12,374,034.46.

That’s how much money Penn Staters raised to fight pediatric cancer.

$12,297.12 of that came directly from Penn State Brandywine.

Instructor Karrie Bowen, adviser to Brandywine THON had this to say about the campus’ efforts this year.

“I could not be more proud of our campus and our students than I am right now. The large majority of students who are involved in THON this year are freshmen and sophomores, and even though it was a pretty daunting task, they jumped into the game with no fear. I think what stands out most for our THON organization this year is that on one level, they knew that THON requires a huge commitment, but I don’t think a lot of them fully understood the magnitude of it all. However, as a group they not only rose to the occasion, they went above and beyond. The dedication to the mission of THON with all of our membership this year really has been amazing, and I can’t wait to see what they do come next year. Dancers Chris Kramer and Tara Landis were unbelievable from start to finish. They both chaired committees (Tara was our Fundraising Chair and Chris was our Morale Chair), they canned and did events without any reservations and, as dancers, they were phenomenal ambassadors for our campus. Those two really do embody what THON is all about.”

Every year, the Penn State Brandywine Women’s Commission honors outstanding female members of the campus during its annual luncheon. The event serves as an occasion for students, staff and faculty to gather in celebration of the achievements of women on Brandywine’s campus.  This year’s honorees are staff member Gail Wray and sophomore Jessica Maginnis.

As is tradition, the campus welcomed a successful professional woman to serve as keynote speaker at the luncheon. Emilie Ninan, managing partner in the Wilmington, Del. office of Ballard-Spahr, lead the afternoon with a presentation titled “Owning Your Career: Lessons in Navigation.” Ninan shared her story and experiences about making it to the top.

In the Female Student of the Year category, human development and family studies major and Holmes resident Jessica Maginnis was selected to receive the honor. Maginnis embodies the complete Brandywine student and her solid academic performance and leadership on campus has made her a strong member of the Brandywine community and role model for other students.

Gail Wray, who has been a dedicated staff member at Penn State Brandywine for many years, exemplifies the commitment, enthusiasm and service that Brandywine promotes on campus. Her numerous administrative roles support students, faculty and staff members routinely and she is evidence of the positive impact that a single person can create. 

Penn State Brandywine was proud to recognize Wray and Maginnis as model members of the campus and their contribution to Brandywine has created a better surrounding for students, staff and faculty.

-by Mike McDade

Penn State Brandywine honored students, faculty and staff for their achievements and excellence in academia at the annual Academic Recognition Ceremony on Tuesday, March 26.

Friends, family and the campus community gathered together to congratulate more than 200 honorees that were presented with the Academic Achievement Award, given to students who have achieved a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Sophomore Cody Bressler received the President Sparks Award for earning a 4.00 (A) cumulative GPA based on 36 Penn State credits completed by the end of the fall semester.

The President’s Freshman Award, presented annually to freshmen who have earned a 4.00 cumulative GPA based on at least 12 graded credits completed by the end of the fall semester, was awarded to Crystal Bowman, Melissa Le, Matthew Drissel, Rebecca Slomowitz and Jesse Hurden.

The Randall S. Stout Award was established in memory of Randall S. Stout, professor of economics at Penn State for 36 years. This award honors a senior who has demonstrated superior academic performance and outstanding participation in the bachelor of science in business program at the campus. This year’s recipient was Amanda Dzwill.

The Evan Pugh Scholar Award, awarded to juniors and seniors who are in the upper 0.5 percent of their respective classes and have completed at least 48 graded Penn State credits by the end of the fall semester, was given to senior Eileen Fresta and junior Nicholas Vico.

The Newman Civic Fellows Award, a national award bestowed by the national organization Campus Compact, was given to Rebecca Berkowitz. She was among 181 student leaders from 36 states and Washington, D.C. to receive this recognition. This award honors inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. Newman Civic Fellows are recommended by college and university presidents.

Associate Professor of English and Honors Coordinator Kimberly Blockett was presented with the Madlyn Hanes Faculty Award, which recognizes a full-time faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to the campus community through exceptional achievement in teaching, research, scholarship, creative activity or service. Her award was presented by Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology and Integrative Arts Paul Greene, who referred to the energy of Blockett’s “special kind of leadership … a kind of energy to be all I can be.”

Kimberly Blockett

The Undergraduate Faculty and Student Research Awards were presented to Associate Professor of Physics and Astrophysics Timothy Lawlor, senior Eileen Fresta, and Abigail DuFoe, formerly a Penn State Brandywine student who is currently attending University Park. This award recognizes the excellence in faculty mentoring and student involvement in undergraduate research.
Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Djuradj Stakic and Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin were presented with the Faculty Research Program Award, honoring and recognizing scholarly or creative excellence in the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, business or communication.

Guertin was also the recipient of the George W. Franz Advising and Mentoring award. This award was created to honor and recognize faculty or staff at Penn State Brandywine who have, over a period of time, excelled in helping others recognize and achieve their potential.

Part-time Instructor in Business Alan Randzin was awarded The Part-Time Faculty Award, created to recognize a part-time faculty member who makes an exceptional contribution to the students and to the academic community through outstanding teaching, advising and service. Assistant Director of Academic Affairs Patricia Hillen said in her introduction, “Alan has a positive, can do attitude, and a cooperative spirit with everyone he encounters whether dealing with students, faculty or staff.”

Alan Randzin and Patricia Hillen

Professor of Mathematics Charles Helou was the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award. He said the award was “particularly meaningful and gratifying, as it is based on my students’ appreciation for the diligence, enthusiasm, method and substance of my teaching. It also reflects a culture of pursuit of excellence on campus, well represented by many outstanding and inspiring colleagues.”

Distinguished Professor of Political Science Stephen Cimbala, recipient of last year’s award, described Helou as “among the campus leaders in service to the campus, University and profession … a mentor for other faculty and a ‘man for all seasons’ at Penn State Brandywine.”

To order or view photos from the event, go to Third Eye Productions or call 215-635-1988. 

Penn State Brandywine Instructor Kathy Meehan has been honored with the prestigious George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching, an award that is annually presented to only six deserving faculty members across the University. Named for Penn State’s seventh president, it recognizes outstanding teachers for their devotion and effort toward undergraduate teaching.

Meehan, senior instructor in human development and family studies, has made countless contributions to the Brandywine campus through her instruction and service and is passionate about developing undergraduates into skillful human service professionals.

She becomes only the twelfth Brandywine faculty member to receive this award since 1978 and has been a dedicated faculty member since 1999. “It feels motivating to win the award. Receiving it just makes you want to do more,” Meehan said. “I can be a very good teacher, but I can only be a great teacher because of the support I get here. Great teaching is only possible because of the support of our whole campus. It’s really about having a team approach.”

On Monday, March 25, Meehan was invited to Penn State University Park for the George W. Atherton Award ceremony, where she was honored alongside five other faculty members and presented with this esteemed achievement.

Director of Academic Affairs Paul deGategno was thrilled to hear about Meehan’s achievement and also believes having a team approach is the key to success. “I’m honored that she’s a part of our faculty,” said deGategno. “She’s extremely hard working and I think it’s a mark not only on her accomplishments but the accomplishments of our faculty as a whole.”

Meehan also serves as the internship coordinator for the human development and family studies program, providing undergraduate students with the opportunity to gain professional experience that prepares them for future careers.

“I want students to graduate from Penn State Brandywine as competent entry-level professionals,” she said. “The only way you can do that is to have a solid foundation of theory paired with actual experience in the field.”

Meehan’s passion for teaching can be experienced in the classroom and has truly benefited students at Brandywine. “When I see the students’ success, that’s my paycheck,” she said. “When you’re teaching a really difficult thing and all of a sudden you see them understand it, it’s a deep joy. Teaching is a passion that we have here. The privilege of helping people achieve their fullest potential, that’s huge to me. It’s all about the students.”

Get outside and enjoy the fantastic spring weather (when it finally gets here) in shorts and no shoes during Penn State Brandywine’s entertaining Common Read event “An Hour Without Shoes.” Students, faculty and staff are welcome to join this enjoyable open-air occasion and go shoeless on Tuesday, April 16, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the Vairo Courtyard to bring awareness to the health and education of individuals who can’t afford shoes.

Every academic year Brandywine comes together to share a “Common Read,” an active discussion and year of entertaining activities about a campus shared text. The 2012-13 Brandywine Common Read is Start Something That Matters by TOMS shoes founder, Blake Mycoskie.

Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Marinda Harrell-Levy will lead this shoeless event with a lively conversation on ‘Justice vs. Charity’ and campus organizations that emphasize involvement in civic engagement will share their work and results.

Attendees can also embark on a “path without shoes,” a walk on a path of gravel and sand on the campus lawn to experience what it’s like for those who cannot afford shoes.

From 12 to 12:30 p.m., certified Hatha Yoga instructor Lisa Dombroski will guide participants through a free, relaxing session on the lawn. Due to the limited supply of yoga mats, participants are encouraged to bring their own. 

Pack a lunch and bring a friend to enjoy the warm weather on Brandywine’s picturesque campus while promoting social awareness.  In the event of inclement weather, this afternoon of activities will be held in the Tomezsko Building Lounge. To find additional information regarding this event or to make suggestions for next year’s Common Read book, visit Brandywine’s Common Read webpage.

- by Mike McDade

Judy Wicks, founder of iconic Philadelphia restaurant White Dog Café, will visit Penn State Brandywine on Tuesday, April 9, from 4 to 6 p.m. as part of the campus’ Spring Speaker Series. She will present “Good Morning, Beautiful Business: Building a Caring Economy” in the Tomezsko Classroom Building Lounge.

Wicks started the now 200-seat restaurant as a small muffin shop in University City in 1983. Later, White Dog Café grew into a multi-location eatery with a nationwide reputation for community involvement, environmental care and trustworthy business practices.

White Dog Café offers a unique farm-to-table experience founded on environmental sustainability. All of the dishes are served with locally obtained and organic foods. By using seafood from Barnegat Light, N.J., poultry from Lititz, and vegetables from Perkasie, for example, White Dog Café creates relationships with resident farmers and strengthens the local economy.

Event attendees will hear highlights of Wicks’ esteemed career and copies of her latest book will be available for sale. 

This event is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served. Penn State Brandywine will also welcome Poet Ethel Rackin to campus for a poetry and literature reading on Tuesday, April 2, at 11:30 a.m. during Brandywine’s annual Litapalooza Literary Festival. To find additional information regarding these events, visit Brandywine’s Spring Speaker webpage.

Young and Fettrow-Alderfer will be joined by Brandywine alumna Stephanie Tracy, who ran cross country and played soccer on the campus’ men’s team, and current Brandywine athletes Emily Lawry Thompson (basketball) and Brandy Flowers (volleyball and basketball).

Young was the first female to hold the post of director of athletics at Delaware State University and has been involved in intercollegiate athletics for more than 30 years.  In her current role, she leads more than 230 student athletes, 20 coaching personnel and an operating budget of more than $4 million. Young also serves as the "All Sports Camp" supervisor, which is the athletic department's six-week summer youth camp program. Among a long list of both personal and professional successes, Young, a 100-meter hurdler, made the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team when she was in high school. She also broke the world indoor record for 55 meter hurdles and was named Sports Illustrated National High School Athlete-of-the Year. She served on the Executive Committee for USA Track and Field for eight years and was assigned to the USA Track and Field Women's Olympic team selection staff for two consecutive Olympic Games.

Fettrow-Alderfer earned a degree in journalism from Penn State and was the University's first William Randolph Hearst Foundation award winner. She spent 10 years as a broadcast journalist; she began her career as a morning show anchor in Elmira, N.Y. and worked at the ABC station for two years before moving to Binghamton, N.Y., where she was the weekend anchor and weekday general assignment reporter. She relocated to Charlotte, N.C., where she was a general assignment reporter and finally made her way back to Pennsylvania where she served as the sports anchor/reporter at the CBS station in Harrisburg covering Penn State football, high school sports and minor league baseball and hockey. Fettrow-Alderfer won an Emmy Award for sports reporting in 2006. She currently resides in Philadelphia with her husband and has left broadcasting. She has taught communications classes at Penn State Brandywine and is involved with Uplifting Athletes, a national nonprofit that raises money and awareness for rare diseases. Fettrow-Alderfer is a diehard college football fan and hopes to pass her sports knowledge on to her two-year-old daughter Lexi. 

This event is sponsored by the Brandywine Office of Student Affairs and the Commission for Women.

Penn State Brandywine Chancellor Sophia Wisniewska has accepted a position as regional chancellor at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, effective July 1, 2013.

Wisniewska, who was the first in her family to go to college and began her career as a secretary at Penn State after graduating from the University, went on to hold positions at five different Penn State campuses. She received a bachelor’s degree in Russian from Penn State and went on to earn a master’s degree and a doctoral degree in Russian from Bryn Mawr College. Prior to her position at Penn State Brandywine, she served as dean of Temple University’s Ambler College.

Since her arrival at the Brandywine campus in 2005, Wisniewska provided strong leadership and successfully launched many new initiatives. She was instrumental in driving a strategic planning process that was created out of the vision of both internal and external stakeholders. She expanded academic offerings to include seven new programs and established an academic partnership with one of the largest medical schools in the Philadelphia region, enhancing medical school opportunities for students in the post-baccalaureate medical sciences program.

Wisniewska initiated a curriculum review of four-year programs and oversaw a thorough financial analysis of all academic programs. Additionally, she expanded the campus’ commitment to civic engagement and service learning through the creation of an externally funded center for civic engagement and public scholarship. Her partnerships with local institutions such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Delaware County Workforce Investment Board, the Middletown Business Association and Rotary of America brought visibility and opportunities to the campus.

The University will name an interim chancellor to oversee the campus during the period of transition and begin the search process for a permanent chancellor later in the semester.

Poet Ethel Rackin will join Penn State Brandywine in a poetry and literature reading during its annual Litapalooza Literary Festival on Tuesday, April 2 at 11:30 a.m. in the Tomezsko Classroom Building lounge. During this highly anticipated, free public event, students and guests are encouraged to share their own creative works by reading, reciting, chanting, narrating, rapping or even singing for their peers

This event proves each year to not only be a lot of fun for all of those involved, but also an excellent opportunity for the community to come together in celebration of students’ creative talents.

Rackin’s debut collection of poems, The Forever Notes, appeared in Parlor Press’s Free Verse Editions series in fall 2012. Her work has appeared in notable literary journals such as Colorado Review, Court Green, The American Poetry Review, Poetry East, and Volt. She earned her master’s of fine arts from Bard College and her Ph.D. in English literature from Princeton University. A Philadelphia native who once taught creative writing at Penn State Brandywine, Rackin has also taught at Haverford College and Bucks County Community College, where she is currently an assistant professor.

Middletown Township is hosting its 19th Annual Community Day at Penn State Brandywine on Saturday, May 11, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This fun-filled outdoor event brings together the community, local businesses and the Township government to celebrate the hometown pride of Middletown Township. 

The event is organized by Middletown Township Parks and Recreation in conjunction with the Middletown Township Business and Professional Association. The objective of Community Day is to provide a way for the community to come together and enjoy Middletown Township and all that it has to offer. It has been a successful event over the years, thanks to the continuous support of its residents.

The event will begin with opening ceremonies, which will highlight Riddle Hospital’s 50th Birthday – the theme of this year’s festival. The event will feature local entertainment for all ages, including games, pony rides and an appearance by “The Berenstain Bears,” as well as a vast array of musical talents, including a teen music festival comprised of student bands and performers hosted by the Penncrest Junior Optimist Club.

Local restaurants and vendors will provide food, games, prizes and more. Cradles to Crayons, a non-profit organization that provides homeless and less fortunate children with everyday essentials, will collect new and gently-used toys, clothing, shoes and other basic needs for children in the five-county area. Middletown Township credits its sponsors with making Community Day possible, especially The Shirley Booth Team and Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union. 

For more information, contact Middletown Township at 610-565-2700 or visit www.middletowncommunityday.com. Also, please “Like” the Facebook page by searching for “Middletown Twp. Community Day 2013.”

The Middletown Township Parks and Recreation building is located at 27 North Pennell Road in Lima. Penn State Brandywine is located at 25 Yearsley Mill Road and Route 352 in Media.

Sessions will include goal setting, strategies for maintaining participation in fair trade activities through the summer and into the upcoming fall semester, as well as addressing issues like student recruitment and sustainability. There will also be sessions on working with campus food vendors, going through the application process for schools interested in becoming designated Fair Trade Colleges or Universities and a keynote speaker. Lunch will be provided.

Brandywine Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin, founder of the campus’ Fair Trade Trailblazers, will serve as a guide during the workshop. She helped the group of students on campus in their successful pursuit to become the eighth fair trade university in the nation.

Sarah DeMartino, who led the Brandywine TrailBlazers during her sophomore year on campus and has since transitioned to University Park, where she is the student leader of the Fair Trade Penn State movement, will join Guertin.

National Coordinator of Fair Trade Campaigns Billy Linstead Goldsmith will also serve as a guide.

Those interested in attending the training can sign up on the Eventbright page. To learn more about Penn State Brandywine’s fair trade efforts, visit http://tinyurl.com/fairtradepsubw.

The mission of Fair Trade Colleges and Universities is to inspire institutions of higher learning to support the Fair Trade movement in its efforts to seek equity in trade and promote sustainable development. Fair Trade Colleges and Universities harness the power of higher education in the United States to both raise awareness among students, faculty, and staff about the benefits of Fair Trade, and leverage the significant institutional buying power to purchase Fair Trade products. Achieving Fair Trade status means securing institutional commitment to embed Fair Trade principles and practices within administrative/ procurement policy and the social and intellectual fabric of academic communities.

Penn State Brandywine’s fifth annual  “A Night with the Pride” Beef ‘n’ Beverage event on February 22, raised nearly $4,300 to support student athletics and Global Programs.

The event, which took place at the Ballrooms at Boothwyn, included dinner, a drawing for more than 40 baskets filled with goodies and gift certificates and entertainment for the more than 160 attendees. Three lucky attendees went home with Flyers tickets, Phillies tickets and a weekend at an Avalon beach house.

“We always have a wonderful time planning this event,” said committee members Gail Wray and Theresa Walls. “We could not have thrown such a successful event without the contributions from the campus community as well as local businesses that want to support Brandywine Athletics and Global Programs. It’s such a wonderful event that brings together the whole Brandywine family in an evening filled with fun, dancing and excitement.”

Proceeds benefit the Tiz Griffith Intercollegiate Athletic Fund and the campus’ Global Programs Scholarship Fund, directly assisting Brandywine’s international travelers.

Since 2008, Penn State Brandywine’s signature spring event, the Spring Soirée, has raised more than $250,000 for student scholarships. This year’s event will be held at the beautiful Phoenixville Foundry on Friday, April 12, from 7 to 11 p.m. Proceeds will enhance the student experience, providing critical dollars to support new academic programs, scholarships and student-focused campus enhancements.

The campus is extremely excited to partner with 6ABC and Action News Anchor Karen Rogers, who will take the helm as the emcee for the evening.
 
The Spring Soirée will feature dinner, live music, dancing and spectacular live and silent auctions, including a weeklong escape to a private villa in Jamaica, vacation homes “down the shore,” Penn State and Philadelphia sporting event tickets and women’s and men’s fashion items. Catering will be provided by Robert Ryan Catering and Bill Handy’s five-piece jazz band will set the mood.

CTDI (Communications Test Design, Inc.), of West Chester, has generously committed to support Penn State Brandywine students as a Platinum Sponsor for the third consecutive year.

To support the Spring Soirée through sponsorship and/or an advertisement in the event program booklet or to purchase tickets to the event, please contact Alex Pratt at aep5006@psu.edu or 610-892-1253. Please visit www.bw.psu.edu/springevent for event updates and information.

Positions up for nomination for 2013:*

• General Board Member
  (3 spots available, 2-year term)
• Fundraising Chair
  (1-year term, special election)
• Campus Relations Chair
  (1-year term, special election)

Contact secretary@psubw.org to submit your nomination by April 1, 2013.

* Nominees must be in good standing with the Penn State Alumni Association.

The Penn State Brandywine Office of Student Affairs will host the Pennsylvania College Personnel Association’s Keystone Seminar "The Risk, Reward and Benefit of Hosting a Conference" on March 15. This Keystone Seminar Series is a one-day, drive-in professional development opportunity for higher education professionals (staff, graduate students and faculty). Past seminars have included topics such as grant writing in higher education, aiding students in distress and assessment.

The seminar will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Main Building, Room 113. The registration deadline is March 8 and the cost is $25 for members or students and $35 for nonmembers of PCPA.

Director of Student Affairs Matthew Shupp and Assistant Director of Student Affairs Ronika Money are current members of the PCPA Executive Board. “We are excited to share this opportunity with both our campus and higher education professionals in the area,” Money said.

For more information, contact David Zlockie at zlockie@setonhill.edu or 724-830-1039.

A winner will be chosen in each category during the campus’ “Communications in the Future Symposium,” on Wednesday April 24 at 6:30 p.m. Students who have submitted articles for the competition are welcome to bring their parents and advisers to this fun event, which will feature a panel of professionals currently working in print journalism, public relations and new media. This event is also open to the campus community.

Each of the three winners will receive a Nook Color Tablet®.

Submitted articles should be no longer than 600 words; must be submitted by the high school newspaper’s faculty adviser; should be either an original print, a copy of the original or a scanned pdf of the original published article and must indicate the category in which it falls (news, features or sports).

The submission deadline is Thursday, March 14. Please submit by mail to: Pride in Print High School Newspaper Contest, Penn State Brandywine, 25 Yearsley Mill Road, Media, PA 19063 or via email as a pdf to newscontest@bw.psu.edu.

For more information about this contest, please contact Gail Wray at 610-892-1472 or visit the Pride in Print webpage.

Research conducted by Penn State Brandywine Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Jennifer Zosh has discovered that toddlers learn new words more effectively by using their knowledge about the world to infer the label of an object, rather than by simply being instructed and told which word goes with which object.

“Optimal Contrast: Competition Between Two Referents Improves Word Learning” has been published in the latest special issue of Applied Developmental Science.

Zosh, along with colleagues Meredith Brinster, University of Texas at Austin, and Justin Halberda, Johns Hopkins University, ran two experiments that gauged preschoolers’ ability to learn new words, comparing their memory for words learned through inference and instruction.

During inference trials, the children were shown a familiar object and a new, novel object and were asked to point at the new object. These trials required the children to use their knowledge of the familiar object and its label to eliminate that object and infer that the new word referred to the new object. On instruction trials the children were told the name of the new object and no recognizable objects were shown. Zosh and her colleagues found that even though children looked at the new object longer during the instruction trials, they retained the newly learned word better during inference trials. 

Zosh believes that these discoveries could help enhance people’s ability to teach children a variety of new information.

“People tend to think that parents must directly instruct their children by telling them the labels of the objects that surround them, but this research tells us that children are even better word learners when we ask them to figure things out for themselves,” Zosh said. “This finding enhances our understanding of the ways in which toddlers learn new words and may have interesting implications for learning outside of the domain of language acquisition.”

Zosh also started the Brandywine Child Development Lab, in which games are used to aid in the exploration of how children learn about new objects, numbers and language. The lab also gives undergraduate students a chance to take part in research while attending the Brandywine campus.

“I want to give the students a firsthand experience to see if they would like to be in the research field for themselves,” Zosh said. “My model for undergraduate involvement is from the ground up. I like to help students find their passion for a topic, design and run a study to examine that topic and present their findings. Having a complete research experience gives them the opportunity to fully experience the process of science.”  

