In 2003, after his 17-year-old son committed suicide, Ron Pappalardo began working in the field of suicide prevention. Pappalardo will bring his Suicide Prevention and Anti-Bullying Tour to Penn State Berks on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, at 6 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium.

Pappalardo’s book, “Reconciled by the Light,” recounts his experience and the lessons he learned, including healing from grief, overcoming depression, and the power of forgiveness. His book has helped thousands; his presentations leave audiences feeling hopeful, uplifted, and enthusiastic to help others. During his presentation, he will discuss the warning signs of suicide, strategies for ending bullying, and simple tips for defeating the number one cause of suicidal thinking—depression. Pappalardo promotes understanding and cooperation between young people of all nationalities, religions, and ethnicities.

This lecture is part of the 2013 Mental Health Fair, which will be held throughout the day on Jan. 30, 2013 from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. in Perkins Student Center Lion’s Den. This presentation is part of the Penn State Berks Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

During the excursion, the students visited several financial and investment sites such as the Bank of England Museum, where they learned about the English financial system and policy; the London Metal Exchange, where they observed commodity trading; Barclay's Capital, where they learned about investment banking; and Deloitte, where they studied mergers and acquisitions and financial consulting. They also visited Sotheby's, a well known collectibles/fine art auction house; Lloyd's of London, an insurance/reinsurance firm; DFJ Esprit, a venture capital firm; and Coller Capital, an investment firm.

It was such an eye-opening experience and it really showed me all the different things I could do with my major after I graduate,” commented Kate Harley, a junior majoring in Business with a concentration in Finance.

According to Abdou, the purpose of the trip was to expose Finance students to the real world of international finance and to offer them an opportunity to hear directly from international professionals about their experiences. The students also benefited from the opportunity to experience a different culture and to be global citizens.

Since its debut in 2000, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” has been one of the most popular television shows both nationally and internationally. Now, for the first time, the secrets of “CSI” are revealed as actors/researchers David Berman and Jon Wellner take you inside the hit forensic drama, in “CSI Exposed: Behind the Scenes of the Hit TV Show.” This presentation will be held at Wednesday, January 16, 2013, at 9 p.m. in Perkins Student Center Auditorium. This presentation is free an open to the public.

Berman and Wellner will compare the fictional Universal Studios crime lab with a real Las Vegas crime lab, and discuss science versus entertainment in the so-called “CSI Effect.” You’ll learn how “CSI” is researched and view excerpts that illustrate how that information is incorporated into the show, as they detail the process of how each episode of procedural television is created, from the story’s conception in the writers’ room all the way through post-production.

This presentation is part of the Penn State Berks Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

The Penn State Berks Freyberger Gallery will present Art and Science, an exhibition that explores the responses and reactions of artists, through their work, to the research and scholarly interests within the Penn State Berks science division from January 10-February 22, 2013, with an opening reception on Thursday, January 10, at 6 p.m. This event is free an open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

In this exhibition, artists interpret scientific information aesthetically, using the scientific information as a point of departure for their creative endeavors. Viewers will observe art that illuminates, defines, and interprets the data and information gathered by the College’s science faculty members, making it more accessible for some and more intriguing for others. While the faculty’s research has provided important and useful information on such topics as mathematics, horticulture, biology, chemistry, and physics—just to name a few—the artists featured in this exhibition have used these discoveries to create other exciting new realities through their work.

The Freyberger Gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. For more information, contact Marilyn Fox, Gallery Director, at 610-396-6140 or via e-mail at MJF14@psu.edu.

The journal invites undergraduates to pursue their own intellectual projects and seeks contributions to the burgeoning academic conversation on service learning and community-based research. Submissions are open to undergraduate students in the United States and across the globe in all subject areas, and undergo a rigorous review and revision process. Dr. Laurie Grobman, Coordinator of the Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research and Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Penn State Berks, is the journal’s founding editor.

The inaugural volume includes 32 essays and one poster by students from 27 colleges and universities and in a wide range of disciplines. Five students from three campuses of Penn State University served as peer reviewers. All authors revised their original submissions in close consultation with a faculty mentor. The journal’s faculty mentors come from institutions across the United States and internationally.

Categories of entry in the inaugural issue include reflective and analytical essays, research done in partnership with an organization and accompanying reflection, research articles, and an open category.

Essays range from an analysis of the economic impacts of buying from locally owned, independent businesses in Portland, Maine by Amar Patel, Bowdoin College, to Warren Wilson College’s Freesia Mckee, who interweaves her love of creative writing with her deep reflections on social justice issues revealed in her service learning experiences.

Stacy Beaty, through an introductory biology course at Northampton Community College, partnered with the non-profit organization, Cancer Support Community (CSC) of the Greater Lehigh Valley, to investigate the psychological effect that positive lifestyle changes may have on personal control and the factors enabling these changes.

In the arts, Benjamin Barron and Emi Nakamura, Princeton University, partnered with Modern Improvisational Music Appreciation (MIMA), a group that empowers communities by collectively writing an original song and recording a music video. The authors write about their pilot project extending MIMA’s mission, teaching individuals how to create, record, and edit digital music.

The journal is available online at http://www.bk.psu.edu/Academics/journal.htm.

The Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research is a forum for sharing knowledge, expertise, and training among faculty who practice service learning and community-based research in their courses. Several projects have been completed and many others are currently underway in which students and faculty are partnering with nonprofit organizations.

For more information about the Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning and Community-Based Research or the Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research, contact Grobman at 610-396-6141 or via e-mail at LEG8@psu.edu.

The pilot volunteer tutoring program is currently underway in Reading and Muhlenberg school districts. Penn State Berks student volunteers, along with community volunteers, have been trained as tutors and are providing supplemental instruction to identified second graders. The tutors meet with second-grade students each week to read together.

Some of the Penn State students had personal reasons for volunteering for the program.

“The Ready. Set. Read! program serves students in the Reading School District, where Hispanics are the majority,” stated Leilani Nenadich. “As a Latina, I find it imperative to give back to the Latino community. I feel honored to be a part of such a program that will benefit our youth's reading proficiency.”

"I am extremely honored to be part of such a noble cause and help the youth of the Reading School District," commented student tutor Ryan Wendler.

"The program teaches me how to do one-on-one stuff with kids when I become a teacher," added Kaley Kinek, Penn State Berks student tutor.

A total of 16 Penn State Berks students volunteered for the initiative. They include:

"The education students at Penn State Berks who volunteer for this initiative have embraced this opportunity in many ways,” according to Toni Vanino, Instructor in Language/Literacy Education at Penn State Berks who coordinated the Penn State Berks student volunteers. “They truly value working with early learners on their literacy skills and understand the significance of giving to the community. These positive role models aspire to make a difference."

Local data based on recent PSSA scores show that over 25 percent of Berks County third graders are not reading proficiently. The goal of the program is for 90 percent of the county’s third-graders to reach reading proficiency by 2013.

According to United Way President Tammy White, reading proficiency by the end of the third grade is a proven indicator of academic and long-term success, benefitting students and the community alike.

Stella Leonti, United Way's Director of Education, said the initiative will focus on several areas to improve early-grade reading. Volunteers will work with families and caregivers, showing how they can help children understand the value of reading.

The Ready. Set. Read! program will employ a comprehensive and collaborative approach. "This is a crucial issue. We all have a stake in education, as it is the issue that drives the success of individuals, families, and ultimately our community. We all recognize when you improve education, you improve the community, and vice versa,” says Tammy White, president of United Way of Berks County.

“Erica and I had submitted an article on social media titled, "Betweet YouTube and Me Does Facebook Pinterest You Into Getting LinkedIn.' It will be featured in the December issue, the second edition of the new magazine,” explains Doyle. “Consequently, Erica and I were given the opportunity to write our own articles, which will likely be featured in the February issue.” 

Doyle and Caceres are completing internships at the magazine as part of the Professional Writing degree program at Penn State Berks. According to Professional Writing program coordinator Christian Weisser, they are likely to also do some editorial work as development continues on this publication.

“The Professional Writing program at Penn State Berks has opened many doors including freelance writing for “At Home in Berks,” comments Caceres. “I look forward to see what other doors will open working with Christian Malesic on this great publication. Being published and having my words read by others has always been one of my many goals. Attending Penn State Berks has given me that opportunity and I will always be thankful.”

Doyle adds, “The Professional Writing program at Penn State Berks has afforded us the opportunity to further develop our writing skills outside of the classroom while establishing professional contacts that may lead to future employment and continue to extend Penn State's commitment to the community at large.”

According to Christian D. Malesic, editor-in-chief of “At Home in Berks” and Executive Officer of the Home Builders Association of Berks County, the primary goal of the publication is to create a publically consumable magazine. Articles cover a wide range of topics from how to hire a contractor, to better use of household products, to tips for decorating, painting, and lawn care.

Those interested in writing for this publication, including current Penn State Berks students, are encouraged to contact the Malesic at 610-777-8889.

A new class of more than 100 Penn State Berks students will receive their baccalaureate and associate degrees on Friday, December 21, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in the Beaver Community Center when Berks hosts the fall 2012 commencement ceremony.

The keynote speaker will be Glenn E. Moyer, Pennsylvania Secretary of Banking and Securities. In this position, Moyer provides overall leadership to the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, which fosters strong financial services industries for the Commonwealth by ensuring the safety and soundness of state-chartered financial institutions, the compliance with laws that govern financial service entities, and the protection of consumers and investors in financial matters.

The department supervises more than 225 Pennsylvania state-chartered banks, thrifts, trust companies and credit unions, and licenses more than 15,000 non-depository financial services companies that provide a variety of consumer loans and financial services. The department also oversees the submission and clearing of more than 5,000 securities offerings annually, while licensing more than 190,000 individuals and companies who offer various levels of investment advice and/or planning in the Commonwealth.

By virtue of his position as Secretary of Banking and Securities, Moyer also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and as a board director of six other state government-related entities.

Moyer was born and raised in the Boyertown area. He is a graduate of Penn State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education. He also earned master’s degrees in education from Eastern New Mexico University and business administration from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Following graduation from college, he served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, stationed at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico.

Upon his return to Pennsylvania, Moyer joined the American Bank and Trust Co. of PA, which later became Meridian Bank. Subsequently, he served as president and CEO of The Elverson National Bank and National Penn Bank and its holding company, National Penn Bancshares, Inc., Boyertown.

Moyer and his wife, Jane, reside in Oley Township, and have two married children and a grandchild.

“War Dance” tells the story of the tens of thousands of children who have been abducted during Uganda’s twenty years of civil war. The film centers on Dominic, Rose, and Nancy, growing up in the Patongo Internally Displaced Persons Camp. As members of the Acholi ethnic group, they are victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel movement that has perpetrated many atrocities. Nevertheless, they take an historic journey to compete in Uganda's national music and dance festival. The film combines music, dance, and contemporary issues, and is the winner of the Documentary Directing Award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and also is a 2007 Academy Award nominee for best documentary feature.

“Endurance” is a docudrama about the famous distance runner Haile Gebrselassie with Gebrselassie playing the role of himself. It was written and directed by Leslie Woodhead and Bud Greenspan, and produced and released by The Walt Disney Company. The movie features Gebrselassie's upbringing in Ethiopia and his subsequent triumph in the 10,000-meter track event in the Atlanta Olympic Games of 1996.

The African Film Series is sponsored by the Global Studies degree program at Penn State Berks. For more information, contact Dr. Randall Fegley, associate professor of history, at 610-396-6092 or via e-mail at RAF8@psu.edu.

“Shake Hands with the Devil” is the story of Canadian Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire's return to Rwanda ten years after his controversial command of the UN mission, during the 1994 genocide. His attempts to deal with his and Rwanda's past are presented in detail and in his own words. Exploring the nature of evil in thought-provoking honesty, this film captures the situation in Rwanda in both a personal and understandable style, going beyond the typical "news" documentary.

The remaining films, “War Dance,” and “Endurance,” are scheduled for 7 p.m. on December 6 and 11, respectively. The screening of “War Dance” will in room 151, Franco Building; “Endurance” will be shown in room 101, Franco building.

The African Film Series is sponsored by the Global Studies degree program at Penn State Berks. For more information, contact Dr. Randall Fegley, associate professor of history, at 610-396-6092 or via e-mail at RAF8@psu.edu.

From Information Technology Manager at a leading international energy management company to entrepreneur in the additive manufacturing industry to… college graduate, Glenn Adams took the “road less traveled” toward earning his college degree.

Adams, 38, will graduate at the top of his class from Penn State Berks on December 21, 2012, with a 4.0 grade point average and a bachelor of science degree in Information Sciences and Technology (IST), as well as a few Engineering Entrepreneurship courses under his belt.

However, Adams was no stranger to the fields of information technology and entrepreneurship when he enrolled as a student in the spring of 2010. At that time, he was employed as an IT Manager at Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, at their Leesport, PA location. Schneider Electric had acquired RAM Industries, LLC in 2008. Adams had worked in various information technology positions for RAM Industries since 1997.

As is often the case when companies merge, the organization restructured and Adams was laid off in 2011. However, he made the most of this unexpected development and devoted all his energy to completing his degree in record time.

Not only was he a diligent student, but he was also a budding entrepreneur, dabbling in the additive manufacturing industry. He had ordered a three-dimensional printer online and began tinkering with it–and ideas for a future business–in his spare time.

He brought the printer in to share with Dr. Sadan Kulturel-Konak, coordinator of the Engineering Entrepreneurship minor, and she asked him to set it up in the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development in the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. In addition to printing cool three-dimensional action figures and novelties, Adams also prints actual parts for the printer itself. He also taught fellow students to use the technology.

Adams also had the opportunity to share the printer with an enthusiastic group of fifth graders at the Lauer’s Park Elementary School in Reading, through a connection he made with someone in the private sector through the Entrepreneurship program at Penn State Berks. He said he hoped the technology got the fifth graders thinking about all the possibilities that exist for the future.

While his ultimate goal is to put his ten years of experience in information technology and fifteen years of experience in manufacturing to the work in an enterprise resource planning consulting position, he is also brainstorming ways to use his entrepreneurial skills within the additive manufacturing industry.

“I see myself as a technology and life architect,” explains Adams.

Adams actually began his academic career at Penn State University immediately after graduating from Fleetwood High School in 1992, but his restless entrepreneurial spirit led him to also start a car stereo business at the same time. The business consumed more of his time attention and he left the University, but he always regretted not earning his degree.

He credits Chancellor Emeritus Susan Phillips Speece, his former neighbor, with convincing him to enroll at Penn State Berks and complete his degree.

When asked how he thinks earning his degree from Penn State Berks will give him a competitive edge in the workplace, Adams explains, “I got to know the professors here in a different way. The environment at this campus is so completely different. The open door policy with professors and that communication lead to so many new things and new opportunities.”

And so, for Adams, taking the “road less traveled” really has made all the difference.

Coffee house events are for students, faculty, and staff who want to read their personal short stories or poems or to perform with their musical instruments.

This event was organized by Professional Writing majors Heather Hussman and Brittany Specht. They have already held a successful coffeehouse event earlier this semester to support the National Day of Writing, which brought together a full house of students, faculty and staff who shared their literary work.

Hussman and Specht are currently working on publishing an online literary magazine for the college, titled, “Shadows of Birds” (and Other Alate Things), which will be released soon.

For more information, contact Jayne Brown, Senior Lecturer in English, at 610-396-6041 or via e-mail at JRB30@psu.edu.

Patricia Jepsen, Coordinator of Career Services and Internships at Penn State Berks, will discuss how Career Services can assist adults who are either current students or alumni. Resume writing, career and major exploration, job fairs, and the Nittany Lion Career Network will be discussed at this event. In addition, the discussion will address the topic of using social media to achieve personal goals.

For more information about this event or to confirm your attendance, contact Solange Israel-Mintz, Adult Student Recruitment Coordinator and Instructor in Management, at 610-396-6222 or via e-mail at SAI3@psu.edu.

Penn State Berks, the leading engineering college in Berks County, has recently received approval from the University to offer the Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, beginning in the fall semester of 2013. Penn State Berks is one of only four Penn State campuses to offer the B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Penn State Berks will seek accreditation for this degree from ABET, the global leader in accreditation of engineering, engineering technology, computing, and applied science programs.

Mechanical engineering is one of the largest and broadest engineering disciplines, involving the study of mechanics, fluid/thermal systems, and system dynamics. Built on a foundation of physics, chemistry, and mathematics, the mechanical engineering program at Penn State Berks will include both a strong design emphasis and hands-on laboratory experience. Students will learn to use scientific and engineering methods to devise useful products that are safe, reliable, and cost effective.

“This will be the first Mechanical Engineering program in a radius of fifty miles and will fill the needs of students, employers, and several local firms,” explains Dr. Rungun Nathan, Associate Professor of  Engineering and Coordinator for the Mechanical Engineering degree program. “This degree provides an opportunity for our faculty to share their expertise and research experience.”

Studies begin in mathematics, mechanics, and thermodynamics and progress to courses such as machine design, heat transfer, and system dynamics. Students also learn how to apply scientific principles, engineering analysis, and engineering design to solve unstructured problems. In their senior year, students will work in small teams with individual faculty to complete capstone design projects. Some projects will be based on faculty research, advancing students’ basic understanding in Mechanical Engineering.  Through the college’s Learning Factory, industry-sponsorship may be available for some projects, giving students the opportunity to work on “real world” design challenges while completing their education.

Mechanical engineers research, design, test, manufacture, and operate products ranging from automobiles to rocket engines. They have tremendous flexibility, working in every type of industry, in jobs ranging from research and development to manufacturing and operations. Mechanical engineers also work in product design, procurement, technical sales, and management. Graduates enter a wide variety of industries such as health care, energy, military, transportation, consumer products, and sports/recreation. A mechanical engineering education is also an excellent preparation for careers such as technical management, business and patent law, and technical sales.

The degree program will be housed in the college’s new Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. The 60,000-square-feet facility is the largest academic facility at Penn State Berks. Designed to complement the natural beauty and existing architecture of the campus, the three-story structure is as cutting-edge as the learning and discovery that take place within it. A range of sustainability strategies has allowed the building to receive LEED gold-level certification as a “green” facility.

The Gaige Building offers not only the quantity but also the quality of space that the college’s evolving academic programs require, including state-of-the art laboratory space for more sustained and sophisticated investigations.

Above all, the Gaige Building makes it possible for Penn State Berks to deepen partnerships with businesses and communities throughout the region. By providing space for three new and creative initiatives—the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, the Learning Factory, and the Emerging Technologies and Business Intelligence Laboratory—the facility helps to make the campus an even more important leader for growth and innovation.

The roots of Penn State Berks are based in engineering. It all began when two German entrepreneurs, Ferdinand Thun and Henry Janssen, opened Textile Machine Works (TMI) in Reading in 1892. As their business expanded and they opened Narrow Fabric Company and Berkshire Knitting Mills, Thun and Janssen found they needed trained workers, so they started an education program in 1927 called the Educational Department of Textile Machine Works. Penn State instructors helped facilitate the program. In 1933, the school was granted a state charter and renamed the Wyomissing Polytechnic Institute (WPI), officially considered the predecessor to Penn State Berks. That same year, Penn State announced that it would give two years' college credit to graduates of the WPI program.

WPI closed its doors in 1958, a victim of the difficult economic times for the textile industry. Since WPI and Penn State had a long and successful relationship, its founders offered the WPI buildings to Penn State for the establishment of an extension center.

The Mechanical Engineering degree will join the college’s fourteen other baccalaureate degree programs, providing a full complement of diverse and varied baccalaureate degree programs to meet the needs of students in the Berks County community and beyond. For more information about the B.S. in Mechanical Engineering program, contact program coordinator Dr. Rungun Nathan at 610-396-6170 or via e-mail at rungun.nathan@psu.edu.

The Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building on Penn State’s Berks campus recently won two new awards for its unique design and construction. The Construction Owners Association of America (COAA) granted a Silver Award from its Project Leadership Award Program at its national conference in Orlando, Fla. Within weeks, the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) granted a Project Achievement Award at its 2012 national conference in Chicago. Both the COAA and the CMAA recognized the steady leadership and detailed scheduling that led to this building’s completion three months ahead of schedule and under budget.

Back in May, the building was awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold-level certification, established by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). LEED is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. This was the first project at Penn State Berks to pursue LEED certification and the first at Penn State, outside the University Park campus, to be awarded gold certification. To read the full story on the Gaige Building receiving LEED certification, visit http://live.psu.edu/story/59564.

Penn State’s Berks enjoyed incredible success under the leadership of the late Frederick H. Gaige, the college's former dean and CEO Emeritus, during his tenure from 1984–2000. Known to many as a visionary leader, Gaige helped to transform the campus into a college with four-year academic programs and residence halls. He was also instrumental in significantly increasing student enrollment, the campus’s endowment and its physical facilities. This tremendous growth placed incredible pressure on existing academic space, challenging the institution’s ability to grow and develop.

The addition of the new Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building was a dream long in the waiting that began to take flight in April 2010. As the largest building on campus at more than 60,000 square feet, Gaige houses three extraordinary initiatives:
-- The Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Engagement
-- The Learning Factory
-- The Emerging Technologies and Business Intelligence Laboratory

This building will help make the campus an even more important leader for growth and innovation. The three-story Gaige Building, which house the college’s Business; Engineering; Information Sciences and Technology; and Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management degree programs, was designed to complement the natural beauty and existing architecture of the campus, and the structure is as cutting edge as the learning and discovery that takes place within it:

-- Nine new classrooms equipped with state-of-the-art communications technologies
-- Nine new computer labs
-- Dedicated laboratory space for sustained and sophisticated investigations
-- 50 new faculty offices
-- A café with 36 seats indoors and another 36 seats on the adjoining patio
-- A two-story atrium lobby that links the sky-lit circulation corridors with exterior patio seating areas
-- A kitchen area serving as laboratory space for the Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management degree program
-- A lecture hall
-- Conference rooms
-- Design studio
-- Student study areas
-- An installation by world-renowned sculptor Ray King

Ben Franklin once said “If you only have three hours to cut down a tree, I suggest you spend two hours sharpening your ax.” Assembling a team of experts created a synergy that produced an effective process and a highly successful construction project. A partnering session initiated by Penn State at the project start developed an atmosphere of true teamwork so all energies were focused on productive measures resulting in a superior building. The partnering session included Penn State, all design professionals and the major prime subcontractors, which was integral to the success of this project.

The international architectural firm RMJM Hillier designed the facility, and construction was managed by Alvin H. Butz Inc., Allentown.

“We couldn’t be more satisfied with the quality of work that went into constructing the Gaige Building,” says Kim Berry, chief operating officer, Penn State Berks. “Receiving two national awards such as these is no small feat, and every member of the project team should be honored to receive them.”

One common denominator in successful projects is a comprehensive Project Management Plan. Penn State clearly communicated to all stakeholders the expectations for quality, cost and schedule. A website was utilized that helped guide all team members through every phase of construction. The project was completed in 369 working days, from April 2010 to September 2011, more than two months ahead of its original schedule. It came in under budget and has become a benchmark for quality on all of our campuses.

Penn State had to overcome a number of challenges. Project managers had the foresight and good planning to pay for overtime to get the building enclosed by the end of January 2011. A challenge for the entire team was working through the winter weather. A change from a fully adhered roof to an asphalt-coated system was made to allow the material to be heated and installed during the middle of January 2011. That change allowed construction to continue through the winter making the building water tight for other trades. In addition, focus was put on enclosing the building so temporary heat could be provided to increase worker productivity and morale during the winter months.

The team was faced with ordering many specialized materials. The terra cotta tile used for the rain screen was manufactured in Germany, and the aluminum extrusions around all windows were so large that only a specialized die could be used to achieve the size. Materials had to be selected, approved and ordered correctly the first time because the schedule would not allow for a second production run and shipment from potentially half way around the world.

The building features a number of sustainable technologies and materials. It has one of the region’s first exterior terra cotta rain screen cladding systems. The majority of the façade is curtainwall, and windows are glazed with 1 1/4-inch ECO-Insulating Glass with Heat Mirror SC 75, which gives the windows an amazing U- Factor of .11 maximum in the winter and .26 maximum in the summer. The building is served with three large Air Handlers with energy recovery. Two boilers produce hot water for the perimeter fin tube and variable air volume boxes. Two 35,000-gallon tanks collect rainwater from the roof with the capacity of providing 100 percent of the water needed to flush the toilets, wash the exterior of the building and water plants. Daylighting controls and occupancy sensors help reduce the lighting load, and natural daylight in most offices and classrooms provide sufficient lighting levels for most days.

