Still Life

With four guide ropes attached to it, the east-side clock face is raised into position. While it didn't seem that windy on the ground on Saturday, Jan. 28, winds higher up were strong, requiring extra guidance to bring the clock face safely to the Old Main bell tower.

Old Main clock faces installed

Ben White of New Vibrations Audio and Video works on a ledge of the Old Main bell tower, to remove the speakers from the old chime system. The company installed a new carillon system today (Jan. 27) that will play a digital recording made of the original Old Main bell that now sits adjacent to Old Main and other bells of comparable sizes.

New carillon, restored clocks being installed

The funeral procession for Joe Paterno made its way past Beaver Stadium and down Porter Road as crowds applauded on Jan. 25. Thousands lined the procession route through the University Park campus and downtown State College to bid a last farewell to Joe Paterno.

Joe Paterno's funeral procession

Coach Joe Paterno was on the field for the first half of the Nittany Lions' football game. Penn State beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 13-3 on Oct. 8, 2011, in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Beaver Stadium.

Joe Paterno through the years

Katie Knobloch and Andrew Adamietz, members of the a capella group Blue in the Face, shared a candle at the vigil held Sunday, Jan. 22, to mourn the death of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, who passed away earlier in the day. Several thousand members of the Penn State and State College community came out to the Old Main lawn on Penn State's University Park campus for the vigil.

Thousands mourn Paterno's passing

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Seminar room named to honor fallen alumnus

Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A portrait of Lt. Michael P. Murphy is unveiled at the ceremony. For more photos, please click on the image above.
Credit: the College of the Liberal Arts A portrait of Lt. Michael P. Murphy is unveiled at the ceremony. For more photos, please click on the image above.

University Park, Pa. -- Students and faculty in Penn State's Department of Political Science use 302 Pond Building as their community center, where they regularly discuss their classes and projects about political life. It is this room that the department and the College of the Liberal Arts recently dedicated in memory of Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Penn State graduate who was killed while leading an intelligence mission behind enemy lines in Afghanistan, and who was posthumously recognized with the Congressional Medal of Honor in October 2007.

The Medal of Honor is the highest military award for valor. The seminar room now will be known as the Navy Seal Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Conference Room. The department's Board of Visitors and Capt. William Hanson and the Penn State ROTC Battalion also participated in the ceremony.

"The seminar room is our main community space for our faculty, students and visitors in learning and service activities," said Donna Bahry, professor and head of the political science department. "A good number of our graduates have pursued careers in the military, as did Michael, and a good number of our current students are currently in ROTC. The Department and our Board of Visitors want the Penn State community to always remember the story about how one person made a difference in the lives of many. And, they too can go on to make a difference with the same spirit of personal leadership."

Murphy was a 1998 graduate in political science with honors who decided to join the U.S. Navy and the SEALS unit. In 2005, he led a four-man team deep behind enemy lines in Afghanistan. His team was besieged by enemy fighters, but he valiantly led his men in the battle, despite being wounded and the overwhelming odds. He made the vital radio call for help and was fatally wounded in the end.

In addition to the Medal of Honor, the U.S. Navy named a destroyer after Murphy. Penn State Board of Trustees and President Graham B. Spanier selected him as a Distinguished Alumnus. The community of Patchogue, N.Y., named its Post Office and a park in his memory.

For photos from the dedication ceremony, visit http://live.psu.edu/stilllife/2031 online.

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