Survey: Penn State touches one in two households in Pennsylvania

Through Penn State, new parents in Pennsylvania take part in an education and awareness campaign to prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome. This is just one University program that touches the lives of Pennsylvania residents.

University Park, Pa. -- An elderly couple facing bankruptcy caused by mounting medical bills turns to Penn State Dickinson’s Elder Law and Consumer Protection Center for help. A distraught new mom avoids shaking her crying baby after remembering a Penn State video she had seen as part of a statewide parenting program. These are just a few of the millions of people whose lives are affected by Penn State.

In fact, in a recent survey, 47 percent of a representative sample of Pennsylvanians said they been touched by Penn State over the 12-month period immediately preceding the survey, bearing out this anecdotal information. This indicates that Penn State is providing essential services, information and support to more than  2 million households in Pennsylvania each year, accounting for approximately one of every two households in the Commonwealth. The Center for Survey Research at Penn State Harrisburg administered the survey, known as “Penn State Touch,” on behalf of Penn State Outreach.     

As a land-grant university, Penn State has historically been committed to a three-part mission of teaching, research and service, a pledge that takes the form of hundreds of Penn State services -- such as the law clinic, medical education and summer camp programs -- that touch the lives of people throughout Pennsylvania and beyond.

In the survey, respondents were asked whether they or a member of their household had engaged in any Penn State activities, ranging from attending an athletic event to watching WPSU-TV, to taking a class at Penn State, to receiving outreach assistance.  While some of the survey categories of involvement were broad -- such as being a Penn State employee -- others were more specific, such as receiving assistance through a Penn State program. An example of such assistance can be demonstrated through Penn State’s Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP). Dillon Floral, a Bloomsburg, Pa.-based business, turned to PennTAP for help in finding an alternative to the exorbitantly priced fuel oil it was using to heat its greenhouses during winter months. A PennTAP energy specialist helped the business move from oil to a cheaper, cleaner fuel source: woody residue generated by local mills and tree service companies. Dillon Floral estimates it will save $150,000 a year in fuel costs, yielding a four-year payback for the new system.

Penn State Cooperative Extension, which began in the 1890s with teaching farmers agricultural techniques via correspondence courses, has evolved and expanded to include a broad range of fields, from exploring alternative energy and emergency readiness training to community development and improving youth and family health and skills.

“Penn State’s multicampus system makes it ideally positioned to reach Pennsylvanians throughout the state -- from urban areas to rural locales with its 24 locations,” said Craig D. Weidemann, vice president for Penn State Outreach. “Cooperative Extension, with its network of 67 county offices, aims to meet locally identified needs with research-based information and programs.”

To view a video about the many ways Penn State touches the lives of Pennsylvanians, go to: http://www.wpsu.org/ondemand/streams/A_Day_In_Outreach10242.html online.