Zosh’s former student and Penn State Brandywine graduate Laura Twiss-Garrity was one of the students who became actively involved in the Brandywine Child Development Lab’s research. Twiss-Garrity completed the research-based option of the human development and family studies degree and worked closely with Zosh.

“She played a key role in coding some of the data,” Zosh said. “This helped us to determine that even though children look more at the target object when we directly instruct them, they actually show better retention when they look less but have to figure things out for themselves.”

Zosh is conducting follow-up research at the Rocky Run YMCA in Media, where she is working with children of different age groups and trying to understand how age affects word learning. “We are asking questions that no one on Earth knows the answers to,” Zosh said. “It’s exciting to think how we can take this knowledge and use it to help teach children.” 

-by Mike McDade

Penn State Brandywine will welcome Andrew Douglas, director of education at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, to campus for an attention-grabbing discussion about a pioneer of the film industry, Alfred Hitchcock. Students, faculty, staff and the community are welcome to join Douglas as he presents “The Master of Suspense: Alfred Hitchcock” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, in Room 101 of the Main Building.

Douglas will share some of the most exhilarating Hitchcock masterpieces with the audience through clips from The Birds, Psycho, Vertigo and more. Attendees will learn about the film legend’s movie making knacks and trademarks that transformed the film industry and earned Hitchcock the moniker “The Master of Suspense.”

Hitchcock’s notorious twist endings and gripping movie plots are sure to come to the forefront during Douglas’s presentation. The audience can expect a stimulating illustration of the director’s famous camera shots and revolutionary editing techniques that have been intensifying the viewers’ panic and apprehension for more than 70 years.  

In addition to teaching for Northwestern and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Douglas has presented at the International Association of Media and the Society of Cinema and Media Studies conferences and has written for The Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, published by Harvard Business School. He has also spent time in New York City, where he worked as a film critic.

This thrilling event, which is free and will include light refreshments, is part of Penn State Brandywine’s Spring Speaker Series, which will also welcome White Dog Café Founder Judy Wicks to campus at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9. To find additional information regarding these speakers, visit Brandywine’s Speaker Series webpage.

Penn State Brandywine Associate Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies David Macauley has been honored this academic year with a fellowship from the University of Pennsylvania.

As a 2012-2013 Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, Macauley is spending the year collaborating with approximately 25 fellow scholars from the region who come together each week to discuss their work before presenting on their areas of expertise during the Penn Humanities Forum, a series of events promoting an ongoing cultural conversation.

“It’s a great group of people from different scholarly disciplines giving your work an interrogation, which is really valuable,” Macauley said of the Tuesday workshops.

The theme of this year’s Forum is “Peripheries.” For Macauley, it’s a topic that easily relates to some of his recent work. His current book project, which is under contract with Indiana University Press, explores the philosophical, ecological, political and aesthetic aspects of walking as a means to better understand natural and built environments.

“My research will be conducted on both foot and in libraries, as well as with pedestrian artists and activists, in an effort to grasp the manner in which power is either distributed or disrupted in the interiors and hubs or disseminated along the de-centered edges and paths of the modern city,” Macauley writes on the Penn Humanities Forum website of his approach to the topic.

“It’s the most basic way we connect with our environment – through physical movement on foot,” he said. Macauley often takes his classes at Brandywine out on excursions to the Tyler Arboretum and on the trails behind the Vairo Library on campus. During these walks, Macauley encourages his philosophy students to explore nature through meditation and reflection.

“Walking is central to what makes us human,” he said. “There are very few, if any, other living beings who are bipedal and who stand completely upright. This frees up our hands to write and construct technology or to play music and make art.”

Macauley also explores the politics of walking and looks at events such as the walks for Alzheimers, AIDS and the March of Dimes.  As part of this work, he maintains a blog called “Foot Notes on Walking”: http://footnotesonwalking.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html online.

The Mellow Fellowship has provided Macauley an opportunity to help bring philosophy to the public, something about which he is extremely passionate. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium, which organizes events and invites well-known speakers to the area. “Historically, a lot of philosophy has occurred in bars and cafes,” he said. Such events are open to the public and encourage the community to engage in philosophical discussions about everything from beauty to death.

Perhaps the most invaluable element to Macauley’s role as a Mellon Fellow is the community of scholars with which he is now intertwined.

“It’s a little bit like going to a conference,” he said of his interactions with the Mellon Fellows. “I get that critical interrogation. I focus my thoughts and make arguments. It’s important to have a community of scholars. You never know who you’re going to connect with.”


Macauley’s most recent book, “Elemental Philosophy: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water as Environmental Ideas” (2010), examines the philosophical ideas and environmental issues associated with classical conceptions of the four elements. He explores ways of comprehending and responding to ecological problems, while tracing changing views of earth, air, fire and water through the history of ideas. In doing so, he generates a new vocabulary for and fresh vision of the environment with reflections upon stone, wood, snow and ice, clouds, light and shadows, heat and cold, space and night. This book was recently used in a class at St. Joseph’s College in Long Island, N.Y, where the students have developed and maintain an ongoing blog about the work:
http://www.elemental-philosophy.org/.

Macauley is also currently putting together a special issue of an academic journal and editing a book, which is under contract with State University of New York Press, on the subject of the four seasons—spring, summer, fall and winter—in relation to aesthetics, the environment and philosophy. He’s happy to discuss any of these ideas or projects with others when he’s on campus and not out for a walk.

The Penn State Brandywine Marketing and Advertising Club has been honored by the Worldwide Book Drive organization with the Bronze Book Award for its contribution of 307 books to charitable organizations. The books collected by the club will be dispersed internationally to promote global literacy.  

The book drive, which was organized by the Brandywine Marketing and Advertising Club, took place throughout the month of December and collected more than 300 books that will be sent to Kenya, Fiji and Nigeria in an effort to battle worldwide illiteracy. The Worldwide Book Drive is one of the largest used book donors in the United States and provided a platform for the Marketing and Advertising Club to donate used books to charitable organizations that focus on education and learning.

Brandywine students and club executive board members senior Amanda Dzwill, of West Chester, senior Katie Kashner, of Garnet Valley, senior Amelia Klaus, of Delran, N.J. and sophomore Allison Brown, of Glen Mills, played major roles in running the drive and were elated they were able to help collect the used books for a great cause. “The Worldwide Book Drive was a perfect initiative for the Marketing and Advertising Club to be involved in because it offered us a way to get our name out to the campus while collecting books for a great cause,” Co-President Amanda Dzwill said. “I was really excited about the award because it felt like all of the club's hard work and preparation for this drive had been worthwhile.”

Not only did the drive provide more than 322 pounds of books for charity, it also raised funds for the club. Every book published within the last five years that was donated earned one dollar. Proceeds raised from the drive will help the campus club affiliates receive memberships to the American Marketing Association. 

The Brandywine club is already planning another book drive that will take place in April and they hope to receive a higher honor. “We are so excited to be running this drive again this semester and we are hoping that this time we can get the Gold. We shoot high,” said Dzwill.

For additional information about the upcoming book drive or to get involved in Brandywine’s Marketing and Advertising Club, contact Amanda Dzwill at AQD5093@psu.edu.

-by Mike McDade
 

Penn State Brandywine’s annual Spring Soiree will be held on Friday, April 12 at the Phoenixville Foundry in Phoenixville. This semi-formal event is from 7-11 p.m. and is open to the public. The Spring Soiree brings friends, alumni and the community together for an exciting night of celebration and entertainment. All proceeds benefit Penn State Brandywine students. Last year’s Soiree raised more than $40,000 for student scholarships.

The evening's emcee is 6ABC's Karen Rogers.

Admission is $100 per person and will include live music, gourmet food, drinks and dancing. Live and silent auctions include vacations at luxurious tropical homes, fine art, men’s and women’s jewelry and sports memorabilia. Tickets to Eagles, Phillies and Penn State football games will also be available.

To donate an item for auction, or for more information on sponsorships, advertising or tickets to the event, contact the Penn State Brandywine Development Office at 610-892-1249 or email Connie Stankowski at cas34@psu.edu.

-by Mike McDade

Distinguished Professor of the Ceramic Arts and 2012-13 Penn State Laureate Christopher Parks Staley will visit Penn State Brandywine on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 11:30 a.m. to present “Art & Life: Where They Intersect.” Students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome to join Staley in room 113 of the Main Building as he discusses how people relate to objects and each other in a world of remarkable change.

Staley’s ceramic pieces can be seen in many esteemed collections, such as the International Museum of Ceramic Art in Fuping, China; the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C. and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England. His artwork has also been displayed in dozens of one-person exhibitions and selected group exhibitions around the United States.

Staley brings global experience and knowledge to the forefront in his presentation as he has held lectures and workshops across the country as well as around the world in Italy, Canada, Brazil and Israel.

The Penn State Laureate is a symbolic position given to a full-time faculty member in the fine arts or humanities. Throughout the academic year, the faculty member appears at University and state events in order to bring a higher level of social, cultural, artistic, and human outlook and understanding to various audiences. The Laureate serves as a representative of the University who brings prominence to his or her own work while also bringing great credit to Penn State. Staley becomes the fifth Penn State faculty member awarded with the respected title.

This event is free and light refreshments will be served. For more information about Staley’s presentation, visit Brandywine’s Speaker Series 2013 webpage. 

-by Mike McDade

This semester Penn State Brandywine launched a new program that will recognize student achievements online and allow them to share these successes with the virtual world. Readabout.me acts as an online student profile showcasing outstanding awards and honors bestowed upon the students during their careers at the campus. 

Students will receive badges that highlight academic, co-curricular and athletic accomplishments, such as winning an award, making the Dean’s List, studying abroad, reaching an athletics milestone or earning a degree. A student will be assigned a profile when his or her first badge is awarded. Any subsequent badges will be added to that profile. These profiles can be customized by each student to feature a photo, related work experience, clubs and organizations and more.

Take a look at the campus’ profile page and click on the profiles of students who have already received badges for examples.

The profiles are laid out to appear as online résumés or professional summaries showcasing each student’s skills and experience, as well as official certifications or “achievements” awarded by the campus.

The idea behind these profiles is to allow students to create a positive online personality, which can be shared with potential employers.

Each student who receives an achievement badge will be notified via email and provided with a link to his or her professional profile. Parents are also able to receive notifications if their email addresses are provided. Students and parents are encouraged to share these accomplishments and profiles on social networks and to keep the information up-to-date.

For more information on how to create a profile once a badge has been awarded, please visit http://readabout.me/ online. Additional questions can be directed to Risa Page at RLP29@psu.edu.

Former Chester High School standout Learon Pray became the second Penn State Brandywine student to reach the 1,000-point mark this season on Tuesday, Jan. 22, in a home game against Valley Forge Christian College.

Pray needed only one point going into Tuesday night’s contest to accomplish the scoring breakthrough that only four other men’s Brandywine basketball players have achieved. His 1,000th point came three minutes into the game when he stepped up to the foul line and made a free throw.

“In my head I knew I would get it on the foul line,” said Pray. “I am very proud and happy that I did something I can look back on in the future when I’m done my basketball career.”

Pray is currently earning his bachelor’s degree in business from Brandywine and plans to graduate in May 2014. Upon receiving his degree he hopes to begin a career in the financial field.

Head Coach Stuart Ross is also proud of Pray’s achievement. “Learon has been with the Brandywine program through its peaks and valleys and I am happy to see him achieve something that he can carry with him for the rest of his life,” said Ross, who has led the team to a 14-7 overall record with a 11-2 conference record and has high hopes for the men’s squad this season, “We want to win as a team and remain humble and hungry to our goal of a championship.” 

The team will play their final home games of the regular season before heading into the playoffs on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 3 p.m. and Tuesday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. when they host Penn State Hazelton and Penn State Lehigh Valley, respectively.  

"Penn State University Brandywine The Vagina Monologues” will be held on campus Friday, March 22, at 6:30 p.m., and Saturday, March 23, at 2 p.m. in the Main Building Auditorium, room 101.

Both performances are open to the public. Student admission is $5 and general admission is $8. Proceeds will benefit Family Support Line, a local non-profit organization that aids children and their families in addressing the distress caused by child sexual abuse. Family Support Line has been utilizing in-depth prevention programs and dedicated treatments to provide support to victims of child sexual abuse for 25 years, according to its website.

Faculty, staff, students and Penn State alumni will serve as actors and volunteers for the performance, which aims to educate the campus and local community about sexual violence against women and girls while raising funds for the cause. Brandywine is one of 5,800 organizations worldwide to host a performance.

In conjunction with the performance of The Vagina Monologues on March 22 and March 23, we will also host two additional events to educate the community about abuse prevention:

• Thursday, March 14, Kelly Ace, director of client services at Family Support Line, will speak on campus about the agency, its services, and sexual violence at 11:30 a.m. in the Main Building, room 101.
• Wednesday, March 20, “Talk About It,” a student panel discussion on dating violence, 12:30 p.m., Tomezsko Classroom Building, room 103.

For additional information, contact Brandywine’s Clinical Counselor Ahyana King at AJK23@psu.edu or visit the Commons Building, room 211.

Order tickets here!

The Beef ‘n’ Beverage is open to the public and will feature entertainment, dinner and a drawing for more than 40 baskets filled with prizes and gift certificates. Guests could win Flyers tickets, Phillies club box tickets and even a shore rental in Avalon, N.J. Last year’s event raised more than $7,000 and proceeds benefit the Tiz Griffith Intercollegiate Athletic Fund. A portion of the proceeds will also benefit the campus Global Programs Scholarship Fund, directly assisting Brandywine’s international travelers.

Admission is $25 and will include dinner, beverages and entertainment for the evening.

To donate an item for the drawing, please mail it to Theresa Walls at Penn State Brandywine, 25 Yearsley Mill Road, Media PA, 19063 by February 8. Theresa can be reached at 610-892-1362.

To purchase tickets, donate to the scholarship fund or for additional information, contact Melissa Algeo, sports information coordinator, at MHL13@psu.edu or 610-892-1470.

Marple Newtown High School basketball prodigy Bobbi Caprice reached a career landmark on Friday, Jan. 11 when she scored her 1,000th point for Penn State Brandywine.

The four-year starting guard was five points away from reaching the milestone before Friday night’s game but reached her goal a mere 10 minutes into the first half to help Brandywine in a 65-48 home win over Penn State Schuylkill.

“It was a bit nerve wracking going into the game because all my family and friends were there, but I felt confident having five points to go,” said Caprice. “Once I hit my first shot it was a relief to know I only needed one more basket.” She becomes only the fifth women’s basketball player to reach this goal in campus history.

Larry Johnson, coach of the Brandywine women’s basketball team, has lead the Lady Lions to a 10-6 overall record and a 7-0 conference record this season. “It takes a lot of hard work to get yourself in a position to be able to be a 1,000 point scorer,” Johnson said. “Bobbi is what Penn State Brandywine basketball is all about -- hard work in the classroom and on the court.”

Caprice, a senior, will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies. Upon graduating she plans to pursue a master’s degree and hopes to become a high school guidance counselor. 

-by Mike McDade 

Swarthmore Co-Op was created in 1937, making it the third oldest food co-op in the country offering locally obtained, fresh, fair trade and organic foods to its customers. The Co-Op acts as more than simply a food market, hosting an assortment of events such as speeches, movie showings, tastings and courses every month while educating the community on local economy and the environmental impacts of food.

Brandywine Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin prepared the seminar series in hopes that it will raise awareness regarding the hunger and health challenges faced by local communities. “Educating students and getting them thinking about these challenges will hopefully lead to future action to improve food and health problems,” Guertin said.

Funding for the food seminar series comes from Penn State Brandywine’s Laboratory for Civic Engagement, which promotes the incorporation of civic engagement into the academic curriculum and co-curricular activities of students.

Noah Langnas, of Philabundance, and Karen Shore, head of the consulting division of The Food Trust, will speak on February 6 and 25, respectively, to complete this three-part seminar series. This free event is open to the public, as well as the campus community.

For more information on this and other events this spring, go to our Speaker Series 2013 webpage.

Philadelphia painter and muralist Ann Northrup will speak at Penn State Brandywine on Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. as part of the campus' Spring Speaker Series. Her presentation is titled "Do Not Pass Go; Go Directly to Art."

Northrup holds a master’s in fine arts from Boston University and a national exhibition record. In addition to landscape and figure paintings in watercolor and oils, she has completed eight large-scale outdoor community murals. Northrup has taught at many colleges and universities in Boston and Philadelphia, most recently at Philadelphia University. In 2008, she taught drawing and mural painting inside the women’s prison in northeast Philadelphia, and since then has taught and mentored ex-offenders, who have worked as her assistants on mural projects. In addition to her work as an artist, mural designer and teacher, Northrup is a national champion in a single scull.

"A Taste of Summer" by Ann Northrup (mural at 1312 Spruce St., Philadelphia)

Northrup’s visit, which will take place in the newly renovated professional classroom on the first floor of the Main Building (room 113), is part of a four-part Spring Speaker Series at the campus. The series is funded by a generous donation from a friend of the campus.

This event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be provided. Due to limited space, an RSVP is appreciated, but walk-ins are welcome. To RSVP, please contact Debbie Blanton at 610-892-1252 or DYB5@psu.edu.

As part of the speaker series, Brandywine will welcome Penn State Laureate Christopher Staley on Thursday, February 21 at 11:30 a.m.; Bryn Mawr Film Institute Director of Education Andrew Douglas, who will present “The Master of Suspense: Alfred Hitchcock,” on Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. and White Dog Café Founder Judy Wicks on Tuesday, April 9 at 7 p.m. More information about these upcoming speakers can be found at http://www.bw.psu.edu/springspeakers.

Guerin has trained, taught and conducted research around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Italy and Brazil. Currently, he teaches social behavior, social science interventions, language and discourse. Along with Guerin’s extensive experience across diverse populations, he has also published four books, including “Handbook for Analyzing the Social Strategies of Everyday Life” and “Handbook of Interventions for Changing People and Communities.” He studied at the Universities of Adelaide and Queensland and has taught at James Cook University of Australia and the University of Waikato in New Zealand.

Guerin was invited to campus by Brandywine Associate Professor of Psychology Pauline Guerin, who has been a colleague of his in both New Zealand and Australia. The two have worked together and published extensively on research dealing with Indigenous Australian communities and social health and mental wellbeing, particularly while living in isolated communities. Pauline Guerin hopes that her Senior Seminar in Psychology students will gain valuable knowledge that is drawn from real world involvement across diverse issues.

Bernard Guerin brings a unique outlook to research that takes students beyond traditional teachings and is integrated across the social sciences, Pauline Guerin stated. The majority of his research focuses on working together with communities on issues of mental wellbeing, discrimination, mobility, sustainability of societies and attachment to country. Guerin has worked with Indigenous Australian, Maori, Somali refugee, and traveling communities. His objective is to incorporate community and social psychology with additional social sciences that can be used for intervention and examination.

Both of these sessions are open for all faculty, students and staff at the campus and light refreshments will be served.

-by Mike McDade

“Make sure your career supports your goals, not the other way around." This important advice was bestowed upon Penn State Brandywine’s graduating class at its December 21, 2012 Commencement Ceremony by fellow Penn Stater and keynote speaker Mike Arata.

Arata, an Upper Darby native, reminisced on his Penn State days, while assuring the graduates that graduation was just the beginning. “The scoreboard is reset for all of you today,” he said. “Your degree will always be one of your greatest achievements, but it is part of a bigger picture.”

The United Airlines exec encouraged the graduates not to define their successes in life by the amount of their paychecks, but to instead search for happiness. “Be happy,” Arata said simply. “If I look at everything around me and can’t be happy, then shame on me.” He later added, “I encourage you to find the small victories throughout your life.”

Arata attended the campus for two years before earning his degree in aerospace engineering at University Park in 1991. He began working at United Airlines after graduation and has spent his career moving up the ranks. In his present role, Arata oversees the airworthiness and configuration of the fleet of more than 700 Boeing and Airbus aircraft for the world’s largest airline. His team defines the technical requirements and modifications that ensure the aircraft and engines are maintained to the highest levels of safety and reliability.

A few of the more than 80 newly minted Penn State alums had some words of their own to share with their loved ones at the ceremony as part of a long-standing Brandywine tradition allowing graduates to share their love and thanks at the microphone as they cross the stage to receive their diplomas.

“I want to thank my family for believing in me,” said Wilmington, Del. native Jessica Romero, who received a bachelor of arts degree in communications. “This has been the best four years of my life.”

Dollie Small, a resident of Philadelphia, accepted her diploma (she earned a bachelor of science degree in human development and family studies) and then congratulated her mother, who earned a college degree that same day. “I want to thank my mother, who graduated today, too, but decided to be here with me instead,” she said.

Even faculty and staff at the campus received a few words of thanks from the graduates. Oxford resident Alex Della Ragione, who received a bachelor of science degree in information sciences and technology, said “I want to thank my faculty for providing me with an excellent academic experience.”

To view and order Commencement photos, go to Third Eye Productions or call 215-635-1988.

Scott Danby has already become a successful entrepreneur, heading up three companies in the 10 short years since his graduation from Penn State Brandywine in 2002 with a degree in business administration. He gives much credit to the business program, while admitting to a little help from luck, trust and good timing.

Danby comes from a family of Penn Staters and knew he wanted to be a Nittany Lion from an early age. “I’m one of quite a few Penn Staters in my family,” he said. “My dad and mom are both Penn Staters … When you grow up in a Penn State household where there’s everything Penn State and Penn State football’s on the TV each Saturday afternoon, you start to bleed blue and white.”

Danby earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the campus while working at the family lumberyard – Danby Lumber Company in Kennett Square – that his father and grandfather owned and operated for more than 30 years. “To stay local was the best use of my time,” he said. “A lot of the core business classes that [Penn State Brandywine] offered were geared toward returning students, working students and adult students and were offered in late afternoon or early evening. By choosing that program and staying local, it helped me get into business quicker. Major kudos for the program. That’s something I benefit from even today.”

It was there at the family lumber company that Danby thought he would live out his career. But the road of life has its many detours, and he found himself starting a business of his own after being inspired by a guest lecturer that spoke to one of his capstone business classes at Brandywine.

In 2005, Danby started IronLinx Distribution, an order fulfillment company for small to mid-size companies that ship their products by parcel. The company is the “infrastructure behind the sellers,” as he described it. IronLinx provides a behind-the-scenes service of warehousing inventory, order fulfillment and shipping for small businesses, start-ups and e-commerce companies.

“Online there are thousands of new websites that pop-up each day – small companies, mom and pop operations – that sell products but may not have the expertise or the willingness to ship their own goods,” Danby said. “They’re marketers. They’re sales people. They sell. They don’t want to deal with the nuts and bolts of getting the product to where it’s got to go.” Enter IronLinx, which expertly handles all the fulfillment and shipping logistics for its customers but remains transparent to the end user. “We are just part of the backbone of the supply chain.”

While handling the fulfillment and distribution angle, Danby recognized a need in the packaging and transportation side of the business. He began some vertical integration and spun off two new divisions: IronLinx Packaging in 2010 and IronLinx Transportation in 2011. With the assistance of his brother Steve Danby, a 2004 graduate of Penn State Brandywine, the packaging division manufactures and distributes boxes for dry goods as well as agricultural and produce companies. Realizing the advantage of his company’s location in Kennett Square – the mushroom capital of the world – Danby caters to the local mushroom farmers. IronLinx Packaging makes between 24,000 and 30,000 mushroom boxes per day and delivers them to farms and businesses all within 10 miles of the Kennett Square plant. IronLinx Transportation, with its own fleet of trucks and drivers, delivers goods along the East coast from Maine to Florida. Danby employs nearly 20 people and the companies are open seven days a week; closing only on Christmas Day.