Aside from the standard mantra of completing the building ahead of schedule, below budget and with the highest quality, the biggest achievement was the University’s ability to use the construction project as a learning tool for students. The construction team volunteered their time to participate in many student functions and career days. Working with Penn State, a curriculum was developed for the spring semester class that held a competition to develop the wording and design of all the LEED signage. The resulting signage was spectacular and enhances the sustainability awareness of all those who enter the building.

In 50 years, time will erase from memory the grand feats achieved on this project -- the rain screen construction, challenging schedule and the difficult weather conditions. But the quality of the building is timeless and will remain evident to all the students and faculty who will use the Gaige Building in years to come.
 

The event benefits the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON), the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. Proceeds benefit The Four Diamonds Fund at the Hershey Medical Center. After a year-long fundraising effort by students at Penn State campuses, THON culminates in a forty-six hour dance marathon at University Park campus, to be held Feb. 15-17, 2013.

For more information, contact student chair Melissa Sauer at MRS5498@psu.edu.

The presentation titled "Shift Happens: Creativity, Imagination, Exponential Change, and the Role of Education," explores the trends in the rapidly changing world of economic and cultural globalization, as well as implications, goals, and objectives in American education at various levels.

The EBC Research Interest Group features Penn State Berks faculty and visiting experts who conduct research on a wide variety of topics. Topics are of broad and general interest and are accessible to the non-expert.

For more information, contact either of the co-chairs for the EBC Research Interest Group: Dr. Jui-Chi Huang, assistant professor of economics, at JXH74@psu.edu; or Dr. Ada Leung, assistant professor of marketing, at CXL51@psu.edu.

Dr. Laurie Grobman, Professor of English and Women’s Studies and Coordinator of The Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research, asked her upper-level English course to research the Hispanic/Latino community of Reading and write chapters on various aspects of the culture. The result was the publication Hispanics/Latinos in Reading and Berks: A Portrait of a Community, written by students of the college in collaboration with the Hispanic Center of Reading and Berks County.

The second lecture in the “Berks Roots: An International Legacy” lecture series featured Jonathan Encarnacion, who presented “U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Latin America and Its Impact on U.S. Immigration.” Cassandra Yatron, Penn State alumna and Program Assistant for the Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research, also spoke about her chapter on community activism in the Hispanic/Latino community in Hispanics/Latinos in Reading and Berks: A Portrait of a Community.

For more information about the “Berks Roots: An International Legacy” lecture series, contact Judy Iwaschenko at 610-375-4375 or via e-mail at Judy.i@berkshistory.org.

Greglynn Gibbs, Research Support Technician at Penn State Berks, has been invited by the American Chemical Society Committee on Education (SOCED) to serve on the ACS Undergraduate Programs Advisory Board (UPAB) for a three-year term (2013–2015), and to serve as Undergraduate Program Chair for a future ACS national meeting during that time.

According to Mary Carroll, Chair of the Society Committee on Education, Gibbs was invited to serve on this advisory board due to her familiarity with ACS and her experience with undergraduate education.

Currently, Gibbs serves as the adviser to the Penn State Berks student chapter of the ACS. This year, the Lehigh Valley Section of the American Chemical Society, which includes Penn State Berks, received a ChemLuminary Award for Outstanding Performance by a Local Section – Medium Large Size Category. The Lehigh Valley section was nominated for the award due to its involvement in the International Year of Chemistry and National Chemistry Week; Penn State Berks made several notable contributions to the section’s outreach efforts.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

This 2004 film and HBO movie presents both a look at Zulu society and some of the issues surrounding AIDS in Africa. It tells the story of a young South African woman named Yesterday, who discovers that she is HIV positive. Her goal is to be able to survive long enough to see her daughter, Beauty, go to school.

The remaining films, “Shake Hands with the Devil,” “War Dance,” and “Endurance,” are scheduled for December 4, 6, and 11, respectively and will air at 7 pm in room 101, Franco Building. “War Dance” will air in room 151 Franco.

This African Film Series is sponsored by the Global Studies degree program at Penn State Berks. For more information, contact Dr. Randall Fegley, associate professor of history, at 610-396-6092 or via e-mail at RAF8@psu.edu.

"Get Some" is a show about health with a human sexuality emphasis. Alice Holland, Penn State Berks Nurse Practitioner Supervisor serves as host.  The show includes an interactive audience that features both college students and professionals as guests. Two residence hall assistants helped to facilitate this episode in the residence halls: seniors Jade Eggleston, Applied Psychology major, and Katherine De Crescenzo, Global Studies major.

"The culmination of my past employment experiences at Blue Mountain Health System Family Planning Clinic, Lehighton Area School District, and Lehigh Valley Hospital, along with my present employment at Penn State, has prepared me with the assessment, interpersonal, and communication skills needed to host the show," explained Holland about her credentials.

In addition to her position as Health Services Supervisor at Penn State Berks, Holland also teaches courses in human sexuality, two of which have culminated with an experiential approach in Kenya. She is certified by the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) as a sexuality educator and she holds a master’s degrees in both Nursing and Human Sexuality, and is presently a Human Sexuality Doctoral student, as well as a member of the American College Health Association (ACHA) and American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).

“Get Some” is filmed the last Monday of each month. Recent episodes can be viewed at www.youtube.com/psugetsome. For more information, contact Alice Holland at ARH16@psu.edu.

The Penn State Berks Ice Hockey Team donated more than $450 to the American Cancer Society in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The funds donated were generated by the admission fees collected at the on Oct. 20 home game against Lebanon Valley College. In addition, throughout the month of October, the players wore pink hockey socks, used pink hockey tape, and wore pink ribbons on their helmets during home games, in support of the fight against breast cancer.

On Saturday, Nov. 3, team members continued their community service by helping to clear trails and assisting with other outdoor maintenance at Nolde Forest State Park in Reading.

Art Sparks–A Community Engagement Event of Inspiration and Hope through Art will open at the Freyberger Gallery on Thursday, Nov. 29, with a reception beginning at 6 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

The exhibition was initiated by Susan Rehhausser, who has conducted workshops throughout the City of Reading–named one of the most impoverished U.S. cities for its size by the U.S. Census. The mission was to create art work with a goal of inspiring an interest in the arts and lifelong learning. Pieces referred to as “art sparks” were created by assembling wooden triptychs with collages of positive images and inspirational messages, and will be distributed throughout the city this fall. The Freyberger Gallery will host a photographic exhibition of the art work created by students and citizens of Reading through December 7, 2012.

The Freyberger Gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. For more information, contact Marilyn Fox, Gallery Director, at 610-396-6140 or via e-mail at MJF14@psu.edu.

In “12.21.12: An End of Days?” Dr. Edwin Barnhart, Director of the Maya Exploration Center, will address the ancient Maya prophecies, which foresee the end of days in December of 2012. The presentation, which will separate fact from fiction, will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in Perkins Student Center Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.

Barnhart’s discussion covers everything from whether modern spiritualists are correct that we are entering a new age of enlightenment to the fact that the Maya calendar is coming to its cyclical end on December 21, 2012. Although the larger question remains: What did the ancient Maya actually predict about the future? The answer lies in a better understanding of Maya religion and hieroglyphic texts.

As Director of the Maya Exploration Center, Barnhart’s knowledge comes from two decades of experience in Mesoamerica as an archaeologist and explorer. He earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin, and teaches National Science Foundation classes for college professors on Maya astronomy and sacred geometry.

This presentation is part of the Penn State Berks Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

"Participation in the drive is valuable and has a direct effect on the stability of the area's blood supply," commented Penn State Berks Health Services Supervisor Alice Holland.

For information or to make an appointment, visit Health Services in room 8 of the Perkins Student Center or call 610-396-6075.

The event will feature a traditional Thanksgiving meal, prepared by Penn State Berks Food Services. International students will learn the history and evolution of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, and they will watch a video presentation of Penn State Berks faculty, staff, and students discussing their Thanksgiving traditions. In addition, a professional guitar player will provide live music during the event.

Penn State Berks currently has forty-one international students. For more information or to receive a ticket for the event, contact Karen Kihurani, Coordinator of Multicultural Programs, at 610-396-6080 or via e-mail at KEK5@psu.edu.

Recognized internationally for their living history programs, the Piscataway Indian Nation will bring their authentic American Indian dance and song to Penn State Berks on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, at 8 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.

The Piscataway Indian Nation is a state-recognized tribe in Maryland that is related to the historic Piscataway tribe. At the time of European encounter, the Piscataway tribe was one of the most populous and powerful tribes of the Chesapeake Bay region. The Piscataway Indian Nation organized out of a twentieth-century revival of its people and culture. They have appeared in the Kevin Costner film Dances with Wolves, and have been featured in documentaries on both the History Channel and Discovery Channel. In addition, they perform regularly at the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian, national pow wows, major festivals, and theatres across the country.

This presentation is part of the Penn State Berks Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

In his presentation titled "Pricing Block and Index Products in Deregulated Electricity Markets," Witman will explain how the contract is priced using a "real-life" example, based on government accounts from the PPL zone in the PJM Interconnection. Existing time-series forecasting techniques are used to quantify the price of the Block and Index contract, in addition to providing the necessary background for those not familiar with the electric industry.

The EBC Research Interest Group features Penn State Berks faculty and visiting experts who conduct research on a wide variety of topics. Topics are of broad and general interest and are accessible to the non-expert.

For more information, contact either of the co-chairs for the EBC Research Interest Group: Dr. Jui-Chi Huang, Assistant Professor of Economics, at JXH74@psu.edu; or Dr. Ada Leung, Assistant Professor of Marketing, at CXL51@psu.edu.

The event is an interactive dining experience that prepares students for a job interview lunch or dinner, in addition to other business-social events they will encounter on the job. Rick Capozzi, founder of the Capozzi Group, will lead the presentation. During his tenure at Penn State University as a Learning Strategist with the Human Resource Development Center, Capozzi designed and developed some of the department's most highly evaluated programs.

Since 1991, Capozzi has been delivering personal growth and development training, as well as providing global marketing services. As an international speaker and consultant, his travels have taken him to South America, Mexico, Canada, Japan, throughout Western and Central Europe—and to all but nine states in the U.S. He presented at about 160 speaking engagements last year.

Capozzi has worked with groups from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. He focuses primarily on soft skills such as time management, etiquette, nonverbal communication, memory, life balance, creativity, personality, and presentation coaching. In addition to being a professional presenter, he is also a presentation coach and author of two motivational books. Currently, he is working on his third book, "It's Not About the Rules," which puts a practical spin on the topic of etiquette.

For more information, contact the Office of Career Services at 610-396-6019.

Distinguished panel speakers include Bala Balasubramanian, founder of KARYA Technologies, Inc.; Shawn M. Borelli, managing director of Borelli Designs, LLC; Gregory J. Shemanski, president of Custom Processing Services, Inc.; and William H. Woolworth, III, senior vice president and chief compliance officer of Customers Bank.

Each semester, the Engineering Entrepreneurship program, whose mission is to provide a cross-disciplinary minor that fosters entrepreneurial creativity and leadership throughout Penn State Berks and its service area, hosts a Speaker Series featuring panel discussions with invited guests.

For more information, contact either of the co-chairs for the Entrepreneurship Speaker Series, Dr. Jui-Chi Huang, Assistant Professor of Economics, at JXH74@psu.edu; or Dr. Sudip Ghosh, Associate Professor of Business, SXG38@psu.edu.

Questions regarding the Entrepreneurship minor can be directed to Dr. Sadan Kulturel-Konak, Coordinator of the Entrepreneurship Minor and Associate Professor of Management Information Systems, at SXK70@psu.edu.

“War Dance,” winner of the Documentary Directing Award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and 2007 Academy Award nominee for best documentary feature, tells the story of the tens of thousands of children who have been abducted over the course of Uganda’s 20 years of civil war. Impacted by these circumstances are Dominic, Rose, and Nancy, who are growing up in the Patongo Internally Displaced Persons camp. As members of the Acholi ethnic group, they are victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army—a rebel movement that has perpetrated many atrocities—leading many other Ugandans to be suspicious of them. Nevertheless, they make an historic journey to compete in Uganda's national music and dance festival.

Two additional African film nights will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 27 and Tuesday, Dec. 4; these screenings are also both at 7 p.m. in room 101 of the Franco Building. “Yesterday” will be featured on Nov. 27, and “Shake Hands with the Devil” will be shown on Dec. 4.

For more information about the African Film Series, contact Dr. Randall Fegley, associate professor of history, at 610-396-6092 or via e-mail at RAF8@psu.edu. 

"Get Some" is a show about health with a human sexuality emphasis. Alice Holland, Penn State Berks Nurse Practitioner Supervisor serves as host.  The show includes an interactive audience that features both college students and professionals as guests.

The culmination of my past employment experiences at Blue Mountain Health System Family Planning Clinic, Lehighton Area School District, and Lehigh Valley Hospital, along with my present employment at Penn State, has prepared me with the assessment, interpersonal, and communication skills needed to host the show," explained Holland about her credentials.

In addition to her position as Health Services Supervisor at Penn State Berks, Holland also teaches courses in human sexuality, two of which have culminated with an experiential approach in Kenya.  She holds master’s degrees in both Nursing and Human Sexuality, and is presently a Human Sexuality Doctoral student, as well as a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT), American College Health Association (ACHA), and American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).

“Get Some” is filmed the last Monday of each month. Recent episodes can be viewed at www.youtube.com/psugetsome. For more information, contact Alice Holland at arh16@psu.edu.

The week-long celebration will kick off on Sunday, October 21, 2012, at the Reading Public Museum from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and will feature hands-on science activities for elementary through high school students and their parents. On Thursday, Oct. 25, from 4-5 p.m., children and parents will have another opportunity to explore nanotechnology at the Reading Public Library, which is located on 5th Street in Reading.

Girl Scout Nano-Saturday will be held Saturday, Oct.27, at Penn State Berks; Girl Scouts can earn National Chemistry Week badges. The cost for this event is $7 and requires pre-registration through the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania at www.gsep.org.

All experiments and other activities are conducted and supervised by chemists, who hold both safety and learning as top priorities. Further information about this year’s nationwide observance of National Chemistry Week is available at www.acs.org/ncw.

National Chemistry Week (NCW), an outreach program of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and will be celebrated from October 21-27 throughout the country by 187 local sections of the American Chemical Society. The Penn State Berks Chapter has eighty-one members, who serve the profession and the community.

For more information, please contact Greglynn Gibbs, Research Support Technician and Adviser to the Penn State Berks Chemical Society, at 610-396-6363 or via e-mail, GDW104@psu.edu; or visit the Penn State Berks Chemical Society website at www.clubs.psu.edu/bk/chemsociety.

“We discuss classical and contemporary rhetorical theory through the lens of public advocacy and civic discourse,” explains Burk. “We are having a Presidential Debate Watching Party because the students are working on an extended research project, where they recognize and apply the rhetorical theories and concepts we discuss in class. For this project, the students need to choose one of the Presidential candidates and follow his rhetoric during this election season. The students are developing and maintaining a media clipping case file, and the project culminates in a rhetorical analysis of the candidate's rhetoric.”

The goal of the Presidential Debate Watching Party is to provide a venue for the students to watch and discuss the debate with the entire class, while collecting data for their media clipping case file. Burk will not lead the class in a formal discussion, but will create activities to encourage engagement, such as Debate Watching Bingo.

For more information, contact Burk at 610.396.6094 or via e-mail at JKB20@psu.edu.

The event, originally scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.is rescheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012. 

The cost is $16 per person and tickets can be purchased from any Latino Unity Club member or at the door on the day of the event. All proceeds will benefit the club’s annual award.Any tickets purchased for the original Oct. 30 date will be honored on Nov. 6.

The menu will consist of four choices: fajitas, seafood chimichangas, quesadilla rellena, and enchiladas vegetarianas. For more information, contact Latino Unity student present Stephanie Garcia at SVG5206@psu.edu, or club advisers Joanne Pumariega, JBP12@psu.edu; or Dr. Edwin Murillo, EUM12@psu.edu.

Berkey Creamery ice cream is available in half-gallon quantities at a cost of $6.50 each in the following flavors: bittersweet mint, butter pecan, chocolate, chocolate chip cookie dough, coconut chip, cookies and cream, peachy Paterno, peanut butter swirl, strawberry, vanilla, and WPSU coffee break. Proceeds will benefit Penn State Berks Alumni Society Scholarship.

For more information, contact Dick Diehm at 610-683-5277 or via e-mail at ktowntrman@verizon.net. Order forms are available on the web at berks.psu.edu/alumni (the link to the form can be found under both the order deadline date and pick up date on the Alumni Events calendar page) or visit http://tinyurl.com/co49toj.

The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, with all proceeds benefiting The Four Diamonds Fund, Conquering Childhood Cancer, at the Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. After a year-round fundraising effort by the students of all Penn State campuses, THON culminates in a 46-hour, "no-sitting, no-sleep" Dance Marathon in the Bryce Jordan Center. Last year, the Berks THON dance marathon raised more than $40,000 and the entire University raised over ten million dollars. For more information, please contact student chair Melissa Sauer at MRS5498@psu.edu.

According to Winter’s abstract, “The 30 transition metals are characterized by a d sub-shell being filled after the outer s sub-shell. These metals occupy the middle of three rows of the periodic table, and range from the common, such as iron, to the extremely rare, such as osmium. I have obtained samples of all the solid ones except (radioactive) technetium, and will focus on a few of their basic physical properties, including density and specific heat. For the common metals, such properties are typically measured by students in an introductory lab, but with little or no attempt to relate a property for one metal to that for another. Further, for a given metal, one property can often be related to another property. And the limits of accuracy can be pushed and common reference standards (the CRC Handbook and Kittel) can possibly be improved upon. Finally, I will touch on recent controversies on some of these physical properties.”

The Science Division colloquia are of broad and general interest, accessible to a general audience. All students, faculty, and interested members of the Penn State Berks and surrounding community are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact the Penn State Berks Science Colloquiua Coordinator Dr. Jianbing Qi, Associate Professor of Physics, at 610-396-6132 or via e-mail at JXQ10@psu.edu.

Paranormal expert Charlie Adams will lead a haunted walking tour on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, from 3:30–6:30 p.m. at Gring’s Mill. The cost for this event is $10 for adults, $5 for children; and there is a limit of 100 participants. The walking tour will begin at the Red Bridge Recreation Area of Gring’s Mill and will continue along the canal, beginning promptly at 3:45 p.m., followed by ghost stories and refreshments in the Red Bridge Recreation Area Pavilion. This event is sponsored by the Penn State Berks Alumni Society and proceeds benefit the society’s endowed scholarship. For reservations, contact Ralph Tutlane at 610-777-7312 or via e-mail at kingtut039@aol.com.

The fair will showcase the college's baccalaureate degree programs. Each degree program will have a display table of information, and faculty and current students enrolled in the major will be available to discuss the various aspects of the degree program and answer students' questions.

Penn State Berks currently offers fifteen baccalaureate degree, and additional degree programs are being developed to meet the needs of the local community.

For more information on the Berks Degree Fair, contact Lisa Weidman, Director of University Relations, at 610-396-6054 or via e-mail at LRW6@psu.edu.

The program offers information to local high school students considering admission to Penn State Berks in the fall of 2013. Sessions will present information on Penn State admissions, financial aid, academics, athletics, and student activities and services.

For more information or to register, call 610-396-6060, e-mail berksadmissions@psu.edu, or visit the website: www.psu.edu/admissions. 

Penn State Berks will hold a dedication ceremony for its recently constructed Perkins Plaza on Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, at 1 p.m. The event will begin with a brief program featuring remarks by Perkins family members, campus officials, and members of the architectural and construction firms. This event is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served.

With construction completed in the summer of 2012, the Perkins Plaza honors the memory of Dr. Harold W. Perkins, the first campus CEO, and also provides a beautiful gathering place for students, faculty, staff, and community members.

According to Chief Operating Officer Kim Berry, the project includes a central paved plaza, a pergola, seating walls, a fountain sculpture, and a clock carillon–a longtime dream of Perkins. The existing asphalt walkways have been replaced with concrete walkways, which also address ADA issues. The existing lighting has been replaced with energy-efficient LED technology, and general landscaping has been added throughout the campus core to create a central green space to accommodate events. Together, these elements create a vibrant outdoor social gathering space.

The Plaza was designed by Derck & Edson Associates, LLP and construction was completed by Uhrig Construction, Inc.

Dr. Harold W. Perkins served as CEO of Penn State Berks from 1959-1984 and was instrumental in laying the foundation for the campus. He helped the school grow from its small beginnings in the Wyomissing Polytechnic Institute buildings to a new, expanded campus location, where the college stands today.

The Student Center was named in his honor shortly after he stepped down in 1984, and though he officially "retired," his passionate involvement with the campus never ended. He continued to serve in many capacities, most recently as the honorary chair of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, which he continued until his passing in October 2010.

For more information on the event or ways to contribute to the Perkins Plaza, contact the Office of Development at 610-396-6056.

Families of Penn State Berks students will experience life on campus, while alumni will reconnect when the college hosts its annual Family and Homecoming Weekend on Friday, Oct. 19–Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. The theme of this year’s event is “There’s a Hero Within.” The program will include activities for the entire family, with educational, social, and athletic events that showcase the campus. Events are open to all attendees with the exception of alumni brunch, which requires preregistration.

The festivities will begin with the Perkins Plaza dedication ceremony on Friday at 1 p.m. This plaza was built in honor of Dr. Harold W. Perkins, the first campus CEO. It includes a seating area, a fountain sculpture, and a clock carillon.

Check-in for families begins on Friday from 5–7 p.m. outside the Beaver Community Center and continues on Saturday from 10 a.m.–1 p.m.; the first fifty families will receive a free gift.

Friday night attendees can participate in a float-building party, with music and entertainment, from 5–9 p.m. in Beaver Community Center parking lot in preparation for the next day’s Homecoming Parade. The night’s activities conclude with a bonfire, sponsored by the Student Government Association, from 10–11 p.m. in front of the Luerssen Building.

As part of the Alumni Reunion, alumni are invited to a buffet brunch in the Perkins Plaza. Attendees are asked to reserve their seat by calling the Alumni Office at 610-396-6057 or by registering online.

Other events include mini golf and a carnival, which will include rock climbing, mazes, boot camp courses, and other games, from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. at the Perkins Plaza.

Kim Berry, Chief Operating Officer, will provide guided tours of the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building, beginning at 11:15 a.m., highlighting some of the notable features that earned the facility the prestigious LEED gold-level certification. LEED is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. The building includes a range of sustainability strategies, including rainwater collection and a heat-recovery system, just to name a few.

Parents and families can attend a program geared toward their specific questions and concerns at 11:30 a.m. in the Penn State Room, Perkins Student Center. Dave Delozier, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, will give a presentation on the Perkins Plaza at 12 p.m. at the Perkins Plaza; and Dr. David Sanford, Associate Professor of Horticulture, will give a guided tour of the plants of the campus at 12:15 p.m., starting in front of the Beaver Community Center.

The Homecoming Parade will begin at 12:30 p.m., and floats built by student and alumni organizations will be on display. The parade will be followed by Homecoming Court, where the student queen and king will be crowned during halftime of the women’s soccer game, which begins at 1 p.m. at Hintz Field.

The Berks Chemical Society will present a “liquid nitrogen ice cream demonstration,” and the Von Shakes, an indie rock & roll band from Ireland, will perform at 2:30 at the Perkins Plaza. In addition, the men’s soccer game will be held 3 p.m. at Hintz Field, and tuition bingo, sponsored by THON, will be held from 3–6 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Perkins Student Center Auditorium.

There will be a “Best of Berks” talent competition at 4 p.m. in the Perkins Plaza. Then the Penn State Berks Blue & White Society will bring back a campus tradition when they sponsor bathtub derby races at 5 p.m. at the Beaver Community Center.

