Penn State Board of Trustees meets; President Spanier's remarks

Penn State Board of Trustees meets; President Spanier's remarks

Penn State President Graham B. Spanier

Graham B. Spanier’s Remarks
Friday, November 19, 2004

The recently completed presidential election produced huge turnouts across the country, and I’m happy to report that Penn State students showed up at the polls in record fashion this year. In past presidential elections, we have only averaged about 400 students showing up at the HUB to vote. Granted, many vote from their homes via absentee ballots, but the number has been disappointing in the past. This year, however, we had 4,000 students line up at the HUB to cast their votes.

Much of that success was the result of a campaign by our Student Affairs staff to remind people of their duty to get to the polls. And it was also a result of an energized student body that has become much more aware of the issues and challenges facing our country.

Our students were actively involved in the presidential campaign, as well as other state and local efforts. We had speakers from all sides on campus, including conservatives like Robert Novak, Michelle Malkin, Mike Gallagher and former president George H.W. Bush. On the other side, we had Teresa Heinz Kerry, Howard Dean and Michael Moore.

Moore’s appearance was a lightning rod for a lot of people, which is understandable. His visit generated a substantial number of complaints from alumni. But his appearance was also an important reminder of the role that a university is obligated to play as a marketplace of ideas.

Moore was invited by the College Democrats, a registered student group that had the right to bring in any speaker they wanted. The University did not invite Moore or any other speakers, nor did we endorse any speakers, because that is not our role. No tax money or tuition money went to any of the speakers. Some, like Novak, Malkin and Moore, received speaking fees that were paid by the University Park Allocation Committee, or UPAC. UPAC is a 35-member board of students who distribute student activity fee funds that students impose upon themselves and control.

Moreover, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in a case involving the University of Wisconsin, prevents the University from withholding activity fees because of the beliefs of the speaker or organization.

We are blessed as Americans to live in a country that values freedom of expression. We have a Constitution that protects the right of each of us to be heard and makes it possible for Penn State students to invite a broad range of speakers to campus. The right for them to be here and to express their thoughts is one of the most valuable and treasured things that a university can offer its students. This is the enduring promise of our Constitution.

It is my hope that the lesson learned from such speakers is that good universities are not threatened when someone we disagree with gets up to talk. What would threaten us to the core would be the day when a voice we disagreed with was silenced.

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Later in today’s meeting you will hear a report from John Romano on our enrollment this fall. John’s report will show that Penn State continues to educate more students than any university in the northeastern United States, and that is certainly a notable achievement. But I want to comment on one part of our enrollment story this morning, and that is to say how very pleased we are that minorities are enrolling at the University in record numbers.

Minority students comprise a growing portion of Penn State’s student body –- now 12 percent. This year, the University enrolled a record 9,827 minority students, an increase of 2 percent over last year’s total of 9,658 students. African-Americans comprise the largest ethnic group among minorities with 3,948 students -– an increase of 3 percent over the 2003-04 enrollment and also a record.

Over the past 10 years, enrollment increases have reached 38 percent for minority students and 41 percent for African-Americans.

Having a diverse and vital student body is critical to our success as an institution, and I am delighted that Penn State continues to make important progress in this area.

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With growing numbers of students we also have growing numbers of alumni, and I am pleased to report that membership in the Penn State Alumni Association reached a record of 152,721 members this year. Roger Williams has done a superb job in generating enthusiasm and interest in the Alumni Association, which continues to be the largest of its kind in the world.

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While the Alumni Association has always been a source of great pride for Penn Staters, so too has been the consistently good classroom performance of our student athletes. Recently released figures from the NCAA show that Penn State student-athletes posted a record-tying graduation rate performance this past year.

The NCAA’s annual study of institutions nationwide revealed that Penn State student-athletes at the University Park campus had a graduation rate of 83 percent, compared to a mark of 62 percent for all Division I-A institutions. The survey documented the entering freshman class of 1997-98 who earned degrees within six years.

The 83 percent rate is tied for Penn State’s best performance in the 14-year history of the report.

The report revealed that for the second time in three years, Nittany and Lady Lion student-athletes posted the highest graduation rate among the nation’s public institutions.

African-American student-athletes at Penn State continue to graduate at much higher percentages than at other Division I-A institutions. The 69 percent success rate marks the 14th straight year that Penn State’s graduation rate for African-American student-athletes topped the African-American figures for Division I-A.


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Another source of pride for all of us at Penn State is the continuing success of our research enterprise. I am most pleased to report to you today that expenditures for organized research at Penn State for the fiscal year 2003/2004 reached a record $606,521,000. This is up from $545 million the year before, an increase of over $61 million dollars.

This is a remarkable gain and a reflection of the extraordinary work being done in labs all across Penn State. In just 5 years, research expenditures have risen from $393 million to the approximately $607 million figure of last year.

Congratulations to all of the faculty who on a daily basis create new discoveries and truly “make life better” in Pennsylvania and beyond.

To give you a few recent examples of Penn State research accomplishments:

• Penn State College of Medicine researchers have discovered the first molecular therapy to target cancer-causing components and thereby destroy a bona fide human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.