“Penn State provided me with a lot of the skill sets that are a must-have to be successful in business, but luck, trust and timing become a big part of it, too,” Danby said. “Merge that with a philosophy of constant self-improvement and creative ‘outside of the box’ thinking, and good things can happen. These are unfortunate times for so many, and business is tough. But it’s also a great time to start a new venture. It’s a time to be opportunistic, look for market niches,
 and define new strategies in a market that is in a constant state of change. When the economy eventually turns, business owners who have an unwavering work ethic and have implemented a solid plan will most likely be rewarded with profitable growth.”

For more information about Scott Danby and IronLinx visit http://www.ironlinx.com/about-us.html online.

Supervised by their instructor, Jean McKay, instructor in curriculum and instruction, students in the Learning Literacy Education course (LLED 010) have formed four teams dedicated to making a positive impact on the community. Keeping with the holiday spirit and donation-driven tendencies of Blake Mycoskie, author of “Start Something That Matters,” three of the four freshmen teams organized a campus-wide collection of toys, hygiene products and used or broken electronics.

“I felt that it was very important to not only learn the content of the course, but to apply what was learned,” said McKay, regarding her students’ initiatives. 

Donations of new toys, which will go to Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s annual Christmas party and distributed to the needy at the Philadelphia Convention Center on December 20, will benefit underprivileged youth in the area, while the everyday hygiene products (toothbrushes, feminine products and razors, e.g.) will be organized into care packages and shipped to United States troops serving in Okinawa, Japan. Electronics, broken or used, will be refurbished and donated to the Goodwill and World Computer Exchange, and then redistributed to underprivileged schools.   

The fourth team decided to reach out on a more personal level by writing to at-risk middle school students and discussing the emotional trials and tribulations of middle school bullying. 

“If we can make just one child happy, then we have accomplished something,” freshman Adamma Bradford said regarding her teams project. “You know that feeling you have as a child when you open a new toy? We wanted to share that feeling with underprivileged children and to children whose families cannot afford to give them new toys for Christmas.”

For additional information about these projects and a full list of requested items, contact Jean McKay at jam831@psu.edu.

-by Clifford Welby, Bus 2010

Penn State Brandywine’s reach in the global community has become even stronger with a new appointment for one of the campus’ engineering faculty.

Ivan Esparragoza, associate professor of engineering and associate executive director and vice president of meetings of the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions (LACCEI), was elected vice president for the Americas and first vice president of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) at the executive committee meeting of the World Engineering Education Forum 2012 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

IFEES is a professional organization committed to positively impacting global development and socio-economic growth through promoting excellence in engineering education around the world for the formation of a well-educated workforce of global engineers. IFEES brings together different stakeholders in engineering education, including worldwide engineering education associations, student associations, private and governmental agencies and private corporations to create synergy among the members to enhance engineering education. 

“This is a great professional achievement and allows me to interact with important leaders in engineering education around the world,” Esparragoza said. While attending the conference, he also presented a paper titled, “A LACCEI-IGIP Partnership: Developing Internationally Recognized Engineering Faculty Excellence for the Americas.”

In his role as vice president of IFESS, he said that he will work closely with the president to advance his goal of strengthening collaboration among members of this organization. “Through these collaborations, common interests and opportunities will be shared and built on,” Esparragoza said. “I also hope to see curriculum development for instructors, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, and workshops for academic administrators in that area.”

Esparragoza shares his experiences from IFEES meetings and conferences with his students. “I learn new approaches and tools to be used in the classroom, but also a broader view of engineering education,” he said. “I bring examples and personal experiences back with me so my students can understand the challenges and great opportunities in engineering.”

During his one-year term as vice president, he said he will take full advantage of this opportunity to contribute to engineering education in this hemisphere and around the world.

“Developing internationally recognized engineering faculty requires preparing engineering instructors with the knowledge of content and skills in pedagogy and technology so they can bring together those elements into the classroom in an effective form,” he said. “Engineering instructors require more than technical knowledge of the discipline; they should have the skills to convey that knowledge in an effective way in the classroom and they should know also how to use technology available to explain technical content, make challenging concepts easy to understand and as a pedagogical tool to deliver material and assess knowledge.”

Esparragoza is very excited about Penn State Brandywine’s new four-year general engineering program with a multidisciplinary design option. “It is well aligned with the needs of many industries that require engineers with a clear understanding of how systems work and the interaction between mechanical and electrical components controlled by computerized devices,” he said. “Engineers graduating in this discipline will have ample knowledge in mechanical, electrical and control systems and will be ready to work in multidisciplinary teams in many industries.”

To learn more about this degree, visit http://www.bw.psu.edu/Academics/Degrees/bs_engineering.htm online.
 

Joan Impagliazzo never thought she would make it through her first semester of college, let alone graduate. As an adult student attending college for the first time at age 50, she was terrified, sitting in the back corner of classes trying to go unnoticed. But graduate she did in 1992 from Penn State Brandywine (known then as Penn State Delaware County) with a bachelor’s degree in general arts and sciences. So proud was she of her achievement and the happiness it brought her that she started the Joan Impagliazzo Adult Student Scholarship, in order to share her enthusiasm for learning with others like her.

“Going to Penn State Brandywine was one of the best experiences of my life,” said Impagliazzo. “It was a wonderful time; an expanding time; a confidence building time. Everyone just made me feel so welcome. While I was there the core of adult learners grew. We started the Adult Student Organization … The faculty, I think they loved having non-traditional students in their classes because we lived when they did and we knew stuff that they knew. The professors had such a wonderful rapport with the adult students.”

Reminiscing about her Brandywine days, Impagliazzo spoke of the joy she felt on commencement day. “One of the happiest feelings that I had when I graduated was that my mother was able to attend,” she said. “She lived to be 99—and the fact that she only went to fourth grade in Slovakia gave me such confidence—she had a thirst for knowledge and she was so proud that I went to college and she was able to be there at my graduation. I could never have done it without the wholehearted support and encouragement of my husband and family. They knew I could do it.”

Impagliazzo comes from quite a pride of Penn Staters; three generations of Lion’s pride to be exact. Several of her children attended the Brandywine and University Park campuses, and one received her master’s degree from Penn State Great Valley. Impagliazzo’s oldest grandchild, Sam, is now walking the hallways and paths of the Brandywine campus.

While studying at Penn State Brandywine, Impagliazzo was awarded many scholarships which ultimately paid for her education. When she graduated, she decided to start her own scholarship to help other adult students fund their way through college.

“I loved it so much and got so into it that I won a whole lot of scholarships,” enthused Impagliazzo. “Winning those scholarships was such a confidence builder. I know so many of the women—they work full-time, they’re raising a family, and to afford to go to college is a real hardship. So many could use whatever help they could get. That’s why I started it.”

In order to be considered for the Impagliazzo scholarship, the individual must be a Penn State Brandywine full-time undergraduate adult student who demonstrates academic success and is involved in activities on and off campus.
Faye Pellicciaro, a corporate communications major, is the 2012 scholarship recipient. She describes herself as a “single empty-nester” with two grown children also pursuing their college and graduate educations.

“I would like to personally thank Ms. Impagliazzo for both her emotional and financial support,” said Pellicciaro. “It was a pleasure meeting her at the Scholarship Luncheon back in October. Her supportive nature helped to spur me on in my studies when I was experiencing a lull during the semester.”

Pellicciaro’s journey to earning her bachelor's degree started nearly 40 years ago at the University of Missouri. But with a move to Philadelphia, marriage, raising a family, divorce and several job layoffs, her dream of a college education was derailed. Today, Pellicciaro is back on track and anticipates walking in her cap and gown in the May 2015 Brandywine Commencement Ceremony ... thanks to a little help from Joan Impagliazzo.

A new session of the Penn State Brandywine Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Business (BSB) degree completion program will begin in January 2013. This program provides a unique opportunity for working professionals to complete their undergraduate degree in as little as 20 months, and then have the opportunity to progress directly into the Penn State MBA program.

The Accelerated BSB program is designed for individuals who have completed previous college coursework, and offers a flexible and convenient Saturday schedule. The program runs in a cohort format--new cohorts begin every seven weeks--in which students go through all the courses with the same group from start to finish.

Each course is seven weeks long and involves a combination of classroom and online learning. This format allows for the creation of a professional learning community with a high degree of personal interaction among faculty and students.

The BSB program differs from many traditional programs in that it is based on a "systems thinking" and study approach that prepares adult students not as specialists in one functional area of business, but as workforce participants equipped with multi-faceted skills applicable to any number of business areas and situations. The program stresses interpersonal and technical communications skills, collaborative student-centered learning and a high degree of faculty-student interaction.

One track of the program, the MBA-bound student track, prepares students in all business functions, especially accounting, finance, management, marketing and supply chain, and enables them to pursue an MBA degree from Penn State Great Valley.

This program is ideal for the person who wants a business degree from an internationally recognized university without taking time off work during the week.

For more information about the program, contact Margaret Bacheler at 610-892-1306 or MBW10@psu.edu. 

(If you are unable to attend the event, you can watch live streaming of the program.)

Penn State Brandywine’s graduating class this fall will be ushered into the real world by one of their own, a Penn Stater with an impressive career under his belt. The campus’ Commencement Ceremony will take place on Friday, Dec. 21 at 10 a.m. in the Commons Building Gymnasium.

Upper Darby native Mike Arata attended Penn State Brandywine for two years before earning a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from the University Park campus.

He currently serves as managing director of engineering for United Airlines, a position he has held since April 2010. In his present role, Arata oversees the airworthiness and configuration of the fleet of more than 700 Boeing and Airbus aircraft for the world’s largest airline. His team defines the technical requirements and modifications that ensure the aircraft and engines are maintained to the highest levels of safety and reliability.

Arata began his career with United upon graduation from Penn State in 1991. His first assignment was as a liaison engineer supporting United’s airframe overhauls in San Francisco.  In 1995, he transferred to Chicago where he moved into a line engineering role supporting United’s hub operation at O’Hare International Airport. Since then, Arata has progressed through various leadership positions in engineering and line maintenance at both the station and corporate levels.

Arata and his family live in the Chicago area. He is proud to be a die-hard Penn State and Philadelphia sports fan.

With a strong sense of giving back--and with a surplus of energy--, Penn State Brandywine Campus Registrar Joanna McGowan has taken the helm of a professional organization, Delaware Valley Association of Collegiate Registrars and Officers of Admission (DVACROA) as its president. DVACROA is the local chapter of the Middle States Association of Collegiate Registrars and Officers of Admission.

In her new role, McGowan is leading the initiative to connect area campus registrars and admissions officers with the resources and networking DVACROA can offer.

Having served as treasurer of the organization for the past two years, McGowan brings experience to her new position, especially after coordinating and hosting the DVACROA regional conference two years ago at the Brandywine campus.

Seeking out new members for their input is a priority for her this year. “We have a whole new group of members and I’m learning ways to use their fresh ideas to rejuvenate the organization,” she said, with an overhaul of the website as one of the current projects. “I’m learning about our procedures, and learning how to delegate more,” she added.

With DVACROA now in its fifth year, McGowan has already served on the steering committee and as treasurer. During her tenure as president, she hopes to add a new event, such as a mixer or other networking opportunity, so that the organization is more than just the annual conference, which takes place March 7, 2013 at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. “I’d also like to extend our reach and get more schools involved,” she said. “It’s free to join and the conference costs just $50, so it is a great opportunity to get affordable, local professional development and to network with other higher education professionals.”

McGowan will also be featured in the December issue of the publication, “The Successful Registrar.”

With a demanding job, three small children and not much sleep, how does she manage?

“I don’t know,” she confessed. “Let’s see how the conference turns out before giving me credit. Also, my house is really, really messy.”

Nine faculty authors will read from or discuss their text and answer audience questions in the Tomezsko Classroom Building, room 103, before heading to a book signing and reception in the lounge.

Attendees will have an opportunity to speak with the authors one-on-one, buy copies of their books and have the author sign the books. Refreshments and desserts will be provided at the reception. This event is free and open to the public.

Faculty authors include:

Stephen J. Cimbala, Distinguished Professor of Political Science
“US National Security: Policy Makers, Processes, and Politics,” 5th ed. Sam Sarkesian, John A. Williams, Stephen J. Cimbala. Lynne Rienner, 2013.

Myra Goldschmidt, Associate Professor of English / Debbie Lamb Ousey, Instructor of English
“Teaching Developmental Immigrant Students in Undergraduate Programs: A Practical Guide.” Myra M. Goldschmidt, Debbie Lamb Ousey. University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, 2011.

Paul Greene, Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology and Integrative Arts
“Metal Rules the Globe: Heavy Metal Music Around the World.” Jeremy Wallach, Harris M. Berger, Paul D. Greene. Duke University Press, 2011.

Pauline Guerin, Professor of Psychology
“Health Care and Indigenous Australians: Cultural Safety in Practice.” K. Taylor, Pauline Guerin. Palgrave-MacMillan: Australia, 2010.

Cynthia Lightfoot, Professor of Human Development and Family Studies
“Art and Human Development.” C. Milbrath, Cynthia Lightfoot. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (Francis-Taylor), 2010.

David Macauley, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies
“Elemental Philosophy: Earth, Air, Fire and Water as Environmental Ideas.” Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2011.

Adam Sorkin, Distinguished Professor of English
“Mouths Dry with Hatred,” a book of poems by Dan Sociu (translated from Romanian by Adam J. Sorkin with the poet). Fayetteville, NC: Longleaf Press, 2012.

Djuradj Stakic, Professor of HDFS
“The Rights of Children Deprived of Their Liberty.” UNICEF, 2011.

Students at Penn State Brandywine collected more than 3,000 children’s books during the month of October and donated them to Philadelphia READS, a non-profit supporting children’s literacy in Philadelphia.

Senior human development and family studies major Annie Gallagher is president of the campus’ Undergraduate Research Club, which sponsored the book drive in the hopes of providing books to children who can’t normally afford them. 

“We should be so proud of the difference we have made,” Gallagher said. “This project shows how the collective efforts of many can impact and benefit our community. I feel that our efforts and donations have impacted the lives of so many children already, and that our continued efforts will not go unnoticed by little hearts eager to learn how to read.”

The project was conceived over the summer, when Gallagher and a few of her peers participated in a reading group with Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Jennifer Zosh.

“We examined research on e-readers and regular books and the effectiveness of each on teaching a child how to read,” Gallagher said. “Through this discussion, we learned how important it is for children to hold a book, flip through its pages and actively engage within the story. However, we also learned how scarce books are within low-income neighborhoods and school districts. Ultimately, this is where the idea for the Penn State Brandywine Children's Book Drive began.”

Gallagher partnered with Philadelphia READS to ensure that the books would find their way to libraries, teachers and reading corners in the area to build libraries for children in the community. She also reached out to a local nutrition club, Fierce NEWtrition, which donated hundreds of books to the cause.

On October 23, Philadelphia Reads Assistant Director Amy Purdy and Program Director Sarah Farbo visited the campus to collect the books and meet with students.

Students who register by Thursday, Nov. 22 will receive a $50 discount.

Brandywine’s Global Programs courses combine focused academic studies with immersion experiences abroad. That means there will be instruction and assignments to be completed prior to travel, as well as during and after.

Courses available for the Ireland program include Popular Culture and Folk Life (AM ST 105) with Instructors Patricia Hillen and Patricia O’Brien; Interpersonal Skills for Tomorrow’s Leaders (AEE 201) with Director of Student Affairs Matthew Shupp; Plants, Places and People (BIOL 120A) with Instructor Brian Barringer; Wellness Theory (KINES 081) with Instructor Barbara Rostick; and Global Marketing (MKTG 445/ MKTG497) with Instructor Lori Elias. Each class is worth three credits.

Students will visit the breathtaking Cliffs of Moher and Belfast Castle, among other sites and side excursions.

For more information on the Ireland program, please visit http://www.bw.psu.edu/Academics/InternationalPrograms/32535.htm or contact Gail Wray at 610-892-1472 or GBW1@psu.edu.

For scholarship opportunities related to global programs, contact Professor Paul Greene at PDG4@psu.edu or Gail Wray at GBW1@psu.edu.

Encouraged by his father during college, Zakes said landing an internship requires simple persuasion. “You go to the company [where you want to work], tell them you love it and that you will sweep the floors and work your way up.” That is exactly what he did.

In Zakes’ case, the company was Trenton-based TerraCycle, Inc., the world's leading "upcycling" company, which converts waste materials into eco-friendly, affordable products available at major retailers worldwide. With no prior public relations experience, Zakes said he learned through a lot of trial and error. Though he admits, “I’m embarrassed about some of the things I did in the early days,” he has worked his way all the way to the top of the public relations department.

His personal success story is the perfect example of the importance of internships and for this reason, Zakes made a promise ahead of his visit to the campus. “Any student who comes to the talk and asks me an intelligent question or makes me laugh will get an internship” at TerraCycle, he said. His department hires approximately eight interns every summer.

Considering his business model, this could be a valuable experience for any undergrad. Zakes runs wildly successful public relations and marketing campaigns without spending one advertising dollar ... ever. He relies on brand ambassadors, social media, grass roots campaigns and strong media relations to spread the word about TerraCycle.

It’s worked.

The campus learned about TerraCycle while reading the book, “Start Something That Matters,” by TOMS shoes founder Blake Mycoskie, as part of the annual Campus Common Read Program. The theme of this year’s program, inspired by the book, is social enterprise and its place in not just today’s society, but also the future.

“I think beyond the money donated and the waste diverted, what is the most impactful part of [TerraCycle’s] mission is the education and engagement and inspiration that we provide to younger generations in the hopes that more and more of the future generations will look to start or work for or support the social enterprises that will be so vital to the success of our planetary health in the 21st century,” Zakes said.

The campus is collecting old pairs of shoes to be donated to TerraCycle for recycling and upcycling. Zakes said the shoes that are still wearable will be donated to those in need around the world. Heavily damaged or dirty shoes will be broken down so various parts can be sent to TerraCycle’s partners. For example, the rubber material used to make the soles will be broken down and used on playgrounds, while the fabric will be sold to a fabric recycling company.

Zakes’ talk is titled “TerraCycle: Finding the Marketing Magic in Your Local Landfill” and he said, “It will be ruckus, there will be a lot of poop jokes.” Of course, there’s a reason for the vulgarity. TerraCycle was founded by Tom Szkay, who was a freshman at Princeton University when he came up with the idea to have worms eat organic waste to make fertilizer. Or as Zakes put it, Szkay “dropped out of Princeton to liquefy worm poop.”

This event is free and open to the public. Visit http://bit.ly/PSUBWCommonRead for more information about the Common Read program and http://www.terracycle.com to learn about TerraCycle, Inc.

Designed for individuals who wish to improve or update their business skills, the Business Essentials Certificate program can be completed within six months. Offered from January through May 2013, this four-course, twelve-credit program will provide comprehensive knowledge of business administration, public speaking, management information systems and selling skills. The accelerated seven-week classes meet one night per week and include an online component. All four courses can be applied toward an undergraduate degree or a stand-alone certificate that will stand out on any résumé.

According to Margaret Bacheler, director of continuing education at Penn State Brandywine, “This certificate program will provide a fresh credential within six months. Whether you are looking to reenter the workforce or need to refresh your skills, the Business Essentials Certificate can give you a competitive advantage in the job market. It is also ideally suited for recent college graduates looking for an edge in the job hunting process.”

The Business Essentials Certificate is available through the Penn State University Video Learning Network (VLN), a multi-campus collaboration of high-technology classrooms equipped with high-definition video conferencing capabilities. The goal of the VLN is to help Pennsylvanians acquire the knowledge and skills they need for the workforce at a Penn State campus conveniently located close to their home. 

For more information about the Business Essentials Certificate, please contact Margaret Bacheler at 610-892-1306 or mbw10@psu.edu.

PAESTA is the state chapter of the National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA) and was formed in 2011 by Brandywine Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin and University Park Professor of Geoscience Tanya Furman, who also serves as assistant vice president and associate dean for undergraduate education. 

PAESTA was formed as part of the $9.2 million National Science Foundation grant, “Targeted Math Science Partnership: Middle Grades Earth and Space Science Education.” Furman serves as lead principal investigator while Guertin serves as the current president of the organization.

The conference, titled “Linking Earth and Space Science Instruction to Career Opportunities,” began Friday evening with a showing of the documentary Switch, which features Geologist and University of Texas at Austin Professor Scott Tinker answering today’s most controversial energy questions as he travels the world exploring leading energy sites, from coal to solar, oil to biofuels--most of them highly restricted and never before seen on film.

Saturday kicked off with keynote speaker Heather Houlton, outreach coordinator at the American Geosciences Institute Workforce Program, who spoke about career opportunities and future employment outlook in the geosciences.

The conference had 12 technical sessions for people to choose from, including “The iPad as an Instructional Tool,” co-led by Guertin and Brandywine Instructional Designer Matt Bodek, who demonstrated free apps relating to Earth and space science for teachers to utilize with students. Teachers were also provided iPads to use during the session.

“Half of the teachers said they had never touched an iPad before and now want more sessions and information on how to use iPads with students,” Guertin said.

Another session featured one of Brandywine’s own students, senior Eileen Fresta, who co-presented with Philadelphia middle school teacher Theresa Lewis-King in Cumberland Cemetery across from campus on “A Cemetery as a Site for Multidisciplinary Teaching.” The session provided teachers with lesson plans and exercises to do with students with tombstone data.

PAESTA President-Elect Kelly Hunter, a middle school Earth science teacher at Snyder-Girotti Middle School in Bristol, said, “I think the first PAESTA conference exceeded all of our expectations! We wanted to create a true community for Earth science teachers where they could actively work together and make connections in their field. As we continue to develop PAESTA, we want this community to grow and extend beyond the conferences and workshops. With the help of Penn State, we are continuing to get closer to our goals for the future. 

For more information about PAESTA, visit http://www.paesta.org online.

Harrell-Levy traveled to Montgomery, Ala. to engage nurses, social workers, school counselors and administrators, public health educators and any social service, faith-based or community-based organization working with teens and their families to help them understand the importance and relevance of a research-based curriculum she co-wrote, called "Bridging the Great Divide: Parents and Teens Communicating about Healthy Relationships (BTGD).”

The curricula “was developed to address parent needs identified by teachers during Relationship Smarts (RS+) implementation in several middle schools and high schools throughout Alabama,” Harrell-Levy explained. “It's a six lesson curriculum that assists parents in communicating about relationships and related issues with their teens.

“The conference also addressed some of the more basic concerns related to teaching and learning about parent and teen communication and is designed to empower parents to be more proactive in their communication with teens and motivate educators to introduce research-based parenting curricula in their communities.”

Harrell-Levy’s research also explores the challenges parents face when “discussing issues like abuse with teens; and, more poignantly, effectively entering into conversations that will make it more likely for teens to disclose to parents abuse when it is happening,” she said.

For more information about the conference or to watch the On Demand webcast, visit http://www.adph.org/alphtn/.

Penn State Brandywine Director of Student Affairs Matthew Shupp was recently awarded the Ron Lunardini Outstanding Mentor Award at the Pennsylvania College Personnel Association (PCPA) Conference in Carlisle.

Ron Lunardini was a faculty member and faculty liaison to PCPA in Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Student Affairs and Higher Education program until his retirement several years ago. PCPA gave him the honor of emeritus status and named one of five annual awards after him. This award is presented to a PCPA member who has worked to mentor professionals and/or graduate students with professional endeavors while contributing to the field and profession as a whole. 

