Penn State York touts research efforts

York, Pa. -- With members of the Penn State Board of Trustees and administration meeting at Penn State York today (July 13), Joel M. Rodney, chancellor of York campus, shared recent developments at the campus and stressed its commitment to active learning through student/faculty research.

Rodney welcomed the board by sharing four developments at Penn State York which he believes show how the campus continues to make life better in York, across two continents, and across the Susquehanna. First, Penn State York has joined with Penn State Mont Alto and extended the University's articulation agreement with Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) to students in York this fall. The agreement makes it possible for graduates of HACC's associate degree in nursing program to earn their BSN through Penn State without ever leaving York. Other registered nurses with associate degrees in the York area also are able to take advantage of this program.

In a more global program, Rodney reported that two years ago senior students in an IST 440W course joined with students at the Maharajah Sajirao University in Vadodara, India, to solve two real-world problems faced by Unisys, a multinational corporation with headquarters in Malvern, Pa., and a major operation in Bangalore, India. This international team of students, in just four months, not only provided Unisys with ways to improve its bottom line, but also developed bonds, and problem-solving skills, conquered communication barriers, explored teamwork, and used technology to experience their subject in a way that no textbook alone could have done. Another outcome of this project in India led to the campus being asked to develop “twinning” or 2+2 arrangements with universities in India. York will see its first group of junior transfer students from India in the fall of 2008.

Returning to the local community, Rodney reported that Penn State York has worked diligently to reach out to the residents of Lancaster County. Since 1987, the campus has delivered contract programming and undergraduate credit offerings at the Lancaster Center. Offerings in Lancaster have changed and expanded over the years and Penn State Great Valley and Penn State Harrisburg have joined York in this venture by offering graduate programs in education, engineering and business.

"A major move in January has positioned The Lancaster Center in a new facility at the Farm and Home Center. Together with University Outreach which is also housed there, this move has created a highly visible Penn State presence in the Commonwealth's third-wealthiest county," said Rodney.

At the meeting of the Educational Planning Committee, Rodney turned over the floor to four student/faculty teams that presented their projects.

Students Todd Bollinger, Peter Rowell, and Joe Royer along with Bill Cantor, instructor in information sciences and technology, shared the results of a project with the York County Area Agency on Aging (YCAAA). Sophomore Jamie Golden presented the work she and a team of 12 students performed with Matt Hoch, assistant professor of biology, on the Codorus Creek Restoration Efficacy Project (CCREP). Senior Amanda Clark discussed the project that she, along with a team of students in EMET 440 course under the guidance of Chuck Gaston, assistant professor of engineering, did this past spring to help a 22-month-old girl with arthrogryposis, a disorder that results in joint contractures. The final student presentation before the board was made by Michael O'Connor, who worked with Robert Farrell, associate professor of biology at Penn State York, and faculty at Penn State Delaware County, testing organic compounds that suppress tumor cell growth dramatically in the laboratory.

"The work presented to you here in science and engineering technology has been carried out in facilities that have been unchanged since 1969," Rodney told the board. "It is our hope to remedy this situation by raising funds to renovate the old library into the Edward M. Elias Science Building." Rodney said that during this quiet phase of the "For the Future" campaign the campus has generated $1.5 million toward a goal of $3.4 million.

"The campus is continuing to search for the remaining funds in the hope that we will be able to renovate this building which is so necessary for us to be able to support our science major and continue the important work being undertaken by our faculty and students," he concluded.