Nov. 19 is this year's Great American Smokeout. Since the Surgeon General identified the dangers of smoking, Americans have gradually quit, yet about 1 in 5 Americans still smoke. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that about 4,000 young adolescents start smoking every day and 6 percent of middle school students are smokers. If ever there were a time to think about quitting smoking, it's now. (more)
Penn State alumnus Thereen Daley is organizing a Penn State Beaver reunion for all Beaver alumni, although she is especially targeting those who attended Beaver during the 1990s. The event is set for 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 17, 2010, at Center Stage, 1489 Brodhead Road, Monaca. Tickets are $65 and include dinner, open bar, Penn State keepsake, a DJ, and a donation that will provide funds for Penn State Beaver students in need. Tours of campus also will be provided from 2 to 4 p.m. Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis and must be purchased in advance. For event information, call 443-540-2026, send an e-mail to ReunitingClassmates_77@verizon.net or contact the Penn State Beaver Development Office at dlp25@psu.edu or 724-773-3558. Join the "Penn State Beaver Reunion This Spring" Facebook group to receive updates. (more)
The Beaver Valley Area Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association (BVACPSAA) has elected its Board of Directors officers and members for 2009-10. The BVACPSAA is open for membership to the public. Members do not need to be Penn State alumni or attendees. For information about joining the chapter or its activities, visit www.beaver.psu.edu and click on "Alumni and Friends," or call the Penn State Beaver Office of Campus and Community Relations at 724-773-3815 or e-mail amk6@psu.edu. (more)
In April 2010 Penn State Beaver Theatre will present "The Frog Prince," for school and pre-school groups in the Student Union Building auditorium on campus. The play is adapted from the Grimm Brothers' classic fairy tale. Reservations are now being accepted and school groups are advised to make reservations early. To make reservations for the play, contact Linda Garlitz, Penn State Beaver staff assistant, at 724-773-3574 or lkg5@psu.edu. (more)
The Penn State Beaver Admissions Office will host two application workshops. The first will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Nov. 21 and the second will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 30. Both programs will be in the Student Union Building. The workshops are designed to help prospective students and their families complete the Penn State application. Participants applying directly to Penn State with Beaver as their first preference may receive a decision immediately if they bring their official high school transcripts to the workshop. Financial aid information and campus tours also be available. Registration for the application workshops is not required. For more information, contact the admissions office at 1-877-JOIN-PSU, br-admissions@psu.edu, or AOL IM: BrAdmissions. (more)
Penn State Beaver will continue its Fall Faculty Symposia with a presentation by Abhijit Dutt, instructor in information sciences and technology, at noon, Wednesday, Nov. 18, in the Lodge of the Student Union Building. His topic is cloud computing. The symposium was postponed from an earlier date. The public is invited to attend this free program. Dutt will introduce the emerging concept of cloud computing and describe some cloud computing platforms. He also will discuss the current importance of cloud computing and how it could impact society and businesses in general and the area of information sciences in particular. Research issues in this area also will be covered. Dutt holds a master's degree in computer science from the University of Tulsa and a master's degree in physics from the University of Calcutta, India. Dutt can be contacted at aud18@psu.edu or 724-773-3972. (more)
Penn State Beaver will feature renowned author, lecturer, and human rights activist Loung Ung in a free program open to the public at noon, Monday, Nov. 16, in the Student Union Building auditorium. Ung will speak about her experiences of survival under the Khmer Rouge as well as her best-selling memoir, "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers." This national best-seller details Ung's survival of the killing fields of Cambodia, one of the bloodiest episodes of the 20th century. For information about the program, visit www.beaver.psu.edu or contact the Beaver campus Office of Student Affairs at 724-773-3951 or dxt24@psu.edu. (more)
On Nov. 9, USA Today -- the nation's top-selling newspaper -- in cooperation with Penn State launched a new e-Edition for Penn State students as part of the University's continuing mission to promote newspaper reading as a way of integrating real world with classroom study. Since 1997, Penn State has had a readership program in place -- the first of its kind in the nation and a model for more than 500 collegiate readership programs nationwide. (more)
The Beaver Valley Area Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association is inviting new members. Annual dues are $10 per person and $15 for a couple or family. To obtain a membership application, visit http://www.beaver.psu.edu/ and click on "Alumni and Friends" or contact the Penn State Beaver Office of Campus and Community Relations at 724-773-3815 or amk6@psu.edu. (more)
Jane and Tom Gilchrist, daughter and son of Thomas A. Gilchrist Sr., have donated $10,000 to their father's memorial scholarship at Penn State Beaver. Because of their gift, funds in the Thomas A. Gilchrist Sr. Memorial Endowed Scholarship now total $40,000. The scholarship was established years ago by the Beaver Valley Area Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association in its name. After Tom passed away in May 2008, the Alumni Chapter's Board of Directors unanimously voted to re-name their scholarship in honor of Tom's dedication to the chapter and his love of Penn State. 'We're making this gift to honor our father and to ensure that his dedicated hard work continues to provide educational opportunities for deserving students,' said Tom Gilchrist Jr. The Alumni Chapter continues to add to the scholarship by donating all proceeds from the sales they conduct every summer at the Brodhead Cultural Center concession stand. For more information or to make a gift to the Gilchrist Memorial Scholarship, contact Diana Patterson, director of development, at dlp25@psu.edu or 724-773-3558.