Shupp, who joined Penn State Brandywine in 2008, also presented two programs at the conference: "Making Your Professional Development Count!" and "Advisors as First Responders to Student Crises."

Gedion T. Teklegiorgis, a 1998 Penn State graduate, has come a long way--literally and figuratively--in his 38 years. Born in Eritrea, a tiny African country bordering Ethiopia, Djibouti, the Sudan and the Red Sea, Teklegiorgis witnessed much political strife during his early childhood. To avoid the bloody civil war conflicts his family moved frequently. They eventually walked for 14 days--mostly at night--to reach the safe haven of the Sudan, where they lived for eight years before immigrating to the United States in 1988. In a recent interview he described his ordeal, his Penn State pride and his brilliant military career.

During the 1970s when Teklegiorgis was just a young boy, Eritrea was in the midst of a 30-year war of independence--fighting with Ethiopia as well as warring factions of nationalists. His family lived in constant fear that their father would be taken away.

“This is when the family started moving around to stay away from all the conflicts. The communist government was targeting educated Eritreans; my father was a missionary and teacher and that put him on the (hit) list,” reminisced Teklegiorgis. “I can remember when my mother would hide us under the bed or take us out to the farms during daytime and at evening time coming back to the house … My father used to hide outside in the mountains during daytime. Sometimes he would come see us at nighttime. But then things got really bad and he had to totally separate from us.”

With the political situation continuing to deteriorate throughout the 1970s, the Teklegiorgis family had no choice but to leave Eritrea for good. They walked for two weeks until they reached The Sudan with little more than food, water, baby pictures and the family bible. When political unrest began to arise in their host country, they moved again, this time to the United States. In 1988, the family of seven landed in Philadelphia with only 50 dollars in their father’s pocket.

Teklegiorgis recalled how tough it was to attend school in America without speaking English. “That was a tough year … no English … a lot of sleepless nights. All I could do was sit in the back of the class and smile at the teacher because I didn’t want to be rude because I didn’t understand him. I remember the teacher complained to my father, ‘Why does your son always laugh and smile at me when I look at him?’ And my father tried to make an excuse and said, ‘Maybe it’s because his teeth are too big for his lips to close,’” Teklegiorgis laughed out loud. Decades later, Teklegiorgis is still smiling--a habit now, he claims--and is well-known for his bright and contagious grin.

Teklegiorgis began his college career at Penn State Brandywine in 1993. Still needing help with English as a third language, Teklegiorgis took full advantage of the Learning Center on campus. He spoke highly of the people at Brandywine and he credits much of his success today to the caring learning environment of the suburban Philadelphia campus.

“At Brandywine, you felt like you were at home--the teachers, the staff--you felt like you were among your family,” said Teklegiorgis. “It was a very comfortable place. You could really spend time with them. It gave us (his sister Eden also attended Penn State Brandywine at the same time) comfort; it took away the nervousness that we had. We were afraid to start (college) because we didn’t feel comfortable with our English; our confidence level was not that great. They understood where we were coming from and they did everything in their power to give us the boost that we needed at the time. I think if there had been even a little bit of a hiccup when we started out we would not have continued because we were already scared. We really needed the right people to give us that boost to continue on. That’s something I will always  treasure.”

Continue on he did, earning his bachelor’s degree in secondary education with a minor in history. Although he finished his degree at University Park, it was “home” at the Brandywine campus, where he walked during the 1998 commencement ceremony.

Wanting to assimilate into American culture as quickly and easily as possible, Teklegiorgis followed the advice of an uncle and enlisted in the Navy in 1999. Ironically, he was shipped-off to Iceland right after boot camp. He quickly moved up in rank and entered officer candidate school. With much pride and motivation, doors were opening for Teklegiorgis due to his college degree, knowledge of five languages (native tongue, Arabic, English, Spanish and French) and his military training. “For a foreign born child … as people say ‘live the American dream’ I was really living it,” enthused Teklegiorgis.

Teklegiorgis at sea onboard the USS Ponce with Pakistani naval officer.

He continued his education and earned a master’s degree in international affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. He currently lives in Bahrain with his wife and three young children. Still with the Navy, Teklegiorgis works as a staff officer and department head at Mine Counter Measure Squadron Five NAVCENT and utilizes his foreign language knowledge. He recently participated in the International Mine Countermeasures Exercise 2012 (IMCMEX 12). This at-sea mission involved militaries from approximately 30 nations--spanning four continents--in a defensive exercise designed to preserve freedom of navigation in the international waterways of the Middle East and to promote regional stability. In September he was selected for the Foreign Area Officer program. Beginning in 2013, Teklegiorgis will be working as an attaché (foreign military adviser) in the Middle East.

Teklegiorgis has come a long way from that young refugee who could only smile at his school teachers because he didn’t understand a word of English. He credits Brandywine with helping him get to where he is today.

 “At Brandywine you start to say, ‘I can be somebody here in this country,’” he said. “Now I am not just surviving, but thriving.”

The event, which will be held in the Commons Building gymnasium, will feature hand-carved birds, animals, marine life, wildlife art and more for sale, all created by skilled artists. Door prizes will be awarded every hour; books, tools and supplies will be offered for sale and carving demonstrations will be held. The price of admission is a $4 donation benefiting the Penn State Brandywine Scholarship Fund. Children aged 12 and under are free with an adult.

Each year the chapter names a William Rush Carver of the Year. This year’s winner is Rich McCall, whose interest in woodcarving was sparked by the colorful wood caricature carver Elmer Jumper in 1980. McCall joined the Delaware County Woodcarvers Association and learned skills from many experienced carvers. To improve on these techniques he has attended many classes and seminars to hone his skills carving songbirds, shore birds, birds of prey with habitats and mountings.

McCall’s interest in the sea and ship figureheads piqued while vacationing in Mystic Seaport, Conn., and he has gathered information from original carvings. He has produced many fine carvings consisting of seamen, sailors and harpooners, and he is interested in Civil War and Confederate soldier woodcarvings.

McCall has also carved many intricate carvings for holidays, which include Santa Claus (modern and old), monks, elves and other popular themes.

He teaches classes for the William Rush Carving Association at the Brandywine campus and has taught classes at Strath Haven High School.

From McCall’s early beginnings in woodcarving he has disciplined himself to select a project and forge ahead to completion. In his teaching discipline his goal for his students is to attain project completion. Even after the class is completed, McCall works with his students to reach this goal.

McCall has been a regular exhibitor at the annual art show and has submitted his carvings and been recognized with numerous ribbons.

• various types of financial aid offered at Penn State, including grants, scholarships,  loans and work-study
• an overview of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
• important deadlines
• guidance in avoiding potential pitfalls when completing the FAFSA

The workshop is open to anyone interested in learning about ways to make college affordable. Please RSVP by calling 610-892-1200 or register online.

For every bar of Hand-in-Hand Soap purchased, the organization donates a bar to a child in need. In September the company began selling its soap in more than 170 Anthropologie stores throughout the country, Glaab said.

Attendees will learn how hand washing with soap can reduce nearly half of the infections that ultimately lead to death in impoverished areas.

Each bar of Hand-in-Hand Soap is 100 percent eco-friendly, biodegradable and contains ingredients that are ethically harvested from sustainable resources. Hand-in-Hand Soap is certified by Natural Products Association and Fair Trade USA.

As part of Glaab’s visit to campus the Brandywine Common Read committee and Fair Trade Trailblazers will be hosting a one-day soap drive to benefit My Neighbor’s Children, an organization that provides assistance to orphaned children worldwide. Hand-in-Hand Soap and My Neighbor’s Children have teamed up to deliver soap to orphaned children worldwide. Bars of soap can be dropped off at the seminar.

For more information about Hand-in-Hand Soap, visit http://handinhandsoap.com/ online. For more information about My Neighbor’s Children, visit http://www.myneighborschildren.org/ online.

Lily Jundi ’03 IST not only speaks the language of computers--thanks to her Penn State education--but also is fluent in Spanish, Hebrew and several Arabic dialects, not to mention a good knowledge of Portuguese, Turkish and Italian. She adroitly switches between languages like a commuter switches trains. With her Penn State education, natural knack for languages and incurable travel bug, she’s had no trouble finding work in far off lands from Delaware County.

Jundi currently teaches foreign languages at Fatih University and a school system in Ankara, Turkey. She also teaches English and information technology (IT) classes--offered in English--at a technical firm in the capital city. Prior to living in Turkey she spent several years teaching languages and IT studies at colleges in Kuwait.
 
Jundi attributes her love for cultures and languages to her mixed Middle Eastern heritage. She pursued that love at Penn State Brandywine, where she minored in international studies and traveled to Turkey, Spain, Greece, Italy and Egypt to complete several academic projects. She was a language tutor in the Learning Center, held student government leadership positions, helped shape the diversity initiative on campus and interned in the Information Technology Services department alongside the much-liked Gordon Crompton, who recently retired from the campus.

“Education-wise we were well prepped; the curriculum was great. As for my internship with computer services, I cannot thank them enough ... by the time I graduated, I had learned so much from them. My training was perfect. I’m very confident as to what comes my way … whether it’s a computer course or language course I’m asked to teach. It’s like concrete ground I’m standing on,” said Jundi.

“Working at the Learning Center gave me the opportunity to discover myself. Before that I wasn’t even thinking of education or being a teacher,” she added. “I wanted to be in computer systems and databases, since that was my major. I thought that was it; my future was set. But then working at the Learning Center I discovered something else in me. I wasn’t limited to what I graduated with … I have a lot more to offer.”

Another international attribute of Jundi’s is her nickname, “the peacemaker,” a name Crompton gave to her during her internship days. Jundi explained, “Whenever there was a conflict, I would try to find the midpoint for people to meet in order to resolve the issue. I don’t like problems. I don’t like conflicts. I like people to work together. I like to work with people in peace. I don’t like war--we talked about politics a lot especially the politics of the Middle East--which was one of the reasons I got that name … besides just wanting to work and interact peacefully with colleagues in the department.”

Perhaps diplomacy is in the bright future of this talented, multilingual Brandywine alumna.  According to Crompton, “if there’s going to be peace in the world, Lily will be part of it.”

-by Nancy McCann

Rep. Truitt was elected as a Pennsylvania State Representative for the 156th Legislative District serving Chester County in November 2010. He was born and raised in Delaware County and graduated from Marple Newtown High School at the age of 16. Rep. Truitt attended Drexel University and Villanova University, where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, and West Chester University where he received a master’s degree in computer science.

Rep. Truitt started his own business in 1999 called Truitt Engineering. Through his entrepreneurial experiences, he dealt with government bureaucracy and the state’s business tax structure, which he said inspired him to run for office as a way to make Pennsylvania more business friendly. As a state representative, his major legislative goals include “job creation, reducing the size and cost of state government and enacting reforms to help restore public trust in state government.”

Most recently, Rep. Truitt introduced legislation that would create standards to combat bullying in schools. He also serves his community through his involvement with the Boy Scouts of America, the Knights of Columbus and the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School.

-by Amanda Dzwill

What do shoes have to do with social responsibility? Penn State Brandywine is about to find out. On Thursday, Oct. 25, the campus is asking Penn Staters to help kick off its Common Read program in three ways: 1. Show Us Your Shoes, 2. donate your shoes for a Paired Shoe Brigade and 3. learn about social responsibility and entrepreneurship.

The Common Read program annually encourages the campus community to come together to read one book and then share and discuss its philosophies. This year’s book is “Start Something That Matters,” by TOMS Shoes Founder Blake Mycoskie; for every pair of TOMS shoes purchased, one pair of shoes is given to a child in need somewhere in the world.

What better way to launch a yearlong series of events than by rocking a pair of TOMS shoes as part of the Show Us Your Shoes initiative? Any pair will do, but Penn State Toms can be purchased at http://bit.ly/PSUTOMS online.

The Paired Shoe Brigade is a shoe drive with a twist. The campus will collect pairs of shoes from October 25 through November 29 (note: a lonely shoe with a missing mate will not be accepted) to be donated to TerraCycle, Inc., the world’s leading ‘upcycling’ company, which converts difficult-to-recycle waste materials into eco-friendly, affordable products available at major retailers.

“Our goal is to eliminate the idea of waste by creating collection and solution systems for anything that today must be sent to a landfill,” reads the company’s website.

The kick-off will also feature a presentation by Professor of Management Veronica Godshalk titled “Are all Entrepreneurs Social Entrepreneurs? Factors that Determine the Difference” at 11:30 a.m. in the Tomezsko Classroom Building, room 103, followed by light refreshments in the lounge. This Common Read interactive conversation about “Start Something that Matters” will focus on traits and behaviors of entrepreneurs and how they differ (or not) from social entrepreneurs.

Coming up on Thursday, Nov. 29, Albe Zakes, the 27-year-old global vice president of media relations at TerraCycle, Inc., will speak to the campus. More information about his talk will be released shortly.

Paired Shoes Brigade Rules:

Acceptable waste: pairs of women’s, men’s and children’s shoes, which may include athletic sneakers, cleats, flats, high heels, dress shoes, boots and fashion or casual sneakers.

The following will NOT be accepted: ski boots, roller skates, roller blades, ice skates, completely broken or ruined footwear, single shoes, rubber flip flops, slippers or any shoe that has even one hole in it the size of a pen or bigger.

As part of her internship with the Brandywine Laboratory for Civic Engagement over the summer, Mookerjee worked with Fresh Artists, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to developing a sustainable funding stream of art supplies for under-resourced schools in Philadelphia. In an effort to keep the initiative alive, she is planning the festival to raise money for the nonprofit. Community members will be invited to donate to charity and, in return for their generosity, they will receive an original piece of local artwork.

“Fresh Artists uses a pretty innovative way to get funding,” she said. “Kids create their own art work, which is then expanded in proportion and ‘donated’ to corporations; corporations use the artwork to decorate their walls and, in return, donate money to Fresh Artists.”

Mookerjee is hoping to collect artwork from Penn Staters and members of the larger community to be on display during the month of November and all proceeds from donations will benefit Fresh Artists. Dimensions for the artwork, which can be delivered to the Writing Studio on the upper level of the Vairo Library, should not exceed 18x24 inches and the deadline for submission is Wednesday, Oct. 31. The name and email address of the artist should be paper clipped to the donated work.

The festival will feature artwork created by students from Philadelphia’s public schools as well as art donated by the community. Fresh Artists CEO Barbara Chandler Allen will also speak with the campus about Fresh Artists and the importance of community giving at 11:30 a.m. in the Tomezsko Classroom Building lounge.

Art is of the greatest importance to Allen, who said her passion deepened as she saw art programs being cut in Philadelphia's under-resourced public schools. Since the organization was founded in 2008, Fresh Artists has raised more than $100,000 for the
cause.

In 2005, Allen worked to decorate the Philadelphia School District's Education Center. She collaborated with her son, Roger, to collect children's artwork and to use it to decorate the wide, blank walls of corporations. To her surprise, visitors passing by expressed their interest in purchasing the artwork. This gave Allen the idea for creating a self-sustainable, non-profit organization using children's artwork.

The organization soon developed a children's book, “Pablo the Philly Philanthropist,” which educates children on how to use their own artwork to become contributing philanthropists.

The importance of Allen's work has been recognized nationwide. In 2010, she was awarded the 2010 Purpose Prize from Civic Ventures, an organization in California that recognizes individuals working for the good of the community. In 2012, Fresh Artists was a top 10 finalist for the Peter Drucker Nonprofit Innovation Award. 

Fundraising for this year’s Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) kicked off last Friday with the first canning weekend, and Penn State Brandywine Benefitting THON raised more than $2,800. Sophomore Finance Major Chris Kramer says this weekend was a great start to what he hopes to be a record breaking year for Brandywine THON. 

THON is a year-long fundraising and awareness campaign to fight pediatric cancer. It is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, and engages more than 15,000 Penn State students across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The year culminates with a 46-hour no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon known as THON Weekend, held at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center each year in February. In 2012, THON raised a record-breaking $10.68 million and was able to donate 96 percent of funds raised directly to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund, which picks up where insurance leaves off, relieving families of the financial burden at a time that should be spent focusing on the child’s health and treatment. 

In addition to future canning weekends throughout the year, Brandywine’s THON committee is planning several events to raise money for the Four Diamonds Fund to fight pediatric cancer. “We are very excited to begin collecting money for THON. With all of the events planned, we know this is going to be a great year,” says Junior Co-Overall Kayla Csizmazia.

Left-right: Brandywine students Megan Gilroy, Julie Tran, Kaitlin Fail-Murphy and Kayla Csizmazia.

A Faculty and Staff Dress Down Day is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 9-10, and Dining to Donate will take place at Ruby Tuesdays at the Springfield Mall on Thursday, Oct. 18 from 5-8 p.m.

Canners will be looking for donations at Penn State Day on Oct. 20 which falls during Canning Weekend #2. Donations can also be made during the annual Red Cross Blood Drive on October 23 and the Annual Trick or Treat Halloween Candy Sale from October 29-31. 

For donors wishing to further our campus effort, Penn State Brandywine Benefitting THON’s organization number is 51, and donations can be made anytime through February 16 at http://www.thon.org online.  

Coach Algeo and her team are proud to support such a great cause and are excited to raise money to donate to a foundation that helps so many. Originally planned as a one-day event, this year the team decided to extend their efforts throughout the entire month of October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The unanimous decision according to Algeo was, “why one day when we could support and collect for 31!” With a fantastic start, the team has collected over $250 and is looking to raise over $1,500 by the end of October.

Penn State Brandywine Volleyball, on behalf of the Dig Pink Foundation, will be collecting donations at all home matches as well as on the website listed below. “No donation is too big or too small, and every penny helps to support a fantastic foundation as well as your Penn State Brandywine Lady Volleyballers,” said Algeo.

For more information on how to donate, go to http://www.side-out.org/application/ous/fundraising_page/45952 online.

In an effort to help build classroom libraries in low income neighborhoods, Penn State Brandywine is partnering with Philadelphia Reads in the “GMC Cars to People Program” October 22-26. GMC is loaning Philadelphia Reads a new car to make book donation pick-ups, and will shoot video at each location. Philadelphia Reads will visit the Brandywine campus Tuesday, Oct. 23 during common hour, and plans are underway to collect as many books as possible throughout the month.

The Undergraduate Research Club is sponsoring the initiative with help from the Education Club, said Annabella Gallagher, a senior majoring in HDFS and president of the Club, and books have already been dropped off.

“My goal is 1,000 books,” she said, “and I think we can get there.”

When collected, the books will be housed in the Philadelphia Reads Book Bank, where teachers from eligible schools can make book withdrawals for their classrooms. “Books are a crucial tool for falling in love with learning,” Gallagher said.

“It’s important to promote literacy,” she added. “Research shows that children in families with low socio-economic status do not have books at home. We want to make sure they have them at school.”

Donations of books appropriate for up to fourth grade will be gratefully accepted in the lobbies of the Main Building, Tomezsko, Commons and Vairo Library. They can also be dropped off in Room 207 Main or by contacting Annabella Gallagher, amg5742@psu.edu or Jennifer Zosh, assistant professor of HDFS and club adviser, jzosh@psu.edu.

Pauline Guerin, psychology program coordinator and associate professor of psychology at Penn State Brandywine, may be new to the University, but certainly not her ancestors. Guerin has traced her family tree--thanks to her genealogy-hobbyist dad--all the way back (and beyond) to Frederick Watts (1801-1889) who is considered to be the father of Penn State and the first board chairperson of the University. That would make Watts, Guerin’s first cousin, seven times removed on her father’s side.

According to Penn State historian Wayland Dunaway, “More than any other man, perhaps Watts deserves the title ‘founder’ of Penn State.” He was an attorney, business leader and gentleman farmer of Carlisle, who led the way in working with state government to secure approval of the charter that created Penn State in 1855.

Although those are some big Penn State shoes to fill, Guerin is enthusiastically embracing her Nittany Lion title of associate professor of psychology as well as her Pennsylvania roots. Guerin recently moved back to the Commonwealth after living down under for the past 16 years. She followed her heart and fiancé to New Zealand in 1996 and then lived in Australia before finding her way back home.

Guerin grew up in northeast Pennsylvania in a small country town called Wapwallopen and received her psychology degrees from Pennsylvania colleges--DeSales University and Temple University. When she saw the Brandywine job opening while working in Australia, she knew she was ready to go home.

 “I read the job description and said, ‘That’s my job. That’s where I’m supposed to go … This job was calling me back to my roots … I think the mountains of Pennsylvania—you can only be away from them for so long and it had just gotten too long for me.”

This connection to land is not only important to Guerin personally but also professionally, as she described in a recent interview. “Working with indigenous populations--Maori in New Zealand and Aboriginal Australians, as well as refugees--I learned a lot about the importance of ‘home’ and connection to land and country and how that defines you. It is who you are.”

Guerin’s academic areas of expertise are health psychology and Indigenous and refugee health. She co-wrote an award-winning text book on Indigenous health in Australia titled  “Health Care and Indigenous Australians: Cultural Safety in Practice.” She worked with Maori health workers on helping women to quit smoking as well as in remote Aboriginal communities in Australia exploring ideas of mental health and social and emotional wellbeing.

“We know that globally indigenous populations suffer poorer health than generally any population group,” said Guerin. “Some academics describe that as a fourth world circumstance which is when there are poverty and health conditions of third world or developing countries within wealthy western nations. One of the most important things I’ve learned is that the health of the people in our society is everyone’s responsibility.”

At Penn State Brandywine Guerin teaches classes in health psychology and diversity. She’s very excited about the new undergraduate degree psychology program which enables students to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the suburban Philadelphia campus.

“We have a very unique flavor to the psychology degree,” enthused Guerin. “It has an emphasis on culture, health, diversity, social justice and a community focus.”

That community focus is what really attracted Guerin to the position at Brandywine and what took her halfway around the world. “Penn State and particularly Penn State Brandywine are really committed to the local community; working locally. That’s a lot of my philosophy. You start at home,” said Guerin.

Welcome home Pauline.

Guerin may be contacted at pbg12@psu.edu.

This past summer, approximately 20 international graduate students traveled from their homelands to the Philadelphia region over many hours and through multiple time zones.

With intentions to begin a one-year master’s degree program in finance at Penn State Great Valley, the students soon found out that getting to their U.S. destination was the easy part. For first time visitors, even having studied the English language for many years in school, it would take a while to grasp the quirks and nuances of American language and culture.

Lynn Hartle, professor of education at Penn State Brandywine, developed an informal orientation course to engage the students in various conversational activities to sharpen their English skills before the fall semester classes started. Certified to teach English as a Second Language (ESL), she was delighted to have the opportunity to help bridge the cultural differences.

“These students were dedicated but also fun-loving,” Hartle said. “They welcomed opportunities to expand their English syntax and grammar as well as fine-tune their pronunciation through activities related to American culture.” When Hartle asked what aspects of American culture they might want to know more about, Deheng Shi, from China quickly replied, “Everything!”

Hartle incorporated activities including watching and analyzing short videos, dramatizing poems, reading and discussing newspaper articles, singing and analyzing songs and playing games to practice using American idioms. The students even taught Hartle some Chinese card games.

The students arrived with varying degrees of fluency. Mahmut Kadir Isguven, of Turkey, was among the few who had spent some time in the United States completing an undergraduate degree at another university. His speaking skills were up to par, but he appreciated the refresher course nonetheless, especially to re-familiarize himself with the American way of doing things.