“Crazy Bob’s Superhero Dinner Party” will be held from 5–7 p.m. in Tully’s, followed by a performance by Lindsay Benner, comedian/mime/juggler, at 7 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium. The day's activities will culminate with a Football Tailgate for the Penn State vs. Iowa game, hosted by the Penn State Alumni Society, at 8 p.m. at the Perkins Plaza; and Late Night Laser Tag, sponsored by the Campus Activities Board, from 8 p.m.–2 a.m. in front of the Luerssen Building.

On Sunday, students will host a fundraiser at Texas Roadhouse, located at 2803 Paper Mill Road in Wyomissing. Proceeds will benefit THON, the IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon held at Penn State University Park each year, which is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, THON benefits children with cancer and their families.

For more information about Parents and Family Weekend, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 610-396-6052 or the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

The program offers information to local high school juniors and seniors considering admission to Penn State Berks in the fall of 2013. Sessions will present information on Penn State admissions, financial aid, academics, athletics, and student activities and services.

For more information or to register, call 610-396-6060, e-mail berksadmissions@psu.edu, or visit the admissions website.

Sponsored by the Communications Arts and Sciences program, The Project on Race in Political Communication will give a presentation titled “The Power of Stereotypes: Race-based Communication in the 2012 Campaign.” Dr. Charlton McIlwain, associate professor of media, culture, and communication at New York University, and Dr. Stephen Caliendo, professor of political science at North Central College, will discuss the role that stereotypes and race-based communication plays in the 2012 campaign.

McIlwain and Caliendo are authors of numerous journal articles, and have most recently been recognized for their joint publications, “The Routledge Companion to Race and Ethnicity” and “Race Appeal: How Candidates Invoke Race in U.S. Political Campaigns,” which was recently honored by the American Library Association as one of the ‘Best of the Best from University Presses,’ and was also awarded the Ralph Bunch Award, in recognition of the best book published in the United States during the previous year that explores the phenomenon of ethnic and cultural pluralism.

For more information, contact Dr. E. Michele Ramsey, associate professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Women’s Studies, at EMR10@psu.edu.

The Penn State Berks Theatre department will present Black Ice, an original play written by Associate Professor of Theatre Arts Cleo House Jr., and directed by Radhica Ganapathy, Assistant Professor of Theatre, November 1­–4, 8–11, at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium.

The play takes place during the “blizzard of the decade” in a small Texas town. A stranger named Jacob knocks on the door of a worn trailer home owned by Alice, an elderly woman. He pleads for her to give him shelter from the freezing weather. Jacob is in town on a mission to find his missing sister, and Alice has every intention of helping the tattooed stranger. But as they get to know each other, Alice realizes that Jacob’s past appears to be intertwined with her own. The audience unravels the mystery as the characters solve the puzzle, and it becomes clear that Jacob’s arrival was no accident. This psychological thriller proves that you can’t always judge a book by its cover.

Tickets cost $10 for general Admission; $7, Faculty/Staff; and $5 Penn State students with ID. To order tickets, call the Box Office at 610-396-6371 or e-mail BerksTheatre@psu.edu.

In his presentation titled “Marketplace Discrimination and Other Controversial Issues in Public Policy and Marketing,” Dr. Jerome Williams, Prudential Chair in Business, and Research Director of The Center of Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development (CUEED) in the Department of Management and Global Business at Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick, will highlight three marketplace discrimination studies, currently under review. Williams believes there are benefits to understanding the upside and downside of studying this particular topic—whether as a young scholar, just starting out, or as a more seasoned scholar who may now want to venture into this research domain.

Often referring to studying marketplace discrimination as “researching the tough stuff,” Williams says researchers who study this subject face a daunting and challenging task on several fronts. For example, the results of their work are sometimes viewed with skepticism—they are accused of looking at the phenomenon through a biased lens. In other words, they are frequently blamed for allowing their passion for eradicating social injustices in the marketplace to overshadow their scholarly judgment. However, such accusations in other social science fields seem to carry less weight. Williams explains that public health scholars studying issues related to obesity often take a strong advocacy position based on their passion.

Liberation psychology as a theoretical framework suggests that based on the construct of “historical memory,” consumers from oppressed groups are more likely to overestimate the amount of discrimination they have been subjected to in the marketplace, compared to underestimation by majority groups. Lastly, Williams reveals that marketplace discrimination researchers often have to deal with “the blind man and the elephant” metaphor, meaning discrimination really is mainly a perpetual phenomenon, and is “in the eye of the beholder.”

The EBC Research Interest Group features Penn State Berks faculty and visiting experts who conduct research on a wide variety of topics. Topics are of broad and general interest and are accessible to the non-expert.

For more information, contact either of the co-chairs for the EBC Research Interest Group: Dr. Jui-Chi Huang, Assistant Professor of Economics, at JXH74@psu.edu; or Dr. Ada Leung, Assistant Professor of Marketing, at CXL51@psu.edu. 

The featured film is Latido Latino: Senas de Identidad, which showcases interviews with more than fifty major Latino personalities representing a broad spectrum of disciplines, who analyze and celebrate the growing influence of Latino culture in the United States. The film features prominent individuals from various walks of life, who share their personal and professional experiences of being of Latino descent in America today.

Featured subjects include poet Pedro Pietri; composer Luis Dias; dancer Paloma Herrera; actor Ruben Blades; fashion designer Willey Esco; photographer Mariluz Gordillo; radio host Paco de Radio Mega; Newsweek editor Veronica Chambers; and Washington Post journalist Jaime Manrique.

A discussion, following the film, will be led by Dr. Belen Rodrigues-Mourelo, associate professor of Spanish and division head of humanities, arts, and social sciences; Dr. Rosario Torres, associate professor of Spanish and Spanish minor program coordinator; and Dr. Edwin Murillo, assistant professor of Spanish.

The Festival de Cine is sponsored by the Penn State Berks Global Studies program. For more information, contact Dr. Edwin Murillo via e-mail at EUM12@psu.edu.

A discussion about Disabilities in the Media will be led by Dr. Thomas P. Jordan, Lecturer in English, Harpur College of Arts and Sciences at Binghamton University, on Wednesday, October 10, at 1 p.m. in room 145, Thun Library. This presentation will explore how individuals with disabilities are represented in popular films, such as 300.

Two film screenings depicting disabilities in the media will be held. The first film, Temple Grandin, will be shown on Thursday, October 11, at 8 p.m. in room 3 of Perkins Student Center.  This film paints a picture of a young woman’s perseverance and determination, as she struggles with the isolating challenges of autism during a time when little was known about it.

Additionally, a screening of Music Within will be held on Thursday, October 25, at 8 p.m. in room 3 of Perkins Student Center. The true story of a brilliant public speaker, this film portrays a man who returns from Vietnam severely hearing-impaired, and later becomes an activist for individuals with disabilities.

The Dancing Wheels Company performance, part of the Arts and Lecture series, will be held on Wednesday, October 17, at 8 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium. This event, held in conjunction with Disability Awareness Month, features a professional, physically integrated dance company that combines the talents of dancers with and without disabilities.

For more information, contact Yuriko Beaman, Disability Services Coordinator, at 610-396-6410 or via email at YNB1@psu.edu.

The Penn State Berks Bookstore will hold a book signing for Architectural Conditions, a collaborative publication from Dr. Kenneth Fifer, Professor of English at Penn State Berks, and Larry Mitnick, Associate Professor at The University of the Arts, Philadelphia College of Art and Design, and a Lecturer in the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. This event will be held on Wednesday, October 17, 2012, from 2:00–3:30 p.m.

The project involves an ongoing dialogue between the poet, Fifer, and the architect, Mitnick. Fifer is a writer who is interested in visual images, while Mitnick is a visual artist who is interested in words. The movement back and forth between these two different mediums creates a dynamic process of reflection, discourse, and in the end, a working method.

As discussed in the book’s introduction, “Mitnick’s collages are not foremost meant to illustrate Fifer’s poems but to locate their architectural conditions. Fifer’s poems likewise do not seek to describe or illustrate Larry’s collages but to locate and share their spatial relationships."

Fifer and Mitnick’s collaborations, large and small, began when the two men met as children growing up in the same Bronx housing project and have continued through the present day. The work is the product of their re-connection through time and art.

The Freyberger Gallery will host The Life Atomic, which examines the impact of the atomic bomb on popular culture in the 1950s and 1960s. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, October 11, 2012, at 6 p.m. in the Freyberger Gallery. This event is free and open to the public.

Intended as a vehicle for intergenerational discussion about the threats faced by Americans in the early atomic age—and the threats that face our nation today—the exhibition illustrates the impact of the atomic bomb on everyday life through photographs, film, and objects. From the classic film Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, to the re-creation of part of a family fallout shelter, this exhibition sheds light on the culture shortly after the United States first used the atomic bomb in warfare.

The Life Atomic was developed and is traveled by the Rogers Historical Museum in Rogers, Arkansas. This project was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The Freyberger Gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. For more information, contact Marilyn Fox, Freyberger Gallery Director, at 610-396-6140 or via e-mail at MJF14@psu.edu.

In his presentation, “Changing the World 101,” Jason Connell, who has volunteered in some of the world’s poorest regions, paints an authentic and compelling portrait of life beyond the typical American experience. He reveals his road map for creating a better global reality on Wednesday, October 10, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in Perkins Student Center Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.

Sharing realistic strategies for traveling and volunteering internationally, Connell focuses specifically on fundraising and corporate sponsorships. He spends time teaching audiences how to overcome the mental roadblocks that can prevent them from taking action in the first place—issues such as fear, confusion, and lack of resources. By the end of this presentation, audience members leave encouraged, empowered, and able to do that one thing that could actually change the world. 

This presentation is part of the Penn State Berks Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

Audiences have been inspired and amazed by the Dancing Wheels Company, a professional, physically integrated dance company, which unites the talents of dancers with and without disabilities. Featured on CNN and Good Morning America, the Company was founded by Mary Verdi-Fletcher, the first professional wheelchair dancer in the United States. Her goal was to offer individuals with disabilities full and equal access to the world of dance. Today, the Dancing Wheels Company travels the world, advocating disability awareness through messages of inclusion and accessibility, while expanding the reach of artistic possibilities and celebrating the universal spirit of dance.

This presentation is part of the Penn State Berks Arts and Lecture series and is being held in conjunction with Disability Awareness Month. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

The scenario will begin with a motor vehicle accident involving two vehicles and five students. Initial reports will indicate that alcohol may be involved. There will be one victim entrapment and one victim fatality. In addition to Western Berks Ambulance and the Spring Township Fire Department, the Berks County Coroners Office will arrive to respond to the fatality, as well as Penn STAR4, the helicopter dedicated to The Reading Hospital's Trauma Center.

Five Penn State Berks resident assistants (RAs) will play the role of the victims, and additional RAs will hand out educational pamphlets to onlookers. Penn State Police Services student patrol and campus counselors will provide additional assistance.

Following the program, a reception will be held in Ivy Lounge in the Woods Residence Center for participants.

“We chose National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week to stage this educational event for our students,” explained Penn State Berks Police Chief Kevin Rudy.

“Our goal, through this riveting program and training opportunity, is to remind our students of the reality and consequences of their decisions related to alcohol consumption. We are grateful for the involvement of local and county emergency services personnel who were instrumental with the organization and implementation of this community service educational and training event.”

The following agencies will be involved in the program: Berks County Communication Center, Berks County Coroners Office, North Central Highway Safety Network, Penn STAR4, Spring Township Fire Department, Spitler’s Towing, and Western Berks Ambulance Association.

Penn State University’s collaboration with the CYEC began when Maina turned to Dr. Janelle Larson, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics and Division Head of Engineering, Business, and Computing, seeking the University’s expertise to help address a variety issues with the innovative school he established for former street-dwelling children.

The CYEC is part of the Kenyan national program for street-dwelling children and was created to address issues of standards of care, program sustainability, and program exit. Penn State faculty and students from a variety of colleges and campuses, including Penn State Berks, are now partnering with the CYEC to address all three issues: developing a life-skills curriculum to enhance standards of care; improving agricultural production, value addition, and other business opportunities to support program sustainability; and creating entrepreneurship education and developing an eco-village where the older youth can transition to independent living as a key part of the exit strategy.

Maina has held positions in microfinance, small business development, and environmental conservation. He has worked with bodies such as iLima (an environmental NGO), the National Environmental Management Authority (Kenya), the UK Department for International Development, UNICEF, and the ILO. He is chair of the Association of Care Givers in Kenya and a board member of Children International, Kenya and Zawadi Fund International. He holds degrees in Economics from the University of Nairobi, and in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from the University of Oxford where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.

For more information, contact Dr. Janelle Larson at 610-396-6183 or via e-mail at JBL6@psu.edu.

Wes Moore, the author of “The Other Wes Moore”—the subject of the college’s common reading program—will share the story of two men who shared many parallels in their childhoods, but at each stage of their lives took different paths on Monday, October 1, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in Beaver Community Center. This event is free and open to the public.

In 2000, The Baltimore Sun ran an article about Wes Moore, who despite his troubled childhood had received the Rhodes Scholarship. At this same time, The Sun ran an article about four African American men who were arrested for the murder of a Baltimore police officer during an armed robbery. One of the suspects was two years older than Moore, lived in the same neighborhood, and coincidentally was named Wes Moore. The author realized that within their two stories was a much greater tale about the consequences of personal responsibility and the imperativeness of education and community.

This presentation is part of the Penn State Berks Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

The 60-minute documentary follows Penn State students through a year of preparations for THON, the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, and introduces viewers to THON families living with pediatric cancer. Filming for the documentary began in February 2011, and culminated with the 2012 dance marathon.

For more information about screenings at Penn State Berks, contact Berks THON student chair Melissa Sauer at MRS5498@psu.edu.

Health Services invites the campus community to learn about sexual health during the monthly program titled “Get Some” on Monday, September 24, at 6 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room. In this program titled “Safer Sex,” Amber Brown, Senior Community Health Educator with Planned Parenthood, will be the featured speaker.

Health Services and Counseling Services will offer free screenings for depression on Tuesday, September 25; Thursday, September 27; and Friday, September 28, from 12–1 p.m. on the second floor lobby of the Perkins Student Center.

Finally, Health Services will provide a “Know Your Numbers” program on Wednesday, September 26, from 12-1 p.m., in room 8 of Perkins Student Center. Participants will learn their accurate height, weight, BMI, and blood pressure.

First-year seminar credit is available for eligible students. For more information on these programs, contact the Office of Health Services at 610-396-6075.

Participants include Stephen Doyle, a senior majoring in Professional Writing at the Berks campus; Paul Esqueda, senior associate dean for academic affairs and professor of engineering; Cesar Martinez-Garza, associate professor of mathematics; Sudip Ghosh, associate professor of business; Belen Rodriguez-Mourelo, associate professor of Spanish and division head for humanities, arts, and social sciences; Edwin Murillo, assistant professor of Spanish; Krysta Murillo, part-time education faculty member and doctoral student at Penn State University Park campus; Jorge Nouhra, instructor in Spanish; Cleon Smith, manager of Housing and Food Services; and Sinan Tas, assistant professor of information, sciences and technology.

The speakers will discuss the struggles they encountered in their home countries, the similarities between their home country and the United States, and why they came to the United States. In some cases, the speakers’ parents were immigrants; however, in most cases, these individuals came to the United States to pursue their education.

Members of the college community will present during English classes at the middle school, and Governor Mifflin social studies teachers will hold large group instruction sessions, complete with discussions, video clips, and the sharing of ethnic food provided by the students.

For more information, contact Amy Marsch, instructor in science education at Penn State Berks and coordinator of the event, at 610-396-6134 or contact Amy via e-mail »

“The Words” is written and directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal. The plot centers on Rory Jansen, a struggling writer who aspires to be the next great literary voice. When he discovers a lost manuscript in a weathered briefcase, he realizes that he has acquired something extraordinary, he wishes he had created. Rory decides to pass the work off as his own and finally receives the recognition he has desperately wanted. Yet he soon learns that living with his choice will not be easy, as he faces a moral dilemma that will force him to reflect on the man he has become. It stars Bradley Cooper, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, Jeremy Irons, Ben Barnes, and Dennis Quaid. 

Those who would like to attend this event should contact Dr. Christian Weisser (CRW17@psu.edu), Associate Professor of English and Program Coordinator for Professional Writing.

Dr. Robert Forrey, Professor of Physics at Penn State Berks, was recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant in the amount of $230,695 for his research titled “Quantum mechanical studies of hydrogen and helium interactions: applications in astrophysical, ultracold, and industrial environments.”  The grant is effective from September 1, 2012 through August 31, 2015.

This grant is Forrey’s sixth award in the NSF Atomic Theory Program. His research has also been funded by the Smithsonian Institution, NASA, and Air Products.

The intellectual merit of the proposed research includes first principles investigation of the interactions of hydrogen with other atoms and molecules, the formation and dynamics of helium-containing van der Waals molecules, and chemical reactions involving hydrogen on the surfaces of metallic clusters. Each of these investigations will use fully quantum mechanical methods to mathematically describe all details of the interactions involving hydrogen and helium.

The broader impacts of the award include the development of human resources and educational outreach activities. Student internships will be made available and general education and outreach talks will be given that relate the research activities with topics of interest to the public.

The celebration will begin with the procession of flags from different countries and opening remarks, followed by a series of revolving workshops that incorporate the theme of unity. These include: “Being an Ally,” lead by Alice Holland, Nurse Practitioner and Supervisor at Penn State Berks; “Pride Without Prejudice,” lead by Cleo House, Associate Professor of Theatre Arts and Program Coordinator for Theatre at Penn State Berks; “International Greetings,” lead by Karen Kihurani, Multicultural / International Counselor; and “When You See Me, Who Do You See,” lead by the Latino Unity Club.

Students who complete three of these workshops will be able to take home a bamboo plant. In addition, students will have the opportunity to write on the Unity Day Graffiti Cloth.

In his presentation titled “Graduation Approaching–What job to look for?,” Peter Olfs, former Head of Corporate Communications International Siemens AG in Munich, Germany, will discuss industry, regulatory bodies, administrations, politics, and the fact that global minds and good judgment are in short supply. New graduates must face the megatrends—urbanization, demographic change, globalization, and climate warming. They must also use their major as a basis and add experience in other areas, especially social skills. In particular, graduates who have faced multi-cultural challenges become the best teachers. Olfs will also emphasize that new graduates must be responsible, training their ethical yardstick to make the world a better place.

The EBC Research Interest Group features Penn State Berks faculty and visiting experts who conduct research on a wide variety of topics. Topics are of broad and general interest and are accessible to the non-expert.

For more information, contact either of the co-chairs for the EBC Research Interest Group: Dr. Jui-Chi Huang, Assistant Professor of Economics, at JXH74@psu.edu; or Dr. Ada Leung, Assistant Professor of Marketing, at CXL51@psu.edu.

The 4th Annual Underground Railroad Bus Tour will be narrated by Mr. Frank Gilyard, an African American history expert from the museum. It will include visits to historical sites in Berks County, such as Scarlet Mills in Robeson Township near Birdsboro, Hopewell Furnace in Union Township, and the newly-redesigned Central Pennsylvania African American Museum, located in the Historic Old Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Reading.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Central Pennsylvania African American Museum at 610-371-8713 or visit the museum website.

Leon G. Shahabian was a student at Penn State University Park campus when the attacks of 9/11 occurred. He remembers that many of his fellow students wanted to get involved and help in some way; some joined the military; others found positions in government.

“One day our grandkids are going to ask us what we did after 9/11 in service of our great nation,” states Shahabian. He will have a lot to say in response to that question.

After graduating in December 2001 with a degree in International Politics, he took the skills that he acquired at Penn State, and in 2002, became one of the two founding staff members of Layalina Productions, a nonprofit television production company. Located in Washington, D.C., Layalina Productions produces pro-American documentary and “reality” TV shows that air on the leading Arab television channels. Translating to “Our Nights,” Layalina is aptly named because the company’s programs are only aired during prime time in the Middle East.

Shahabian explains that he grew with the company, which serves as an outlet for reaching the Arab people through television and media publications. Today he serves as vice president and corporate treasurer.

Generation Entrepreneur is a program that Shahabian created and executive produced. The show builds companies with current students and creates jobs for recent graduates in an area where positions are greatly needed.

“They elect officers, they issue stock, they have a business model that community leaders, especially from the business sector, have blessed, and those that win get incubation funding,” Shahabian explains.

He is the executive producer of the hit reality series On the Road in America, now in its third season, which features Arab students who discover the diversity and uniqueness of the United States on their first visit to the country. American Caravan, the sequel series to On the Road in America, is another popular show that features six young American students who travel for the first time to five Arab countries, on a thirteen-week journey, in the footsteps of the Arab Spring–a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on December 18, 2010.

According to Shahabian, casting is probably the most difficult task when producing these shows, especially since they need to bring diversity–socioeconomic, geographic, and religious—to the cast. He states that they are not trying to showcase the best candidates; rather they are looking to bring together the most complementary group. His shows feature real people in real situations; Shahabian classifies these programs as “reality shows with substance.”

Recently, Shahabian co-produced an award-winning documentary, Life After Death, which features family members of American, Arab, and European victims of Al-Qaeda and their compelling messages of suffering, endurance, and hope.

This documentary allows audiences to witness the “human toll of terrorism, seen through the eyes of people who lost loved ones,” says Shahabian.

Shahabian also serves as senior editor of Layalina’s publications, The Chronicle and Perspectives. Overall, his work is nonprofit and mission driven, with the main goal of improving U.S.–Arab relations.

“After 9/11, there was a lot of good will; it was an interesting time to be in Washington,” comments Shahabian. “President George H.W. Bush is the Honorary Chairman of Layalina’s Board and Henry A. Kissinger is a member of the Board of Counselors, along with Zbigniew Brzezinski and a long list of statesmen from both sides of the isle. Ambassador Richard Fairbanks is Layalina’s Founder and Chairman.”

Recently, the organization celebrated its tenth anniversary with a gala at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. There, internationally acclaimed three-time Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist Thomas L. Friedman was the keynote speaker and Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonnenshine provided remarks.

During a recent visit to Penn State Berks, Shahabian fondly recalled that his journey began at the campus, where he was a student from 1997 through 1999. He then completed his degree in International Politics and French Language and Literature, with a minor in History, at University Park.

His decision to major in International Relations was an easy and natural choice because he was always interested in the field. French literature was a hobby and passion that he chose as a dual major. Lastly, he minored in History simply because he loved it.

Initially, Shahabian decided to attend Berks because his family lives in the area. He was involved in several student organizations, and served as president of Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science Honors Society). During his college career, Shahabian made the Dean’s List for seven semesters and completed five internships in Washington, D.C. on Capitol Hill, with trade associations, advocacy groups, and at a think tank.

As a Phi Beta Kappa member, Shahabian emphasizes the value of a Liberal Arts education. “The skills that students learn in their liberal arts classes can be applied to many aspects of their life and career. You are taught how to think and analyze, and you are learning transferable skills. Wherever you end up, you’ll bring value to a company.”

“It’s a pleasure to come back and speak to Penn State students, to learn from them, and to share with them my experiences. I speak on campuses throughout the country, I speak at think tanks, but it’s always good to come back home.”

On Monday, September 10, students will depart from Berks at 7:30 a.m. and return at approximately 5:30 p.m. The event will be held in the IST Building from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Professional dress is required, and students are advised to bring at least twenty copies of their resumes to give to employers. Students are asked to register for van transportation in Career Services, room 10 of the Perkins Student Center, by Friday, September 7, and a $10 registration fee will be collected at that time for transportation, which will be refunded in full when they meet for van. To register for the expo and to access the list of employers attending, visit the IST web site.

On Tuesday, September 11, the University Park Fall Career Fair is designated for non-technical majors; on Thursday, September 13; for technical majors. Students taking provided transportation will depart from Berks at 8:30 a.m. and return at approximately 6 p.m. The Career Fair provides an opportunity for students to network with more than 400 employers. Professional dress is required, and students are advised to bring at least thirty copies of their resumes to give to employers. Interested students are asked to register for van transportation in Career Services, room 10 of the Perkins Student Center, by Friday, September 7, and a $10 registration fee will be collected at that time for transportation, which will be refunded in full when they meet for van. To register for the Career Fair and to access the list of employers attending, visit the Career Fair web site.

For more information, contact the Office of Career Services at 610-396-6019.

