Every weekend since the end of August, a group of Penn State wildlife and fisheries science students have been learning to band birds along the edge of a wooded area at the Arboretum at Penn State. The students are working under the direction of Emily Thomas, a 2009 Penn State graduate and a master's candidate in wildlife and fisheries science. To see photos from Tina Hay, editor of The Penn Stater magazine, from the bird-banding sessions, visit http://live.psu.edu/stilllife/2340 online. (more)
Back in the late 1980s, Penn Stater Magazine Editor Tina Hay was one of the hosts of the Folk Show on WPSU-FM, Penn State's public radio station, and Bela Fleck was pushing the boundaries of bluegrass music as the banjo player for the decidedly niche group New Grass Revival. She played a lot of Fleck's music on the show, but doubted that most people outside the bluegrass world knew who he was. Fast-forward to the present. This year, Fleck won two Grammy Awards for a world-music recording, "Throw Down Your Heart," a collaboration with musicians from Africa. Fleck has brought some of those musicians to the U.S. to tour with him this winter, and last night he brought the show to Eisenhower Auditorium. To read more from Tina Hay, check her Penn Stater blog at http://pennstatermag.com/2010/03/04/bela-fleck-and-his-african-pals-rock-eisenhower-auditorium/ online. To see her photos from the show, visit http://live.psu.edu/stilllife/2229 online. (more)
Sandra Chapman, a Penn State College of Medicine student completing her doctoral degree in molecular medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was one of only three oral presenters at the Sixth Annual NIH Graduate Student Research Symposium on Nov. 10. This event allows graduate students to showcase their research to the entire NIH community and received nearly 100 abstracts this year. Chapman's research involves the transcriptional regulation of the human papilloma-virus (HPV). While working at the NIH, she also has been involved with the Graduate Student Council and co-founded a Science Policy Discussion Club. (more)
A new article in The Penn Stater magazine tells the story of the unheralded 1946 and 1947 Nittany Lion football squads -- two teams that helped establish Penn State nationally as a top program and, more importantly, made the University a key factor in the nation's slow march to racial justice. The men who made up those two teams are widely thought to have inspired the University's iconic "We Are..." chant. Read more, and download a copy of the story from the magazine's November-December issue, at The Penn Stater blog: http://tinyurl.com/yzrp5ua online.
Earlier this year, Penn State Live also paid tribute to the teams. Watch the story of the "game that wasn't," when the entire Penn State football team refused to play at the segregated Orange Bowl in 1946, at http://live.psu.edu/youtube/OoCbPyPlfls online. Hear from Wally Triplett himself as he talks about being first African-American to play in the Cotton Bowl in 1947. (more)
Students from 50 Penn State sororities and fraternities showed off some impressive talents in music and dance on Sunday, Nov. 1, in the annual "Greek Sing," held in a sold-out Eisenhower Auditorium. The Greek Sing a talent show in which members of two or three IFC/Panhel organizations team up to perform selections from Broadway musicals. Each team performs for six to eight minutes, then there's a quick change-over, then the next team is on. So, in the course of three hours, audience members saw performances from 19 different Broadway shows. To read more about the event, visit Tina Hay's Penn Stater blog at http://pennstatermag.com/2009/11/02/penn-state-greeks-strut-their-broadway-stuff/ and to see pictures, visit http://live.psu.edu/stilllife/2176 online. (more)
Two Penn State faculty members, Patricia Jabbeh Wesley and Gabeba Baderoon, will be the featured poets at a reading at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art on Sept. 19. The poetry reading forms part of the annual "Fall for the Book" literature festival organized by George Mason University, and other featured writers include E. L. Doctorow, Terrance Hayes and Sherman Alexie. The full festival program can be found at http://www.fallforthebook.org/2009_FFTB_program.pdf online. (more)
Close to 400 fans posted their stories about memorable Penn State football games. It wasn't easy to choose, but we finally whittled down the list and settled on our favorite story. Who can forget the "Snow Bowl" of 1995? Lori Williams certainly remembers that game, and her recounting of her experiences getting to Beaver Stadium that day have won her two tickets to the Sept. 19 Penn State-Temple game, along with free accommodations at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. (more)
Thank you to everyone who entered our Penn State Facebook contest to win tickets and a room at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel for the Temple game. The contest is now closed, and we're starting to read through the more than 350 entries. We'll announce the winner soon, and no later than Sept. 10. Keep in mind that even if you don't win, you can go to the game. There still are tickets available for Temple, as well as for the Akron and Syracuse games, and the Penn Stater has some rooms still available for those games, as well as for the Indiana game. An overnight stay at the Penn Stater gets you free round-trip bus transportation to the game as well. (more)
Time is running out to enter the Penn State Facebook contest to win tickets and a room at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel for the Temple game. Post your favorite G-rated, sober Penn State football memory to the Penn State Facebook page wall at http://www.facebook.com/pennstate by 5 p.m. this Friday, Aug. 28, for a chance to win. There have been hundreds of entries, though, and there will be only one winner, so you may want to guarantee your attendance at the game. There still are tickets available for Temple, as well as for the Akron and Syracuse games, and the Penn Stater has some rooms still available for those games, as well as for the Indiana game. An overnight stay at the Penn Stater gets you free roundtrip bus transportation to the game as well. For tickets, go to http://www.ticketmaster.com/Beaver-Stadium-tickets-University-Park/venue/16740 and to reserve your room at the Penn Stater, go to http://www.nli.psu.edu/pennstater/pshome.asp online. (more)