The orientation course was offered for four hours each day, and although it was optional, many newcomers attended because it helped them brush up on their English skills and become acclimated to American customs, some similar to, and different from, their own. Tipping was one of the differences.

“In Turkey, you don’t give tips,” Isguven said. “Here, I feel I always have to.”

In China, it is even considered improper to give a tip. “We don’t give tips in hotels or restaurants,” said Patti Tang, a resident of China. “Another difference is the cost of hiring people to do work in your home, like a plumber. It is much more expensive here,” she added. Students were surprised when they found out that Hartle, a professor, did not have a housekeeper due to the high cost.

Tang found the daily conversations with Hartle and the rest of the class to be very helpful. “My husband and I are both Chinese, so we speak Chinese all the time,” she said. “When I went to Professor Hartle’s class, I got the chance to think and speak English for a few hours. It made a difference. Languages are like communicating tools. You have to use them every day to keep them polished and improved.”

Now that the fall semester is underway, the students are glad to have had the preparation over the summer. “I’m doing well in my class so far,” Tang said. “I can totally understand what my professors are talking about. However, I’m still afraid of making presentations since I’m really nervous when talking in front of people. Practice makes perfect. I’ll keep practicing.”

Hartle said the students were a joy to be with every day. “Deheng said that the four weeks seemed like four days, and I agreed with him,” Hartle said. While laughter and fun inspired every class, the students worked hard and asked questions to improve their English pronunciation as well as sentence structure skills. Hartle hopes additional international graduate students will choose to come to Penn State Great Valley next year.

The Penn State Brandywine women's volleyball team will again join the fight against breast cancer at its second annual Dig Pink with Brandywine event to raise funds for The Side-Out Foundation on Saturday, Sept. 29, in the Commons Building gymnasium. The tournament, which is free and open to the public, will include a quad match, which is two courts running games at 2 to 4 p.m.

The Side-Out Foundation is a support and advocacy organization dedicated to making a significant and identifiable difference in the lives of breast cancer patients and their families by supporting clinical trials, increasing compassionate support services and educating communities. The term side-out refers to a situation in volleyball when one team wins a point while its opponent is serving, thereby regaining serve or control of play. It is hoped that this Side-Out event will do the same for breast cancer patients, providing them with the support, education and best-available treatments to regain control of their lives.

“The Brandywine volleyball team hopes to double last year's total amount raised ($1,000) and reach $2,000 in 2012,” said Sports Information Coordinator and women’s volleyball Head Coach Melissa Algeo. “All donations are greatly appreciated. Every donation, big or small, helps get us to our goal as a team and as supporters!”

Pink T-shirts will be sold for $10 and proceeds will benefit Dig Pink. For more information or to purchase a T-shirt, contact Algeo at mhl13@psu.edu or 610-892-1470.

Is fracking polluting the water? How dangerous is nuclear power? Will gasoline prices continue to rise? Can coal be cleaned up? Can renewable energy really power the future?

Penn State Brandywine will host a screening of the film “SWITCH,” which features Geologist and University of Texas at Austin Professor Scott Tinker answering today’s most controversial energy questions, as he travels the world exploring leading energy sites, from coal to solar, oil to biofuels--most of them highly restricted and never before seen on film.

This free public screening will be held on Friday, October 12 at 6 p.m. in the Tomezsko Classroom Building, room 103. To ensure that there is enough space for all viewers, please visit http://bit.ly/PSUBWSwitch to register in advance.

In the film, directed by Harry Lynch, Tinker seeks the truth from the international leaders of government, industry and academia, then cuts through the confusion to discover a path to an energy future as surprising as it is practical.

“SWITCH” is screening as part of the Geological Society of America (GSA) Switch Energy Awareness and Efficiency Program, which is launching at 40 pilot universities across the country this fall with a student ambassador program, efficiency drive and screening of the film.

Audiences have called “SWITCH” “the first truly balanced energy film,” according to Acros Films, which created the project. “SWITCH” has been embraced and supported by people across the energy spectrum: environmentalists and academics, fossil and renewable energy experts, scientists and economists.

Defense FundSwitch and the GSA program are part of the Switch Energy Project (http://www.switchenergyproject.com), a multi-pronged effort to build a global understanding of energy.

The project includes a continually expanding website of 300 videos on the energy topics that drive the world; a primary school education program of videos and curricula co-developed with the American Geological Institute and will eventually include a broadcast series on discovering solutions to the world’s most pressing energy challenges.

Tinker has been exploring energy for 30 years. His passion is bringing government, industry and academia together to solve some of the world’s toughest challenges.

Tinker is the director of the Bureau of Economic Geology and the state geologist of Texas. He is a professor holding the Allday Endowed Chair and the acting associate dean of research in the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. Before coming to the Bureau, he worked for Marathon Oil’s research division.

For 17 years, Lynch has been a documentary director, producer, writer, cinematographer and soundtrack producer, whose films include “SWITCH,” “Unconventional,” “Recapturing Cuba,” “Ride Around the World” and “Making the Modern.” He is the co-founder of Trinity Films, and the founder of Arcos Films, a multimedia production company dedicated to building awareness and understanding of the most important issues of the time.

For more information about the screening at Brandywine, please contact Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin at uxg3@psu.edu.

As the crisp, cool air rolls in and the fall semester gets underway, Penn State Brandywine is buzzing with excitement for this year’s jam-packed annual Penn State Day event. In addition to the fall festival and accompanying admissions program for high school students on Saturday, Oct. 20, the campus will host its second annual 5K Run/One-Mile Walk to raise money for student scholarships, a volleyball tournament and a cross country invitational.

Penn State Day, which is free and open to the public, will feature carnival-like games and food, such as pumpkin painting, a pie-eating contest, grilled stickies, popcorn, a diaper derby for the little tikes, a Best Dressed Penn Stater competition, entertainment and much more. The festival will begin at 11:30 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. and will take place on the campus lawn. Check for updates at www.bw.psu.edu in the event of inclement weather.

The 5K/One-Mile Walk
The day will begin with the 5K, which will take runners through the woods surrounding campus and along its official cross country course. A one-mile short course will be laid out for walkers. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. and the race begins at 10 a.m. The campus’ course is regularly used by its cross country team and played host to renowned author and runner Chris McDougall, who, alongside members of the campus community, tackled the course barefoot in December 2009.

Proceeds from the run/walk will benefit the Delaware County Alumni Chapter’s scholarship for Brandywine students and the Penn State Brandywine Alumni Society Scholarship.

To register for the race, please visit http://bit.ly/PSUDay5K2012 online.

The Admissions Program
The admissions program for high school students will begin with registration at 9:45 a.m. in the Tomezsko Classroom Building lounge. Students will learn about the Penn State admissions process, criteria and the University’s academic offerings, and take a tour of campus with a Brandywine Lion Ambassador. To register, visit http://bit.ly/O28sw4 or call 610-892-1200 for more information. All attendees are encouraged to stick around with their families for some fun at the Penn State Day festival.

Volleyball Match
The women’s volleyball team will host league rivals Penn State Mont Alto in one of its last matches before the post-season. The match begins at noon and promises to be a great battle.

Cross Country Playoffs
While the Lady Lions battle in the gym, at 1 p.m. the cross country team will host the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) championship race on the same outdoor course being used for the morning 5K. With more than 10 teams competing, including the Brandywine Lady Lions, the campus will be swarming with runners vying for individual and team honors.

The campus project will take place outside the Commons Building and inside the Tomezsko Classroom Building lounge from 11 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. and a volunteer will take the photos to be posted to Facebook.

The goal of the project, which was created by students from the club Penn State M.A.D.E (Making A Difference Everyday), is to collect 225 message plates.

The project is sponsored by the Laboratory for Civic Engagement.

This annual college fair has become the “kickoff” to the college admissions season. More than 140 admissions counselors from colleges and universities across the nation will meet with high school students looking for the perfect fit for college. Students can take part in one-on-one conversations with counselors from schools in which they are interested and will receive information about available majors, scholarships, the admissions process and more. This event is free and both students and their parents are welcome to attend.
 
For more information, visit http://www.pacac.org or call the Penn State Brandywine Office of Admissions at 610-892-1200.

To help raise awareness and funds for victims of abuse, Penn State Brandywine is asking its students, faculty, staff, alumni, family and friends to join the campus in a Brandywine Blue Out on Friday, Sept. 21, one day before the Blue Out at Beaver Stadium.

The idea is to turn the campus into a sea of blue, the official color of child abuse prevention, to show solidarity with the University and support for victims.

Proceeds from the official Blue Out t-shirts currently being sold in the Brandywine Bookstore benefit the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR), and donations collected on September 21 will be given to PCAR’s area affiliate, Delaware County Women Against Rape (WAR).

Everyone who wishes to participate in the Penn State Brandywine Blue Out is encouraged to post a photo of themselves wearing blue to Twitter using the hashtag #BrandywineBlueOut, post it to the Penn State Brandywine Facebook wall (http://www.facebook.com/PennStateBrandywine) on the twenty-first or email it to BW-UR@psu.edu.

The student group Penn State M.A.D.E. will set up a donation collection table during common hour and Women Against Rape will provide resources and information for victims and their families.

Candice Linehan, director of Sexual Assault Services at Delaware County Women Against Rape, said the nonprofit organization offers education programs, counseling services, survivor groups and legal advocacy for victims and their families. The organization, which also offers free legal services for civil cases, is located in Media and sees more than 2,000 clients each year, she said.

The initiative, which began at University Park, has adopted the motto “One Team. One School. One Heart. One Promise.” It encourages the Penn State family to come together to make things right and asks that in addition to wearing blue either at the Brandywine campus on September 21 or at the football game at Beaver Stadium on September 22, each individual from throughout the Commonwealth make and share one personal promise that affirms his or her commitment to altruism. Compliment a person on the street, call a long lost friend or stand up to someone being bullied, the movement encourages. Promises can be tweeted using the hasthtag #OnePromise.

Throughout the 2012-2013 academic year, the campus will host a number of events that encourage students, faculty and staff to share their thoughts on the book and comment on its themes and ideologies in relation to their own.

Last year’s Common Read novel was “This I Believe II” by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman. The book is a collection of essays written by everyday people about their personal beliefs. Throughout the year, members of the campus community submitted their own “This I Believe” essays, which were combined and printed in a paperback book titled “Brandywine Believes.”

Visit http://www.brandywine.psu.edu/Academics/fa2012commonread.htm for more information about the Penn State Brandywine Common Read and to stay updated about upcoming events.

W.W. Smith has donated a scholarship to the Brandywine campus nearly every year since 1991, helping more than 100 students receive an affordable, world-class education.
 
“W. W. Smith has been a generous supporter of Brandywine students for years and we are grateful they’ve continued their commitment,” said Director of Development Michelle Johnson. 

The W. W. Smith Charitable Trust is a private foundation established by William Wikoff Smith. The Trust is specifically focused on areas involving basic needs for food, clothing and shelter; supplementing higher education scholarship programs; and basic medical research primarily in heart disease, cancer and AIDS.

The experience has been an important chapter in DePaul’s life.

“It provides me with the opportunity to engage in the search for a cure for type-1 diabetes, a disease I live with everyday,” she said. “However, it also gives me the chance to spread my knowledge and experiences.”

Over the summer, she worked at a children's diabetes camp as a volunteer counselor.

“The camp was a four-day experience that enabled me to share my knowledge and experiences with type-1 diabetes with other children living and dealing with it,” DePaul said. “It was an overnight camp that allowed me to engage in activities outside of diabetes, giving the children a sense of camaraderie instead of feeling like an outsider.”

DePaul has also served as a volunteer staff member for the Walk for Diabetes at the Philadelphia Art Museum and has as a Junior Ambassador leader at the Philadelphia Gala Event.

“I have had diabetes for 18 years, and with the obstacles I have overcome, I know that there are children out there going through similar situations and I want to be someone they can talk with and relate to. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the diabetic camp I worked for this summer both gave me a chance to share new experiences with children who have taught me more than I could ever hope to know. They showed me strength, courage, kindness, understanding and discipline, all of which I was impressed to see at such a young age. I am forever changed by them, and will continue to stay active in finding a cure for a disease so close to my heart.”

After learning about the six students being published, Goldschmidt said, “We have so many talented writers at Penn State Brandywine; it is truly wonderful for our students to be able to showcase this talent.”

Each year, English professors from Penn State's 19 campuses are on the lookout for exceptional essays they deem worthy for publication from their freshman English classes. At the end of the academic year the best of the best essays are submitted to the journal and reviewed by the journal's editorial board, who then determine which essays will be published. The journal is used as a classroom textbook in many English classes throughout Penn State University to provide students with models of writing excellence.

This year’s published writers are Cody Bressler, Emily Brown, Ebony Ford, Steve Hamel, Daniel MacIntosh and Chris Watts. To read their published works, please visit http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/bof.htm online.

Attendees will toast marshmallows, melt Equal Exchange fair trade chocolate and wrap them in graham cracker goodness while engaging in discussion about ethical chocolate.

To prepare for the discussion, the TrailBlazers suggest attendees visit http://bit.ly/OLVwFD to learn more about recent news coverage and background about the issue.

Please RSVP at http://bit.ly/O3i8pd so the students can make sure there is enough for everyone. Participants are asked indicate how many s’mores they plan to consume as well.

Last spring, Penn State Brandywine Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences Susan Fredricks had a unique opportunity to serve as a visiting professor at the University of Economics in Prague, Czech Republic.

She taught “Western Ethics and Business” and “Business Presentation” to the Honors Academia students of the Management School. The courses were taught in English to students from Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Netherlands and Russia, to name a few, she said. Each course lasted just one week and had approximately 35 students between the two.

(students from Susan Fredricks' Ethics and Business class)

“The dynamic was different [from teaching at Brandywine] because these were intensive classes held for one week only,” Fredricks said. “This meant there was no room for students not to do their work, and they did it.”

This was Fredricks’ first time teaching to international students, and with the excitement came the nerves.

“Besides being nervous to begin, it was a pleasure, truly a pleasure,” she said. “I learned more about my teaching skills and communication skills from this experience. I also learned a tremendous amount of information about cultural differences and similarities--things that will help me teach my ‘Intercultural Communication’ course this fall” at Brandywine.

She said her biggest challenge was an obvious one--the language barrier. “I tried to speak Czech, but had a difficult time. Also, I learned that I need to slow down when I speak. Although I taught in English, and all the students understood English, there were still moments in which I spoke too fast or used jargon that was unfamiliar to the students, and vice versa.”

While the experience itself was worth the journey, Fredricks said she also has a personal connection with the country. “My family has been able to trace its lineage back to the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We even have distant cousins still there that came to visit while I was in Prague,” she said. “I spent many hours walking around historic Prague--crossing the bridge, touching the statue of St. John de Nepemoc, seeing the baby infant of Prague and exploring the castles nearby.”

She also spent time working with a colleague to complete some of her research. But teaching was the highlight of her journey.

“Teaching in another country is always a valuable experience,” Fredricks said. “My students and I were able to compare notes on the differences between our countries--how we see them and they see us. I strongly encourage international travel. This was a tremendous opportunity – I would not have missed this for the world.”

For more information, please visit http://childcaresubsidy.psu.edu.

Earlier this summer, Penn State Brandywine Distinguished Professor of English Adam Sorkin received the second prize (“Silver”) Award for poetry published in 2011 from ForeWord Reviews in the online magazine’s Book of the Year contest for his translation of poet Liliana Ursu’s A Path to the Sea published by Pleasure Boat Studios. Sorkin is a leading translator of Romanian poetry to English.

ForeWord Reviews, the only review trade journal devoted exclusively to books from independent houses, according to its website, has no “translation” category, so Sorkin was a bit surprised by the honor, which he shares with his co-translator, prominent American poet Tess Gallagher.

“The book had to compete as a book of poetry. So, while one can never expect to win any award, I personally thought that the chance of any recognition for the book was, what should I say, a double long shot, farfetched-squared,” he said playfully. “I feel honored as one of the translators, of course, and I know that this is an honor for the author.”

ForeWord Reviews magazine boasts roughly 20,000 readers to its print issue and 150,000 unique visits a month to its website, so Sorkin said he considers this his 15 minutes of fame. “This may be seen as one of those fifteen minutes of celebrity that Andy Warhol talked about. Maybe five or ten minutes, actually, but let’s remember, Warhol said that, in our media world, everybody would have this same fame, so I can’t get cheeky about it.”
 
All kidding aside, Sorkin said he sees a recognition such as this as validation of translation in his field that “not only is the work I participate in good, but the poetry I choose to work on is itself at a high level of excellence.”

The first Ursu book that Sorkin translated, along with the poet herself and Gallagher,—The Sky Behind the Forest—was published by a major British poetry publisher, Bloodaxe Books, and selected both as a British Poetry Society Recommended Book and short-listed for the Oxford Weidenfeld Prize.

“Liliana Ursu is a writer of deep feeling who is talented in both inventing and expressing the world she perceives in images that engage the reader with their power,” Sorkin said. “Many of the poems hint at and thus include her personal history and the various places in the world she has been, most of all her native Romania, as well as the United States (she has taught in the United States three times and twice at University Park). But above everything, to me, poems are about themselves, and they invite the rest of us to be included in their world of passionate vision and compassionate response to our shared human dimensions.”

Sorkin said he worked “side-by-side” with Ursu to translate, revise and polish the translation, at which point Gallagher joined the effort. “She is a master at condensing language and making the image and line much more dramatic, among other things.”

Holding the designation of a Fair Trade University means the campus is dedicated to raising awareness of the movement and embedding its principles within administrative policy and the social fabric of the academic community. More specifically, it means the campus sells or uses a number of products with a fair trade seal, indicating they are made by workers who are paid a living wage, treated with dignity and work in safe, comfortable conditions, according to a document created by the students.

The award was presented to the students, known around campus as the “Fair Trade TrailBlazers,” and their adviser, Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin, during the town’s Bastille Day festivities on July 14.

“The town of Media has been a mentor to us and has taken the time to make sure we feel good about the movement,” said junior Sarah DeMartino, one of the leaders of the campus’ fair trade movement. “It’s really great to have an organization like that say ‘good job.’ Media is a close-knit community ... it’s nice to have a constant to lean on, to talk to as things are happening. The award is really special for us.”

Senior Louis Donaghue added, “Fair trade is all about building a community. It felt good to be recognized by our own community … they do really cool stuff in Media.”

The students are planning a number of awareness events for the campus community for the upcoming academic year. They are working with the campus bookstore to host their second t-shirt swap where students can bring in their gently used t-shirts and swap them for a fair trade Penn State Brandywine shirt. All used shirts are donated to Planet Aid, a nonprofit organization that collects donated clothing and shoes to protect the environment and support sustainable development in impoverished communities around the world, according to its website.

A Fair Trade S’mores Fest is in the works for August and there will be a number of events on campus celebrating October as Fair Trade Month.

The students are also mentoring an area elementary school that is interested in earning the fair trade designation. The campus will offer a one-credit course during the spring 2013 semester that will focus on Brandywine’s involvement in Media’s Fair Trade Festival in May.

For more information about new and developing events, follow the Penn State Brandywine Fair Trade blog at http://www.pennstatebrandywinefairtrade.wordpress.com online.

“We are very excited about the new linkage agreement,” said Associate Professor of Biology Elizabeth Dudkin, who serves as the program coordinator at Brandywine. “PCOM historically has welcomed non-traditional students, which makes it a terrific fit for our non-traditional, career changing students in the Postbacc program.”

PCOM President Matthew Schure reiterated Dudkin’s sentiments. "Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine is very pleased to sign this affiliation agreement with Penn State Brandywine,” he said.

The Postbacc program is an intensive one-year accelerated curriculum that prepares career changers for graduate work in the health professions. It consists of four quarters of coursework in biology, chemistry, organic chemistry and physics. Delivered in a blended format combining weekday online courses with weekend laboratory sessions, the program is structured to accommodate the needs of working professionals.

The next information session will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 15 from 7 to 8 p.m. at Penn State Brandywine. Prospective students can attend in person or participate online via the live webcast. For more information, visit http://brandywine.psu.edu/CE/program.htm or call the Penn State Brandywine Office of Continuing Education at 610-892-1300.

“Fresh Artists focuses on more than providing paint, markers and paper,” said Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin, who, as head of the campus’ Laboratory for Civic Engagement, is managing the project. “Kids become artist-philanthropists, with digitized and enlarged versions of their artwork displayed at corporate offices, and the corporations give financial donations back to purchase the art supplies.”

This initiative is the second annual Community Service Kick-off, which was developed last year to allow new Brandywine students to participate in a service activity during their first official welcome day on campus, known as Convocation.

“We want new and returning students to know that Penn State Brandywine is committed to its land-grant mission of serving the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and around the globe,” a flier for the program reads. “Our goal is to show Fresh Artists that we have Penn State pride in our volunteering activities now and throughout the year.”

Donations will be collected throughout the summer in the Tomezsko Classroom Building Lounge, on Convocation Day and during the first week of classes. To make a financial donation, which will be used to purchase the art supplies, please contact Connie Stankowski at 610-892-1249 or stop by Suite 111 in the Main Building.

The Laboratory for Civic Engagement summer communications intern, Brandywine senior Labanya Mookerjee, will be tweeting regularly about art in public schools, Fresh Artists and more. She will tweet every Friday using the account @PSUBW_ENGAGE and the hashtag #FreshArtistsFriday.

As part of last year’s Kick-off initiative, the campus collected more than 100 boxes of breakfast cereal for Philabundance, the region’s largest food bank.

Please visit the Laboratory for Civic Engagement blog for a TED talk about Fresh Artists. “You will be inspired,” Guertin said. Visit http://www.freshartists.org/ to learn more about Fresh Artists.

The Community Service Kick-off is sponsored by the Laboratory for Civic Engagement, the Office of Student Affairs and the student club We Are Penn State M.A.D.E. (Making A Difference Everyday).

“By joining our team, you can help end this epidemic and show your support for the more than 5 million Americans living with the disease,” the team said collectively.

The Alzheimer's Association is the world’s largest voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research, and the funds raised will go directly toward supporting their efforts. Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States today.

Contact Matt Boyle at 610-892-1374 or mjb76@psu.edu for more information or visit the event's website to register to join the Brandywine team. 

Penn State Brandywine has a lot to celebrate, as several of its outstanding community members--junior Bobbi Caprice, retired Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Dan Doran and Tennis Coach Lloyd Vernon--were honored with prestigious awards by the Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) at its annual Awards Luncheon May 21.

The campus’ athletics program, as well, was recognized.

Caprice, a member of the women’s volleyball and basketball teams at the campus, received the 2011-2012 John S. Egli Award, which is presented annually to outstanding male and female scholar athletes in the PSUAC.

Bobbi Caprice, right, with Dereck Burdick (PS Dubois Senior and Men’s Egli winner)

Caprice is an academic and athletic standout. She has been involved on campus in a variety of positions ranging from fitness center employee, vice president of the Student Government Association to being a member of the Executive Board of the Lion Ambassadors. She is the "go-to girl" on campus when help is required.

Caprice has been a three-year starter and two-year captain on the women's basketball team, a spirited member of the volleyball team and a cross-country runner during a season when the team needed members to fill its squad. She was an Academic All-Conference athlete for her first three years on campus and was recognized this year by the United State Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) for National All-Academic Team honors.

From the campus she has also received a number of awards, including the Campus Service Award, the Michael Menichini Scholarship and an Academic Recognition Award. Caprice is the second female athlete at Brandywine in a row to receive the Egli Award.

