Through the Reinvention Fund, the Sustainability Institute’s internal grant program, Penn State has invested more than $875,000 in collaborative projects intended to improve and expand sustainability efforts across the institution. Faculty/staff teams have received $773,485, and an additional $102,884 was dedicated to support proposals submitted by student teams.
Lynette Kvasny, associate professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology; Laura Rotunno, associate professor of English at Penn State Altoona, and Jennifer Wood, associate professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State New Kensington, have received the Alumni/Student Award for Excellence in Teaching and have been named 2014 Penn State Teaching Fellows. The Penn State Alumni Association, in conjunction with undergraduate and graduate governing bodies, established the award in 1985. It honors distinguished teaching and provides encouragement and incentive for excellence in teaching. Recipients are expected to share their talents and expertise with others throughout the University system during the year following the award presentation.
It wasn’t Abbey Road in London but Seventh Street Road in Upper Burrell that served as the venue for Penn State Laureate Kenneth Womack’s Beatlemania campus tour. The yearlong traveling presentation made a stop Jan. 29 in the Forum Theatre at Penn State New Kensington. Womack’s talk, “The End: Authorship, Nostalgia and the Beatles,” focused on the groups’ musical and lyrical development from their early years through their breakup in 1969. To the delight of students, faculty, staff and alumni in the audience, he also delved into the esoteric aspects of the bands’ history, such as the original ambitions of Lennon and McCartney to become Broadway musical composers.
Penn State World Campus student Tyler Knabb of Reading will embark on a cycling journey Oct. 22 to raise funds for the 2014 Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon. His 920-mile, eight-day cycling trip is in memory of his mother and friend who lost their battles with cancer.
Professionals needing career development, senior citizens wanting to get online, or adults looking for leisure-time activities can hone their skills during the fall 2012 semester at Penn State New Kensington. The Continuing Education Office sponsors a series of noncredit courses throughout October and November that includes courses on project management, internet safety, social networking, and Word software. The courses feature certificate programs, seminars and workshops, and short courses. The courses do not carry college credit and are often part of a certificate program or are designed to meet the needs of specific skill development. Although a majority of the classes are held at the New Kensington campus in Upper Burrell, some classes may be taken at the Regional Learning Alliance in Cranberry, Pa. The alliance is a cooperative venture that offers education and training programs in the greater Pittsburgh region.
Independence Day celebrations almost always include fireworks of some kind. The Prevent Blindness America organization recommends attending professionally organized fireworks displays rather than buying and setting off your own. This view is echoed by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which collects and reports data on fireworks-related injuries every year. They report that 7,000 emergency room visits from fireworks-related injuries occurred during 2008, including seven deaths. In 2007, there were 11 deaths and 9,800 emergency room visits from fireworks-related injury.
Disease remedies using plant products fill the market, but most have not been tested well enough to be able to assure patients that they really work or that they are safe. Here is what is known about a few products that are often of interest to patients with diabetes.
Disease remedies using plant products fill the market, but most have not been tested well enough to be able to assure patients that they really work or that they are safe. Here is what is known about a few products that are often of interest to patients with diabetes.
Well more than 100,000 students, alumni, friends and fans of Penn State are staying connected to the University through Penn State's official page on Facebook and through two accounts on Twitter. The University's official page on Facebook, at http://www.facebook.com/pennstate, is a hub of daily activity for more than 104,000 Penn Staters. On Twitter, thousands are following two official University feeds at http://www.twitter.com/pennstatelive and http://www.twitter.com/penn_state.
