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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Updates:
Penn State Promise

Penn State Harrisburg community forum to discuss child abuse

Video: Board of Trustees' Jan. 20 press conference

Newly elected chair of the Board of Trustees delivers remarks

Frazier provides update on independent investigation

Guidelines for reporting of child abuse, sexual assault

Wake-up Call: Small Business Development Center creates jobs

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

SBDC clients reported more than $1.9 million in increased sales

University Park, Pa. -- Have you ever been awakened in the middle of the night and had trouble falling asleep again? A SleepPhone could be music to your ears. Family physician Wei-Shin Lai invented the SleepPhone to help her fall asleep after late night calls from patients and hospitals. She wanted to listen to soothing sounds to relax, but could not find a pair of headphones that were comfortable to wear as she slept. She and her significant other, Jason Wolfe, solved the problem by creating headphones embedded in a fleece headband. After they launched a business to sell the SleepPhone, the pair realized they could benefit from the free assistance offered by the experts at the Penn State Small Business Development Center (SBDC).

"Working with the SBDC has been very helpful to our small business success," Wei-Shin said.

This is just one example of how the SBDC, which provides one-on-one consulting and seminars to small businesses and entrepreneurs in Centre and Mifflin counties, has helped a new business to start. The center consulted with 479 clients and helped 14 new businesses to start in the first half of 2009. With SBDC assistance, at least 44 new jobs were created, and clients reported more than $1.9 million in increased sales. One-on-one consulting is provided free of charge.

Energy and environmental issues also are a big focus of the SBDC, with its Environmental Management Assistance Program (EMAP). For example, Suzanne Myers, owner of Myers' Stables, and her husband Glenn Myers, developed Myers Premium Wood Shavings after Suzanne was having difficulty finding suitable bedding for her horses. With the Penn State SBDC’s help, they purchased a shaving mill and launched their wood shaving mill business to create shavings for their horses in-house and sell what they didn’t need to other stables and dairy farmers. With EMAP’s help, the Myers made sure that they addressed regulatory issues.

“Without the help of the SBDC, we would not have realized our goals,” said Glenn.

“We help small businesses to start, grow, and prosper, which creates increased tax revenues for the state and federal governments," said Heather Fennessey, Penn State SBDC director.

Penn State's SBDC is part of a nationwide network of more than 1,000 centers. The Penn State SBDC provides free business assistance to small firms and business start-ups in Centre and Mifflin counties, enabling them to compete and grow in today’s highly competitive global economy. For more information, visit http://www.sbdc.psu.edu/ online. Penn State SBDC is part of Penn State Outreach, the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education.