Brandywine Athletic Director Jim Gastner had high praise for Caprice. "Bobbi is one of the finest young women I have had the pleasure to get to know and work with at Penn State Brandywine,” he said. “Brandywine Athletics is so proud to have her call Brandywine home and cannot wait to see what incredible things are to come!"

After 40 years of service to Penn State Brandywine, Doran has been recognized with the Robert J. Scannell Roll of Honor, presented annually to an administrator, faculty or staff member or coach who has served the PSUAC or campus athletic, intramural and recreation programs with distinction.

The Robert J. Scannell Roll of Honor is the highest award given by the PSUAC. Doran began his career at Brandywine teaching multiple courses that ranged from volleyball and swimming to judo, camping and bowling. He served as head coach for intercollegiate soccer, women's basketball, women's volleyball and swimming early in his career before becoming athletic director in 1974. He also served as intramural coordinator, athletic rep, college rep, University faculty senator and as a chair on the faculty senate.

"Dan has been an incredible asset to the campus and a mentor to countless students, athletes, faculty and staff during his career at Brandywine,” Gastner said. “Dan is an outstanding representative of Penn State Brandywine and truly shows what it means to be Penn State Proud! We congratulate him on this honor and thank him for all he has done.”

Brandywine Tennis Coach Lloyd Vernon was honored as Tennis Coach of the Year.
Vernon’s team was undefeated in the regular season and won the PSUAC Championships held in October at University Park. This was déjà vu for Vernon, who won the championship as a student athlete in the late 1970’s.

Lloyd Vernon and Brooke Jacobs (PSUAC sports information director)

Penn State Brandywine received one final award to acknowledge the success of its entire athletic program. The Chancellor’s Cup recognizes the campus that has the greatest number of successful teams as measured by final league standings, playoff appearances and championships. Brandywine finished second this year and received a plaque to commemorate the accomplishment.

The unthinkable happened in 2006 when Kathy and Pat Meehan’s son, Shawn, died at the age of 24 after a yearlong battle with leukemia.

Shattered by their loss, they were embraced by family and friends, including Kathy Meehan’s colleagues at Penn State Brandywine, where she is senior instructor in human development and family studies (HDFS). “The campus community came together for us in an amazing way,” she remembered.

Shawn, a network engineer, had a lifelong fascination with technology, rocketry and astronomy. In 2003, he took what would be the trip of his lifetime: six weeks “to visit every air and space museum he could find across the country,” Meehan recalled.

Now, six years later, the Meehan family has bid another farewell to Shawn. On Tuesday, May 22, his ashes, which were enclosed in the Dragon capsule along with the remains of 307 other civilians, hitched a ride on the Falcon 9 rocket on its way from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. to the International Space Station.

The remains of James Doohan, who played Scotty on the 1960s television series “Star Trek,” as well as Mercury program astronaut Gordon Cooper, were also on the flight, according to ABC News and Reuters.

Under an agreement between the spacecraft’s builder and Celestis, a company that, according to its website, books memorial spaceflights to “launch a symbolic portion of your loved one’s cremated remains into … space,” the ashes were contained in the rocket’s second stage, which separates from the capsule just minutes into flight.

When Meehan first learned of this unique opportunity, she had an “aha” moment.  “Shawn would think this is absolutely awesome,” she said. It was a five-year wait until the Celestis Earth orbit flight was launched.

The Falcon 9 rocket craft, privately owned by the company Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, was previously scheduled to launch May 19 at 4:55 a.m. The families of the “participants” were invited to attend. Two hundred families from around the world, including the Meehans, gathered in Cape Canaveral to watch. However, the launch was aborted when an engine nitrogen valve problem was detected.

Pat and Kathy Meehan

This was quickly repaired and the launch was rescheduled for 3:44 a.m. on Tuesday, May 22, and this time it went off without a hitch. The Meehans, who had already left Florida for a conference in Los Angeles, watched the launch on NASA television just 20 minutes from SpaceX Mission Control in Hawthorne, Calif.

SpaceX, the brainchild of PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, is the first commercial company and non-governmental rocket to attempt to land at the International Space Station. Until the successful launch on May 22, only three countries—the United States, Russia and China—had sent a capsule into space.

“It’s been fun to follow a tiny start-up company that builds rockets,” Meehan said. “This launch is historic and opens up a whole new world of space travel.”

The capsule, carrying supplies for the crew of the Space Station as well as experiments designed by students, is expected to dock with the space station on Friday, May 25. It will remain connected to the station for approximately 10 days, giving astronauts time to unload the supplies and replace them with scientific equipment for the return to Earth.

The second stage, in which Shawn’s ashes remain, is expected to stay in orbit for about a year before falling back toward Earth and burning up on re-entry.

Meehan is comforted by the notion of Shawn traveling through space. “And when he comes down,” she said, “he’ll be a shooting star.”

Pat Meehan added, “We are pleased the sky is no longer the limit for Shawn.”
 

To make comments at any of five hearings across the state, members of the public must sign up for a hearing online in advance, or email comments to the Commission. 

The Network hopes that strong Penn State voices will be heard during this public comment process and suggests volunteers emphasize that:

• an education at a research university like Penn State often has practical applications that benefit not only students but also the Commonwealth at large.
• direct state support helps make a Penn State education affordable, especially in science and technology majors.
• Penn State’s 19 undergraduate campuses across the state help make a Penn State education accessible to location-bound and working students.  

According to its website, the Commission’s purpose is to “make recommendations related to the establishment and maintenance of a robust and responsive postsecondary education system in the Commonwealth for the twenty-first century to serve the students and citizens of the Commonwealth.”

Specifically, the Commission seeks comments from various constituencies on workforce needs, accessibility, affordability, collaboration and governance issues.

A hearing in Philadelphia will be held on Friday, June 1, from 2-4:30 p.m. at Global Philadelphia Association/Reed Smith LLC, 2500 One Liberty Place.

Other hearings will be held on May 17 in Harrisburg; June 14 in Pittsburgh and West Middlesex; and June 28 in Wilkes-Barre.

Not many people can say they spoke with the President of the United States, but three Brandywine students had the ear of President Barack Obama by telephone in no less than the office of Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs hosted a call with President Obama on Monday, May 7, to discuss the fight to keep federally subsidized student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1.

Sixteen local college students, including Penn State Brandywine freshmen Samantha Golay, of Sharon Hill; Christopher Kramer, of Media; and Tara Landis, of Malvern, were present in the Mayor’s office for the call. Only two of those 16 students actually spoke with the President, and Kramer was one of them.
 
A story about the call is posted on the White House blog: http://1.usa.gov/Jg8JsJ.

Golay is the 2012-2013 president of the Lion Ambassador organization, a group of students on campus that provides campus tours and assists in the recruitment of future Penn State students. Ambassadors inspire visiting high school students to attend Penn State University and serve as their first examples of academic excellence. She is a business major.

Kramer represented Penn State Brandywine’s Student Government Association, and is a member of THON (the largest student-run philanthropic organization in the world) and a Lion Ambassador. He is interested in pursuing either business or political science.

Landis is also a member of THON, as well as a Lion Ambassador. She is a psychology major.

The President was joined on the call by Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, who took questions from participants. Mayor Nutter tweeted about the event, and Kramer addressed the press afterwards.

Two weeks, nearly 300 miles, two women, and nothing but their own two feet. That’s right. Penn State Brandywine’s very own Chancellor Sophia Wisniewska will celebrate her love of Pennsylvania and the importance of a healthy lifestyle by walking from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia beginning on Sunday, May 6.

“This is a self improvement project,” Chancellor Wisniewska said of her 300-mile trek with her friend, Marie Thibault. “This is about our love of walking and our love of Pennsylvania. We are curious about the small towns and want to meet the people who live there.”

Their journey will begin at Seton Hill University in Pittsburgh, continue through the rural areas along Route 30, and will end on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum on Monday, May 21. “We’re going to run up the steps like Rocky with the whole city of Philadelphia cheering us on!” Chancellor Wisniewska said, laughing. “And then we’ll find a restaurant and enjoy a nice meal.”

The most exciting part of the journey will be the people they meet along the way. Chancellor Wisniewska said she hopes people from colleges and universities, as well as alumni, and area residents, will meet and walk with them as they pass through towns and cities on their route. Their families and friends will join them on the last day of their walk.

A pace car driver, Mike Amato, will ride along side them for the duration, carrying lunch, Gatorade, and other essentials. They will walk during the daylight only, approximately 20 miles per day, and have been welcomed to sleep at the homes of colleagues and friends along their journey.

Chancellor Wisniewska has connected with Shippensburg University President William Ruud, Penn State Mont Alto Chancellor David Gnage, former Penn State York Chancellor Don Gogniat, and Gettysburg College President Janet Riggs. Several of them have opened their homes or connected them with local friends, while a few plan to put their walking shoes to work as they join the women on their journey.

To keep up with Chancellor Wisniewska’s progress, follow her on twitter (@ChancellorSoph), follow the campus’ Twitter account (@PSUBrandywine) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pennstatebrandywine), or periodically visit The Brandywine Blog at (www.pride.bw.psu.edu/blog). Visit http://goo.gl/gndJZ to follow her progress and tweets on Google Maps.

And most importantly, if you see these two ladies and their pace car along the road, offer them encouragement, walk along side them, or even take a photo and send it to Risa Pitman at RLP29@psu.edu for the campus to share on social media.

They will walk along Route 30 East through the following towns:
Should this schedule change, we will notify you through social media.

May 6: Begin at Seton Hill University, through Pittsburgh
May 7: Ligonier
May 8: Stoystown
May 9: Schellsburg
May 10: Everett
May 11: Harrisonville
May 12: Chancellor Wisniewska will return home via car for Middletown Township Community Day at the Brandywine campus. She will be driven back and will pick up where she left off tomorrow.
May 13: McConnellsburg
May 14: Chambersburg
May 15: Gettysburg
May 16: Thomasville
May 17: Hallam (PA-462 East)
May 18: Lancaster (PA-462 East)
May 19: Parkesburg (PA-372 East, PA-82 North)
May 20: Downingtown (U.S. 30 BUS, U.S. 309 East)
May 21: Paoli, Valley Forge, and into Philadelphia (PA-352, PA-252, U.S. 30 East)

Through its partnership with the nonprofit organization, Traveling Mercies, and the Living Hope Mission, Penn State Brandywine students have begun their second project to help students in Haiti receive an education after the 2010 earthquake that destroyed their village. Traveling Mercies, led by alumnus Aldo Magazzeni ’72, will provide a new water system, while the students raise money for school supplies.

In 2011, students in Associate Professor of English Myra Goldschmidt’s civic engagement class set out to raise enough money to fill 50 backpacks with school supplies for students at an elementary school outside Port-au-Prince. At $6 per bag, they needed only $300. Through the outstanding generosity of the community, they raised nearly $4,000. The extra money was given to Traveling Mercies to help build wells at two schools so the children could have clean drinking water.

Goldschmidt’s class is at it again. This time, the elementary school is located in a rural community called La Lomas, situated in the Central Plateau of Haiti, near the town of St. Michel de I’Atalaye.

“This area is remote and the majority of the population lives on whatever crops they can grow with primitive implements in this arid region,” Living Hope Mission Directors Wilbert and Meg Merzilus said via email. “The majority of children do not have access to primary education. In addition, potable water is hard to find, and most people drink from contaminated sources. This is why Living Hope Mission, in partnership with the local church and funding from various donors, including Traveling Mercies, has targeted this area with a school of six classrooms accommodating 330 children, as well as a deep water well providing drinking water for the children and adults in the area.”

Magazzeni added, “The people relocated there [after the earthquake] and they need a school, a water system and school furnishings and supplies.”

Magazzeni said he will donate the water system and the interior furnishings for the school, such as teacher and student desks, while the Brandywine students will fill Penn State backpacks with pencils and other necessary school supplies. Once the fundraiser is complete, Magazzeni will deliver all the supplies to the school children, just as he did last time. All extra donations will be used for textbooks, desks and other supplies for the school or to help with the water system.

To donate to this student-led project, please send a check made out to “Penn State University” to Penn State Brandywine, ATTN: Maria Zuccato, C/O Aldo Magazzeni, 25 Yearsley Mill Road, Media, PA 19063; or stop by and see Gail Wray in the Office of Academic Affairs, located on the second floor of the Main Building, suite 212.

Penn State Brandywine hosted its annual Leadership Recognition Night on April 18 to acknowledge individual students, groups and events for their efforts on behalf of the campus and student body. The event also ushered in the new Student Government Association officers for the 2012-2013 academic year. 

The incoming SGA, known as The Pride Party, includes President Pawel Zwierzchowski, senior; Vice President Amelia Klaus, senior; Secretary Amanda Dzwill, junior; Treasurer Matthew McAndrew, senior and Head of Senate Lauren Coppola, junior.

Senior Heather Heacock received the Eric A. Josephine S. Walker Award. Given to full-time undergraduate students from each campus, the award recognizes a student whose outstanding qualities of character, scholarship, leadership and citizenship have been directed into programs and services that have positively influenced fellow students.

The Lion’s Eye newspaper received the Student Club/Organization of the Year award, recognizing a student club or organization that has shown exceptional involvement throughout the year and has contributed to the quality of student life and promoted campus involvement.

The student volunteer and service group Penn State M.A.D.E. (Making A Difference Everyday) won the Outstanding Program or Event of the Year award for enhancing the quality of student life by promoting campus community and Penn State pride while demonstrating creativity, uniqueness and inclusion.

Senior Steve Iatesta, outgoing SGA president, was bestowed the Deborah J. Erie Student Leader Award, which is named for the campus director of enrollment management and recognizes a student leader who displays commitment and dedication to multiple organizations while maintaining solid academic standards.

Senior Dave Serpentine was honored with the Outstanding Lion Service Award for demonstrating commitment and dedication while acting as the Nittany Lion mascot.

Junior Stacey Cassidy received the Outstanding Adult Student Award, which recognizes an outstanding adult student, 24 years of age or older, who serves as a role model for other adult students by sensitizing the campus to the needs of adult students and by establishing herself as a leader in her peer group.

Senior Aimee Ralph won the Outstanding Student Service to Campus and Community Award recognizing a student who has given outstanding service to the campus and community through volunteering their time by assisting and impacting the lives of others.

Sophomore Carol Cloud received the Diane D. Shorter Outstanding Community Service Award, named for the campus’ student affairs specialist and given to a student who contributes to the spirit of service through raising awareness of and enlisting campus involvement toward supporting a cause.

The Student Affairs Excellence Award was shared by Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin and the Random IMPROV Club.

Senior Vick Arslanian immigrated from Achrafieh in Beirut, Lebanon to the United States in the summer of 2002. Having learned to read and write English at an early age, one would think the move was fairly easy. It wasn’t. Arslanian remembers how difficult it was to adjust to his new life.

“When I first started school here I had to adjust to the way of life and learn a whole new set of rules to engage with classmates. I met people from different dialects and backgrounds who shared minimal to no common interests with me.”

Arslanian persevered. He not only adjusted to life in the States (West Chester, Pa. to be exact), he flourished. Arslanian is set to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business at Penn State Brandywine on May 5. Even better, he already has a job lined up for post-graduation. “I have a position with the DuPont Company, and I will be working in the DuPont Integrated Business Management (DIBM) department,” he said. “It is a three-year program, where candidates learn about all the aspects of the business.”

Arslanian knows how lucky he is to have a job waiting for him as a new graduate and is looking forward to the challenges his new position will present. “The position in the DIBM department will require me to conduct internal business analysis of DuPont’s 13 businesses and external analysis of its customers,” he said, adding that he hopes he will be able to pinpoint weaknesses within the businesses and suggest new alternatives to explore to help the company grow.

As a business major with a focus on marketing, Arslanian maintained a high grade-point average throughout his time at Brandywine. He also has managed to work a full-time job without neglecting his studies. His hard work certainly paid off.

Arslanian also credits his current job at Citizen’s Bank with preparing him for the future. “Without this job I never would have gained the sales and finance experience that I have today, and without it, I may not have been able to secure my present position with the DuPont Company.” But it wasn’t without hardship.

“One of the biggest obstacles to overcome was finding a way to delegate enough time for school while working 40 to 45 hours per week,” he explained. Arslanian will be proof that hard work perseveres when he walks the stage to receive his diploma.

“I chose Penn State Brandywine because of its small campus and location. It was very important for me to stay close to my family so I could help out when I needed to,” he said. “I also loved the idea of smaller classes. It reminded me a lot of my elementary school years in Lebanon. This would allow me to know each student by name and have a good relationship with the professor instead of a teacher’s assistant.”

Since Arslanian has thrived in his roles as immigrant, student and employee, there is nothing to suggest that he will do anything but excel in the business world. Speaking multiple languages fluently will also help Arslanian get ahead. “In Lebanon, I was taught at a very young age how to speak, read and write Armenian, Arabic and English,” he said. “As a student of business, I know how important it is to be multi-lingual because it opens doors to a lot more opportunities.”

The Penn State Brandywine chapter of Phi Beta Lambda (PBL), a business society, sent five students to the Pennsylvania Phi Beta Lambda’s State Leadership Conference (SLC) in Gettysburg earlier this month. The students competed in four events, with several bringing home top awards.

Freshman Steven Hargis placed first in the state in the “retail management” category while freshman Steven Nguyen placed third for word processing and also competed in “macroeconomics.” Sophomores Janina Horakova and Nga Lam, as well as freshman Theressa Ha created a presentation about recent college graduates looking for corporate jobs and helpful tips for how to get hired for the “emerging business issues” category.
 
Hargis, chapter vice president, said the conference “gave me an opportunity to expand my network and meet a lot of new faces, while also testing my grasp of information and concepts that I will likely be using in my future work experiences. The conference provided a fun way to grow as an individual and as a leader, and I am excited to attend the National Leadership Conference in San Antonio, Texas this summer."

(Top row, left to right) - David Vesley '11 Bus, freshman Steven Hargis, freshman Theressa Ha, Richard Cook '11 Bus, sophomore Nga Lam, Assistant Professor of Finance Don Taylor, and (bottom row, left to right): freshman Steven Nguyen, and sophomore Janina Horakova

Accompanied by the chapter adviser, Assistant Professor of Finance Don Taylor, the members attended workshops and general sessions on business-related topics. In addition, two Brandywine alums, Richard Cook ’11 Bus and David Vesely ’11 Bus, both PBL Professional members, attended the conference. Vesely, Cook and Taylor assisted in judging for the competitive events.

Lam, chapter treasurer, added, "The trip to Gettysburg was amazing. I learned a lot from the workshops and being able to be a part of PBL really makes my college experience more worthwhile.”

“All in all, this was a great experience for Penn State Brandywine students,” the team said. “We enjoyed every day of the conference and feel very lucky that we had this opportunity. We especially are grateful for our adviser, Dr. Don Taylor, for making this experience possible in the first place.”

In the fall of 1967, Penn State Brandywine, then known as the Penn State Delaware Campus, opened its doors in Chester underneath a roller skating rink. John D. Vairo, professor of journalism at Penn State, was charged with building this new campus from the ground up, literally. A man remembered for his vision, leadership and wisdom, Vairo paved the way for a prosperous future.

As Penn State Brandywine officially celebrates its forty-fifth year at Middletown Township Community Day on Saturday, May 12, the campus is not just looking forward to the future, but honoring its humble roots and legendary founder, who passed away in January.

Now located on Yearsley Mill Road and Route 352 in Middletown Township on more than 90 beautiful acres, this campus was once a converted fish market with no doorknobs in Chester. After the big move in 1970, the campus continued to grow—first came the Main Building, then the Library, later named the John D. Vairo Library, followed by the Commons Building and, finally, the Tomezsko Classroom Building, named for Vairo’s successor, Edward Tomezsko.

Penn State Brandywine, now led by Chancellor Sophia Wisniewska, has for many years offered four-year degrees, championship-winning intercollegiate sports, honors programs, civic engagement and undergraduate research opportunities, study abroad programs and a variety of clubs and organizations. The award-winning faculty, dedicated students and hard-working staff together uphold Vairo’s vision. Even after much growth and change over forty-five years, Brandywine remained a source of pride for its founder.

The campus recently added to its portfolio degree programs in general engineering, psychology and philosophy, as well as an Accelerated Postbaccalaureate Medical Sciences Certificate and a 20-month Bachelor of Science in Business program for working adults. With the establishment of the Laboratory for Civic Engagement and the Brandywine Child Development Lab, the campus continues to flourish and remains a vital member of the Middletown Township community.

A number of groups on campus are scheduled to host fun activities for all ages during Community Day. Students and alums from the Education Club and Brandywine Child Development Lab will play games and offer face painting, and have invited a guitarist to play music for the youngsters. The campus’ student volunteer group, Penn State M.A.D.E. (Making A Difference Everyday), will help the non-profit organization Cradles to Crayons with a number of activities throughout the day, and a group of students on a mission to make the campus a Fair Trade University, known as the Fair Trade Trailblazers, will be on hand throughout the day as well.

The campus will distribute copies of its annual magazine, Brandywine Pride, which was dedicated to John Vairo. There will even be a cake in honor of Penn State Brandywine’s forty-fifth birthday.
The campus community is excited about its future. To learn about the campus’ Master Plan, please visit http://www.opp.psu.edu/planning-construction/master-plans/penn-state-brandywine.

Penn State Brandywine’s chapter of SPSEA traveled to University Park to attend the “Cultivating Knowledge with a Seed of Passion” conference. At the conference, students attend professional development workshops and business sessions, and have the opportunity to network with veteran teachers and future colleagues.

Several elementary education majors from Brandywine participated in the state Learning Center competition. Senior Stephanie Beckett won first place in the Individual Entry portion of the competition for her submission “Wild World of Weather.” 

In addition, club co-president Amanda Davidson, a junior, and senior Nasima Tukhi both placed second in the Individual Entry competition.

Under the category of Chapter Entry, juniors Stephanie Byer (co-president), Kate Hyde (co-secretary) and Jessica Kohler (co-treasurer) won second place for their entry “Third Graders are as Crazy as a Zoo.”

-by Jennifer Santangelo

Cara Colantuono, a 2007 graduate of Penn State Brandywine, has transformed her passion for service into a non-profit organization aimed at helping veterans. Colantuono, of South Philadelphia, is the chairman and founder of Support Homeless Veterans (SHV). Created in 2011, SHV seeks to create permanent housing for chronically homeless veterans.

Colantuono grew up listening to both of her grandfathers tell war stories. One grandparent was in the Marine Corps; the other, the U.S. Army. “I always found their stories of Korea and World War II fascinating and I am sure that they influenced my passion for caring for military veterans,” she said.

After graduating from high school, Colantuono entered the Human Development and Family Services (HDFS) program at Penn State Brandywine. “My education at Penn State led me to my first internship counseling homeless women and children,” she said. When she discovered her passion for helping those in need, Colantuono decided to pursue a master’s degree in social work (MSW) at Temple University. In 2009, she was offered an internship with the Salvation Army Reed House, where sheworked in a housing program for homeless men and women. “Here I fell in love with working with people with severe co-occurring disorders and trauma.”

A short time later, Colantuono was hired by Impact Services Veteran Department as a clinical intensive case manager. Now she is the senior case manager. Through her work, Colantuono noticed a need other organizations were not addressing: permanent supported housing for veterans with a family oriented and trauma-informed setting. “The idea to come up with SHV came from conversations I was having with chronically homeless veterans whom I was counseling at Impact. I could see that they were keeping each other safe and sober through their camaraderie and love,” she explained. “If only they had a place of their own that would help deinstitutionalize these men and give them a chance to experience quality of life and family in a safe and desirable atmosphere.”

