During the lunch hour on Saturday, freshmen Sara Cooperstein, left, and Paige Cooperstien, center, chat with Penn State President Graham B. Spanier. As a part of Welcome Week, Spanier spent most of each day with students new to campus, including assisting with move-in, eating lunch with students and spending two nights in a supplemental housing unit in Pinchot Hall as a guest roommate of the room's male residents.

Photo Credit: Andy Colwell

Year Taken: 2008

Penn State President Graham B. Spanier welcomes new anthropology faculty member Rim Ryan as he arrives at Schreyer House for the new faculty picnic on Thursday, Aug. 21. Roughly 400 guests attended the new faculty picnic this year.

Photo Credit: Annemarie Mountz

Year Taken: 2008

Penn State President Graham B. Spanier stopped to chat with some students in the Women in Engineering Program as they prepared to move into their residence halls on Friday, Aug. 22.

Photo Credit: Annemarie Mountz

Year Taken: 2008

After holding first-year Blue Band member Angie Raimondi's sousaphone for just a short time, Penn State President Graham B. Spanier, left, remarked about how sousaphonists' shoulders must hurt where the instrument rests on them. He asked if they wore any padding on that shoulder, which made Raimondi and fourth-year sousaphonist Andrew Rowe, center, laugh. Spanier had stopped by Blue Band camp on Thursday, Aug. 21, to wish the band well as it prepared for their first show of the season, which was just nine days away.

Photo Credit: Annemarie Mountz

Year Taken: 2008

Penn State President Graham B. Spanier did a magic trick with the help of Christian Brady, dean of the Schreyer Honors College, on Thursday night at the State Theatre in downtown State College. Spanier was a guest on "Late Night with the Dean" put on by the Honors College during their orientation. He answered a few questions from Brady and then did a couple of magic tricks.

Photo Credit: Pat Little

Year Taken: 2008

Penn State President Graham B. Spanier ran into one of his roommates, freshman Delvonne McCullum of Erie, as McCullum applied for a job at Findlay Commons in East Halls. McCullum is one of the students living in the residence hall room that Spanier called home during move-in weekend.

Photo Credit: Annemarie Mountz

Year Taken: 2008

Penn State freshman Ford DeCastro, left, speaks with Penn State President Graham B. Spanier during LateNight Penn State. During Welcome Week Spanier goes even more out of his way than usual in his quest to stay in touch with students. During the Welcome Week influx of new students and their families, he attempts to meet as many as possible to get to know them and be as accessible as possible to the newest members of Penn State.

Photo Credit: Andy Colwell

Year Taken: 2008

Penn State Panhellenic Association members Andy Jaye, center, and Emily Cohen, right, attempt to recruit Penn State President Graham B. Spanier to join their association of Greek organizations. Spanier visited their table while going around LateNight Penn State on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 23.

Photo Credit: Andy Colwell

Year Taken: 2008

Penn State President Graham B. Spanier, second from left, gets interviewed in the studio of student-run radio station The Lion 90.7 by Drew Anderson, far right, during a broadcast taking place during LateNight Penn State on Saturday, Aug. 23. Among the topics discussed were his past as a radio broadcaster himself during his youth.

Photo Credit: Andy Colwell

Year Taken: 2008

Jen Moll, right, a freshman, was the lucky participant in a magic trick by Penn State President Graham B. Spanier during LateNight Penn State on Saturday, Aug. 23. Spanier, who practices and performs magic extensively, and is adviser for the Penn State Performing Magicians club, went through nearly a dozen tricks. He joined Penn State alumnus and fellow magician Francis Menotti during LateNight festivities.

Photo Credit: Andy Colwell

Year Taken: 2008

During his Welcome Week two-night stay with the residents of 118 Pinchot Hall, Penn State President Graham B. Spanier listened to and discussed music, performed and watched magic tricks, and simply chatted with the residents and their friends. Pictured left to right are freshmen Roma Amin, Dan Vernacchio, Dan DiCello, Steve Klara, Aaron Speagle and Jeff Jones. Vernacchio, Speagle and Jones, residents of the room, agreed that Spanier was a fun, pleasant roommate during the two-night stay.

Photo Credit: Andy Colwell

Year Taken: 2008

The Penn State Blue Band welcomed back Penn State President Graham B. Spanier to the drumline during its performance at Be a Part from the Start, a significant part of Welcome Week. The pep rally-style event included most of the freshman class at University Park as well as the Penn State cheerleaders, Lionettes dance team, The Lion, and football coach Joe Paterno and his wife Sue Paterno. In addition to his budding bass drum talent, Spanier also plays locally in various small bands on his trademark custom "turbo washboard."

Photo Credit: Andy Colwell

Year Taken: 2008