Still Life
University Park Airport Emergency Response Exercise
Commencement across Penn State: Spring 2012
Spring commencement 2012 under way
Penn State, Moroccan students problem-solve together
Finals Week Spring Semester 2012
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
A commonly held belief that college students are only interested in courses where they can earn an "easy A" is not supported by a Penn State research study. What college students really value is how much they feel they learn in a course, according to recent findings from a survey.
"In our surveys of students at University Park, we found the single best predictor of how much students liked and positively evaluated the quality of instruction in courses was how much they had learned," said Fern K. Willits, distinguished professor emerita of rural sociology in the College of Agricultural Sciences, one of the members of the research team. "The belief that difficult courses and too much classwork will result in low student ratings is not supported by our data." (more)
Billy's BBQ in Reedsville, Pa., is now open and will be celebrating its one-year anniversary in October. It's one of 52 new businesses started in 2011 and one of three purchased with the help of the Penn State Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
In 2011, the SBDC helped businesses create 130 new jobs and kept another 90 from leaving Centre and Mifflin counties. To accomplish this, the SBDC held 41 seminars and trained almost 700 clients over a period of 5,300 hours, said Heather Fennessey, director of the SBDC. (more)
Douglas Mellott of Runville, Pa., is caring for four families as he furthers his education at Penn State. He is the married father of five children and pastor of three United Methodist Churches. Thanks to the flexibility of online courses in Penn State's World Campus, Mellott is able to balance the needs of all of his families with his educational goal. He graduates this weekend. (more)
Penn State adult learner Shounda Hathaway of Hampton Roads, Va., started her Penn State career at Penn State Altoona in 1986. She transferred to Penn State Harrisburg for her junior year, but financial issues caused her to drop out. It wasn't until 2005 when she learned about Penn State's World Campus that she resumed her studies. In between, Hathaway married and had a son, who was diagnosed with autism. As an online student, she also overcame pneumonia and a mild heart attack. She will graduate on Saturday, May 5. (more)
As the nation marks National Military Appreciation Month in May, Penn State is reporting 40 percent growth in enrollments of active-duty military and veteran students in Penn State's World Campus for 2011, or 14 percent of all online enrollments. This trend is the result of Penn State's dedicated Military Admissions and Advising Team. (more)
Students enrolled in a Penn State Continuing Education class, along with emergency responders from the State College area, participated recently in a mock bus crash. Students had the opportunity to benefit from a hands-on learning experience while local emergency responders had a chance to practice for a disaster scenario. (more)
Shaver's Creek Environmental Center will hold two major fundraising events in early May that promote the important connection between native plants and the health of native wildlife species. The Central Pennsylvania Native Plant Festival and the Birding Cup will both take place on the first weekend of May at Shaver's Creek in Petersburg, Pa. (more)
Richard Alley, the Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences at Penn State, will be the host of three hours of programming on WPSU-TV on Earth Day, April 22. The premiere of two new installments of his "Earth: The Operators' Manual" series, focused on climate change and sustainable energy, will occur at 7 p.m., with the program "Energy Quest U.S.A.," and at 10:30 p.m., with "Powering the Planet." The new shows will be preceded by an encore of the original program, "Earth: The Operators' Manual," at 6 p.m. (more)
Penn State officials have enacted a significant revision to a policy overseeing the supervision and treatment of minors involved in University-sponsored programs or programs housed or held at any Penn State campus. Administrative Policy 39 (AD39) has been updated as part of the University's comprehensive review of all of its policies, particularly those that involve children in the wake of sexual abuse charges against a retired assistant coach. Titled "Minors Involved in University-Sponsored Programs or Programs Held at the University and/or Housed in University Facilities," the policy is part of a series of steps that reinforce Penn State's safety measures for children on campus and for the entire University community. (more)
A Penn State Outreach employee has won a national higher education award for her service to the adult learner community. Lori Stania, director of Student Enrollment Services, Financial Operations and Analytics at Outreach, World Campus and Continuing Education, is the 2012 recipient of the Adelle F. Robertson Continuing Professional Educator Award from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association. (more)