Veterans are referred to SHV by other transitional housing organizations. Colantuono noted that the need for veteran housing will only increase in the future. “We expect the number of veterans in need to rise as the U.S. military in Iraq is discharged and as we await the end of the Afghan war," she said. "Since we are still dealing with an amazing number of Vietnam veterans (67,000 homeless veterans reported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for 2011), we can only imagine the increase.”

Colantuono said people can help veterans by supporting the hygiene product drive being held now at Penn State Brandywine. SHV also has a Facebook page that contains information about what others can do. “Showing our support in any way helps, and just a simple thanks and smile can really go a long way,” she said.
 
For more information, please visit http://www.supporthomelessveterans.org. 
 
Penn State Brandywine is a sponsor of the Delaware County, Pennsylvania Welcome Home Parade taking place in Media on April 28, at 3 p.m. For more information, or to join the campus at this event, please contact Risa Pitman at 610-892-1255.

--by Jennifer Santangelo

Have you heard of six-word essays, also known as flash fiction? It is a unique way of writing that focuses on using only six words to share a meaningful story or idea. The idea of very short stories is thriving as people share their stories via social networks. A six-word essay on Planet Earth is a great way to celebrate the environment as we celebrate Earth Day!

In conjunction with the Laboratory for Civic Engagement, the Environmental Inquiry program at Penn State Brandywine is asking all students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends from all Penn State campuses and beyond Penn State to submit a thoughtful/creative/inspiring string of six words about the Earth!  All submissions will be posted in the Penn State Brandywine Environmental Inquiry Twitter account http://twitter.com/psubw_envi and placed in Storify for an archive of our six words for 2012.

Please submit your six words on Twitter with the hashtag #psubw6words or through our online form, and we will post your six words for you! Although the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day is Sunday, April 22, Penn State will be hosting a University-wide celebration of Earth Day on Friday, April 20. Please submit your six words by April 20 to be included in our collection.

Feel free to also submit your six words to SMITH Magazine's Six Words for the Planet (http://www.smithmag.net/planet/).  

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch with us at: environmentalinquiry@bw.psu.edu.

--Laura Guertin

Unable to attend the event? Watch it LIVE from your computer. Click here to find out more.

Penn State Brandywine will welcome Wawa, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Howard B. Stoeckel as keynote speaker for its spring commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 5, at 10 a.m. in the Commons Building Gymnasium.

Stoeckel has served as vice chairman of the Board of Directors of Wawa, Inc. since January 2005 and has held many executive positions within various companies. Stoeckel’s business acumen coupled with his people skills make him a great inspiration for those about to embark on their own career paths.

Stoeckel has been with Wawa since 1987. He has held the positions of executive vice president and chief retail officer, senior vice president of marketing and vice president of human resources.

Prior to Wawa, Howard served as vice president of human resources for Mast Industries, a division of the Limited, Inc. Earlier in his career, he held various human resource positions with the Washington Gas Company in Washington, D.C and John Wanamaker Department Stores in Philadelphia

Stoeckel graduated from Rider College (now Rider University) with a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration in 1967. He is married with two daughters, a stepson and four grandchildren.

Stoeckel is on the Board of Directors at Amerigas Propane, Inc., and chairman of the Board of Trustees at Rider University. He is also a frequent guest speaker at conferences on the topics of retail management, branding, human resources and employee motivation.

Penn State Brandywine will host its annual Exhibition of Undergraduate Research Enterprise and Creative Accomplishment (EURECA) on Tuesday, April 17 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Tomezsko Classroom Building Lounge. At the event, students will present their undergraduate work to their peers and the Penn State community, as well as the public.

The objective of EURECA is two-fold. It provides a venue on campus where students who produce outstanding work can be recognized, and it is an opportunity for students to present their findings after many months of research, trial and error and discovery. Most students display their work on posters as faculty, other students, staff and outside guests circulate and ask questions.

The campus is celebrating the tenth anniversary of this event and will, for the first time, judge the presentations and declare winners. There will be judging in three primary areas and prizes will be awarded to the top projects. Special recognition will also be given to the top projects related to civic and community engagement.

The students are prepared to be questioned by attendees about their objectives, methods, overall conclusions and the relevance of their projects. This provides them with a unique opportunity to engage in scholarly discussions about their work, and will encourage their ongoing participation. The different categories of submissions include research in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), arts and humanities and social sciences; enterprise; and creative accomplishment, which includes literature, art and performance.

In addition to the poster presentations there will be oral presentations, short readings, artistic displays and performances.

For more information about the event please contact Assistant Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences Thomas Yannuzzi, EURECA chairman, at tjy11@psu.edu, or visit http://www.brandywine.psu.edu/Academics/eureca_abstract.htm.

Penn State Brandywine honored students, faculty and staff for their achievements and excellence in academia at the annual Academic Recognition Ceremony on Thursday, March 22.

Friends, family and the campus community gathered together in support of the nearly 200 honorees presented with the Academic Achievement Award, which honors students who have achieved a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

In addition, the Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society inducted senior Rebecca Marie Brophy. The Sigma Tau English Honor Society confers distinction upon students of the English language and literature in undergraduate, graduate and professional studies.

Three students were presented with the President Sparks Award. Sophomore Samuel Barrett, junior Eileen Fresta and sophomore Nicholas Vico received the award for earning a 4.00 (A) cumulative GPA based on 36 Penn State credits completed by the end of the fall semester.

Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology and Integrative Arts Paul Greene was presented with the Madlyn Hanes Faculty Award, which recognizes a full-time faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to the campus community through exceptional achievement in teaching, research, scholarship, creative activity or service.

The Undergraduate Faculty and Student Research Awards were presented to sophomore Sarah DeMartino, senior Annabella Gallagher and Professor and Program Director of Human Development and Family Studies Cynthia Lightfoot. This award recognizes the excellence in faculty mentoring and student involvement in undergraduate research. 

Distinguished Professor of English Adam Sorkin was presented with the Faculty Research Program Award, honoring and recognizing scholarly or creative excellence in the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, business or communication.

This year’s George W. Franz Advising and Mentoring award was awarded to Director of Advising and Career Services Robin Stokes. This award was created to honor and recognize faculty or staff at Penn State Brandywine who have, over a period of time, excelled in helping others recognize and achieve their potential.

Robin Stokes

The President’s Freshman Award was presented to Cody Bressler, Nicholas Crawford, Theressa Ha and Steven Hargis. This award is presented annually to freshmen who have earned a 4.00 cumulative GPA based on at least 12 graded credits completed by the end of the fall semester.

The Randall S. Stout Award was established in memory of Randall S. Stout, professor of economics at Penn State for 36 years. The award honors a senior who has demonstrated superior academic performance and outstanding participation in the bachelor of science in business program at the campus. This year’s recipient was senior Vicken Arslanian.

The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes those who demonstrate commitment and inspire others to engage in volunteer service. Junior Eileen Fresta received the silver level award for volunteering between 250 to 499 hours, and senior Jennifer Santangelo received the bronze level for completing 100 to 249 hours of volunteer service. Santangelo also won the bronze in 2011 and the silver in 2010.

The Newman Civic Fellows Award was bestowed upon junior Zanya Stephenson. This award honors inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country; Newman Civic Fellows are recommended by college and university presidents.

Zanya Stephenson

The Teaching Award For Part-Time Faculty this year was presented to Instructors Patricia O’Brien and Chris Neeb.

Distinguished Professor of Political Science Stephen Cimbala was honored with the Distinguished Teacher Award. “Stephen Cimbala’s innovative techniques and learning initiatives intrigue students to focus on the subject at hand and become enthused in history, politics and international relations,” said Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Jennifer Zosh, who, as last year's winner, had the honor of presenting Cimbala with the award.

"When she said 'Steve Cimbala,' I looked up and asked, 'what?'" Cimbala said of Zosh announcing his win. "It's always a surprise as we have so many great teachers here. For every person who gets this award there are many tens of equally deserving people in a year. That's what makes it so special." Cimbala was not only surprised by the honor, he was humbled. "What can I say? I'm in my thirty-ninth year with the campus and I've never won a teaching award from the campus. When you wait 39 years for something, it certainly is a special pleasure and a big emotional moment. I am standing on the shoulders of my mother, who was a teacher, my wife who has been the wind beneath my wings for a lifetime, and my kids who have dragged me into the modern world, sometimes kicking and screaming." Cimbala also credited his colleagues and the students for "inspiring me to do my best."

Distinguished Professor of Political Science Stephen Cimbala with last year's recipient Jennifer Zosh, assistant professor of human development and family studies

The Distinguished Teacher Award honors a full-time faculty member who provides distinguished teaching while providing encouragement and incentive for teaching excellence and contributions to the Penn State Brandywine campus community.

To view or order photos from the event, go to http://www.digiproofs.com/ecom/g.pl?a=73xtkz4ztufyvncl&p= 32212

Penn State Brandywine junior Zanya Stephenson, of Darby, was named a 2012 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a coalition of college and university presidents committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education. Stephenson, a Cooper Honors scholar at the Brandywine campus, is one of only 162 college student leaders in the 2012 class of Newman Civic Fellows.

These students are demonstrating a personal commitment to creating lasting change for the better in their communities. Through service, community-based research and advocacy, the 2012 Newman Civic Fellows are making the most of their college experiences to better understand themselves and the root causes of some of the most pressing social issues that challenge us all. 

Stephenson, a resident of Darby, demonstrates the type of civic engagement that sets an example for others, shining a positive light in a time when negativity has dominated much national conversation. She has a history of taking action to improve the community. She was the first student to work with the campus' newly established Laboratory for Civic Engagement, where she manages a podcast and interviews students. Stephenson also captained a hunger relief benefit on campus. At an after school program in North Philadelphia, she has introduced regular volunteer activities for the participants. For class, she recently designed a new education model, based on practices from her homeland of Jamaica and from the United States, to strengthen student learning and assist students with preparation for twenty-first century careers.

As a Newman Civic Fellow, Stephenson joins a network of Fellows around the country. Together—sharing ideas and tools through online networking—the Fellows will leverage an even greater capacity for service and change, and will continue to set examples for their classmates and others. 

“These students represent the next generation of public problem solvers and civic leaders. They serve as national examples of the role that higher education can—and does—play in building a better world,” noted Campus Compact Board Chair James B. Dworkin, chancellor at Purdue University North Central.

Through service-learning courses and other opportunities for community engagement, colleges are developing students’ public problem-solving skills, such as the ability to analyze community needs, the willingness to participate in public processes and debate, the commitment to raise awareness about challenges and the ability to inspire others to become part of solutions.

“Dr. Frank Newman, a founder of Campus Compact, had a tremendous impact on American education and its role in the development of citizens who are eager and prepared to make a difference,” explained Campus Compact President Maureen Curley. “He dedicated his life to creating systemic change through education reform and this new group of Newman Civic Fellows would have inspired him. They are reflections and affirmations of his life’s work.”

For more information about the organization and the award, visit www.compact.org.

In honor of campus Founder and CEO John D. Vairo, who passed away in January, Penn State Brandywine will host a memorial for all those who wish to remember his life and legacy on Wednesday, April 11, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Tomezsko Classroom Building lounge.

Friends, former students and colleagues from both Penn State and the larger community will share memories of a man known for his vision, wisdom and kindness.

A reception will follow with light refreshments and hors d’oeuvres. For more information, please contact Risa Pitman at RLP29@psu.edu or 610-892-1255.

The course will go above and beyond a standard campus civic engagement offering and will be designed to challenge students to the highest levels, aligning with the Laboratory for Civic Engagement’s mission of citizenship, scholarship and leadership.

“It is my hope that students will gain an appreciation and satisfaction for giving back and enhancing the lives of those less fortunate,” David Rosenberg said. “In my situation, I have personally found that I gain a tremendous feeling of self-worth by giving back. My wife and I have made this lifestyle a priority in raising our family. If students have similar experiences, they too will change the lives of their families and suddenly these small ripples of change will alter the course of the world.” 

A fundamental function of these courses is faculty helping students develop the knowledge, skills, values and motivation to become more responsible citizens. A civic engagement course fosters student citizenship, leadership and social justice through rigorous academics, service learning, internships and community-based learning experiences.

Students in the Rosenberg Course are encouraged to “take a stand” on policy issues, relate their coursework to real-world issues, conduct research in the community and educate the Brandywine and greater community through guest speakers and events.

Senior Seminar in Environmental Studies (ENVST 400W), which focuses on the interdisciplinary subject of Fair Trade, was selected as the inaugural Rosenberg Civic Engagement Course.

“Money alone should not be an indicator of success,” Rosenberg added. “The youth today are 100 percent of our future, and the world today is too small not to be concerned about each other. If we can teach our youth to be more empathetic, creating a culture of caring for our fellow human beings, the world will be a far better place: a world of compassion, healing and understanding. I believe this has far-reaching consequences of changing lives and truly changing how we care for each other.”

Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin, the instructor for ENVST 400W, is thrilled that hers has been chosen as the first Rosenberg Course. “The students certainly have earned this recognition,” she said. ”This course demands that students step up as leaders in moving forward the effort to establish Penn State Brandywine as a Fair Trade University. Students have been in conversations with staff, faculty and alumni, and have hosted speakers from Fair Trade Towns Media and Fair Trade Towns USA. The students have developed mission and vision statements for Fair Trade on campus, and they will be hosting two Fair Trade events later this semester.”

Guertin encourages everyone to come out for the Fair Trade t-shirt exchange and a seminar by Divine Chocolate, the only Fair Trade chocolate company, which is 45 percent owned by farmers. The seminar, along with free samples of Fair Trade chocolate, will take place Monday, April 16, at 12:30 p.m. in the Tomezsko Classroom Building, room 103.

“The students refer to themselves as the Fair Trade Trailblazers, and I couldn’t agree more,” she added. “Not only are they challenging themselves as leaders and engaged citizens, but by being recognized as members of the first Rosenberg Course, they are setting the bar for future student learning and civic engagement on campus and in the local-to-global community.”

For more information, please contact Laura Guertin at UXG3@psu.edu or 610-892-1427. Visit http://tinyurl.com/fairtradepsubw for Fair Trade information or http://engage.bw.psu.edu/ for more on civic and community engagement at Brandywine.

The divide between college graduates and non-graduates is expected to widen even further in terms of eligibility for jobs in business and industry, according to the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

By the year 2014, 14 million new job openings will require an undergraduate degree. The Occupational Employment Statistics Survey indicates that jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree will grow about 17 percent, and jobs requiring a master’s degree are projected to increase by 18 percent. In Pennsylvania alone, it is projected that by 2018, 1.2 million jobs, or 57 percent, will require a bachelor’s degree.

 View the Information Session Presentation 

In response to this trend, Penn State Brandywine and Penn State Great Valley have joined forces to offer a new Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Business degree completion program. The goal of this program is to provide a unique opportunity for working professionals to complete their undergraduate degree in as little as 20 months, and then have the opportunity to progress directly into the Penn State MBA program.

Designed for individuals who have completed previous college coursework, the program offers a flexible and convenient Saturday schedule. The program will run in a cohort format, in which students go through all the courses with the same group from start to finish. Each course is seven weeks long and involves a combination of classroom and online learning. This format allows for the creation of a professional learning community with a high degree of personal interaction among faculty and students.

By providing a direct link from the Penn State undergraduate degree in business to the Great Valley MBA program, individuals will be on a career path for professional advancement and future success.

For more information about the program, contact Margaret Bacheler at 610-892-1306 or MBW10@psu.edu.  

In honor of National Poetry Month, Penn State Brandywine will welcome poet Mihaela Moscaliuc as the featured reader at its 16th annual Litapalooza Literary Festival at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 3, in the Tomezsko Classroom Building lounge.

The open mic portion of Litapalooza encourages students to read, recite, narrate, rap or sing their own creative compositions. The festival strives to highlight and celebrate the creativity of Brandywine students.

Penn In Hand, the campus’ student literary publication, will be distributed at the event, which is free and open to the public. Penn In Hand is a collection of students’ creative works and is published by Penn State Brandywine students in conjunction with the English department.

Moscaliuc is the author of Father Dirt (winner of the Kinereth Gensler Award). Her works, which include poems, reviews, translations and articles, have appeared in numerous poetry journals, including The Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, TriQuarterly, New Letters, Poetry International, Arts & Letters, Pleiades, Connecticut Review and West Branch. She has taught at Monmouth and Salisbury universities; she currently directs the Drew University Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Poetry Program.

Litapalooza is funded by the Brandywine Student Activities Fund. For more information, please contact Distinguished Professor of English Adam J. Sorkin at AJS2@psu.edu or 610-892-1444.

Select Penn State students will present their scholarly research at the Penn State Eastern Regional Undergraduate Research Symposium at the Brandywine campus on Thursday, April 19. Anna N. Dhody, curator of the Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia will serve as the event’s keynote speaker.

The Symposium, which is free and open to the public, provides students with a unique opportunity to showcase their work and interact with their peers and professors from within the Penn State system. Click here to view the schedule.

During the event, which takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., a panel of judges will engage with the students to learn more about their research. At the end, they will choose six winners, three in each of the two separate categories: the arts and humanities (including behavioral sciences, business studies and economics) and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). First, second and third place in each category will receive an award certificate and a prize.

Student researchers from nine Penn State campuses will present their findings on posters or other exhibits that display their work to a general audience.

Dhody, whose talk will begin at 1 p.m. and is sponsored by the campus’ annual Spring Lecture Series on Civic and Community Engagement, will discuss a few of the Mutter Museum’s current projects and explain how a nineteenth century museum can have twenty-first century relevance.

The Mutter Museum is home to some of the most amazing human anatomical and pathological specimens in the world. It is also an active research institution, and it collaborates with researchers from all over the world in a variety of disciplines, including medicine, epidemiology, anthropology and the arts. As curator, Dhody, an experienced physical and forensic anthropologist, oversees the Museum’s “disturbingly informative” collection, and works to provide a unique, informative experience for its more than 100,000 annual visitors.

Dhody has curated many exhibits; including The Evolution of Birth, Reading the Dead: How Forensic Anthropologists Study Skeletons to Solve Mysteries and The Mutter Ossuary. She is also the author of “The Underground Crime Scene: The Use of Archaeological Excavation Techniques in the Recovery of Buried Crime Scene Evidence,” a manual currently used by law enforcement agencies in several countries.

For more information about the Symposium, please contact Associate Professor of Engineering Asad Azemi at azemi@psu.edu. For more information about Dhody’s talk, please contact Assistant Professor of Business Administration Don Taylor at dat17@psu.edu.

Former U.S. Marine Jeremy Vandekar, author of “Kicking Ace - Taking Names,” will recount in vivid detail his two deployments to Iraq as part of a deep reconnaissance sniper team during his visit to Penn State Brandywine on Thursday, March 22, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Tomezsko Classroom Building, room 103.

Vandekar, who was once a student at the campus, said he wrote his book to shed light on both the physical and psychological implications of war on members of the military.

“I wanted to write down what I had done so I wouldn't forget in 30 years when I talk to my grandkids,” he said. “I also wanted to raise awareness for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the recon community. I want people to learn what individuals go through in Iraq and in combat. I want them to realize what combat is like and that there is a whole world overseas that is complex and can't be defined simply as ‘a war for oil.’”

In this book, Vandekar recounts his reconnaissance training and the history and traditions behind what he called the “recon community.”
The Student Activities Fund is sponsoring this event, which is free and open to the public.

-by Adam Lazzaro

Instructor in Biology Amanda Gunlefinger, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Jennifer Zosh and Personal Counselor Ahyana King invited Carpenter to campus to increase awareness about the disorder, mental health issues in general and substance abuse.
 
Immediately following his talk, Carpenter will join attendees for lunch and questions in the Main Building, room 113 (student lounge). King will join the conversation to discuss campus resources available to students with concerns about mental health or substance abuse.

Carpenter appeared on MTV’s reality show “True Life – I Have Schizophrenia” to show the world what life is like with schizoaffective disorder, which, Gunlefinger said, causes symptoms similar to a combination of bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia.

She said Carpenter first noticed symptoms of his disorder during college at Philadelphia University; they were exacerbated by his drug use.

“It’s common in schizophrenic men between the ages of 18 and 22 to start noticing the symptoms of the disorder,” Gunlefinger said. “Drug abuse can exacerbate the physiological effects of the disorder. The more we know, the more we can understand each other.”

This event is open to the public and attendees are invited to ask Carpenter questions regarding his disorder. His mother and fiancé will also discuss the disorder and how it affects them.

-by Sean Chambers

Heavy metal music may compel some listeners to cover their ears. But to Paul Greene, associate professor of ethnomusicology and integrative arts at Penn State Brandywine, heavy metal is an exciting musical culture. In his new book, Metal Rules the Globe: Heavy Metal Music Around the World, which he co-edited with Jeremy Wallach and Harris M. Berger, he explores a genre which exists around the world.

“We invited scholars throughout the world to contribute chapters,” he said. The book explores heavy metal cultures in Malta, Easter Island, Katmandu, China, Japan, Malaysia, Norway and Brazil, to name a few. “We wanted to not only have a global reach, but we wanted to focus on countries that wouldn’t be studied in other books.” Greene was an author as well, contributing a chapter on his research in Nepal. 

Traditionally associated with youth and the lower class, heavy metal now transcends all ages and social strata. “It is even considered cosmopolitan in some areas of the world,” Greene said.

A leader in promoting the study of popular music, Greene served for seven years as chair of the Popular Music Section of the Society for Ethnomusicology. It is the largest organization to study this music genre, with more than 850 members currently.

Studying heavy metal globally “has allowed us to draw some general conclusions that are interesting,” he said. “Heavy metal is a type of music that often positions itself as being rebellious, but what rebellion is varies from culture to culture.”

In addition to the rebelliousness, there is what some might call a deafening sound. “Overload and the overdriven electric guitar define the genre,” Greene said. “Also, the double kick drums, bass, and a singing style that sounds like you’re gargling acid.”

He conducted his research by interviewing people at heavy metal concerts, as well as bars and cafés near the concert venues, and also interviewed leading heavy metal bands in Katmandu. His research assistant helped with the translation. “Out of the many interviews I conducted, I concluded that heavy metal rages against the machine that is local,” Greene said.

Beginning in fall 2012, the Penn State Abington, Brandywine and Great Valley campuses will jointly offer a bachelor of science degree in general engineering with the multidisciplinary engineering design (MED) option.

The MED degree incorporates advanced coursework in electrical, chemical and computer engineering, as well as engineering design to produce innovative engineers specialized in systems design and integration.

Interdisciplinary learning and design has been identified by the National Academy of Engineering as an important element of undergraduate engineering education. These skills are often associated with the design of large systems such as ships, aircrafts, automobiles, space crafts and other complex systems that require the knowledge of several engineering disciplines to complete a successful design.

Students will choose to complete the first two years of foundational engineering coursework at either the Brandywine or Abington campuses. The second two years of advanced engineering coursework will be completed at the new engineering laboratories at the School of Graduate Professional Studies at the Great Valley campus.

In addition to rigorous engineering, mathematics and physics coursework, the engineering students are strongly encouraged to participate in undergraduate research projects in engineering and robotics, the activities of the Abington and Brandywine Engineering Clubs, local industry internships and engineering opportunities abroad.

The MED program develops technical and problem-solving skills, written and oral communication skills and teamwork and leadership skills, all of which culminate in a two-semester senior design engineering project and a compulsory internship in the engineering industry. The MED degree prepares Penn State students for exciting careers in product engineering, process engineering, manufacturing, research and development, materials engineering and graduate school.