"Participation in the drive is valuable and has a direct effect on the stability of the area's blood supply," commented Penn State Berks Health Services Supervisor Alice Holland.

For information or to make an appointment, visit Health Services in room 8 of the Perkins Student Center or call 610-396-6075.

Connie Dunston, Administrative Coordinator for the Chancellor and Labyrinth Coordinator, officially retired in March 2012, after 25 years of service to Penn State Berks.

Among her many accomplishments was bringing a labyrinth garden to Penn State Berks. Dunston coordinated the project from inception to completion, and the construction of the Labyrinth Garden at the Janssen Conference Center was completed in the fall of 2004. Every year for five consecutive years, Dunston coordinated a Spring Equinox Festival at the Labyrinth, which was open to the public.

Dunston was also a member of the college’s 50th anniversary committee, and she chaired the committee to create a quilt for the anniversary, which is composed of fifty squares representing various college programs.

In 1987, Dunston began her career at Penn State Berks as the campus receptionist in the Business Office, and later held the positions of Administrative Assistant to the Director of Student Affairs, Administrative Assistant to the Director of Alumni Relations and Development, and finally Administrative Coordinator for the Chancellor and Labyrinth Coordinator.

In addition, she was co-chair of the campus Kiss-a-Pig fundraising campaign for Olivet Boys & Girls Club. She was also a member and served as co-chair of the Penn State University Commission for Women during her time at Penn State.

While at Berks, Dunston received the Outstanding Staff Member Award. This award recognizes a full-time staff member who has demonstrated excellence. Individuals are nominated by the college and chosen by a committee.

Dunston earned an associate degree in Administrative Sciences from Montgomery County Community College.

When asked about her plans for retirement, she said that she and her husband, Tom, like traveling in their motor home with their two long haired, miniature Dachshunds and plan to visit many state and national parks.

Local chemists at Penn State Berks were among those honored for outstanding community outreach by the national office of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the worlds’ largest scientific society, at the 14th annual ChemLuminary Awards celebration, which was held in conjunction with the ACS National Meeting at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on August 21, 2012.

The Lehigh Valley Section of the American Chemical Society, which includes Penn State Berks, received a ChemLuminary Award for Outstanding Performance by a Local Section – Medium Large Size Category. The Lehigh Valley section was nominated for the award due to its involvement in the International Year of Chemistry and National Chemistry Week.

Penn State Berks made several notable contributions to the section’s outreach efforts.

Dr. Lorena Tribe, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Penn State Berks and chair-elect, organized three science cafés to celebrate locally the International Year of Chemistry, a worldwide celebration of the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind. Tribe brought speakers from Albright College and the Berks County Conservation District to discuss “Water Stewardship and Conservation” to three public-centered locales: Café Harmony, the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, and Barnes & Noble, all in the Reading area.

The Lehigh Valley section celebrated National Chemistry Week, led by Dr. David Aurentz, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Penn State Berks, and Greglynn Gibbs, Research Support Technician at Penn State Berks. The Penn State Berks Chemical Society, the student chapter of the ACS, held a special National Chemistry Week event as part of their yearlong “Family Fun Night with Chemistry” program for children and parents in partnership with the Reading Public Library on October 20, 2011.

"Chemistry, Our Health, Our Future” was the theme of a National Chemistry Week event supported by an ACS International Year of Chemistry mini-grant written by Greglynn Gibbs and conducted in cooperation with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania at Penn State Berks on October 22. The National Chemistry Week program was followed up by another International Year of Chemistry program titled "Materials–the Chemistry of Every Day Stuff," which was also supported by the ACS International Year of Chemistry mini-grant and conducted in cooperation with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania at Penn State Berks on November 19.

The Lehigh Valley local section, which includes the Allentown, Berks, Bethlehem, and Pocono areas, had a total of nine different member events to appeal to membership segments. The section also hosted various presentations at their monthly meetings featuring notable scientists.

The Lehigh Valley local section of the ACS, which has 915 chemists and chemical engineers as its members, is one of 187 local sections of the American Chemical Society. The section is comprised of local professionals and retirees, as well as students, faculty, and staff from area universities including Penn State Berks, the Penn State Berks Chemical Society, and Penn State Lehigh Valley. Members of the Lehigh Valley section sponsor various community outreach events throughout the year to demonstrate the importance of chemistry to everyday life.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

For more information, e-mail Greglynn Gibbs (gdw104@psu.edu) or call 610-396-6363; or e-mail Dr. Lorena Tribe (lut5@psu.edu) or call 610-396-6187. Additional information about the ChemLuminary Awards can be found at www.acs.org/ChemLuminary and information on the Lehigh Valley Section of ACS can be found at www.lvacs.net.

Savages in Limbo explores the dreams of a group of “regulars” in a seedy Bronx bar—all thirty-two years old—who congregate hoping to find relief from their dreary lives. All have various aspirations; from Denise Savage, who is determined to break free from her sheltered existence, to Linda, a promiscuous acquaintance from high school, who is trying to cling to her boyfriend, Tony. He, however, has decided he wants to start dating “ugly girls.” Meanwhile April, another former classmate who originally wanted to become a nun and go to India, has instead become a slightly unbalanced alcoholic—making her a suitable companion for the bartender, Murk.

General admission is $10. Admission for Penn State faculty and staff with ID is $7. Admission for Penn State students with ID is $3. Free admission will be offered to the first 100 students with ID, at the September 21 show. For more information or to reserve tickets, call the Box Office at 610-396-6371.

Dr. Janet M. Winter, Senior Instructor of Mathematics and Mathematics Basic Skills Coordinator at Penn State Berks, will officially retire on August 31, 2012, after completing 32 years of service at Penn State Berks.

Winter began her career at the campus in 1970 as an Instructor in Mathematics. At this time, the campus was located on Hill Avenue in Wyomissing. In 1974, she left the campus to pursue her doctorate degree. She returned in 1981 to teach part-time and resumed full-time instruction in 1984.
During her time at Penn State Berks, Winter established and coordinated several programs: the Women in Science Program (WISE at Berks) in 1994; the Careers with Math Options Conference, a career exploration conference for seventh grade girls in 1997; and the Science, Engineering, and Technology Conference for eleventh grade students in 2001.

Throughout her tenure at Penn State Berks, Winter received ten awards. Her first was an Outstanding Teacher Award in 1990. In 2007, she received the Penn State Berks Outstanding Service Award. This award recognizes full-time faculty members who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to community service. In 2011, she received the the Doris Turkes Award, which is given to a woman from the Penn State Berks campus by the Berks Commission for Women. The award is presented in recognition of contributions that improve the status of women including advocating for issues related to women, educating the university community and its future citizens on issues affecting women, and promoting the efforts of women in their various roles and activities.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics Education from Montclair State College, Winter went on to earn her master’s degree in Mathematics and her doctorate (Ed.D.) in Measurement and Research from Lehigh University.

She is a member of Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Over the course of her career, Winter has been coordinator of various federally-funded projects and initiatives in the field of mathematics and has received significant grant funding from organizations and corporations. She has given presentations both at conferences for teachers and at workshops in school districts, county conferences, and at Penn State.

Winter says that in her retirement she plans to enjoy her family, travel, and pursue hobbies.

Carl Wilkens, former head of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International in Rwanda, will talk about his decision to remain in Rwanda in 1994 after the genocide began in his lecture “The World Outside My Shoes” on Monday, September 24, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in Perkins Student Center Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.

As the only American to remain in the country when the genocide began, his decision to stay prevented the massacre of hundreds of children. In this presentation, Wilkens arms us with new insights into the fight against genocide, along with tools and inspiration for re-evaluating our relationships. He also reminds us of the profound connection between history and the moral choices we face each day.

Wilkens was featured in Frontline’s “Ghosts of Rwanda” and “The Few Who Stayed: Defying Genocide,” an American Radio Works documentary, which aired on National Public Radio.

This presentation is part of the Penn State Berks Arts and Lecture series and is held in conjunction with the One Million Bones genocide awareness events. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

As an aspiring astronaut/brain surgeon/ninja, Asia Samson never thought spoken-word poetry would be his calling, but destiny had other plans, and today he is an award winning spoken-word artist who has won the hearts of audiences throughout the country. He and his guitarist brother-in-law, Jollan Aurelio, will perform at Penn State Berks on Wednesday, September 19, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room. This event is free and open to the public.

With his uncanny ability to combine humor and inspiration while provoking thought and self-reflection, Samson provides an honest and genuine testimony of his life, touching on themes of his own cancer survival and poverty in the Philippines. His performance has been described as inspiring, sometimes gut-wrenching, and most often as comical buffoonery. He has been featured on HBO’s Def Poetry and BET’s J Lyric Café, and was named the Performer of the Year by the Association of the Promotion of Campus Activities.

This presentation is part of the Penn State Berks Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

The Freyberger Gallery will host the One Million Bones collaborative art installation, which is designed to bring awareness to the issue of genocide and to call upon our government to take much needed action. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. in the Freyberger Gallery. In addition, the Gallery will host “bone-making” workshops and genocide awareness programs throughout the month of September. These events are free and open to the public.

The One Million Bones project is designed to be a visible petition to remember the victims and recognize the survivors who have been killed or displaced by ongoing genocides and humanitarian crises in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, and Burma.

Artists, activists, and students across the country are creating “bones” from clay or other materials through the One Million Bones project. In the spring of 2013, one million bones will be installed on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

The following is a schedule of events related to the project for the month of September.

Thurs., Sept. 6–One Million Bones opening reception, 6–8 p.m., Freyberger Gallery. Display of bones that have been created throughout Berks County and genocide timeline, bone-making workshop, short videos about One Million Bones project, light refreshments will be served.

Wed., Sept. 12–Film Hotel Rwanda and discussion, 7–10 p.m., Perkins Student Center Auditorium. Dr. Randall Fegley, Associate Professor of History, and Dr. Michele Ramsey, Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Women's Studies, will lead the discussion following the film.

Thurs., Sept. 20–Student Film Festival, 7 p.m., Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room. Students who have traveled to Rwanda will present videos of their journeys.

Mon. Sept. 24–Carl Wilkens: “World Outside My Shoes,” 7:30 p.m., Perkins Student Center Auditorium. Wilkens, former head of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International in Rwanda, was the only American who remained in the country after the genocide began. His decision to stay prevented the massacre of hundreds of children.

Bone-Making Workshops
One Million Bones/Berks and the Students Rebuild Team is a registered chapter of One Million Bones, which means that every bone created by visitors to the Freyberger Gallery will result in a $1 donation from the Bezos Family Foundation to one of three organizations that provide advocacy and direct services to people in need. All funds collected benefit the following organizations: ENOUGH; WOMEN for WOMEN INTERNATIONAL and CARE.

Bone-making workshops are free for students; others are requested to make a $5 donation for each bone created. For individuals who are not able to create a bone, one can be made on their behalf for a $15 donation. Workshops will be held in the Freyberger Gallery; evening workshops are open to the public.

Mon., Sept. 10, 1:00–2:30 p.m.
Thurs., Sept. 13, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Mon., Sept. 17, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Wed., Sept. 19, 8:00–10:00 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 21, 1:00–2:30 p.m.

For more information, including additional workshop dates and times, check the Freyberger Gallery website or contact Marilyn Fox, Freyberger Gallery Director, at 610-396-6140 or via e-mail the Gallery Director (MJF14@psu.edu).

Peter Hart is the activism director at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). He writes for FAIR's magazine Extra, and is a co-host and producer of FAIR's syndicated radio show CounterSpin. He is also the author of The Oh Really? Factor: Unspinning Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly. Cliff Kincaid is the director of the Accuracy in Media Center for Investigative Journalism, sponsored by the conservative media watchdog organization AIM. He co-hosted CNN's Crossfire and worked for Oliver North, has written several books, and has made numerous television appearances.

This presentation is part of the Penn State Berks Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

Step Afrika!, the first professional dance company in the world devoted to the tradition of stepping, will kickoff the Penn State Berks Arts and Lecture Series on Wednesday, August 29, 2012, at 8:00 p.m. in Perkins Student Center Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.

Critically acclaimed for its efforts to promote an understanding of and appreciation for stepping, Step Afrika! reaches tens of thousands of Americans each year—also performing on stages in South America, Europe, and Africa.

Step Afrika! has been featured on CNN, BET, PBS, and NPR, as well as in numerous books, documentaries, and articles that explore the tradition of stepping. In addition, the dance company serves as a cultural ambassador for the United States, representing the nation at events around the world through exclusive invitations from American embassies.

For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

In an effort to establish connections with parents and families, Penn State Berks will present a Parent and Family Orientation following the welcome reception from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. in the tent outside the Luerssen Building. This session will address how families can support their student. In the meantime, incoming students will attend a Residential Student Orientation from 4-7 p.m. This program is geared toward providing keys to successful residence hall living. The evening’s events for students include a residence hall rally, late-night sand volleyball, and casino night.

The college will hold its Orientation program for all students on Saturday, August 25, and there will be a special program for commuting students on Sunday, August 26.

The Penn State Berks Orientation Program is staffed by over 120 orientation leaders, twenty-three resident assistants, and other college staff members who make every effort to help students and their families to make a smooth transition to college life.

On August 14, incoming students prepared lunch at Opportunity House, the Reading emergency shelter. Later that day, they volunteered at the Humane Society of Berks County. On August 15, they worked at the Greater Berks Food Bank in the morning and participated in the Reading Hospital Volunteer Program in the afternoon. On the final day, the group volunteered with Habitat for Humanity.

“Building for tomorrow is a great opportunity for incoming students to get a jump start on their college experience, build friendships with one another, and make a significant impact on the Berks community,” explained Kelli Meyer, Student Activities Coordinator. “Their enthusiasm this week has been very impressive. They've approached each day with a fervor and determination to really make a difference. I'm look forward to seeing them all become leaders within the campus community in the coming years."

The Penn State Berks Bookstore will hold a book signing for Architectural Conditions, a collaborative publication from Dr. Kenneth Fifer, Professor of English at Penn State Berks, and Larry Mitnick, Associate Professor at The University of the Arts, Philadelphia College of Art and Design, and a Lecturer in the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. This event will be held on Wednesday, September 5, 2012, from 1:00–2:30 p.m.

The project involves an ongoing dialogue between the poet, Fifer, and the architect, Mitnick. Fifer is a writer who is interested in visual images, while Mitnick is a visual artist who is interested in words. The movement back and forth between these two different mediums creates a dynamic process of reflection, discourse, and in the end, a working method.

As discussed in the book’s introduction, “Mitnick’s collages are not foremost meant to illustrate Fifer’s poems but to locate their architectural conditions. Fifer’s poems likewise do not seek to describe or illustrate Larry’s collages but to locate and share their spatial relationships.”

Fifer and Mitnick’s collaborations, large and small, began when the two men met as children growing up in the same Bronx housing project and have continued through the present day. The work is the product of their re-connection through time and art.

In addition, the Freyberger Gallery will host the exhibition Architectural Conditions from March 7–April 7, 2013.

Reitenauer graduated from Penn State Berks in 2012 with a B.A. in Global Studies. He traveled to the CYEC in Kenya with other Penn State Berks students in June 2010. The CYEC provides educational and social services to former street-dwelling children of Kenya with the goal of teaching the children a trade that they can use to support themselves. There, Reitenauer and other students taught basic English skills, grammar, and mathematics to the children.

Frequently, children who live at the CYEC are taught trades so they can earn a living. However, through a $500 personal, annual contribution, donors are able to sponsor the education of a youth who has some basic English skills.

According to Reitenauer, he had no intention of sponsoring a child when he went to Kenya. He was not familiar with their education system, and was not aware that the only children who make it to high school are those who come from wealthy families or those who have a sponsor—either an individual or an organization.

“A lot of these kids still visualize the American Dream: They see people on TV with nice clothes and cars,” Reitenauer explains. “However, there is no other way to come to America without money or a great education.”

While in Kenya, Reitenauer says he bonded with Nderitu. After talking with him each day, he decided at the end of the trip to become Nderitu’s sponsor. He also notes that he is very happy with his decision.

Reitenauer commented that while in Kenya, he thought that if he could just help one child to stay in school, that he could make a tremendous difference in that child’s life.

He added that to actually keep in contact with the children after you leave is a very big deal. He says he receives a phone call from Nderitu once or twice each week.

Nderitu has one more year left in high school, with Reitenauer’s sponsorship contingent upon his grades. Currently, he is receiving high grades and plans to attend college.

Although Reitenauer has only traveled to Kenya once, he spent a month in Rwanda with other Penn State Berks students in July 2011, and he hopes to return to Kenya for a visit within the next two years.

Currently Reitenauer is employed as a VA Certifying Official and Financial Aid Specialist at Gwynedd-Mercy College, and he was recently accepted to the Graduate School at George Washington University.

On Tuesday, August 14, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., students will volunteer at Gring’s Mill; from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., they will prepare a lunch at Opportunity House. To conclude the day, they will volunteer at the Humane Society of Berks County from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

On Wednesday, August 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., they will go to the Greater Berks Food Bank and participate in the Reading Hospital Volunteer Program from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

On the final day, Thursday, August 16, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., the group will work for Habitat for Humanity.

The Lehigh Valley section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) was nominated for the award due to its involvement in the International Year of Chemistry and National Chemistry Week.

Dr. Lorena Tribe, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Penn State Berks and chair-elect, organized three science cafés to celebrate locally the International Year of Chemistry, a worldwide celebration of the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind. Tribe brought speakers from Albright College and the Berks County Conservation District to discuss “Water Stewardship and Conservation” to three public-centered locales: Café Harmony, the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, and Barnes & Noble, all in the Reading area.

The Lehigh Valley section celebrated National Chemistry Week, led by Dr. David Aurentz, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Penn State Berks, and Greglynn Gibbs, Research Support Technician at Penn State Berks. The Penn State Berks Chemical Society, the student chapter of the ACS, held a special National Chemistry Week event as part of their year-long “Family Fun Night with Chemistry” program for children and parents in partnership with the Reading Public Library on October 20, 2011.

“Chemistry, Our Health, Our Future” was the theme of a National Chemistry Week event supported by an ACS International Year of Chemistry mini-grant written by Greglynn Gibbs and conducted in cooperation with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania at Penn State Berks on October 22. The National Chemistry Week program was followed up by another International Year of Chemistry program titled "Materials–the Chemistry of Every Day Stuff," which was also supported by the ACS International Year of Chemistry mini-grant and conducted in cooperation with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania at Penn State Berks on November 19.

The Lehigh Valley section, which covers the Berks, Bethlehem, Allentown, and Pocono areas, is one of 187 local sections of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society with a membership of more than 164,000 members. The section is comprised of local professionals and retirees, as well as students, faculty, and staff from area universities including Penn State Berks, the Penn State Berks Chemical Society, and Penn State Lehigh Valley. Members of the Lehigh Valley section sponsor various community outreach events throughout the year to demonstrate the importance of chemistry to everyday life.

The American Chemical Society–the world’s largest scientific society–is a non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals, and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. More information about the Lehigh Valley Section, including upcoming community events, can be found at the website of the Lehigh Valley Section of the American Chemical Society. Additional information about the ChemLuminary Awards can be found at the American Chemical Society website.

For more information, contact Greglynn Gibbs at 610-396-6363, GDW104@psu.edu; or Dr. Lorena Tribe at 610-396- 6187, LUT5@psu.edu.

Nicole Legenski ’12 in Electrical Engineering, was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship to complete research that she began at Penn State Berks at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Legenski will leave for Singapore in early August 2012, and return in May 2013.

Legenski received the Fulbright Student Grant, which provides recipients with the opportunity to study or perform research in other countries, to work in Dr. Han Song Cheng’s research laboratory at the NUS. Her internship was completed in collaboration with Cheng, and Legenski says she will be using the skills she gained from this project in her Fulbright research. This includes her experience in Density Functional Theory (Cheng is a noted specialist in this field). She will also use Potential Energy Function (PEF)-modeling to describe the energy in each metallic system, further allowing the force field for any metallic cluster to be obtained.

During this nine-month stay, Legenski projects that she will work at least a 40-hour work week, doing computational research, in addition to facilitating experimental lab work.

The research that Legenski will be conducting is similar to her experience with her National Science Foundation internship that she completed with Dr. Robert Forrey, Professor of Physics at Penn State Berks, during the summer of 2010. Her internship included collaboration with a research team from NUS. Researchers provided Legenski with large amounts of chemistry data, for the purpose of developing atomic force fields to study novel materials such as metallic glass.

“The force field provides a model of the chemical data and is an important input in molecular dynamics simulations,” said Legenski. “Most simulations use simple force fields that are not very accurate. Our goal is to develop more reliable force fields so that the simulations are more reliable.”

Legenski and the rest of the research team published “Force Fields for Metallic Clusters and Nanoparticles” in the Journal of Computational Chemistry in December of 2011. Based on her work, Legenski was awarded the Outstanding Internship Award for the Science Division at Penn State Berks. This award is presented to an outstanding student who has demonstrated an integration of academic training and professional application through the internship experience.

Her internship lead Legenski to spend her spring semester at NUS, where she continued her education in electrical engineering and trained the host research team how to use the codes that she and Forrey had developed.

“The graduate students and post-docs at NUS were ridiculously smart,” added Legenski. “It was a great experience, and I was glad to be able to contribute.”

Legenski attributes her success in receiving the Fulbright Student Grant in part to her mentors at Berks, Forrey and Dr. Sandy Feinstein, Associate Professor of English and Honors Coordinator at Berks, who initially encouraged her to apply.

“I’m extremely grateful to Dr. Robert Forrey for cultivating me as a researcher in my undergraduate career, and Dr. Sandy Feinstein for inspiring me to pursue international educational experiences.”

With this new opportunity, Legenski said that she plans to enhance her professional experience as a member of a research lab, possibly working in such an environment in industry, or use this experience to pursue a graduate degree. She also hopes to successfully carry out the purpose of the Fulbright grants, and ultimately create beneficial ties between the United States and Singapore.

Dr. David Aurentz, associate professor of chemistry, was awarded the 2012 Outstanding Full-Time Teacher Award. Aurentz teaches various levels of chemistry courses, from Introductory Chemistry to Laboratory and Organic Chemistry. He is a passionate teacher, who is well respected by the students, who have said that he is a great motivator, possessing excellent teaching skills.  His sustained level of teaching excellence over the years has been exhibited since he joined the campus in 2005. Not only does his creative and learner-centered teaching style foster student engagement, but it demonstrates his love for chemistry in daily teaching. This award recognizes a full-time faculty member who has worked at the college for at least three years and has demonstrated exceptional commitment to teaching.

Part-time faculty member receives outstanding teaching award

Dr. Erin Johnson, Instructor of Psychology, was awarded the Outstanding Part-Time Teaching Award. In addition to her record of excellence in teaching, her nomination is reflective of her students’ comments and feedback. She teaches two sections of Psych 100 per semester, usually with a minimum of fifty students per section. Student comments praise her ability to relate subject material to her experience as a psychologist, and her organization of the course. This award recognizes a part-time faculty member who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to students and effectiveness of instruction that exceeds normal expectations.

Faculty member recognized for outstanding advising

Dr. Ken Fifer, professor of English, received the Outstanding Advising Award. According to one nomination, Fifer’s advising responsibilities demonstrate dedication and passion, and these qualities are reflective of a faculty member who is committed to excellence. He started an academic success program, with a goal of helping students who are academically challenged, offering them guidance and personal attention. Fifer strives to accommodate advisees and contacts them regularly, in addition to providing information about other units on campus, such as the Learning Center and Disability Services, which serve as resources to these students. Fifer’s contribution to retention is extremely valuable, while his contribution to advising is an asset to the college. This award recognizes a full-time faculty member who has worked at the college for at least three years and has demonstrated exceptional commitment to students.

Faculty member recognized for outstanding research

Dr. Abdullah Konak, associate professor of Information Sciences and Technology, has been awarded the Outstanding Research Award. Konak’s research interests include the modeling, analysis, and optimization of complex systems using computational intelligence combined with techniques from probability and statistics and from operations research. This year, he received a NSF grant for his project titled “Exploration of a Collaborative Virtual Computer Laboratory” and published seven refereed articles, two refereed conference proceedings, and a book chapter; and had two manuscripts accepted in scholarly journals. His expertise is not only valued by his colleagues, but he is active both in professional and scholarly societies. Konak regularly includes undergraduate students in his research activities. This award recognizes a full-time faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in academic research, creative activity, scholarship, and mastery of a special subject.

