Still Life
Commencement across Penn State: Spring 2012
Spring commencement 2012 under way
Penn State, Moroccan students problem-solve together
Finals Week Spring Semester 2012
Children explore career options at University Park
Painting the Lines at Beaver Stadium
Did They Get It Right? - RedTails
Iconic Penn State elm taken down over spring break 2012
We ... are Penn State (December 19, 2011)
Disease stricken matching elm tree slated for removal
Penn State's creamery, from the cow to the cone
Each year, Penn State honors several members of its faculty and staff for the highest levels of academic excellence, outstanding leadership and meritorious service. The 2012 Faculty/Staff Award recipients -- 34 outstanding University employees and one program -- reach across campuses, colleges and administrative units and exemplify best practices and achievements among Penn Staters reflecting the University's mission of teaching, research and service. The honorees will receive their awards at a ceremony at noon Thursday, April 19, at the Nittany Lion Inn. (more)
Robin Bower, associate professor of Spanish and comparative literature and culture at Penn State Beaver, and Mark Casteel, associate professor of psychology at Penn State York, are recipients of the 2012 Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching. The award recognizes excellence in teaching and student support among tenured faculty who have been employed full time for at least five years with undergraduate teaching as a major portion of their duties. Milton S. Eisenhower, brother of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, served as president of Penn State from 1950 to 1956. (more)
Six Penn State faculty members have received the 2012 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. They are Karen Barr, senior instructor of business at Penn State Beaver; Aquila Kikora Franklin, assistant professor of theatre/dance in the College of Arts and Architecture; Christine Masters, associate professor of engineering science and mechanics in the College of Engineering; Katherine Masters, lecturer and lab director in chemistry in the Eberly College of Science; Heather McCoy, senior lecturer in French in the College of the Liberal Arts, and Laura Palmer, associate professor of biology at Penn State Altoona. The award, named after Penn State's seventh president, honors excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level. (more)
David Aurentz, associate professor of chemistry at Penn State Berks; Frederick Haag, associate professor of visual arts at Penn State York, and Mark Maughmer, professor of aerospace engineering in the College of Engineering, have received the Alumni/Student Award for Excellence in Teaching and have been named 2012 Penn State Teaching Fellows. The Penn State Alumni Association, in conjunction with undergraduate and graduate governing bodies, established the award in 1988. It honors distinguished teaching and provides encouragement and incentive for excellence in teaching. Recipients are expected to share their talents and expertise with others throughout the University system during the year following the award presentation. (more)
Irene Ferrara, senior instructor of engineering at Penn State Altoona, and Ro Nwranski, academic adviser in the College of Health and Human Development, have been selected to receive the 2012 Penn State Excellence in Advising Award. The award, established by the former Undergraduate Student Government's Academic Assembly and sponsored by each college, annually honors one full-time faculty member and one full-time professional adviser from any Penn State location who have at least two years of advising experience. Selection criteria are based on excellence in general advising, academic and career guidance, enthusiasm and assistance in decision-making, and goal setting. (more)
Laurie Grobman, professor of English and women's studies at Penn State Berks, has been awarded the 2012 President's Award for Excellence in Academic Integration. The award is given to a full-time faculty member who has exhibited extraordinary achievement in the integration of teaching, research or creative accomplishment, and service. (more)
Patricia Barthalow Koch, professor of biobehavioral health in the College of Health and Human Development, has received the 2012 President's Award for Engagement With Students. The award is given to a faculty member who goes beyond his or her responsibilities to engage and encourage students in learning. The honorees have made themselves available to interact with students outside class, link students to opportunities, and help them build their confidence as learners and potential contributors to society. (more)
Richard Cyr, professor of biology in the Eberly College of Science, is the recipient of the 2012 Undergraduate Program Leadership Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated exemplary leadership benefiting a Penn State undergraduate degree program. Specifically, it recognizes those individuals who have major responsibilities for the delivery of undergraduate education within a unit and who are providing leadership that has transformed or revitalized the undergraduate program in some way. (more)
J. Martin Bollinger Jr., professor of chemistry and of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Eberly College of Science, is the recipient of the 2012 Howard B. Palmer Faculty Mentoring Award. The award honors and recognizes outstanding achievement by a faculty member with at least five years of service who effectively guides junior faculty. Howard Palmer was the senior associate dean of The Graduate School from 1984 to 1991. (more)
Ali Borhan, professor of chemical engineering in the College of Engineering, has received the 2012 Graduate Faculty Teaching Award. The award, established in 1992 by The Graduate School, is presented to faculty members in recognition of outstanding teaching performance and advising of graduate students. (more)
