One of the benefits students have at a major national research university like Penn State is not only learning from faculty in the classroom but also working alongside them -- in the laboratory or the library -- doing research. Undergraduate students like Christine Theberge and Josh Yeh, who are conducting their own undergraduate research, and those who hold research assistant positions have the opportunity to expand their knowledge in areas of academic interest while developing valuable research skills and relevant work experience. (more)
The Penn State Justice Center for Research, a cooperative venture of the College of the Liberal Arts and Penn State Outreach's Justice and Safety Institute, has received grant funding to study the issues of successful prisoner reintegration into rural communities under the Center for Rural Pennsylvania's 2012 Research Grant Projects. Re-entry is a primary focus of the criminal justice system, yet research related to the rural context of re-entry -- a significant element of Pennsylvania's corrections landscape -- is sorely lacking. (more)
At 12:30 p.m. on April 23, Michael Denning, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of American Studies and the Director of the Initiative on Labor and Culture at Yale University, will present "Culture in the Age of One World," in Room 102 of the Kern Building on Penn State's University Park campus. (more)
Depressed mothers are more likely to needlessly wake up their infants at night than mothers who are not depressed, according to Penn State researchers. "We found that mothers with high depressive symptom levels are more likely to excessively worry about their infants at night than mothers with low symptom levels," said Douglas M. Teti, associate director of the Social Science Research Institute and professor of human development, psychology and pediatrics. (more)
Three Penn State faculty members from the College of the Liberal Arts have been awarded Guggenheim Fellowships for 2012: Lori D. Ginzberg, professor of history and women's studies; Nina G. Jablonski, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology; and David A. Rosenbaum, Distinguished Professor of Psychology. The three are among a diverse group of 181 artists, scientists and scholars selected this year from nearly 3,000 applicants across the United States and Canada. According to the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, fellows are chosen on the basis of achievement and exceptional promise. This year's fellows represent 54 disciplines from 77 different academic institutions. (more)
Jonathan H. Marks, associate professor of bioethics, humanities and law; associate director of the Rock Ethics Institute; and director of the bioethics program at Penn State; will present "The Future of Food Ethics" at 3 p.m. on Monday, April 23, in the Foster Auditorium at Paterno Library on the University Park campus. The event is free and open to the public. (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)
Gordon De Jong, distinguished professor of sociology and demography in the College of the Liberal Arts, is the 2012 recipient of the Graduate Program Chair Leadership Award. The award honors faculty members for exemplary leadership that benefits graduate students and faculty in an existing graduate program at the University. (more)
Five University faculty members have received the 2012 Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement. They are Michael Berube, Paterno Family Professor of American Literature in the College of the Liberal Arts, the arts and humanities medal; Venkatraman Gopalan, professor of materials science and engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the engineering medal; John McCarthy, professor of sociology in the College of the Liberal Arts, the social and behavioral sciences medal; Eric Post, professor of biology in the Eberly College of Science, the life and health sciences medal; and Raymond Schaak, professor of chemistry in the Eberly College of Science, the physical sciences medal. Established in 1980, the award recognizes scholarly or creative excellence represented by a single contribution or a series of contributions around a coherent theme. A committee of peers reviews nominations and selects candidates. (more)
Avis Kunz, assistant dean for outreach and online education in the College of the Liberal Arts, is the winner of the 2012 McKay Donkin Award. Established in 1969 in honor of the late McKay Donkin, who served as vice president and treasurer of the University from 1957 to 1968, the award is presented to a full-time member of the faculty or staff or to a retiree who has contributed most to the "economic, physical, mental or social welfare of the faculty" of the University. The contribution should be for duties or services above and beyond the recipient's regularly assigned duties. (more)