Faculty member recognized for outstanding service

Dr. Sadan Kulturel-Konak, associate professor of management information systems, was awarded the Outstanding Service Award. According to one nomination, Kulturel-Konak has provided an excellent level of service to the college, her profession, and society. Over the last year, she established the college’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, where she coordinates the minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship. Working with the Children and Youth Center in Kenya and students at the college enrolled in the Business and Information Sciences and Technology degree programs, she developed an international collaboration to turn electronic waste into jewelry and art, helping youth in Kenya to learn a trade. This award recognizes a full-time faculty member who has worked at the college for at least three years and has demonstrated exceptional commitment to community service.

Electrical Lab Supervisor receives Outstanding Staff Award

Jeff Wike, Electrical Lab Supervisor, received the Outstanding Staff Member Award. Over the last year, his contributions to the college’s new Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building, have been invaluable. Wike was involved in the design and layout, the procurement of equipment for engineering laboratories, and interfacing with architects on technical issues concerning the engineering areas. But his contributions aren’t confined to laboratories and equipment: He is one of the lead organizers behind the college’s annual celebration of Engineers Week; he is a mentor to students, helping seniors with their senior design project; he serves as an adviser to the Robotics Club and has guided the club to two victories in the past three years. His contributions even reach beyond the campus through his involvement in the Industrial Advisory Committee meetings for the Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology, and Mechanical Engineering Technology programs. This award recognizes a full-time staff member who has demonstrated excellence. Individuals are nominated by the college committee and chosen by a committee.

Eleven students from Penn State Berks traveled to Nanticoke as part of Camp Noah. The students include Bryann Cave, Samantha Formoto, Kelsey Green, Sara Hall, Chanell Jones, Krisandra Livingston, Matt Marchini, Dominic Nadel, Jeanine Snow, Thomas James Marsden IV, and Melissa Sauer.

Approximately fifty children in first through sixth grades will participate in the camp, which was designed by Lutheran Social Services. St. John’s Lutheran Church in Nanticoke has offered their facilities for hosting the camp.

According to Leh, Camp Noah is therapeutic but not therapy. College students serve as teachers for the children. Curriculum is designed to help the children gain a sense of support and hope as they recover from the trauma they experienced as a result of the floods in the fall of 2011. Penn State Berks students will help the children recover and progress by processing their loss through art, music, games, songs, and discussion exercises, in a caring and supportive environment.

Last year, four students from Penn State Berks joined with the Friedens Lutheran Church’s Camp Noah team from Oley, traveling to aid children in Huntsville, Alabama. This year represents an initial effort to assemble an annual camp, which will be hosted by a team of student volunteers, under the direction of Penn State Berks leadership.

According to Dr. Ali Alikhani-Koopaei, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Penn State Berks, approximately forty attendees are expected to attend the symposium from all over the world.

The program will include hour-long talks by Zoltán Buczolich (Budapest), Associate Professor of Mathematics at Eötvös Lorand University; Emma D'Aniello (Naples), Associate Professor of Analysis at the Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli; and Yang Wang, Head of the Department of Mathematics at Michigan State University.

D'Aniello has served as Van Vleck Visiting Scholar in Mathematics by the Department of Mathematics of Wesleyan University, as Visiting Scholar at Washington and Lee University in Virginia, and Visiting Researcher at the Instituto Superior Tècnico of Lisbon. She currently serves as the Scientific Coordinator of a research project group GNAMPA 2011 and is currently the Scientific Co-Coordinator of the "Dynamical Systems, Fluidynamics and Symmetrization" project in Campania.

Wang earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He has written extensively on topics including Classical Real Analysis, Harmonic Analysis, Fractal Geometry and Tilings, as well as Digital Processing and Supply Chain Management. His research career has been characterized by strong and continuous financial support from a variety of funding agencies including the National Science Foundation.

The National Science Foundation and several private foundations will help offset the costs of this symposium.

For more information, visit the Symposium web site or contact Alikhani-Koopaei at alikhani@psu.edu.

Hillkirk is one of several Penn State Berks staff members and alumni who volunteer each year at Camp Neidig, a leadership camp for high school juniors.

Founded in 1950 by Joseph S. Neidig, governing officer of Rotary District 2654, as a camp to further the leadership abilities of young boys, it was renamed Camp Neidig in 1961 in honor of its founder.

Today, Rotary District 7430, which formed after District 264 split in 1961, continues to sponsor Camp Neidig for students who live in its service area (southeastern Pennsylvania). Its mission is to bring together high school students entering their senior year who have exhibited leadership abilities in scholastic and community activities. Campers participate in a four-day weekend of fun, friendship, and team-building activities at Camp Manatawny in Boyertown.

Penn State Berks alumnus and Camp Neidig Director Shawn Hinkle ’01 has worked at the camp for seventeen years and was largely responsible for organizing the Penn State Berks volunteers.

“Preparing for the camp is practically a year-long process and it involves preparing the schedule, selecting the staff, and recruiting guest speakers such as Dr. Hillkirk,” explains Hinkle. “Having a great staff is what makes the camp successful; they are the ones working closely with the campers all weekend. Maintaining my ties with the Berks campus as an alumnus has allowed me to tap into a pool of great people who work with students all the time.”

This year, that group includes several guest speakers with ties to the college, including Josh Brandwene ’91, Penn State’s first women’s hockey coach; Tracy Hoffmann, Chair of the Penn State Berks Advisory Board and principal of Niemczyk Hoffmann group; and David Surratt, formerly a member of the college’s Residence Life staff.

In addition, the following Penn State students and alumni will work at the camp: Jake Criscuolo, incoming first-year student; Jason Glessner ’96, Assistant District Attorney for Berks County; Sue Hite ’86, ’90, Nurse Practitioner/Research Coordinator, Reading Cardiologists; Stephen Hite, student at Penn State University Park and Teaching Assistant in the Penn State Forensic Science degree program; Charlie Jones ’71, City of Reading Public Works Director; and Amanda Weaver, Penn State Berks student.

Learn more about Camp Neidig »

Contact Shawn Hinkle at 610-921-1914 or via e-mail at shinkle@psualum.com.

“FTCAP is Penn State's program that orients students, and their families, to the University, the campus, and our faculty and staff,” explains Dr. Paula Plageman, Coordinator of Academic Advising. “Students are provided with a framework designed to help them succeed academically and develop intellectually. FTCAP offers faculty and staff members at Penn State Berks the opportunity to welcome our new students as a valued addition to our academic community.”

During this series of day-long programs held throughout the summer, academic advisers in the Academic Advising Center, as well as faculty and staff members, help small groups of incoming first-year students evaluate their educational plans through a comprehensive program of testing and individualized academic advising.

The program provides students with an understanding of their academic abilities through the testing component, which is completed online prior to the student’s FTCAP visit. Testing determines the student’s appropriate starting levels in mathematics and chemistry. During FTCAP, students learn how their academic preparation and abilities compare to those of other Penn State students.

Then students and their families are introduced to the wide range of academic degree programs available through Penn State, both at Berks and other campus locations. Each student has an individual meeting with an academic adviser to discuss his or her educational plans. Experienced faculty and professional advisers assist students with course selection and scheduling.

While some students know what they want to study prior to FTCAP, many others are undecided. Meeting with an adviser helps these students to recognize all the options available to them through Penn State.

In addition to learning about academic programs, students learn about the college and its policies and procedures, buy their textbooks, have their photo ID taken, obtain a computer access account, tour the residence halls, and learn about life outside the classroom. Students also learn what to expect from their professors and what will be expected of them in the classroom.

There is a Student Services Fair that introduces them to Athletics, Campus Life, Career Services, Financial Aid, Housing and Food Services, Learning Communities, the Boscov-Lakin Information Commons at the Thun Library, Police Services, and a variety of other student services, including off-campus housing options.

While some of the activities are only for the students, families are invited and encouraged to come to FTCAP with their student and attend the general sessions, as well as sessions presented specifically for families.

The Office of Continuing Education will hold an adult learner information session on Tuesday, June 12, 2012, beginning at 6 p.m. in room 101, Franco Building. This comprehensive information session will provide adults with information on credit, noncredit, and certificate programs at Penn State Berks. In addition, representatives will be available to answer questions on admissions, academic advising, financial aid, and registration. For more information or to register, contact Solange Israel-Mintz, Adult Student Recruitment Coordinator, at 610-396-6222 or via e-mail at SAI3@psu.edu or  visit our Continuing Education website.

Dr. Sadan Kulturel-Konak, Associate Professor of Management Information Systems at Penn State Berks and program coordinator for the Entrepreneurship Minor, was recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for her research titled “A Modular Assessment Framework for Professional Skills Using a Model of Domain Learning Approach.” The grant is effective from May 1, 2012 through April 30, 2015.

The project utilizes an innovative assessment framework based on a pedagogical theory, the Model of Domain Learning (MDL), to assess student development in various professional skills across multiple disciplines.

In order to meet the demands of a global economy, new college graduates are required to have strong professional skills, in addition to first-rate technical backgrounds to ensure career success. In response to new standards, professional skills such as teamwork/communication, ethics, global awareness, creative problem solving, and leadership have been integrated into academic programs and courses.

However, challenges arise in the assessment of learning outcomes related to professional skills; these include difficulty in defining measurable learning outcomes, lack of uniform assessment models that provide guidance at different stages of students’ progress, and challenges of incorporating assessment instruments, based on different models, into an overall program assessment plan.

Through the design of a uniform assessment framework for all professional skills and the development of a set of coherent assessment instruments that can be modified according to the learning objectives and student level, this project strives to facilitate the integration of professional skills assessment into an overall program assessment plan. The proposed framework will be tested in various course levels (first year to senior), and will include the programs of Information Sciences and Technology, Business, Entrepreneurship, and Engineering, at various institutions.

Proper assessment of professional skills will reveal insightful information about the learning process, which will enhance educational processes and better prepare students in these skill areas. Likewise, industry and society in general will benefit from having professionals with diverse skills, both technical and professional, ready to compete in a global economy.

Additionally, this project not only encourages collaboration between different disciplines and institutions to share resources and knowledge, but also promotes cooperation with industry to obtain feedback and corporate perspectives regarding this research.

Dr. Sadan Kulturel served as Primary Investigator (PI) of this project. Dr. Abdullah Konak, Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State Berks; Dr. Gul Kremer, Associate Professor of Engineering Design and Industrial Engineering at Penn State University Park; and Dr. Ivan Esparragoza, Associate Professor of Engineering at Penn State Brandywine; shared in the responsibility of the scientific or technical direction of this project, and are considered co-PI.

The grant falls under the Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (TUES) program of NSF. All proposals are evaluated through use of the two National Science Board (NSB)-approved merit review criteria: intellectual merit and the broader impacts of the proposed effort.

Students attending Penn State Berks Discover High School Youth Camps will learn about different career fields, the world around them, and themselves. The camps are for students entering ninth through twelfth grades in fall 2012. Participants can choose between a commuter and a residential option (commuter option only for the Basic Theater Camp). Students will stay in the Berks residence halls, providing a true college experience. Resident assistants will stay with the students from the end of the camp day until the start of camp the next morning. Evening activities are planned to ensure group involvement and there is an additional fee for these activities. Camps run from Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Discovering Computers and Cyber Security

This camp will include problem-based instruction and hands-on activities with a strong emphasis on exposing students to computer security/information assurance careers, especially in the financial services industry. Students will be involved in many activities to protect and defend personal privacy and information systems, and they will learn techniques for information system restoration by incorporating protection, detection, and recovery capabilities. The camp runs from July 9–13, 2012. The cost is $350 for commuters and $625 for the residential option.

Discovering Engineering-Rockets, Robots, and Race Cars

This camp explores engineering, technology, and applied science. Participants will learn about the various engineering disciplines-chemical, civil, electrical/computer, mechanical, and nuclear-through hands-on activities and projects. The camp will emphasize the role of engineers as inventors and developers of new products and processes for the benefit of society. Participants will also learn how to best prepare in high school to major in engineering in college. The camp runs July 9–13, 2012. The cost is $350 for commuters and $625 for the residential option.

Discovering Forensic Science

Campers will take a behind-the-scenes look at crime investigations and uncover a series of "who dunnits" using current forensic biological techniques. They will also use molecular biology to examine DNA left behind at the crime scene and ID the culprit. Participants will interact with scientists and investigators as they learn and perform experiments to help solve crimes. The camp runs from July 9–13, 2012. The cost is $375 for commuters and $625 for the residential option.

Discovering Veterinary Science

This summer camp puts students in the role of veterinary assistants under the watchful eye of a veterinarian. Laboratory work such as conducting dissections, reviewing ultra sounds and x-rays, taking cultures, and suturing will be performed. Campers will also visit a veterinary clinic and learn about careers in the field. This camp combines hands-on experience with live animals and scientific principles in biology, chemistry, and anatomy. The camp runs from July 9–13, 2012. The cost is $375 for commuters and $625 for the residential option.

Basic Theatre Camp

The Basic Theater Camp is designed to introduce students ages 10-18, entering grades five–twelve, to all that is involved in putting on a live production. Participants will learn the casting/auditions process; assemble a stage crew and learn the various crew jobs; work the stage through the use of cues, stage directions, and props; learn the acting process through voice projection exercises, staging practices, and play rehearsals; and finally stage an actual production. This camp runs from July 23–27, 2012, and the cost is $265 (no residential option is available for this camp).

Enrollment in High School Youth Campus camps is limited and early registration is recommended. Visit our summer camp program website to print an application or call 610-396-6225.

Penn State Berks Middle School Youth Camps provide a fun, educational experience for students entering grades five–eight, unless otherwise noted. Camps run from Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

You Be the Chemist® Camp

In the You Be the Chemist® Camp, developed by the Chemical Educational Foundation (CEF), campers will have the opportunity to work with common materials and everyday situations, and find that chemistry explains much of the world in which we live. By understanding chemistry, the participants can begin to answer for themselves many of the “why” questions they pondered in the past. This camp runs from June 25–29, 2012, and the cost is $245. 

Basic Theatre Camp

The Basic Theater Camp is designed to introduce students ages 10-18, entering grades five–twelve, to all that is involved in putting on a live production. Participants will learn the casting/auditions process; assemble a stage crew and learn the various crew jobs; work the stage through the use of cues, stage directions, and props; learn the acting process through voice projection exercises, staging practices, and play rehearsals; and finally stage an actual production. This camp runs from July 23–27, 2012, and the cost is $265. 

Jr. Nittany Criminal Investigative Science Camp

This new camp will keep junior crime solvers on their toes throughout the week; each day different fun scenarios will be presented to the campers. Working together, they will learn problem solving skills and strategies, as well as scientific principles to solve the crime and bring the criminals to justice. This camp runs from July 23–27, 2012, and the cost is $245.

Science of Technology—Buildings, Bridges, and Robots

Students will gain an understanding of “how things work” through hands-on activities that demonstrate the important principles of simple and motorized machines. They will solve challenges by building bridges with K’Nex building systems and programming robots using the LEGO Mindstorms (RCX) Robotics Invention System. Participants will learn about mechanical and software design, problem solving, and teamwork skills. No prior knowledge of robotics or other engineering technology topics is required. This camp runs from July 30–August 3, 2012, and the cost is $245.

Enrollment in Middle School Youth Campus camps is limited and early registration is recommended. For more information, visit our summer camp web page or call 610-396-6225.

Penn State Berks students, enrolled in the college’s EDUC 497H course “Special Topics–International Field Experience: Germany,” had the opportunity to visit classrooms in Germany over the course of a two-week class trip to the country. The intent of this course was to allow students to reflect on their individual teaching philosophies, and the education system in the United States in general. The students returned on May 25, 2012.

The group of 13 students spent two days at a school in Hanau, near Frankfurt, where they observed classrooms; met with students, teachers, and administrators; and experienced the education system in Germany. In addition, they visited a school in Melsungen, and met with the mayor of Melsungen. The trip concluded with a visit to schools in the Freiburg area. The College of Education at Penn State University Park campus established in a partnership with schools in this area in May 2011.

As part of the course requirements, the students were asked to evaluate differences in teaching practices, methodology, instructional strategies, and classroom environment.

For more information on this initiative, contact Dr. Jayne Leh, Assistant Professor of Special Education at Penn State Berks, via e-mail at JML53@psu.edu.

Valetta Eshbach, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, will officially retire on June 30, 2012, after completing 3 years of part-time, and 13 years of full-time instruction at Penn State Berks.

Eshbach began her career at the campus in 1996, as an Adjunct Instructor of Mathematics. In 1999, she began teaching full-time a fixed-term Lecturer of Mathematics.

During her career at Berks, Eshbach has been involved in several organizations. She has served as Chair of the Budget and Facilities Committee of the Science Division, since 2002. Also that year, she was a member of AAOC Committee for Faculty Senate. Additionally, from 2000-2002, she served as a member of CRTC Committee for Faculty Senate.

Eshbach earned a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics Education from Alvernia University and a master’s degree in Mathematics Education from Kutztown University. She is a member of PSEA, Pennsylvania State Employees Association; and PCTM, Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

In response to what her plans for retirement include, Eshbach said she looks forward to enjoying new interests after 44 continuous years of teaching in high school and at Penn State Berks.

The day-long event features sessions with titles such as: Hydrogen fueled Cars; Zentangles, Math, and Art; Math Kounts; Lemonade Stand, SpongeBob Generics, Finger Print Analysis; and Encapsulation and Encoding.

This program has occurred every year since 1997, when it was created and organized by Dr. Janet Winter, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics. After 31 years of service at Penn State Berks, Winter anticipates that she will retire at the end of August. In order to ensure the conference will continue to be held in upcoming years, Winter has established a coordinating committee, including members: Elizabeth Wiggins Lopez, Elaine Berish, Tricia Clark, Selvi Jagadesan, Sue Leh, and Alice Shaparenko.

In addition to this program, Winter initiated the Science, Engineering, and Technology Conference for eleventh graders, the Science for the Schools program (grades 5-10), and the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program, a science and engineering program for female Penn State Berks students.

The competition spanned from fall 2011 to part of spring 2012, and teams were eligible to submit their entries at either time. Grand prize, awarded to team with the highest combined score of a paper and presentation, is a “traveling” trophy which is housed at the winner’s college. In addition, each member of the team receives a $250 Walmart gift card and a personalized coaching and training session from The Total Solutions Group, Inc., allowing students to optimize their development of professional skills and career planning. All participating teams receive a trophy and gain practical and theoretical experience that helps build an excellent base for a career in Business.

Ted Smyer, VP of Programs with the Center for Retailing Solutions and Market Manager for Walmart in Southeast Pennsylvania, has been with the Center since the inception, last year. He acknowledged the Berks team as, “creating the most creative and innovative Integrated Retailing Management Plan with analysis and recommendations substantiated by research data.”

This is the first project at Penn State Berks to pursue LEED Certification and the first in the Penn State system, outside University Park campus, to be awarded gold certification.

Among the innovative design elements noted in the award, is the collaboration with our students in the advanced business writing class that resulted in a signage program promoting a "Sustainability Awareness" program.  

Designed to complement the natural beauty and existing architecture of the campus, the three-story structure is as cutting-edge as the learning and discovery that take place within it. The facility includes a range of sustainability strategies, including rainwater collection and a heat-recovery system, just to name a few.

The Gaige Building exceeded LEED requirements, and was evaluated in six major categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation in Design.

Forty-two thousand square feet of natural habitat were preserved by constructing the Gaige Building on its current site, rather than in the woodlands behind the building. In addition, the wooden doors are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which ensures their composition comes from sustainable forests.

Aspects of the building that reflect the Water Efficiency category include two buttons to control the water needed to flush toilets, with low-flow fixtures. Two 35,000-gallon underground tanks collect rooftop rainwater (grey water) which is then purified and used to flush toilets, water plants, and wash the building exterior, for a 92% reduction in portable water consumption. Water bottle filling stations, equipped with motion sensors for touch-free sanitary operation, save energy and materials normally used to make, transport, fill, and cool typical plastic water bottles. Outside, the rain garden captures excess rainwater (grey water) from underground storage tanks. Native plants absorb this, preventing runoff and flooding.

The Gaige building adheres to various criteria for the Energy and Atmosphere component. Exterior features including light colored pavers, terracotta tiles, and a white roof reflect sunlight, saving 26% in energy costs for a typical building of this size. Sensors in hallway ceilings adjust interior lighting based on the amount of daylight entering the building. Natural light illuminates 95% of the building, promoting a more productive environment, while reducing energy consumption. All occupied public spaces have natural light from windows or doors; and all rooms contain occupancy sensors that turn lights on and off. Sunshades minimize glare, angling off incoming rays, and have an added benefit of reducing cooling costs. Twelve thousand square feet of layered windows contain argon gas, helping to insulate the building and reducing heating and cooling costs. Energy efficient thermal windows, LED lights, and motion sensors save 26% more energy than typical buildings of similar size. LED fixtures surrounding the building also focus light downward, reducing light pollution. They not only last longer, but use 80% less energy than incandescent bulbs.

Under the Materials & Resources field, twenty percent of the material used in Gaige was made of recycled content, including steel beams, metal studs, aluminum panels, ceiling tiles, and concrete blocks. An additional 87% of all construction waste was recycled or used as fuel, rather than being sent to a landfill.

Addressing the issue of Indoor Environmental Quality are terracotta tiles on the exterior of the Gaige building, covering uniquely-layered walls, which are designed to be waterproof. User comfort inside the building is enhanced with extra wide hallways, increased use of natural light, and advanced temperature regulation. In the lobby, an outside view can be enjoyed in all directions. A large Prototype Lab provides students with substantial work space for a hands-on engineering classroom. Overhead “snorkels,” which remove contaminants from welding, grinding, and sanding, ensure a healthy environment. Sealants, glues, caulking, and paints used in the building are low volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These produce less harmful toxins than normal materials, improving indoor air quality. Over 30% of all the floors in the building are polished concrete with no covering; and green cleaning products are used. These products do not contain harmful toxins or chemicals, and their use reduces water consumption.

Additional features include PSU ID card readers, which allow access to rooms, eliminating the need for keys while improving security; these automatically shut off after hours. All doors can also be remotely locked during an emergency. Lastly, video conferencing rooms enable faculty members to hold class from remote distances, when they are unable to be present on campus.

In order to ensure that all elements in the building are functioning efficiently and continue to meet LEED standards, an independent party will re-commission the building one year after completion.

Students in the Penn State Berks Honors Program traveled to Taiwan this spring to act as teaching aides to Christine James, a Berks alumna who was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship last year to teaching English to elementary school students.

From March 5–9, 2012, nine Berks honors students and their instructors, Dr. Sandy Feinstein, Honors Coordinator and Associate Professor in English; Dr. Holly Ryan, Assistant Professor of English and Writing Center Coordinator; and Dr. Neal Woodman, adjunct faculty member, became James’ teaching aides, living and working in Yilan County, Taiwan, as part of an international service component to the English class, “Constructing Taiwan's Nature.”

To prepare for class, the Berks students read short stories, poetry, and essays by Taiwanese authors, as well as news articles about Taiwan. In addition, each student was required to complete 30-minute workouts a minimum of three days a week, ostensibly to prepare them for the hiking they were to do in Taiwan, but, as they were to soon learn, they needed that exercise to increase their stamina to keep up with the elementary school students they would work (and play) with in Dongshan Township, Yilan County.

For the service component of the course, the Berks students spent two days at Kuang Hsing Elementary School and two days at Ching Gou Elementary School helping the Taiwanese students practice their English. The Berks students interacted closely with the Taiwanese elementary students, splitting up into small groups to read books, which were donated by Penn State Berks students to the Taiwanese schools to help teach the children new words, common idioms, and the insider perspective of American culture.

Jessica Ashworth, a senior Schreyer Scholar majoring in Elementary Education, and James McCarty, a junior majoring in Applied Psychology, paired up during most classes to read Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham to the children. Meanwhile, Jenna Licwinko, another senior majoring in Elementary Education, and Trevor Luyben, a first-year Applied Psychology major, taught some of the third graders the word "muffin" with the book, If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff.