“The MED program will prepare students to pursue a variety of areas so they can appeal to a variety of companies who might be interested in them,” Brandywine campus Director of Academic Affairs Paul deGategno said. “The flexibility and multidisciplinary nature of the program makes the students more employable.”

Bringing the program to the Philadelphia area will allow students a better opportunity to network and build relationships through internships—both will help them find jobs after graduation, he said.

“The idea is to bring together the strength of the three campuses—Brandywine, Abington and Great Valley—and to offer a Penn State engineering degree in this region,” deGategno said. “We hope to have partnerships with key corporations, because we have so many in the area, so we can build opportunities for internships and employment for our students.”

Click here for more information on the degree program.

Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein will speak at Penn State Brandywine on Tues., March 20, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Tomezsko Classroom Building, room 103. The public is invited to this free event, which is sponsored by the campus’ Philosophy Club.

Dr. Stein is an environmental-health advocate and co-author of two “green” reports, “In Harm's Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development” (2000) and “Environmental Threats to Healthy Aging” (2009). The reports promote green local economies, sustainable agriculture, clean power and freedom from toxic threats.

Dr. Stein is a graduate of Harvard College (1973) and Harvard Medical School (1979).

-by Anastasia Jones

As a student teacher finishing up her final year at Penn State Brandywine, Elizabeth Panos is combining her acting experience and teaching skills to show her first graders at Upper Merion Bridgeport Elementary School that bullying is never the answer.

Panos found her love of theater (she left college briefly to study acting in New York City) is a valuable teaching tool. She’s using role-play to challenge her six- and seven-year-olds to find better ways to handle peer conflict.

“I don’t use the word ‘bullying,’” she said. “They think everything is bullying, even accidents. I just talk about treating each other with kindness. I know it’s an anti-bullying lesson but they don’t know that.”

Her method is simple.

She began by using peer mediation while student teaching at Aronimink Elementary and in the William Penn School District over the last few years. “I had students talk out their problems, apologize, explain what they would do differently next time and then shake hands or hug. Furthermore, I had them role-play simple and complex situations in the classroom. Simple means someone stole my pencil or called me a name. Complex means hitting,” she explained.

Elizabeth Panos

After going through this same exercise with her students at Upper Merion, where she’s been teaching since the fall, Panos began asking them, “Is that a simple problem or a complex one?” every time they tattled on each other. She then had them work in groups to discover and role-play solutions for each.

Her method is working.

She recalled a few times when a student ran up to her and said, “Miss Panos, Miss Panos! … Wait, it’s ‘simple,’ I’ll do it!” They then go back and say to the person who was mean to them, “‘That’s not nice, don’t call me that.’ Then the other student apologizes and they go back to what they were doing,” she said. “Tattling still exists, but they’re becoming aware of it and sometimes solving the problems on their own, which is where I think it all begins.”

To tackle the issue of peer pressure, Panos came up with a role-playing scenario where a student is pressured by a peer to steal a pencil from another student’s desk. “Three volunteers demonstrated the bullying scenario and then the students broke into groups to brainstorm and practice better ways to handle the situation. Two groups then acted out the right thing,” which was asking to borrow the pencil instead of stealing it. “Another girl just ignored the peer pressure. I prompted one of the students in the role-play to goad her to steal the pencil and she said ‘NO, it’s not nice!’”

As a reward for solving their problems respectfully and on their own, Panos awards stickers. “Ten stickers earns them a V.I.P lunch with me. I bring in a table cloth, some music, a palm tree center piece,” she said. For 20 stickers the student becomes a special helper for the day and so on. Turns out, they love one-on-one teacher time.

“It’s been working so far!” she said excitedly. The other day “was the first day I gave everyone except two kids a sticker.” That’s 21 stickers compared to the more typical three per day.

She said the full-time teacher in her classroom is embracing her lessons and use of arts and theater, but at first she was “a little iffy due to the scripted nature of the curriculum, but she’s on board because she also feels it’s something important they need to learn. We work out ways to fit it in without interrupting mandatory content areas. We co-teach. We really work together and help the kids.”

Panos is hoping to reach teachers and administrators beyond her classroom.

“I want to spread this around. I want to meet with the principals and explain what I’m doing because then they can incorporate this into their schools.”

After coming up with much of the anti-bullying curriculum and role-playing on her own, Panos connected with an organization called Stand Together, a global community against bullying.

“I was noticing that my ideas were working, but these are proven to be successful,” she said of the Stand Together’s anti-bullying curriculum for K-12.

At the end of January she embraced “No Name-Calling Week,” created by Stand Together with the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP). Her students brainstormed messages to give to other students to stop name-calling. Then they created posters with nice words to replace bad names, and Panos displayed the posters on the bulletin boards outside the classroom.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a really long time,” she said. After graduating in May, Panos hopes to “work somewhere where I can be creative and use my skills. I can do it in my classroom but it’s nice to get to do it for other kids after school, too. I really want a place with after-school programs.” Then later down the road, perhaps a principalship. “Then I’ll have the authority to incorporate these programs. But you know, baby steps. I need a teaching job first.”

Penn State Brandywine, in conjunction with the West Chester firm Geo-Graf, Inc., will conduct a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey at the historic Cumberland Cemetery in Middletown Township on Tues., March 6.

Penn State Brandywine junior Eileen Fresta, who has been working as an intern at Cumberland Cemetery since the summer, will participate as an observer for the GPR Survey and use the results as part of her senior thesis next academic year. This research is being funded by Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin, through her Jane E. Cooper Campus Faculty Fellowship, to allow Fresta to utilize a geophysical research tool to expand her cemetery investigation.

The survey will be conducted in the oldest portion of the cemetery, sometimes referred to as the “Pratt Burial Ground.” Cumberland Cemetery, a Victorian-era landmark in Middletown Township, is the resting place for many prominent Delaware and Chester County residents.

The cemetery was officially incorporated in 1885 to serve the growing needs of Delaware and Chester Counties. Recently, however, Cumberland discovered records indicating burials taking place in as early as the 1850s. Because the state of Pennsylvania did not require the systematic registration of deaths and burials until the early 1900s, some burial records prior to that time are incomplete and lack an exact burial location within the cemetery.

In addition to locating possible burial sites within the cemetery, the GPR survey may reveal the location of historic grave markers that have been buried over the course of 150 years. In an on-going effort to preserve the rich history of the Middletown Township area, survey results given to Cumberland Cemetery will pinpoint the location of these missing graves and markers. Potential future excavation of these markers will also be considered. A recent test survey conducted by Geo-Graf, Inc. confirmed several 1800s burials in an area that contained no visible headstones.

The GPR survey is a non-invasive and non-destructive investigation that allows the cemetery to be preserved for future generations.

For information about the GPR study, please contact Eileen Fresta, of Penn State Brandywine. She can be reached at efresta@psu.edu or 610-724-4687. The cemetery is located on Route 352 in Middletown Township, directly across from Penn State Brandywine Campus. For more information about the cemetery, please call 610-566-3105 or email info@cumberlandcemetery.com.

Penn State Brandywine will host its annual Spring Soiree to bring together alumni, friends and community members for a night of dinner and dancing to raise money for student scholarships on Friday, March 23, at the Merion Cricket Club.

Live and silent auctions will feature vacation homes, authentic Richard-Ginori dinnerware from Italy (see below for more information and photos), Waterford Crystal, a beautiful selection of jewelry, Penn State football tickets as well as tickets to Phillies and Eagles games and a number of gift certificates and baskets for area restaurants and businesses.

CBS 3 traffic anchor Bob Kelly will guide guests through an evening of celebration that will help Brandywine students as they strive to earn a world-class, affordable Penn State education. Proceeds will benefit the Student Scholarship Fund. Last year's event raised $30,000.

The Soiree will feature a cocktail buffet reception and live music from 7 to 11 p.m. Admission to the event is $85 per person.

To donate an item for the auction, for more information or to RSVP, please contact Connie Stankowski at 610-892-1249 or CAS34@psu.edu or visit http://brandywine.psu.edu/springevent online.

A committee of Penn State alumni, friends and community members has made this event possible: Cathy Judge Cardillo, Sandra Ford ’78, Eleanor Parsons, Joanne Sharp
’05, Gail Unangst and Kathy Yanoshak.

The Merion Cricket Club is located at 325 Montgomery Avenue in Haverford.

Richard Ginori of Italy Fine China 
Regal pattern, (navy and gold)
40 pieces (8 complete place settings)
Dinner plate $99.95
Salad/dessert plate $39.99
Bread plate $39.99
Cup and saucer $53.99

International Sterling Silverware
48 pieces, (5 pieces in a place setting)
Pattern – Entrantress
 Dinner fork $79.95
 Salad fork $79.95
 Knife $39.99
 Soup spoon  $99.95
 Teaspoon  $49.99

Waterford Crystal
26 pieces
8 goblets $69.95
8 claret (wine) $129.95
6 compote (sherbet) $33.99
4 Liquor (cordial) $29.99

Laura Guertin, associate professor of Earth sciences and head of the Laboratory for Civic Engagement, has named the program “We Are … Girl Scouts Across Time: The Girl Scout Time Capsule Project.”

“The goal of the project is to invite students, staff, faculty and alumni to write a statement about their Girl Scout experience or their thoughts about the impact of Girl Scouts USA,” Guertin wrote on her blog (http://engage.bw.psu.edu).

On Monday, March 12, the community is invited to write or drop off a letter to be enclosed in the capsule. The next day, Guertin will host the “Show-and-Tell Sealing Ceremony” from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. During this event, the capsule will be hidden somewhere on campus until it is unsealed and reopened in 25 years—the Girl Scouts' 125th anniversary. Both events will take place in the Tomezsko Classroom Building Lounge. Letters can also be submitted online at http://tinyurl.com/girlscouttimecapsule for those who are unable to visit campus.

A few faculty and student Girl Scout troop leaders have arranged for their girls to help with the project and be present for the “burial” of the capsule. Guertin and the troop leaders are working to create a special civic engagement badge for the girls’ green sashes to reward their hard work.

To get involved, contact Laura Guertin at 610-892-1427 or via email at engage@bw.psu.edu.

Penn State Brandywine recently established the Laboratory for Civic Engagement to encourage leadership among students and develop scholarship in the community while promoting citizenship on a local-to-global level. This initiative will allow students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members to work together to achieve these goals.

Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin, who was chosen to lead this new initiative, said she hopes the laboratory will “unify our programming and communication on campus along the lines of volunteering, service learning, civic engagement and public scholarship.” She also noted that goals of the laboratory tie into Penn State’s mission as Pennsylvania’s only land-grant University.

David Rosenberg, a 1974 Penn State graduate, made the Laboratory for Civic Engagement possible through a generous donation. Last year, he and his wife, Marjorie, established the David M. and Marjorie D. Rosenberg Fund for Community and Civic Engagement, which fosters responsible citizenship among Brandywine students through active participation in the community.

The Laboratory is already off and running and several important projects have formed under its umbrella. Among these was the TEDxPSU Watch Party held last fall. The event, which is based upon the notion of sharing ideas worth spreading, encouraged dialogue among students about current events and issues facing society. TEDxPSU was a perfect example of students working together with faculty to raise awareness of local and global issues—the planning committee for the event was comprised of two students and two faculty members from the campus, including Guertin.

In addition, programs such as Constitution Day and Operation Military Haiku provided the campus community a forum for expressing free speech while acknowledging the service of veterans.

“Civic Issues in a Minute,” an online and VoiceThread-based program that provides listeners with a short audio clip introducing a topic that impacts citizens, is yet another ongoing Laboratory project. Participants can add their own comments, thus creating an atmosphere of logic and reasonable debate that can lead to action and answers, Guertin explained.

Knittany Lion Needleworks, a group comprised of both campus and community members who knit, crochet and sew items for donation, also falls under the umbrella of the Laboratory for Civic Engagement. In 2011 alone, the group donated more than 2,000 handmade items to 13 different organizations, including ConKerr Cancer, Chester County Hospital and, most recently, the Pennsylvania Special Olympics. Students have been so involved they have made Knittany Lion Needleworks an official student club.

“The projects we work on for Knittany Lion Needleworks always involve giving back to the community,” said senior American studies major Eileen Fresta, of West Chester. “It's a great way to volunteer if you can't give up an entire day to volunteer for a cause. With the knitting projects, you can fit the volunteer work into your own schedule.”

Becoming civically engaged is not just about volunteering outside of the classroom—the experience should extend and overlap with course curricula, Guertin said. Several years ago, the campus created a minor in civic and community engagement to encourage this connection between student participation in public service or problem-based fieldwork with their work in the classroom.

Students in Guertin’s environmental studies class are also seeing the connection. Sophomore international relations major Sarah DeMartino, of Downingtown, is actively engaged in fair trade issues through the course. According to DeMartino, the students in the class had originally set out to make Penn State Brandywine the first Fair Trade campus in the Penn State system, meaning products used at Brandywine would comply with Fair Trade USA standards, which ensure workers who provide the goods are justly compensated. However, “Fair Trade USA had lowered its standards for fair trade,” she said. “At first, we wanted to become certified under Fair Trade USA, but we are changing our approach in light of these new facts.”

The newly formed volunteer service club, We Are Penn State M.A.D.E. (Making A Difference Everyday), will offer a different service opportunity every month to meet the diverse needs of the students as well as the community, Guertin said. In addition, the establishment of a volunteer opportunity database is being developed by a group of seniors majoring in Information Science and Technology with input by the Laboratory and the Office of Student Affairs.

 “It is important to promote volunteering and to show others it’s fun to volunteer and serve with and for the greater community,” Guertin said. She also called her work with the Laboratory both enjoyable and a challenge. “We look forward to expanding on what we have already begun.”

As with all global programs at the campus, this one-week distance learning opportunity is designed to enrich the minds of students, and introduce them to different cultures, people, places, art and history, while also having a little fun and earning college credits.

Students could "get lost" among the city streets while studying “The Art of Walking: Beauty, Philosophy and the City” (PHIL 109/PHIL 5); explore each city's aesthetic traditions as part of “The Arts in Vienna and Prague” (INART 1/ARTH 100); or discover and compare the behaviors of the people they see and meet for “Discourses of Gender: A Cross-Cultural Perspective” (PSYCH 232). 

Students will first travel to Vienna, where they’ll explore places like the Ring, the Prater and the Opera House. Each excursion is chosen to enhance the students’ educational experience while abroad and to help them relate what they learn to the things they see. Travelers will visit the historic Hofburg Palace, Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, Mozart’s House, the Kunsthistoische Museum, Schönbrunn Palace and many others.

In Prague, students will visit the home of the Czech Crown Jewels, Prague Castle, which housed the Kings of Bohemia, the Holy Roman Emperors and the presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. Other excursions include Petrin Hill, Charles Bridge and the Jewish Quarter.

The registration deadline for Vienna/Prague is April 5. For more information visit http://www.bw.psu.edu/Global or contact Gail Wray at gbw1@psu.edu or (610) 892-1472.

-by Sean Chambers

Sophomore Rasheed Wilkins is on his way to becoming a Penn State Brandywine legend. As of Thursday, Feb. 9, the men’s basketball team guard is just 38 points shy of his one thousandth point, a feat Sports Information Coordinator Melissa Algeo said is achieved only rarely for players within four years, let alone just two.

Wilkins, who was named Player of the Week by the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) on Jan. 17 and by the Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) on January 30, said he averages 19 to 20 points per game.

On February 3, with 86 points to go, the soft-spoken, humble team captain said he has worked out a strategy for the upcoming weekend. “My plan is to score 52 points on Saturday (Feb. 4 at Penn State Hazelton) and 34 points on Monday” (Feb. 6 versus Penn College at Brandywine), he said with a laugh. “I want to do it at home.”

Wilkins didn’t quite meet his goal, but he did score a combined 48 points between the two games. For someone who has scored 30 total points in nine different games since his freshman year, it seems pretty likely he will reach his goal this season.

A self-described “average player” in high school, Wilkins said the Brandywine coaches and his teammates have made him a better player.

After being recruited to come to Brandywine from New Media Technology Charter School in Philadelphia, Wilkins said, “ I came here because I liked the coaches. I worked hard over the summer and the coaches put me in good positions to succeed.” When he arrived on campus, he had not one friend, but he quickly found a home. “I love my teammates. They’re the best. We’re one big family.”

Wilkins hopes to one day play professional basketball, but has a backup plan in case the pros don’t pan out. The business major, who currently works in the Athletic department doing “odd jobs,” said he plans to open a sporting goods store.

Last year, Wilkins earned All American status and was named Newcomer of the Year by the PSUAC. This year, he said he found out about his USCAA award during the game against Penn State Schuylkill on Jan. 23, which ended with a 71-61 Brandywine win.

“I found out before the game (ended),” he said. “They called my name and announced it. I was shocked. We were playing Penn State Schuylkill at home. That was one of my best games of the year.” During that game, Wilkins scored 33 points, and had 12 rebounds, eight assists and five steals.

"I was a little surprised, but I knew I had played good games,” he said.

Since 2003, Penn State Brandywine Student Affairs Specialist Diane Shorter and Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin have led an initiative to create handmade items for nonprofit organizations with an identified need. Again this year, campus and community members came together with knitting needles and crochet hooks to make scarves for Pennsylvania athletes competing in the 2012 Special Olympics USA.

Last year, with the help of volunteers, they sent 83 scarves to be worn by the athletes as they marched during the opening ceremonies and games. This year, the group surpassed that number with 119 handmade, blue and red scarves sent to this year’s athletes.

“We had requests to help this organization again,” Guertin said, “so we picked up our needles and hooks to help the 2012 Special Olympians in Pennsylvania. We knew this was a popular project with our volunteers, but we did not anticipate even more volunteers helping to create 119 handmade scarves in this year’s Special Olympics USA colors of blue and red. I have a feeling we will see this project on our list for 2013. Stay tuned!”

The volunteers call themselves the Knittany Lion Needleworks and there will soon be an official club on campus dedicated to sewing, crocheting and knitting items for donation.

Freshman accounting major Theressa Ha is leading the initiative to create the club. “This is something fun to do and it’s for a good cause,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to knit and crochet so this is a fun way to learn.”

Guertin is thrilled about Ha’s desire to make the group official. “We’re excited,” she beamed. “We’ve got this new energy now!”

Volunteers from Granite Farms estates made and donated nearly half of the 119 scarves, while others came from current students, alumni parents and community members. “Sometimes the scarves just show up and we don’t know who they’re from!” Guertin and Shorter said.

Visit http://tinyurl.com/knittanylion for more information about Knittany Lion Needleworks.
 

Students, alumni, community members, faculty and staff came together throughout the Philadelphia region to remember Coach Joe Paterno on Thursday, Jan. 26 as the three area Penn State campuses each live-streamed the two-and-half hour tribute, “A Memorial for Joe,” that took place on the University Park campus.

The more than 200 mourners at the Abington, Brandywine and Great Valley campuses laughed, cried and grieved together as former players, friends and family members shared heartwarming and funny memories about Paterno’s life and legacy.

Alumna Sandy Gail, class of 1963 and 1971, watched the memorial inside the Lubert Commons at the Abington campus and shared her favorite Paterno memory. “Many years ago, I walked into the State College post office and moments later Joe Paterno came in behind me and said, ‘If you had walked a little slower, I would have held the door for you!’” she remembered.

Donald Hodgen, class of 1974 and 1977, a senior international economist at the U.S. Department of Commerce, drove up from his home in Washington, D.C. to join the crowd at Abington. He was dressed in dark blue pants, a jacket, a blue and white striped shirt and wore a tie imprinted with Nittany Lions. His late father, Alden, was an engineering professor at Abington, which was then known as Ogontz. “I’ve never told anyone this story before,” he said, “but soon after I arrived at University Park, I saw Joe walking down the street. I introduced myself and said, ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you.’ His reply was, ‘No, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Make sure you get a good education.’”

Students, faculty and staff placed blue and white carnations at the Abington Lion Shrine throughout the day. Many students took photos of themselves with the shrine, which they adorned with flowers along the lion’s head and spine as well as at the base. Students continued to write tributes on banners at the Lares Building.

Bobbi Caprice, a junior at the Brandywine campus, wiped the streaming tears from her cheeks as she silently watched the live-streaming memorial in the Commons Building. “I’m here because growing up my dad instilled in me what a great man JoePa was,” she said. “He was well beyond a sports figure.” She was thankful for the chance to join the memorial, even from a distance. “There are 20 campuses and we’re all just Penn State. I can’t think of anyone more dedicated to anything as JoePa was to Penn State, and not just football. Penn State.”

Michael Seavey, class of 1996, said he came to Brandywine to watch the memorial in hopes of getting some closure. “It’s the least I can do for the man who has done so much, not only for the students, but for the state of Pennsylvania,” he said. “He’s done more than most could even imagine.”

More than 70 faculty, staff, alumni and local businesses community members watched the memorial at the Great Valley campus Conference Center Auditorium. Chancellor Craig Edelbrock commented on why the campus wanted to open its facility for a community viewing of the service: “Penn State is a big family and it feels like a family when you’re in it.”

Alumnus and former biological sciences instructor for Penn State, David Hoffritz, said Paterno would call him to make sure his football players were attending class. “He didn’t care who was there; he just wanted to know who didn’t show up.”

The group at Great Valley held hands and said a prayer along with the memorial service attendees at University Park as the Paterno’s son, Jay, concluded the ceremony.
 

Mark Gormel, a native plant horticulturalist and nature photographer, will visit Penn State Brandywine to present “Native Plants, Birds, Bees, Butterflies, and Healthy Watersheds - What’s the Connection?” on Sunday, Feb. 12 in the Tomezsko Classroom Building Auditorium (room 103).

Gormel serves as horticultural coordinator for the Brandywine Conservancy and is a well-known lecturer, consultant and nature photographer. His talk will illustrate the critical relationships between specific native plants and the wildlife and habitat zones they support. He will discuss strategies for creating environmentally sound gardens in which wildlife, birds and butterflies thrive.

The program, which is being offered in conjunction with the Chester Ridley Crum Watersheds Association (CRC), will take place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Please contact CRC at 610-892-8731 or crc@nni.com to preregister since space is limited. Visit www.crcwatersheds.org for more information.

The event, which is open to the public, will feature dinner, entertainment and a raffle of more than 50 baskets. Guests could go home with shore rentals in Avalon, N.J. or Ocean City, Md., and Phillies or Flyers tickets. Proceeds will benefit the Tiz Griffith Athletic Fund and the Global Programs Fund at the campus. Admission is $25.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Melissa Algeo, sports information coordinator, at mhl13@psu.edu or 610-892-1470.

The Penn State Brandywine Women’s basketball team will host Penn State Fayette on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. in a game benefitting the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Pink Zone.

The WBCA Pink Zone is a global network of women’s basketball coaches dedicated to raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses and in their communities.
 
Admission to the game is free, and it will be played in the Penn State Brandywine Commons Building/Athletic Center Gymnasium. The Campus Bookstore, located on the first floor of the Main Building, is currently selling official Pink Zone t-shirts and will sell them at the game as well. Five dollars from every $15 adult shirt purchase and $2 from every $10 youth shirt purchase will be donated to the WBCA Pink Zone organization.

This is the first year the Brandywine campus will host a Pink Zone game. Previously, campus bookstores throughout the University have supported the Pink Zone games held at University Park through t-shirt sales, raising $26,000 last year, collectively. This year, the Bookstores hope to raise $30,000.

For more information, please contact Joe Buskirk in the Bookstore at JGB14@psu.edu or 610-892-1235.