Over the past year, the look and feel of Penn State Live has undergone some subtle changes. Now, the site has experienced its first major facelift since it was launched in April 2003. The first major difference in the site is a large, horizontal image at the top of the page. There will be a variety of images in this space, and visitors to the site can click through to see everything that's there. Clicking on these images will link the user to additional content -- photos, stories or videos about the topic in the original image. A key new feature to the site is the ability for readers to easily access additional stories related to the one they just read. Please take our site survey by clicking on http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=1016512 online.
All Penn State students, faculty and staff are encouraged to enroll in PSUTXT, an easy and accessible system that lets them know via cell phone when classes are canceled due to weather conditions or if the campus has an emergency situation. Sign up now for PSUTXT and, when necessary, Penn State will send a text message alert directly to your cell phone and/or e-mail account. To register, visit http://newswires.xlqx.net/ and click on the PSUTXT REGISTER button at the bottom of the page to sign up. For information, contact Annemarie Mountz at [email protected].
Penn State will receive a 1.2 percent increase in state appropriation for the 2008-09 fiscal year as a result of the new budget approved by the Senate and the House and signed by Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell over the holiday weekend. The total appropriation for Penn State for this fiscal year is $338.4 million, an increase of $4.1 million over last year.
In a historic move, the Penn State Alumni Association has pledged a gift of $2.1 million to support students across the University. In support of the University's new fundraising drive, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, the gift will establish 35 Penn State Alumni Association Trustee Scholarships, each endowed at $50,000 in 12 colleges, at 20 campuses, and three additional undergraduate units. Trustee Scholarships are based on financial need and awarded to students who are Pell Grant eligible, typically coming from families whose household income is below $40,000.
THON broke all records this year, raising more than $6 million and bringing the total raised since its inception to more than $50 million for the Four Diamonds Fund. The actual total raised was $6,615,318.04. "We went crazy when we saw the total," said dancer Allie DiCastro. "It's such a rewarding experience. It's something I'll have for the rest of my life." Fellow dancer Tina Clavvers agreed. "At times it definitely felt more difficult than we thought. But the last two hours we spent a lot of time with our families. When I got to dance with my THON child near the end it brought it all home and gave me lots of energy," she said. For a small sampling of photos from Friday, visit http://live.xlqx.net/stilllife/1596 online; from Saturday, visit http://live.xlqx.net/stilllife/1597 online; and from Sunday, including the total, visit http://live.xlqx.net/stilllife/1598 online. For a larger collection of photos covering much of the activity from THON 08, visit http://live.xlqx.net/stilllife/1599 online. For photos from THON Express, a 135- mile run that began at 6 p.m. on Feb. 21 at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, and ended on Feb. 22 at the Bryce Jordan Center, visit http://live.xlqx.net/stilllife/1595 online.
The Office of the President has put out a call for nominations for individuals eligible to receive the Faculty Scholar Medal, which recognizes scholarly and creative excellence. The medal will be awarded to individuals in the following scholarly areas: arts and humanities; engineering; life and health sciences; physical sciences; and social and behavioral sciences. For information on deadlines for submitting nominations and accompanying materials, check with the dean's office in the individual colleges. Deans should submit final rankings of the recommendations from their areas to the senior vice president for research, via e-mail to [email protected] or mail to 304 Old Main, University Park, PA 16802, by Monday, Dec. 10. Chancellors from areas outside of University Park should submit recommendations to the vice president for Commonwealth Campuses or the dean of The Graduate School, as appropriate, by Monday, Nov. 12. The Faculty Scholar Medal, established by the Board of Trustees in 1980, will be given at the University Awards Program on Monday, March 24, 2008.
Making gifts ranging from several hundred dollars to the maximum $100,000, Penn State donors are taking advantage of benefits afforded by the recently passed Pension Protection Act of 2006. The act allows donors to make tax-free withdrawals from a traditional or Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) directly to a qualified charity. Distribution amounts are not included in the donor's gross income and do not factor into any charitable deduction that otherwise would apply to the donor, but will count toward the donor's minimum required distribution. Penn State alumnus Hal Marcus, who with his wife, Inge Marcus, have been benefactors of the College of Engineering, urged other donors to consider the opportunities presented by the Pension Protection Act in making their gifts. "This new legislation has given us one more creative way to give, and we encourage others who may be eligible to use their IRA fund to support Penn State in this way."
Every year as fans clamor to get tickets to big football games, unscrupulous entrepreneurs crop up to take advantage of those who are willing to spend more than face value to see their favorite teams play. The danger for the fans goes beyond shelling out big bucks, though. In recent years, it has become increasingly common for scalpers to sell counterfeit tickets. With No. 4 Michigan set to visit Penn State in a highly touted Big Ten matchup this weekend, Tom Sowerby, University Police supervisor, is concerned that fans will encounter problems with counterfeit tickets once again. "I think it is very likely that we will see counterfeit tickets for this game, especially since the ring leader of a group that was arrested for selling counterfeit tickets for Penn State's game at Notre Dame a few weeks ago was arrested here for the same offense in 1997," he said.
Penn State always does well in the rankings that are designed to help parents and students sift through the thousands of colleges and universities in this country to decide which will help them spend their money wisely. Once again this year, Penn State also has been recognized for the job it does in preparing its students to benefit the nation. Up three spots from last year, Penn State now is ranked No. 3 in the nation behind only Massachusetts Institute of Technology (first) and University of California, Berkeley (second) by Washington Monthly, a political, inside-the-beltway publication. The magazine ranks institutions as engines of social mobility; as producers of academic minds and scientific research that advance knowledge and drive economic growth; and as forces to inculcate and encourage an ethic of service.
Penn State's Board of Trustees met on Friday, May 12, on Penn State's University Park campus. Items presented to the board included President Spanier's opening remarks; information about the popularity of Penn State recreation programs, indicating how highly students value these types of activities as part of their collegiate experiences; a description of the University's comprehensive influenza pandemic plan; an outline of interdisciplinary research and education programs; and a review of Faculty Senate efforts in 2005-06.