Clare Dillard, a senior Schreyer Scholar in Elementary Education, taught Dr. Seuss’s Hop on Pop, which provided opportunities for the students to interact with the story in innovative ways as they hopped en masse and became completely engaged in understanding the nonsense English. Courtney Paige, a first-year student majoring in Nutrition, challenged students by using a book with no words, the Caldecott-winning A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka. The second graders were prompted to provide English words to complement the pictures.

All these different teaching techniques pushed the Taiwanese children to listen and respond, which proved how much English they were actually learning.

Outside class, the Penn State group’s interaction with the Taiwanese students may have been even more important. The majority of the Berks students did not speak any Chinese, so the Taiwanese children had to express what they wanted to say in English.

Sophomore Communication Arts and Sciences major Austin McCue and sophomore Information Sciences and Technology major Dan Breidegam used the ten-minute breaks between classes to play soccer with the students. Chris Brendel, a sophomore Schreyer Scholar majoring in Global Studies, engaged students during breaks by practicing his Chinese while offering students less formal opportunities to practice their English.

In these varied ways, the Penn State students and teachers all made an impression on the elementary school students and their teachers, and the effect was mutual: the college students and teachers were also powerfully affected by the experience as well.

James comments, “Since that week in March, I have seen students who were not interested in English start to try a little harder. I have seen students who have liked English since the beginning ask unexpected questions a little more boldly. I have seen my students and my coworkers grow, and not just in English, but also in their perspective of the world. My students and coworkers are now friends with some of the Penn State students on Facebook, and they have another international friend. That week changed my schools, not in a huge way, but in a small and hopefully lasting way in that the world may seem a bit smaller and a bit more friendly than it did before.”

The Penn State Berks Chemical Society, a student chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS), received an honorable mention from the Society Committee on Education (SOCED), an ACS committee. The Berks Chemical Society was represented by Heather Young (president), Heather Schmale (vice president), and Meserret Zekarias (treasurer and student government representative) at the Student Chapter Awards Ceremony in San Diego, CA on March 25, 2012.

Each academic year, the SOCED of the ACS selects student chapters for recognition on the basis of their programs and activities, described in chapter reports. Awards are given in the categories of outstanding, commendable, and honorable mention. Chapters that do not qualify for these awards receive a certificate of achievement for meritorious service.

For the 2010-2011 academic year, ACS honored 229 chapters; of these, 36 were outstanding, 87 were commendable, and 106 were honorable mention chapters. For more information about the Student Chapter Awards, visit the ACS website.

The program will begin in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium at 9:15 a.m. with opening remarks from Dr. Blaine Steensland, Senior Director of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. The event will run until 1:00 p.m.

At the fair, information on housing options, how to pay for housing, tips on leasing, and information on Penn State Berks Food Services plans will be presented. In addition, students will have a networking opportunity to meet potential roommates, while parents attend a question-and-answer session. The remainder of the day will be dedicated to bus tours of the Greater Reading area that highlight many available services in close proximity to popular student neighborhoods.

For more information about the Off-Campus Housing Fair, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076. Students can register for this event online.

Penn State Berks students are displaying jewelry that they created at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts during the week of April 22–28, 2012. But this is no ordinary jewelry–rather it is jewelry created from electronic waste to benefit youth in Kenya.

It all began when the Penn State Berks “Creative Minds Team,” comprised of Penn State Berks students, traveled to Kenya from May 17–June 2, 2011, to visit the Children and Youth Empowerment Center (CYEC) in Nyeri, Kenya to teach the youth a skill that would help to sustain them: how to create jewelry from electronic waste and benefit from the profit for future educational advancements.

Throughout this project, Penn State Berks collaborated with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agricultural and Technology (JKUAT). To continue the collaboration, Anthony Munyi, a junior majoring in Electronics and Computer Engineering from JKUAT, is visiting Penn State Berks from April 22–April 28.

This initiative was coordinated by Dr. Sadan Kulturel-Konak, associate professor of Management Information Systems and coordinator of the Engineering Entrepreneurship minor.  

“The idea of creating jewelry out of electronic waste in Kenya was very innovative in many ways: reducing the waste, creating sustainable solutions for the population of street dwelling young people in Kenya, and contributing to youth education” commented Kulturel-Konak.

The Creative Minds Team taught the children from the CYEC about electronic waste, how to dismantle the waste properly, and how to create jewelry and art from the waste.  

This project is funded by a program and course development grant from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). Kulturel-Konak and Dr. Janelle Larson, associate professor of Agricultural Economics and Head of Engineering, Business, and Computing Division, are investigators on the grant.  

The Creative Minds Team is currently working on marketing the product in the Greater Reading area.  

For more information about the Creative Minds, please see www.ewasteatpsu.wordpress.com.

When the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building opened its doors at Penn State Berks last fall, everyone knew the college was planning to pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the new facility, but it was not clear which aspects of the building demonstrated the college’s commitment to sustainability. The need for signage identifying the green aspects of the building was quickly identified.

Terry Baker, Senior Lecturer in English, incorporated the signage project into his advanced business writing courses in the fall 2011 semester. In order to simulate a real-world business environment, the students were divided into five teams, which competed to create the most effective signage. The teams responded to a request for proposals (RFP) from Kim Berry, Chief Operating Officer, and worked closely with Professional Writing major Michael Lewis, Baker’s teaching assistant for the semester.

The whole class collaborated on the verbiage for the twenty-five signs, including the catchy titles. Then each team was charged with developing the signage design, composition, and placement inside and outside the building. The teams were tasked with researching various signage companies to manufacture the signs. The goal of the project was to educate future students, leave a lasting impression on the Gaige Building, and create a clean, crisp, and uniform image for the building.

The student teams presented their results to an audience which included Berry; Wendy Body, project manager and LEED engineer with Alvin Butz Construction; college administrators; their instructor; and their fellow students. The results exceeded everyone’s expectations, with each team winning in a separate category of the competition.

Team 1 was selected for its mounting system, comprised of a metallic backing with horizontal lines covered by a two-layered “channel” made of vinyl, which allows information and data to be updated simply by replacing the vinyl insert, known as Lexan®. The student team members included Aaron Klaptosky, Phong Le, Alison Pott, and Patricia Sanford.  

For Team 2, it was their use of graphics that won them recognition. The team members included Chellby Kilheffer, Damaris Long, and Nicol Varona.  

Team 3 created an introductory graphic exhibit key that made them stand out to the judges. Team members included Lydia Conrad, Dan Engro, and Joseph Zaleski.

Team 4 was chosen for its system of exterior signs. The team members included Emilie Jones, Alise Sparks, Ross Thomas, and Bianca Villamar.

Finally, Team 5 was selected for its “reducing carbon paw print” verbiage. Team members included Takema Fuller, Jennifer High, Jonathan Rivera, and Lisa Sweigart.

Several students involved in the project commented that the process raised their awareness of environmental issues, and that now they are true advocates for the environment.

The entire class collaborated on the digital signage to appear on monitors in the building. They also worked together on the large LEED sign to be hung in the lobby. This sign explains each LEED category for which the Gaige Building earned its certification—sustainable sites, water efficiency, materials and resources, energy and atmosphere, and indoor air quality. The smaller signs throughout the building use these icons to identify the category each sign addresses. In addition to educating everyone about the sustainable features of the building, the signs themselves earned a point toward Gaige’s “gold” LEED certification, the highest level of LEED certification that can be earned.

“As far ask I know, we at Penn State have not yet found a way to educate the occupants of our many LEED buildings about all their great design elements, finishes, and technologies,” commented Erik Foley, Director of Campus Sustainability Office. “The partnership at Berks between students, an academic course, and on-campus operations to create educational signage for the Gaige Building is a tremendous example of what is possible with collaboration. I hope all our LEED buildings and major renovations will soon have such signage.”   

Krystle Lee Morales and Catherine Soto, both Penn State Berks students, won first place in the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s 2012 Business Idea Challenge.

Morales and Soto’s business idea was “Lotus Hair Product,” a safe, natural hair product blended with natural oils that gives customers top salon quality without the top salon price. The team received $1,500.

The annual Business Idea Challenge competition encourages local college students to consider and pursue entrepreneurial opportunities, particularly in technology. The competition is open to students from Albright College, Alvernia University, Kutztown University, Penn State Berks, and Reading Area Community College.

Business Idea Challenge finalists presented condensed versions of their projects during the Chamber’s board of directors meeting on Thursday, April 19, 2012.

From the Commission of European Union to The Hague to the International Criminal Court, students enrolled in the college’s “International Law and Organizations” course stepped out of the classroom and visited Belgium, along with Dr. Randall Fegley, Coordinator of the Global Studies degree program and Associate Professor of History and Politics at Penn State Berks.

The excursion provided nine students with first-hand experience meeting with diplomats, visiting international agencies, and discussing course-related issues, with an emphasis on international law from March 3–11, 2012.

The group began their trip by visiting the Commission of the European Union in Brussels, where they had a briefing session with a Danish journalist. The students learned about the origins and structure of the Union, currents events dealing with the “Euro crisis,” and why certain countries–such as England and Denmark–are suspicious of the Union.

The following day, they traveled to The Hague, the seat of the Dutch government and parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State. All foreign embassies in the Netherlands and 150 international organizations are located in the city, including the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) are located.

According to Fegley, the ICTY was established to deal with the human rights violations that occurred during the Bosnian and Kosovo Wars. Originally intended to be a temporary court, its mandate has expired and been renewed several times due to a continuous flow of perpetrators brought to court.

The group was then briefed by Bill Tomljanovic, one of the researchers from the prosecutor’s office, a Serbian American who was actually acquainted with Penn State Berks and Berks County through his travels. He discussed the process of cases being presented to the court and the various types of defendants involved in those cases.

The researcher explained that while defendants come from all sides, it was interesting to note that while in detention together, they got along fabulously. He showed the group a photo of the birthday party of Slobodan Milosevic, former president of Serbia, while in detention. The leader of the Bosnian Muslim militia, who would have been his sworn enemy, was celebrating with him.

According to Fegley, this suggests that the leadership was jockeying into position and really did not have strong commitments, but beneath them were various fanatics who would never speak to each other.

One such fanatic was actually on trial while the group was in Brussels–Vojislav Seselj, a Serbian politician. The students witnessed part of this trial, which dealt with a long list of crimes including murder, torture, and persecution of citizens on racial, religious, and political grounds. In fact, the list of charges was so long it took several days to read them in court.

“This is a rare opportunity for students to see history in the making,” commented Fegley about the trial.

After leaving the court, the group was met by General Bernard Droste, Dean of Aerospace Studies at the University of Delft. Droste accompanied the group to a Dutch Army base, where he discussed his recent venture into commercial space travel, in which he is investigating using space as a way to transport cargo cheaply far distances on earth. He also discussed international space law, a new field of law dealing with restrictions on using space.

The next day, they returned to The Hague and visited the International Criminal Court, which was founded in 2002 with the goal of replacing special courts for individuals tried for international crimes.

Fegley notes that the courtroom is set up differently than courtrooms in the United States: the witness stand faces the judge directly with a glass wall behind it.

On March 9, they went to the city of Ghent, where they visited the cathedral and castle. Fegley, who resided in Ghent as a graduate student, discussed the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812 in the United States. He explained that this is an example of how a successful treaty is negotiated and written.

“I am amazed at what we as a class were able to see and experience in the span of a little more than a week's time, stated Erin Wade, a senior majoring in Global Studies from Leesport, PA. “I thoroughly enjoyed all the aspects of the trip; from visiting such profound organizations as the EU, ICC and the ICTY, to enjoying a Belgian street waffle and taking in the breathtaking beauty of Ghent.”

During their time in Belgium, the group stayed at Elzenveld, a conference center that was a convent in medieval times.

The trip to Belgium was partially funded through grants from the Penn State Berks Travel Fund; the Penn State Berks Student Fund; the Global Studies degree program; and the Division of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. In addition, students had an opportunity to apply to Penn State University Park for funding.

According to Fast, the story is about a troubled teenager who reveals through interaction with a friend that she is cutting herself. It will be published in the upcoming summer issue of Central PA Magazine.

The contest was sponsored by WITF, The Patriot News, and York College of Pennsylvania. The awards ceremony was held on Thursday, March 29, 2012, at York College of Pennsylvania.

“The Professional Writing program at Penn State Berks has been a major influence on my creative writing,” commented Fast.

Since graduating, Fast has continued to write poetry, short stories, and genre fiction. She is employed as a purchasing agent by Hirneisen Electric, and she resides in Denver, PA, with her husband, Steve.

First recipient of the award from a Penn State campus outside University Park

Dr. Laurie Grobman, Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Penn State Berks, is the 2012 recipient of the President's Award for Excellence in Academic Integration, which is given to a full-time faculty member of the University who has exhibited extraordinary achievement in the integration of teaching and research or creative accomplishments, and service. Grobman is the first recipient of the award from a Penn State campus outside University Park.

Grobman’s accomplishments are outstanding in each of the three separate areas–teaching, research, and service, which are tied together by the common threads of multiculturalism and social justice. Grobman’s teaching brings students directly into these issues themselves–through undergraduate research, service-learning, and community-based research.

Among Grobman’s accomplishments is bringing the concept of the Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research (formerly known as The Laboratory for Public Scholarship and Democracy at Penn State Berks) to the college in the fall of 2010 and serving as the Coordinator. The center is designed to be a forum for sharing knowledge, expertise, and training among faculty who practice service learning in their courses.

Penn State Berks is the first campus outside of University Park to launch the initiative. Several projects are have been completed by the center and many others are currently underway in which students and faculty are partnering with nonprofit organizations, such as Friends Inc. and the Greater Reading Food Bank, the Pagoda, Nicholas Stoltzfus Homestead, and the Salvation Army's Mañana program.

Recently the Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research announced the creation of the Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning and Community-Based Research, a new, refereed, multi-disciplinary online undergraduate journal. Grobman will serve as editor of this publication.

In fact, Grobman has extensive experience in working with undergraduate students to publish journals. In 2003, she co-founded and edited for seven years an international undergraduate research journal, Young Scholars in Writing: Undergraduate Research in Writing and Rhetoric. The journal’s mission is to provide a venue for undergraduates engaged in research about writing and rhetoric to share their work with a broader audience of students, scholars, and teachers through national publication.

More recently, Grobman has focused on interdisciplinary, community-based undergraduate research “to redress the largely invisible, erased histories of local ethnic minorities.

She and her students have worked closely with the African American community, primarily through the NAACP branch in Reading and the Central Pennsylvania African American Museum in Reading to publish Woven with Words: A Collection of African American History in Berks County, Pennsylvania, a history book that describes the rich­—and previously untold—heritage from the county’s eighteenth century inception to present day.

Woven with Words was co-edited by Grobman. Several Penn State Berks classes were involved in the project, including Ethnic America taught by Grobman. To conduct their research, students visited local historical repositories, including the Berks County Historical Society and the Central Pennsylvania African American Museum, where they met local historians and pieced together history from archived materials such as slave advertisements.

This project set the stage for a second publication, in which Grobman and her students worked with the Hispanic/Latino community, primarily through Centro Hispano Daniel Torres, Inc., to publish Hispanics/Latinos in Reading and Berks: A Portrait of a Community. The book is the first comprehensive documentation of the county’s Hispanic/Latino community. Once again, Grobman served as editor.

Grobman was then approached by the president of Jewish Federation of Reading to design a similar project for the Jewish community. The Jewish local history projects led to publication of two books, one printed locally and the other published by a commercial press. A History of the Jewish Community in Reading and Berks County was written by Penn State Berks students in partnership with the Jewish Cultural Center/Jewish Federation of Reading and with hundreds of members of the local Jewish community.

Jewish Reading and Berks, a photographic history of Berks County’s Jewish community, was published by Arcadia Publishing for the “Images in America Series.” The book was produced by students in Grobman’s “Jewish Representation in History and Photography” course, which focused on the issues emanating from the telling of history through photographs, such as accuracy, selectivity, and historical truth.

The professor’s current engaged scholarship project focuses on the Central Pennsylvania African American Museum in Reading. Grobman is writing a narrative history of the museum and two scholarly articles, the first grounded in scholarship on African American museums and the second on the rhetorical and communicative processes that led to the museum’s success.

Grobman has published two single-authored books, Multicultural Hybridity: Transforming American Literary Scholarship and Pedagogy (2007) and Teaching at the Crossroads: Cultures and Critical Perspectives in Literature by Women of Color (2001), and two co-edited collections, Undergraduate Research in English Studies (2010), and On Location: Theory and Practice in Classroom-Based Writing Tutoring (2005).

The President's Award for Excellence in Academic Integration was established by the University in 1996 to celebrate faculty accomplishments that are consistent with the President’s goal for "Penn State to be the top University in the United States in the integration of teaching, research, and service." The award will be presented at a special luncheon on April 19, 2012, beginning at 12 p.m. in the Nittany Lion Inn Ballroom.

According to the abstract, “Pore-forming Toxins (PFTs) are the largest family of toxins made by pathogenic bacteria. Bacillus anthracis, the etiologic agent of anthrax, secretes the PFT Anthrolysin O (ALO), which can interact with essentially all human cells. ALO has a number of mechanisms by which it causes disease, ranging from stimulating multiple signaling pathways to punching large and lethal holes in the plasma membrane.  This seminar will describe some of these mechanisms at the molecular and cellular levels, and will ask whether ALO is an important component of the B. anthracis vast arsenal of virulence factors.”

The Science Division colloquia are of broad and general interest, accessible to a general audience. All students, faculty, and interested members of the Penn State Berks and surrounding community are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Dr. Leonard Gamberg, Associate Professor of Physics, via e-mail at LPG10@psu.edu.

Initiated as a result of her involvement with the Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research, Dr. Mahsa Kazempour, Assistant Professor of Science Education at Penn State Berks, developed the EACAP project for this course.

Students worked in teams, working on service learning projects and collaborating with community organizations. They were involved in various activities at these organizations, such as creating websites and educational materials, removing invasive species, and undertaking tasks like river clean-up and erosion control. Participating organizations included The Berks Parks Department, Audubon Society, Monocacy Hill, Hawk Mountain, and Nolde Park.

As its name indicates, the Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research focuses on service learning and community-based research. The center is designed to be a forum for sharing knowledge, expertise, and training among faculty who practice service learning in their courses.

For more information, contact Kazempour at 610-396-6312 or via e-mail at MUK30@psu.edu.

The efforts are a the result of interdisciplinary class projects in Electrical Engineering, taught by Dr. Henry Ansell, Assistant Professor of Engineering; Mechanical Engineering, taught by Dr. Rungun Nathan, Assistant Professor of Engineering; and Occupational Therapy, taught by David Kresse, Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy.

Student projects include:

• the walker aid that moves objects to table level;
• step climber that moves objects up the stairs;
• refrigerator door opener that breaks the tight seal of the refrigerator door;
• trash bag aid that helps those confined to a wheelchair move trash to the curb;
• bag opener that opens sealed plastic bags single-handedly;
• autistic Instructor, a reprogrammable device that helps autistic children follow daily instructions;
• door/knob opener that helps open doors and knobs;
• automatic toilet paper dispenser; and
• media holder, an adapter that allows cameras, video cameras, and other devices to be placed on a wheelchair.

The annual event, formerly known as Devices for Disabilities, was initiated and is coordinated by Ansell, along with Nathan. For more information, contact Ansell via e-mail at HGA1@psu.edu or Nathan at rungun.nathan@psu.edu.

“We have only been doing this for a few weeks, but it has been absolutely outstanding in many ways,” commented William Bowers, Chamber Choir Club co-advisor and Senior Lecturer in Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State Berks. “It is extremely successful and we’re excited about it.”

Every two weeks, the Berks choir has been rehearsing with the Heritage chorus.

Berks choir members benefit by getting involved in the community and extending the college’s presence in the area. The Heritage chorus members benefit by singing musical styles they may not have sung before. Members of both groups benefit by gaining inter-generational experiences and having an opportunity to make music with others.

For more information on the collaboration, contact either of the Berks choir advisers, Bill Bowers at WHB108@psu.edu or Jackie Confalone at JOC10@psu.edu.

Dr. David H. Monk, Professor of Educational Administration and Dean of the College of Education at Penn State, will be the keynote speaker at the Penn State Berks spring commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 5, 2012, at 10 a.m. in the Beaver Community Center. A new class of more than 150 Penn State Berks students will participate in the ceremony, receiving their baccalaureate and associate degrees. More than 200 students will have earned their degrees from Penn State Berks this May.

Monk earned his A.B. in 1972 at Dartmouth College and his Ph.D. in 1979 at the University of Chicago, and he was a member of the Cornell University faculty for 20 years prior to becoming dean at Penn State in 1999.  He has also been a third grade teacher and has taught in a visiting capacity at the University of Rochester and the University of Burgundy in Dijon, France.

He is the author of Educational Finance: An Economic Approach (1990); Raising Money for Education: A Guide to the Property Tax (1997); and Cost Adjustments in Education (2001), in addition to numerous articles in scholarly journals. He was the inaugural co-editor of Education Finance and Policy–the journal of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (MIT Press) and serves on the editorial board of that journal in addition to serving on the editorial boards of the Journal of Education Finance, Educational Policy, and the Journal of Research in Rural Education.

Monk consults widely on matters related to educational productivity and the organizational structuring of schools and school districts and is a past president of the Association for Education Finance and Policy.

The Shirley Hendrick Award recognizes an administrator University-wide who has contributed to the success of Penn State’s efforts to serve adult learners. The award is named in memory of Shirley Hendrick (1936–2000), the first recipient, dean for continuing education in the Smeal College of Business and inaugural chair of the Commission for Adult Learners, who advocated for continuing education.

While chancellor at Penn State Schuylkill, Hillkirk helped bring together five campuses to collaborate in offering degree programs with the assistance of distance technology. The resulting Eastern Alliance of Penn State Campuses consists of Penn State Hazleton, Lehigh Valley, Schuylkill, Wilkes-Barre and Worthington Scranton. In fall 2010, the Eastern Alliance began offering a joint bachelor of science in business degree, with classes delivered by interactive video during evening and weekend hours and online.

“Like Shirley Hendrick, Dr. Hillkirk has been a true advocate of adult learners, including both credit and non-credit students,” one nominator said. “He has demonstrated this support through innovative program development, the creation of a collaborative delivery system and hands-on involvement.”

Hillkirk was a member of the University’s Commission for Adult Learners in 2008-2009 and chaired the commission in 2009-2010. In 2010-2011, he co-chaired the Faculty Engagement Committee as it focused on a Faculty Senate recommendation that credit by exam and credit by portfolio be expanded. After serving as Penn State Schuylkill chancellor for six years, he was named Penn State Berks chancellor in 2011.

“Since joining the University in 2005,” another nominator wrote, “Dr. Hillkirk has been a champion of adult education. His efforts as chancellor at Penn State Schuylkill, including appointing an adult coordinator and instituting our 30 Plus scholarship program, have resulted in a significant increase in adult students enrolling at the campus.”

In this presentation, Abdou and Ghosh will discuss their investigation on why foreign private firms acquire a publicly traded U.S. shell target and their process in this action. Private firms often use reverse merger (RM) as means to gain access to new capital markets, and it is expected that the return of the newly formed company will grow over time. 

The EBC Research Interest Group features Penn State Berks faculty and visiting experts who conduct research on a wide variety of topics. Topics are of broad and general interest and are accessible to the non-expert. 

For more information, contact Dr. Jui-Chi Huang, Chair of the EBC Research Interest Group and Assistant Professor of Economics at Penn State Berks via e-mail at JXH74@psu.edu.  

More than 200 undergraduates from five Berks County universities and colleges and beyond will showcase their research at the 13th Annual Undergraduate Research and Creativity Conference on Saturday, April 21, 2012, at Penn State Berks. Sessions will run from 10 a.m.–12 p.m., and 1–2 p.m. Check-in and registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the college’s Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. 

Research topics include:

• The crisis of credit
• Social networking and college students’ grades
• Cyber crimes
• Modesty in fashion
• Cutting: an anthropological explanation
• Female espionage in the Civil War
• Why Black beauty is stifled in America
• Human trafficking
• The burqa in Kutztown
• Mathematics behind Sodoku

Research topics are presented as academic paper presentations and academic posters. There will also be performances of music, theater and poetry, and exhibits of art and photography. 