The Penn State team was headed by Gary Clawson, professor of pathology, and biochemistry and molecular biology at our College of Medicine, and they found that targeting therapies to the RNA that encodes a specific pair of proteins in HPV may break a chain that, left unhindered, promotes cellular proliferation and, potentially, cervical cancer.

HPV is one of the most common causes of sexually-transmitted infection in the world. A number of HPV types are considered to be “high-risk” for development of cervical dysplasia, a known precursor to cervical cancer. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 20 million Americans are already infected with HPV.

• A new NASA space observatory, which will be controlled from a Mission Operations Center located at Penn State University Park, has been delivered to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where it was launched into space tomorrow.

The satellite, called the Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer, is designed to detect gamma-ray bursts — intensely brilliant flashes of gamma radiation that briefly outshine every other object in the sky — at gamma ray, X-ray and ultraviolet wavelengths.

The Penn State team, headed by John Nousek, professor of astronomy and astrophysics (who is also the Swift mission director) built and tested the X-ray and UV/optical telescopes, and will be responsible for operating the satellite after its launch. NASA has committed more than $32 million to Penn State for the Swift project.

Notably, the project team includes not only faculty, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students, but Penn State undergraduate students.

• Between 5 and 10 percent of the population in our country suffer from Restless Leg Syndrome, which causes irresistible urges to move the legs and arms and is often accompanied by odd sensations in the limbs. The sensations are only relieved by movement and become worse as the sun goes down, causing night after night of sleeplessness for those with RLS and their partners.

Now Penn State researchers have discovered that iron-deficient cells in the brain are mixing up central nervous system signals to the legs and arms to cause the malady.

With this knowledge now in place, Penn State researchers will continue investigations of treatment strategies for RLS involving iron supplementation and dopamine agents to attempt to reach the normal balance between iron and dopamine in the brain.

• A new discovery by Penn State engineers shows that multi-rate, ultra-short laser pulses offer a new approach to help optical wireless signals penetrate clouds, fog and other adverse weather conditions.

The new approach could help bring optical bandwidth, capable of carrying huge amounts of information, to applications ranging from wireless communication between air and ground vehicles on the battlefield, to short links between college campus buildings, to metropolitan area networks that connect all the buildings in a city.

Mohsen Kavehrad, the W. L. Weiss professor of electrical engineering and director of the Center for Information and Communications Technology Research, led the study, which was supported by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

• Results from a five-year study conducted by Penn State researchers on the Lehigh Valley Early Head Start program indicate that the cognitive development of children from birth to age three improved profoundly as the result of their participation in the Early Head Start program relative to a comparison group.

Principal investigators of the study were Mark T. Greenberg, holder of the Edna Peterson Bennett Chair in Prevention Research and director of the Penn State Prevention Research Center, and Sukhdeep Gill, associate director of early childhood programs of the Prevention Research Center.

Cognitive development is one of the significant indicators for school readiness. Results of this study support the importance of early intervention for children at risk and also identified numerous factors that can place families and children at risk, including depression.

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Another source of great pride for us is the superb work done by our Children’s Hospital at Hershey. That is why it was no surprise when a national study released last month ranked the Penn State Children’s Hospital in the top 10 percent nationwide in patient satisfaction.

Penn State Children’s Hospital, the only children’s hospital in central Pennsylvania and the region’s only pediatric trauma center, houses 120 beds and admits more than 5,500 patients each year. The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) received the highest rating for its care in medical, surgical and trauma patients by the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Evaluations. This ranks the PICU among the top in the country.

Children’s Hospital is a recognized leader in several specialties including neonatal care, pediatric oncology, pediatric cardiology, pediatric surgery and pediatric trauma.

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The Bryce Jordan Center has been ranked ninth in the world in concert and event tickets sold among venues with 10,001 to 15,000 capacity for the first half of 2004, according to a mid-year business analysis report by Venues Today magazine.
Top-selling concerts and events during the time reported at The Bryce Jordan Center included Dave Matthews and Friends, Prince’s Musicology Tour, Toby Keith, Barney’s Colorful World, World Wrestling Entertainment, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban, USHRA Thunder Nationals, Sarah Brightman and Train.

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The creation of Trustee Scholarships remains one of our highest priorities, and I am very happy to note that the Penn State Bookstore recently agreed to fund Trustee Scholarships on every Penn State undergraduate campus at a total cost of $1.8 million.

These new endowments are in addition to Penn State Bookstore scholarship endowments that were created in 1986 with $1 million and in 1994 with $1.5 million. In addition to the endowed scholarships, the Penn State Bookstore has provided non-endowed scholarships totaling almost $10 million since 1993.

Penn State contracted with Barnes and Noble in 1993 to manage the Penn State bookstore system. Our thanks to them for their continued generosity to the University.

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Finally, I want to congratulate Board Chair Cynthia Baldwin for her election to the Board of Directors of the Association of Governing Boards. AGB is the only national organization designed for trustees, and Cynthia’s election to their Board is a great tribute to her standing in higher education and a real plus for Penn State.

I would also like to congratulate Cynthia for having been chosen as a 2004 Women of Spirit award recipient. Bestowed by Carlow College in Pittsburgh, the award recognizes individuals who exemplify competent and compassionate service to the community. Congratulations, Cynthia, on this wonderful recognition.

That concludes my report. I would be happy to answer any questions.