The keynote speaker is Dr. Richard Rest, who will give his presentation at 9:00 a.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium.

Rest is a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Director of the Center for Bacterial Pathogenesis and Biodefense, the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases; and Director of Professional Development and Postdoctoral Affairs, Biomedical Graduate and Postgraduate Studies, at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. 

Rest earned his Ph.D. in Bacterial Physiology from the University of Kansas. He began his career in bacterial pathogenesis in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He then moved to Hahnemann University–now Drexel University College of Medicine–where a graduate student made an observation that took the lab on a 10-year research detour; he discovered a new pore forming toxin of Bacillus anthracis, and named it Anthrolysin O. This 10-year sojourn into an agent of bioterrorism was challenging and exciting; with a whole new set of virulence factors, and a whole new cast of characters. 

Rest has now refocused on the molecular virulence mechanisms of gonorrhea and meningitis. He is passionate about mentoring students, trainees, and colleagues, and about raising awareness of scientific integrity and the responsible conduct of research within the academy. 

The conference is presented by Albright College, Alvernia University, Kutztown University, Penn State Berks, and Reading Area Community College.

For more information on the conference, please visit the Web site: berks.psu.edu/HECBC. For additional information, please Dr. Martha Aynardi at (610) 396-6228.

Student will be available to inform the campus community of environmental issues including water consumption, energy shortages, and preventative actions that minimize these types of problems. They will provide materials that focus on various local and global environmental issues and will share eco-friendly tips.

For more information, contact Dr. Mahsa Kazempour, Assistant Professor, Science Education, at 610-396-6312 or via e-mail at MUK30@psu.edu.

New Orleans Saints tight end and Penn State Berks alumnus John Gilmore Jr. was honored with the Penn State Alumni Achievement Award, which recognizes alumni under the age of 35 for their extraordinary professional accomplishments, during an award ceremony at University Park campus on Friday, March 30, 2012.

A native of the City of Reading, Gilmore teamed up with fellow Wilson High School graduate and Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne in 2010 to create the Gilmore/Henne Community Fund, which provides grants to revitalize parks and recreational facilities in Berks County. The fund also provides financial support for Berks County students who engage in scholastic sports, while maintaining a respectable GPA, and plan to continue their education at the collegiate level.

The idea for the fund was inspired by Gilmore’s return to the Reading, where he found the city’s parks and recreation areas in extreme disarray with excess litter, vandalized equipment, and tangible evidence of drug dealing. Utilizing his Penn State degree and his strong commitment to the community, Gilmore partnered with Henne to establish the fund, which is administered by the Berks County Community Foundation.

Since the establishment of the Gilmore/Henne Community Fund, three parks have been renovated and more than $200,000 has been raised for park renovations and scholarships. In addition, Gilmore ha been active in the Greater Reading community, sponsoring activities for local children at renovated parks, as well as other programs and events. 

A 10-year veteran of the National Football League, Gilmore played for the New Orleans Saints for the 2011 season following three years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and six years with the Chicago Bears. He was drafted into the NFL in the sixth round in 2002.

Prior to his NFL career, Gilmore was a three-year letterman and was named the Outstanding Senior Player in 2001 by the State College Quarterbacks Club. In addition, Gilmore was a decorated athlete at Wilson High School, where he won numerous awards including Wilson’s 1996 male athlete of the year, and the Associated Press first-team All-State and first-team All-County in Berks.

Gilmore graduated in 2001 from Penn State University with a bachelor of science degree in Recreation and Parks Management, which he has put to good use in his charitable work. He resides with his wife Rebecca and their two children in Tampa, Florida.

Attendees will have the opportunity to meet Alumni Association Executive Director Roger Williams. Other scheduled activities include a tour of Old Main and the All-Sports Museum, culminating with dinner at the Hintz Alumni Center, which will feature Penn State University President Rodney Erickson as the keynote speaker. Participants will also have free time to explore the campus.

Checks should be made payable to Penn State Berks, and can be mailed to Penn State Berks Office of Alumni Relations, PO Box 7009, Reading, PA 19610. In addition, please include the name, e-mail address, and contact number for each person attending.

For more information, contact the Berks Alumni Office at berks-alumni@psu.edu. 

Ticket price includes a game ticket and a 2-1/2 hour, all-you-can-eat buffet, which opens at 6:00 p.m. This buffet includes BBQ ribs and chicken, BBQ sandwiches, hot dogs, baked ziti, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob, pasta and potato salad, chips, pretzels, fruit cups, cookies, lemonade, iced tea, and Pepsi products. The Nittany Lion mascot will also be in attendance.

For more information or to order your tickets online, visit www.psuberkschapter.com/rphils.

Prior to the main celebration, there will be a Trans Identity and Ally Workshop, which will be held at 4:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room. This workshop is being facilitated by two of the night's performers, and it is meant to establish a sense of unity among allies and members of the LGBTA community.

The actual NOISE event will begin at 9 p.m. The event includes comedian Thomas Dale, the Athens Boys Choir, musician Katastrophe, and various Penn State Berks student performers.

This year’s NOISE event will be held the day before the National Day of Silence, a day the members and allies of the LGBTA community choose to silence themselves to take a stand on oppression in society.  

For more information, contact Kelli Meyer, Student Activities Coordinator at Penn State Berks, at 610-396-6068 or via e-mail at KAM67@psu.edu.

In his presentation titled, “Anthropocentrism in Latin American Poetry,” Murillo will discuss poems from Latin American Modernismos to the Vanguardias. These poems represent the time period from the 1880s to the 1930s. In Murillo’s opinion, these poems should be included in the “Existentialism canon.”

In the presentation “Someone Has To Stop These People: Anarchist Resistance to Power and Authority in Latin America,” Shaffer will focus on anarchism in Latin America during two ages of globalization, which occurred during the 1890s through the 1920s and today.

The HASS Colloquium Series features informal presentations that serve as opportunities for faculty to share their research in a 15-minute presentation that welcomes dialogue, discussion, and questions.For more information on the HASS Colloquium Series, contact Holly Ryan, Assistant Professor of English and Coordinator of the Writing Center, via e-mail at HLR14@psu.edu.

Plasmodium falciparum is the protozoan parasite that causes the most severe form of malaria, which is still a major cause of death in endemic regions of the world. As a result of widespread drug resistance, combined with the poor socioeconomic conditions of these malaria-affected areas, the disease remains a significant global health challenge. Even though effective anti-malaria chemotherapies such as electron transport inhibitors exist, little is understood about the lethal effects of these drugs on the parasite and how drug resistance develops.

According to the abstract, “To further elucidate the mechanism of resistance development, we have analyzed the response of drug selected parasites to a subsequent drug treatment. These studies begin to provide information on the physiological state of the drug-inhibited parasites when mutations in mitochondrial DNA could arise that lead to drug resistance and enhance our ability to define essential targets for future drug development.”

The Science Division colloquia are of broad and general interest, accessible to a general audience. All students, faculty, and interested members of the Penn State Berks and surrounding community are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Dr. Leonard Gamberg, Associate Professor of Physics, via e-mail at LPG10@psu.edu.

Approximately thirty tenth- and eleventh-graders will participate in the program. Each high school student will be individually matched with a college student mentor for part of the day. The students will experience a typical day on campus with their mentor from 10:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. During this time, the students will attend classes with their mentor, have lunch in the campus cafeteria, talk with faculty and staff, and visit various locations on campus.

In addition to the shadowing experience, the students will experience a full day of activities including a continental breakfast, an official welcome to the campus from Chancellor R. Keith Hillkirk, an admissions workshop, a campus tour led by Penn State Berks Lion Ambassadors, and an informal dinner, followed by a presentation about the many clubs and organizations available to students at the college, featuring the Brotherhood of Scholarship Cultural Awareness and Community Service Club and the Penn State Berks Dance Team.

The Reading High School students were selected through the Penn State Educational Partnership Program. The Philadelphia High School students were selected through the Penn State Philadelphia Community Recruitment Center.

The Penn State Educational Partnership Program (PEPP), an early intervention collaboration between the Penn State College of Education and Pennsylvania school districts, was developed to help underrepresented youths perform more effectively in school, go on to some form of post-secondary education, and increase their chances for successful employment in later life. The Penn State Berks PEPP works with the Reading School District. The approach involves a partnership between students, teachers, parents, corporations, government, colleges, and universities.

The Penn State Philadelphia Community Recruitment Center assists Philadelphia area high school students with all Penn State admissions functions, including the admissions and financial aid application process.For more information on the “Be a Penn Stater for a Day” program, contact Guadalupe Kasper, Program Manager for PEPP, at 610-396-6272 or via e-mail at GUR10@psu.edu.

The Penn State Berks Bookstore will hold a book signing for Ronald Roberts, Instructor in Management at Penn State Berks, and his new book, The Well-Balanced Leader: Interactive Learning Techniques to Help You Master the 9 Simple Behaviors of Outstanding Leadership, on Tuesday, April 3, 2012, from 4:00–6:30 p.m.

In this book, Roberts tells the reader to “Empower your people, your company—and yourself—with leadership egolibrium.” Egolibrium is defined as the ability to toggle between egocentric and “other-centric” attitudes, values, and behaviors for organizational success.

According to Roberts, “Everyone’s behaviors fall somewhere between each dichotomy. Using the activities, action steps, games, and thought exercises included for each pair, you’ll figure out exactly where your behaviors land, and then learn how to move that position in one direction or the other to find the right balance or your specific needs.”

The publisher’s web site provides the following description of The Well-Balanced Leader: “In The Well-Balanced Leader, top experiential, accelerated-learning trainer Ron Roberts shows you how to identify your strengths and weaknesses in the nine most critical behavioral areas. He helps you “unstick” yourself from behavioral patterns that damage your influence as a leader, your relationships with those you lead, and the effectiveness of your organization.

“The Well-Balanced Leader provides valuable insight into the inner workings of great leadership, along with activities, games, and exercises to determine where you excel—and where you fall short. It empowers you to strike a balance among the needs of the people you lead, your own needs, and the needs of the organization; become more conscious of what motivates you, drives your behavior, and determines how you relate to others; and think before you speak and respond to every situation with measured behavior. With The Well-Balanced Leader, you’ll learn how to alter your behavior in ways that benefit your people, contribute value to your organization, and launch yourself to the highest level of success.”

Roberts is one of today’s top consultants and trainers in the area of accelerated experiential learning. He frequently serves as keynote speaker at national conferences and professional meetings. Roberts is president of Action Centered Training Inc., ACT Government Support Services, and ACT Games, LLC, where he has trained executives, managers, supervisors, and line staff in all phases of industry, corporate, and government.

The Penn State Berks Blue & White Society, the student contingent of the Penn State Alumni Association, is holding a Spaghetti Dinner fundraising event for IM Able Foundation on Monday, April 2, 2012 from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Lion's Den. The cost is $10 for adults and $6 for students age 18 and under and Penn State students with ID.

Founded by Penn State Berks alumnus Chris Kaag in 2007, the IM Able Foundation promotes the benefits of an active lifestyle for the physically challenged.

In 1997, Kaag was a 21-year-old U.S. Marine when he was diagnosed with adrenomyeloneuropathy, a degenerative nerve condition that would eventually affect his ability to walk. After his diagnosis, he returned to Pennsylvania and enrolled in the Business degree at Penn State Berks.

Eventually, it was Kaag’s continued dedication to fitness, along with his education in business and the values he learned in the Marines–teamwork and the ability to push beyond your limits–that led him to start his own fitness center, Corps Fitness.

Corps Fitness served as an important launching point for Kaag, who soon looked for additional ways to promote active lifestyles and to help aid disabled persons. In 2004, Kaag started the Got the Nerve? Triathlon.

Coming off the success of Got the Nerve?, Chris created the IM ABLE Foundation in 2007. Through the IM Able Foundation, Kaag promotes the idea that with today's technology, it is possible for anyone who has a disability to increase his or her fitness level, and thereby, reap the benefits of both physical and mental health.

For more information about the IM Able Foundation please visit: www.getupandmove.org.

To purchase tickets to the Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser, contact the following members of the Blue & White Society: Mica Rulis at MHR130@psu.edu or Verranda Franklin at VAC5049@psu.edu.

“In these challenging economic times, Penn State Berks wants to do all it can to help make a Penn State education affordable and accessible for adult students,” commented Penn State Berks Chancellor R. Keith Hillkirk on the creation of the new scholarship program at the college.

Students must be at least 25 years of age to qualify and must be working toward an undergraduate degree (enrolled in degree status). They must be continuously enrolled to maintain the scholarship. In addition, a completed Penn State admissions application and a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application must be on file with the college.

There are some restrictions to the program. The $2,000 lifetime award is only for new Penn State students. Awards are not available to Penn State employees or their dependents. The maximum lifetime award is limited to $500 for students receiving 100% tuition reimbursement from their employer or military benefits.

Students will receive the award in increments by semester credits: 3 credits = $125, 6 credits = $250, 9 credits = $375, and 12 credits = $500.

For more information on the Adult Learner 25+ Program, contact:

• Solange Israel-Mintz, Adult Student Recruitment Coordinator, 610-396-6222
• Teri Sabatelli, Director of Admissions & Financial Aid, 610-396-6061
• Judith Rile, Financial Aid Coordinator, 610-396-6070

Students who have participated in community service projects report the service as being one of the most rewarding experiences of their college careers.  Participating in community service is an educational and social exchange in which students are gaining an equally valuable experience as those who they wish to help.

Andrea Pfaff, Student Activities Coordinator, commented, “I am always impressed by our students' dedication to making a difference in our community, and these projects are evidence of the wonderful things we can accomplish when our faculty, staff, students, and community come together for a great cause.”

All the Opportunity House projects are funded by the Penn State Berks Beaver Community Service Endowment Fund. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6387.

The upcoming presentation in the Penn State Berks Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) Colloquium series will feature a discussion on play creation, given by Radhica Ganapathy, Assistant Professor of Theatre, and her students. It is scheduled for Friday, March 23, 2012, at 1 p.m. in room 104, Franco Building. This event is open to the campus community and light refreshments will be served.

This presentation will provide a unique opportunity to understand how artists research, write, and develop a play from concept to stage. The brief presentation will be followed by a chance for the audience to comment or ask questions.

The HASS Colloquium Series features informal presentations that serve as opportunities for HASS faculty to share their research in a 15-minute presentation that welcomes dialogue, discussion, and questions.

The next presentation will feature Dr. Edwin Murillo, Assistant Professor of Spanish, and Dr. Kirk Shaffer, Associate Professor, Latin American Studies, and it will be held on April 18, 2012.

For more information on the HASS Colloquium Series, contact Holly Ryan, Assistant Professor of English and Coordinator of the Writing Center, via e-mail at HLR14@psu.edu.

Examining the historical and contemporarily tenuous relationship between Black women based upon skin color and hair texture, this presentation highlights the lived experiences of women of African descent, who because of their “light skin and good hair” have faced multiple challenges in being recognized, accepted, or embraced as “Black women,” primarily by browner skinned Black women.

Yaba Blay is a visiting assistant professor of Africana Studies at Lafayette College, where she also teaches courses in Women’s & Gender Studies. She earned a B.A. in Psychology from Salisbury State University, a M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from the University of New Orleans, an M.A. and Ph.D. in African American Studies, and a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies from Temple University.

For more information, contact Karen Kihurani, Coordinator of Multicultural Programs, at 610-396-6080 or via e-mail KEK5@psu.edu.

The dinner is an interactive dining experience that prepares students for a job interview lunch or dinner, in addition to the business-social events they will encounter on the job. Lynne Breil, founder of The Professional Edge, will lead the presentation. Various dining skills will be discussed, from how to master eating those difficult foods to the appropriate time to talk “business” during a business meal.

Breil has conveyed her message of personal refinement and etiquette to organizations nationwide for nearly 20 years. She is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and member of the International Federation for Professional Speakers. Previously, she was named one of “Pennsylvania’s Best 50 Women in Business.”

For more information, contact the Office of Career Services at 610-396-6019.

More than thirty works of art acquired over the years for the college’s permanent collection will be on display. Many of these works of art have not been seen by the campus community as they were previously installed in offices or other spaces. This exhibit offers the opportunity to view these works together for the first time. This exhibition is engagingly installed in collections: art work grouped in terms of themes, media, or subject matter.

The collection has grown significantly over the decades, with art purchased from individual and group exhibitions, and a number of works donated to the college by the artists or as gifts from friends of the college. Many pieces are accompanied by the original mailer announcement card about the exhibition, as well as the critical reviews from the Reading Eagle, and other publications.

As in the past, faculty and staff will have an opportunity to select art for their offices and common areas through a lottery. Voting by ballot for the art begins on March 26 and ends April 16. Winners will be announced after April 16, and art work will be installed in selected sites this summer.

The Freyberger Gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Thursday evenings until 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. For more information, contact Marilyn Fox, Gallery Director, at 610-396-6140 or via e-mail at MJF14@psu.edu.

In the upcoming Engineering, Business, and Computing Division Research Interest Group (EBC-RIG) lecture, Patrick Qiang, Ph. D., Assistant Professor of Operations and Management at Penn State Great Valley, will present “Complex Network Performance Analysis with Applications to Transportation and Supply Chains with Sustainability Implications.” His discussion will take place on Friday, March 30, 2012, from 1:00 to 2:15 p.m. in room 245 of the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. This event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

The last decade has been impacted by a rise in disasters that has caused severe destruction to crucial infrastructure networks and serious negative impact on economies. Additionally, the degradation of the critical infrastructure networks over time has led to more greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to disastrous weather conditions. In order to effectively protect infrastructure networks and diminish negative impacts on the environment, it is necessary to understand the vulnerability of networks.

In this presentation, the current research results on network performance measure are discussed. The new measure has displayed advantages compared to the existing complex network measures.  Moreover, when presented with the underlying topological similarities among many critical infrastructure networks, the proposed measure can then be used to analyze real-life networks. Implications, including environmental sustainability and network reliability, are also examined.

The EBC Research Interest Group features Penn State Berks faculty and visiting experts who conduct research on a wide variety of topics. Topics are of broad and general interest and are accessible to the non-expert.

For more information, contact Dr. Jui-Chi Huang, Chair, EBC Research Interest Group; Assistant Professor of Economics, at JXH74@psu.edu. 

Electro-jazz cellist Dana Leong will fuse hip-hop, jazz, and electronics to create a signature, boundless sound on the cello as part of Berks Jazz Fest on Wednesday, March 28, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in Perkins Student Center Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.

Frequently referred to as a “hi-def Yo-Yo Ma,” Leong has revolutionized the cello through his cutting-edge amplification, lyrical melodies, and blending of jazz textures and improvisations. Working on all levels as a performer, composer, collaborator, or recording producer, Leong’s innovative fusion of electronic music and alluring jazz sensualities has earned critical acclaim and impressed audiences worldwide.

Leong studied classical cello and jazz trombone at the Manhattan School of Music. He is an official Yamaha artist, providing clinics and workshops that involve the use of electronics with cello and trombone, in addition to his distinctive genre-bending composition techniques.

This presentation is part of the Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Student Life at 610-396-6076.

Throughout time, people have asked the question, “How did we get here?” In the inaugural George J. Losoncy Lecture in Physics and Astronomy, Dr. Robert Forrey, Penn State Berks Professor of Physics, will attempt to answer that very question from the point of view of a physicist in a lecture by the same name on Thursday, March 22, 2012, at 4:30 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public, and it will be followed by a reception in the Freyberger Gallery, where light refreshments will be served.

The event will begin with opening remarks by Chancellor R. Keith Hillkirk and Dr. Paul Esqueda, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, and an introduction of the lecture by Dr. Pradip Bandyopadhyay, Science Division Head.

This event is the first in what will be an annual lecture series named in honor of George Losoncy, who was a dedicated Penn State Berks employee for 17 years, serving the college with perfect attendance, and donating 182 unused sick days when he retired in 2009. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the Science Division Colloquia and was particularly interested in physics and astronomy. Upon his retirement, he donated $25,000 to set up a research endowment in physics and astronomy at Penn State Berks.

Forrey’s talk will focus on what the Universe was like at the beginning of time, and what is still needed in our understanding to bridge the gap between the relative uniformity of the early Universe and the hierarchical structures of matter that we see today. In the beginning there were no atoms, no molecules. The Universe was an extremely hot and dense plasma embedded in an intense radiation field. According to the standard Big Bang cosmology, the Universe expanded adiabatically after an initial phase of rapid inflation. We observe the expansion today as a red shift in the radiation emitted from galaxies. The red shift increases with distance away from us and serves as a measure of time.

Forrey is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He has published more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles on a variety of topics in physics, chemistry, and astrophysics. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, Air Products, and NASA.

Student volunteers include seniors Verranda Caldwell-Franklin from Coatesville and Chellby Kilheffer from Bethlehem; juniors Alana Augello from Bethlehem, Ashley Burkhart from Robesonia, Kat De-Crescenzo from Roseto, Cara DiPiazza, from Hillsdale, NJ, Amanda Gonzalez-Ortiz from Philadelphia; and Kristen Levan from Allentown; sophomores Lauren Fusco from Gilbertsville, Josh Garcia from Fleetwood, Alexandra Lambert from Denver, Brenna Lauer from Phillipsburg, NJ, Caitlin Miller from Macungie, Jack Pokras from Nazareth, Jamie Richards from West Lawn, Dewilka Simons from Bronx, NY, Cory Smaltz from Newmanstown, and Michael Wearen from Philadelphia; and first-year students Emily Newman from Lititz and Kayla Strenck from Gordonville.

The project was organized by Andrea Pfaff, Assistant Director of Campus Life, who will also join the student group, along with Kelli Meyer, Student Activities Coordinator.

Fundacion Abraham was founded in 1998 by Pastor Jorge Gomez and is managed by the Lighthouse Community Christian Association (LCCA). It operates a home for abandoned children, and recently the foundation built a day care center that serves children ages 6 months to 12 years from homes in the nearby communities. Children assisted by LCCA come from impoverished families where drug abuse, alcoholism, and physical and sexual abuse are common.

Penn State Berks students will help Fundacion Abraham to build a community center, which will include facilities for various professionals such as doctors, dentists, and educators who wish to donate their services to the community.

Specific projects that the students will undertake include preparing cement, painting, and building walls. The group may also have an opportunity to prepare the area for a vegetable garden and to conduct educational activities with the children.

The students will stay in Costa Rica for seven days, five of which they will spend on the construction project. The will stay with host families who will provide room and board for the students and staff members. Staying with the families will give the students an opportunity to learn more about the community and the day care center.

When they are not working on the community center project, the students will have time to explore the region. The plan to visit Irazu Volcano National Park; Lankester Gardens, a University of Costa Rica Center for biological research that protects more than 800 species of orchids, bromeliads, and countless species of other plants; and the scenic Orosi Valley.

Berks students will also have an opportunity to participate in a “Best of the Pacific Beach Tour,” during which they will take a jungle boat to explore the Tarcoles River, and continue to the beautiful resort of Punta Leona with its white sand beaches and 750 hectares of protected areas of transitional rain forests. 

During the evenings, the group will participate in a variety of classes on Costa Rican cooking and dance and Spanish, as well as a field trip to a local market.

Dave Blazek, cartoonist, former stand-up comedian, comedy writer, graphic artist, and film and audio director, will discuss his work at Penn State Berks on Wednesday, March 14, 2012, from 4:30–6 p.m. in the Freyberger Gallery. This event is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served.

Blazek creates the comic panel "Loose Parts," syndicated by Tribune Media Services. He has published two collections of "Loose Parts" cartoons including "Loose Upon The World" and "Parts of My Brain." His previous comic strips include "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist" for Comedy Central.

He currently works as senior creative producer at The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. Blazek writes and directs print and radio ads as well as television commercials for national, regional and local clients. His work has won more than 120 local, national and international awards.

Blazek graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. He lives near Valley Forge National Park with his wife and two daughters.

Jinahie, meaning “my wings” in Arabic, is a talented, 19-year-old, spoken-word artist of Egyptian-American heritage. She will perform at Penn State Berks on Wednesday, March 14, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room. This event is free and open to the public.

A diverse range of subjects and issues are represented in Jinahie’s work, as she displays a mastery of the art form, with precision, skill, and grace. Over the past few years, she has become recognized as one of Washington D.C.’s greatest spoken-word artists and a highly sought-after performer. In 2009, she was voted Maryland Youth Slam Grand Champion and Grand Slam Champion of the Philadelphia Youth Poetry Slam. In 2011, Jinahie was named Washington D.C. Slam Champion. Her unique style has attracted audiences of all ages and cultural backgrounds.

This presentation is part of the Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Student Life at 610-396-6076.

Kim Berry, Chief Operating Officer at Penn State Berks, was recently awarded the credential of Certified Auxiliary Services Professional (CASP) by the Certification Commission of the National Association of Auxiliary College Services (NACAS). The CASP is the highest professional credential in auxiliary services and follows the international American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accreditation standards. Fewer than one percent of all auxiliary service professionals have achieved this mark of excellence.

Berry was serving as chair of the NACAS Professional Development Committee when the need to create a certification program was recognized during a leadership retreat. He was appointed to a task force, which took three years to complete program development. The task force worked with a psychometrician to develop the CASP examination questions and to devise the certification examination.

The CASP examination covered the following content areas: management; leadership; marketing, communications, and business relations; student services; and the operational areas of food services, bookstores, card services, and commercial/retail, physical facilities.

“For over a decade, I’ve known Kim Berry as a professional who brings a practical scholarship to the administration of higher education, and he shares that knowledge with his colleagues,” states Dr. Bob Hassmiller, Chief Executive Officer of NACAS. “It should come as no surprise that after identifying administrative standards, and implementing an internationally recognized process for measuring them, that he was among the first to see if he measures up. NACAS is honored to recognize Kim Berry in our Certified Auxiliary Service Professional (CASP) group.”

Berry is now a member of the Certification Commission and will help to manage the CASP examination process in the future. For more information, visit the NACAS web site: www.nacas.org.

"Participation in the drive is valuable and has a direct effect on the stability of the area's blood supply," commented Penn State Berks Health Services Supervisor Alice Holland.

For information or to make an appointment, visit Health Services in room 8 of the Perkins Student Center or call 610-396-6075.

Ana Castillo, novelist, poet, and essayist, has been renowned as one of the most articulate, powerful voices in contemporary Chicana literature. She will speak at Penn State Berks on Thursday, March 22, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room. This event is free and open to the public.

Castillo is one of the few Mexican-American writers who has captured the attention of mainstream readers, since her work transcends boundaries of politics, class, and gender. The Guardians, her most recent novel, follows the lives of Mexican immigrants who illegally crossed the border into the United States. Overwhelming realism combined with spiritual transcendence accurately describes The Guardians, which focuses on a family burdened with death and disappearances. Ultimately, Castillo’s incandescent novel of anguish and love guides life’s journey toward the light even in the bleakest of hours.

This presentation is part of the Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Student Life at 610-396-6076.

The main event is the “Alive! Mental Health Fair,” featuring H. Reese Butler II, founder and president of Kristin Brooks Hope Center and the National Hopeline Network, 1-800-SUICIDE, which will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 28, from 11 a.m.­–3 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room. This event is free and open to the public.

Butler will give a presentation at 5 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium. He will discuss his life experiences that led to his creation of both the Kristin Brooks Hope Center and the National Hopeline Network after the loss of his wife to suicide in 1998. Naming the center after his wife, Butler went on to create thirteen separate programs within the center, and in 2005, he was recognized with an award by the National Mental Health Association.

The “Alive! Mental Health Fair” will also include displays and documentaries, and students can participate in a graffiti art therapy project that will later be displayed in the Perkins Student Center. Mental health related agencies from Berks County will be available to answer questions and students will have the opportunity to participate in free CPR Suicide Prevention Training.

The documentaries will be aired at 11:15 a.m. (Bullied) and 2 p.m. (A Reason to Live). QPR Training (how to question, persuade, and refer someone suicidal) at 1 p.m. The second half of the event features an hour-long yoga session at 3 p.m. and a zen garden project from 4-5 p.m. The graffiti art therapy project can be completed at any time during the fair hours. The event will conclude with the keynote speech by H. Reese Butler at 5 p.m.

The “Alive! Mental Health Fair” is part of the Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

In addition to the “Alive! Mental Health Fair,” there are several other events that will be held throughout the week. On Monday, Feb. 27, there will be a presentation by the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Berks County, entitled “In Our Own Voices” from 12:30-2:00 p.m., in room 101, Franco Building. 

There will be two showings of the movie, Hell and Back Again, about a soldier who returns from Afghanistan and is struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The screenings will both be held on Wednesday, Feb. 29; one at 12 p.m. in room 5, Luerssen Building, and the second at 6:30 p.m. in room 109, Franco Building.

The week’s events will culminate on Thursday, March 1, with a panel discussion with Berks Applied Psychology students at 3 p.m. in room 5, Luerssen Building. The students will describe their internship experiences in the mental health field. At 6:30 p.m. that evening, Dr. Eric Lindsey, Associate Professor of Psychology, will present “Mental Health of Sexual Minority Youth,” in which he will discuss the unique mental health challenges faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth.

Students are also invited to visit the Mental Health Awareness Table in the Perkins Student Center Lobby from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. each day during the week of Feb. 27–March 2. Brochures and information on mental health issues relevant to the college students will be available. In addition, t-shirts will be on sale to benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Berks County.

For more information on the activities during the Mental Health Week, contact Lindsey at EWL10@psu.edu. 

Penn State Berks student Taylor Leren Mahoney (far right) appeared on the Rachael Ray Show's 1,000th episode on Monday, February 20, 2012. A Four Diamonds child, she was diagnosed with leukemia at age 12. Mahoney talks about watching the Rachel Ray Show and being inspired in the midst of chemotherapy treatments to become a chef and own her own restaurant–a dream she's now pursuing by majoring in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management at Penn State Berks–at the 2:51 mark of this video: http://goo.gl/y1u6v. 

It all started when Mahoney’s great-aunt wrote into the show when they were soliciting stories about how the show has been an inspiration in the lives of its viewers.

Mahoney got to meet her idol, Rachel Ray, on stage and she wasn’t disappointed. "Sometimes people say when you meet somebody you really like, and they're not like what you thought they were, then you don't like them anymore or don't idolize them anymore. But I like her even more now I think because she was so nice," Mahoney said.

Berks THON dancers (left to right) Megan Sim, Lauren Fusco, Krista Feather, and Melissa Sauer raised $40,306.73 for THON through a variety of fundraising events and activities throughout the academic year, and culminating in the 46-hour dance marathon to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund, held from Friday, Feb. 17 to Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012 at the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State University Park.

Once again, THON has set a new record, raising $10,686,924.83 for the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital, surpassing last year's record $9.56 million and earning its name as “the largest student-run philanthropy in the world.” Penn State Berks ranked fifth among all Penn State campuses for fundraising, which began in the fall of 2011 and included fundraising nights at Moe’s Southwest Grill and The Works at Wyomissing, late night skating events at the Body Zone Sports and Wellness Complex, a fashion show, Cuts for Kids events with the help of J & J Hair Salon, blood drives, Halloween and Valentines dances, a pie-in-the-face fundraiser, and tuition bingo, as well as weekend canning drives throughout the community.

The Berks County Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association (PSAA) also presented a check for $6,900 to the Berks THON organization. The donation came from Reading Royals Night, which was sponsored by the PSAA and the Reading Royals on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Five dollars from every ticket sold through the event Web site was donated and the Royals’ players all wore special Penn State football themed jerseys that were autographed and auctioned off after the game.

Short for the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, THON is a year-long effort to raise funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. THON's fundraising helps offset the cost of a child's cancer treatment and helps establish research endowments aimed at increasing the cure rates of pediatric cancer treatments.

Peronteau is currently transitioning from male to female, and her presentation will address the transitioning process, as well as issues of science (biology), spirituality (her personal faith), discrimination, law, social and political insights, her experience living in the local community, and additional relevant topics.

Radhica Ganapathy, Assistant Professor of Theatre, assisted in coordinating this program for the campus community. “Because she is a local speaker, I feel she will be able to share some valuable insight about our local communities,” explained Ganapathy. “From having spoken with Barbara, I know she is very aware of the politics that impact LGBT in the state of Pennsylvania.”

The event is funded by the college’s Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Diversity Grant. For more information on the event, contact Karen Kihurani, Coordinator of Multicultural Programs at Penn State Berks, 610-396-6080.

“I encourage students, faculty, and staff to attend the health fair, visit the exhibits, some of which are interactive, and to learn the available resources in our community,” states Penn State Berks Nurse Supervisor Alice Holland. “Stop by and see for yourself how healthy habits influence a more healthy lifestyle.”

The event will feature exhibitors from various agencies including American Cancer Society, Berks AIDS Network, Berks Women in Crisis, Body Zone and Wellness Complex, Caron Foundation, Council on Chemical Abuse, Mary Kay Skin Care, Miller Keystone Blood Bank, Planned Parenthood, and many others. Representatives from various Penn State Berks offices will also participate.

First-year seminar credit will be available for student attendees. For more information on the event, contact Health Services at 610-396-6075.

Short for the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, THON is a year-long effort to raise funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. THON's fundraising helps offset the cost of a child's cancer treatment and helps establish research endowments aimed at increasing the cure rates of pediatric cancer treatments.

Putting on their dancing shoes from Penn State Berks are sophomores Krista Feather, from Bechtelsville, PA; Lauren Fusco from Gilbertsville, PA; Melissa Sauer from Phoenixville, PA, and Megan Sim from Collegeville, PA, who will spend their weekend on the dance floor as other Penn State Berks students cheer them on.

"Everyone’s life has been affected by cancer one way or another," explains Sim. “I am so excited to dance this year, so I can touch the lives of those children who are still battling this terrible disease.”

"If children have the ability to ignore the odds and percentages, maybe we can all learn from them,” comments Sauer. “When you think about it, what other choice is there but to hope?”

This year's THON activities began at Berks campus in October 2010. Over the four months leading up to the main event, the campus THON committee held fundraising nights at Moe’s Southwest Grill and The Works at Wyomissing, late night skating events at the Body Zone Sports and Wellness Complex, a fashion show, Cuts for Kids events with the help of J & J Hair Salon, blood drives, Halloween and Valentines dances, pie-in-the-face fundraiser, tuition bingo, as well as canning drives throughout the community.

In addition, The Berks County Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association and the Reading Royals teamed up to hold a fundraising event to benefit THON on Saturday, January 21, 2012.

For more information or to make a donation to THON, contact the Campus Life Office at 610-396-6076 or visit thon.org. Go to the drop-down window labeled "Please give the following organization credit for my gift" select "Berks."

Dr. Janelle Larson, associate professor of agricultural economics and head of the Division of Engineering, Business and Computing at Penn State Berks, will be the keynote speaker at the Penn State University Office of Global Programs fifth annual breakfast in celebration of International Women’s Day on Tuesday, March 13, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. in the boardroom of the Nittany Lion Inn. Larson’s research interests are focused on international rural development, with work primarily on land and labor markets. Her presentation is titled: “Engaging Universities in International Development: The CYEC-PSU Model.”

During the breakfast, the Spirit of Internationalization Award, which acknowledges women from Penn State University and the local community who excel in academic achievements, artistic excellence, volunteerism in international organizations or dedication to advancing the status of women, will be presented to a nominee by Penn State’s University Office of Global Programs. Larson, a 2011 recipient of the Spirit of Internationalization award, is currently involved in a multi-disciplinary collaborative effort with the Children and Youth Empowerment Centre (CYEC) in Nyeri, Kenya. The CYEC is a dynamic and innovative residential and educational program for street dwelling children. Its aim is to address specific gaps in the care and support of disadvantaged children and youth, including program sustainability and the successful reintegration of these young people into society. In her presentation, Larson will share the success stories and challenges of this project.

International Women’s Day, officially observed on March 8, is celebrated by universities, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and individuals around the world in the form of rallies, festivals, conferences, performances, and more. Originating in the early 1900s, the day has long been an opportunity to celebrate women’s achievements as well as to draw attention to pressing issues affecting women worldwide.

To make reservations for the International Women’s Day Breakfast, or for more information about the event or the award, contact Sandi Richter, special events coordinator, University Office of Global Programs, at 814-863-5973 or SMR274@psu.edu. Tickets for the breakfast are $12 per person. All tickets purchased via cash or personal check will contribute to the Children and Youth Empowerment Centre by way of Zawadi Fund International. Checks may be made out to “Zawadi Fund International” and mailed to Sandi Richter at The Pennsylvania State University, 410 Boucke Building, University Park, PA 16802-5901.

The “Alive! Mental Health Fair” featuring H. Reese Butler II, founder and president of Kristin Brooks Hope Center and the National Hopeline Network, 1-800-SUICIDE, will be held at Penn State Berks on Tuesday, February 28, 2012, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room. This event is free and open to the public.

Butler will give a presentation about his life experiences that led to his creation of the hotline. He initiated both the Kristin Brooks Hope Center and the National Hopeline Network after the loss of his wife to suicide in 1998. Naming the center after his wife, Butler went on to create thirteen separate programs within the Kristin Brooks Hope Center, and in 2005, he was recognized with an award by the National Mental Health Association.

In addition, Butler published the National Journal Preventing Suicide and created 1-800-PPD-MOMS (Postpartum Depression Peer Support Network). He was also instrumental in the development of several other organizations, including the National Council for Suicide Prevention, the California Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network (SPAN-CA), and the Virginia Suicide Prevention Council.

The fair will include displays, four documentaries will be shown, and students can participate in a graffiti art therapy project that will later be displayed in the Perkins Student Center. Mental health related agencies from Berks County will be available to answer questions and students will have the opportunity to participate in free CPR Suicide Prevention Training.

This presentation is part of the Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

N.O.W. is representative of the current students at Penn State Berks and promises to showcase amazing on-campus collaborations between playwrights, directors, and actors.

The following is a list of the selected plays, playwrights, stage manager, and directors for N.O.W. 2011:

• Park Performers
  Written by Patrick O'Neill
  Directed by Kevin King
• Waiting
  Written by Melissa Davis
  Directed by Danielle Fitzgeorge
• Old Souls
  Written by Katelynd Knorr
  Directed by Ashleigh Levan
• Brotherly Love
  Written by Cat Whelan
  Directed by Dashanyua Robinson
• Let's Be Frank
  Written by Nicholas Lewis
  Directed by Ashanti Acosta
• Morality
  Written by Stefanie Thomas
  Directed by Cat Whelan
• Outted
  Written by Dashanyua Robinson
  Directed by Erin Edelstein

General admission is $10. Admission for Penn State faculty and staff with ID is $5. Admission for Penn State Students with ID is $3. For more information, contact Dr. Radhica Ganapathy at 610-396-6432 or via e-mail at RZG3@psu.edu.

Deanne Bell, host of Discovery Channel’s Smash Lab, discusses her experience as a woman engineer and emphasizes the importance of creativity in scientific innovation on Thursday, February 23, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in the Beaver Community Center in conjunction with National Engineers Week. This event is free and open to the public.

Bell passionately recounts her path to success, and shares her enthusiasm for working with the next generation of engineers and scientists. Bell’s work experience ranges from designing optical navigation systems for the aerospace industry to product development for a CAD software start-up company. She defies all stereotypes when exploding a 747 or crashing a 300-ton train. Through her journey, she inspires others and conveys that creativity is the foundation for scientific innovation. Previously, she hosted the educational program Design Squad on PBS, which was geared toward teens.

This presentation is part of the Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076.

Monday, Feb. 20, 12:00–2:30 p.m.

Perkins Student Center Lions Den, Engineering Student Open Forum Panel Discussion
The panel discussion will provide open dialog between engineers from local companies and students. Topics such as career paths will be discussed and lunch will be provided. The panelists include Don Dagen, Precision Medical Products; John Weinheimer, RPA Engineering; Bill Frantz, Armstrong Industries; Evan Folk, Worley Parsons, and Robert Correll, retiree from Amp Inc. For more information or to register, contact Jeff Wike, Electrical Laboratory Supervisor, at 610-396-6202.

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 8:30 a.m., GoggleWorks in Reading, and
Wednesday, Feb. 29, 8:30 a.m., Lakeland Junior/Senior High School, Jermyn, PA

Project Lead the Way Design Challenge
Students from high schools and middle schools across the state will gather at the GoggleWorks in Reading on Feb. 21, and at Lakeland Junior/Senior High School, located in Jermyn, PA on Feb. 29. The challenge is open to the public, and it will be followed by an awards ceremony.

"This event gives PLTW students the chance to use the skills they have learned in their foundation courses to solve a real-life problem. Many schools concentrate on athletic competition; the PLTW Design Challenge gives academic students a chance for inter-scholastic competition," says Tom Weiss, affiliate director of Project Lead the Way at Penn State Berks.

Project Lead The Way is a national non-profit organization that works in partnership with public middle and high schools to implement a curriculum that emphasizes hands-on experiences in engineering, design, and technology. PTLW aims to attract an increasingly more diverse group of students to become the next generation of scientists, technology experts, engineers, and mathematicians and help America compete favorably in the global economy.

PLTW is the nation’s leading activities-, project-, and problem-based program for middle and high school STEM education. More than 300,000 students are currently engaged in PLTW classes in nearly 4,000 schools. For additional information, contact Tom Weiss, PLTW PA Affiliate Director at Penn State Berks, via e-mail at TSW10@psu.edu or visit the PLTW PA web site: www.pltwpa.org.

Wednesday, Feb. 22, 1:00 p.m.

Perkins Student Center Penn State Room, Third Annual Celebrating Women In Engineering Luncheon
Dr. Janelle Larson, Engineering, Business, and Computing Division Head, will be the keynote speaker, and the college’s female engineering faculty will participate. The luncheon is sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers student chapter. All engineering students and faculty are invited to attend but reservations are required by Feb. 17 via e-mail to Elizabeth Wiggins at EXW16@psu.edu.

Thursday, Feb. 23, 8:30–11:00 a.m.

Wilson High School juniors interested in engineering will visit Penn State Berks to learn more about the college’s engineering technology programs and careers in the field. Students will also participate in various activities and take a tour of the campus.

Thursday, Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m.

Beaver Community Center, Deanne Bell from Discovery Channel’s Smash Lab discusses her background as a woman in engineering. This presentation is part of the college’s Arts and Lecture Series and is free and open to the public.

For more information about the Engineers Week events, contact Jeff Wike at 610-396-6202.

Students will travel to the Central Pennsylvania African American Museum (CPAAM) on Saturday, February 11, 2012. The site of CPAAM is the Old Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is the oldest African American-owned church building in Reading and Berks County, a registered landmark, and a stop on the Underground Railroad. Students must sign up in the Multicultural Office, Perkins Student Center.

There will be a presentation titled One Drop: Fact, Fiction or Fate by Yaba Blay  on Wednesday, February 29, from 7 p.m.–8:30 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium. This lecture provides a brief social history of miscegenation in this country and the laws instituted to regulate social (sexual) interactions between the races. This presentation highlights the lived experiences of individuals for whom the “one-drop rule” exacts its influence most. Through dialogue, the speaker will attempt to address such questions as: What exactly is Blackness and what does it mean to be Black? Is Blackness a matter of biology or consciousness? Who determines who is Black and who is not?

On March 23, there will be a second presentation by Yaba Blay titled Light Skin and Long Hair: Challenges to Sistahood, from 1 p.m.–2:30 p.m. in room 3, Perkins Student Center. This lecture will examine the historical and contemporarily tenuous relationship between Black women based upon skin color and hair texture. This presentation highlights the lived experiences of women of African descent, who because of their “light skin and good hair” have faced multiple challenges in being recognized, accepted, or embraced as “Black women,” primarily by browner skinned Black women.

Yaba Blay is a visiting assistant professor of Africana Studies at Lafayette College, where she also teaches courses in Women’s & Gender Studies. She earned a B.A. in Psychology from Salisbury State University, a M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from the University of New Orleans, an M.A. and Ph.D. in African American Studies, and a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies from Temple University.

For more information, contact Karen Kihurani, Coordinator of Multicultural Programs, at 610-396-6080 or via e-mail KEK5@psu.edu.

Berks students won the Tech Olympics, comprised of a series of challenges that tested technical theatre skills and knowledge. Berks students came home with the region trophy and will host the event at next year's festival. Student participants included Joseph Aubry, Erin Edelstein, Danielle Fitzgeorge, Nick Gackenbach, and Stefanie Thomas.

In addition, Berks students took the trophy for The Fringe Challenge, which sets 10 qualifying schools against each other. Each school is tasked to produce a 10-minute comedic play based on a theme and parameters given to them on the first day of the festival. The following students participated in the Fringe Challenge: Ashanti Acosta, Nick Freer, Regilynn Haywood, Thomas Heiler, Samantha Kolb, Nicolas Lewis, Patrick O'Neil, Dashanyua Robinson, Bianca Sanchez, Noah Sanders, Tiana Thomas, and Cat Whelan.

For more information, contact Rob Napoli, Technical Theatre Coordinator, at 610-396-6421 or via e-mail at RUN2@psu.edu.

The journal is open to all undergraduate students in the United States and across the globe, and it is dedicated to publishing intellectual and reflective work on service learning, community-based research, and all related curriculum- and/or research-based public community engagement activities, which may also be referred to as community-based learning, public scholarship, publicly-engaged learning/teaching.

The editorial team is accepting submissions in five categories: reflective essays; analytical essays; research conducted for a community organization in the form given to that organization, accompanied by a short, reflective essay; research articles; and an open category. Submissions for Volume 1 will be accepted from now through June 30, 2012.

For detailed information about the journal’s content and submission guidelines, visit www.berks.psu.edu/Academics/journal.htm. Please direct all inquiries and questions to the editor, Dr. Laurie Grobman, at LEG8psu.edu.

The editorial team is also seeking Penn State undergraduate students to serve as peer reviewers for the journal. Students who are involved with service learning, community-based research, or any related curriculum- and/or research-based public community engagement activities and are active in writing about this work are encouraged to apply. Interested students should contact Grobman at LEG8@psu.edu.

The Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning and Community-Based Research is supported by the Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research at Penn State Berks, formerly referred to as The Laboratory for Public Scholarship and Democracy at Penn State Berks or “The Lab.” As its name indicates, the Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research focuses on service learning and community-based research. Service learning is defined as a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Community-based research is one main form of service learning; the service activity, done in partnership with a community organization, is research.

 Penn State Berks students majoring in Finance had the rare opportunity to take a private tour of the trading floor on the New York Stock Exchange on December 7, 2011. The students were able to interact directly with the specialists and traders from the Bank of America Trading Hub, and to learn firsthand how trading has evolved, from runners taking orders across the trading floor fifteen to twenty years ago, to the more sophisticated computer trading of today.

The trip was coordinated by Penn State Berks alumnus Timothy Hillert ’09, partner at D.M. Roth & Associates. He remembered visiting the New York Stock Exchange as a student at Berks, and he wanted to give current students a more detailed look at the trading floor. Hillert coordinated the tour with Ray Laursen, CEO of Financial and Securities Training, Sean McAuliffe, Business Development of FAST, and Geoffery Leigh, Analyst at Standard and Poors.

The students were enrolled in two Finance courses at Penn State Berks: Investment Valuation for the Financial Services Professional and Corporation Finance, taught by Dr. Khaled Abdou, Assistant Professor of Financial Services, and Dr. Sudip Ghosh, Associate Professor of Business. The trip was only open to students majoring in Finance.

The purpose of the trip to the NYSE was to expose Finance students to the real world of investments and offer them an opportunity to hear directly from professionals on Wall Street about their experiences on the trading floor.

"The experience of stepping foot onto the trading floor of the NYSE and hearing directly from a Specialist is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life,” commented senior Dominic DiPaul. “It’s difficult for me to think of a better, more effective way of learning about the investment world."

Charles J. Adams III ’69, a graduate of Penn State Berks, was selected to receive the Philip Philip Mitchell Alumni Service Award, which recognizes one individual University-wide each year who has made significant contributions in the area of public service by sharing or volunteering his or her talent, time, and resources on behalf of Penn State.

Adams, who is known best in Berks County for the morning talk show “Charlie & Company” on WEEU-AM Radio Station, and as a paranormal activity story teller, and author of more than thirty ghost story books, has held an annual Penn State Berks Ghost Stories Night in which all proceeds were donated to the Penn State Berks Alumni Society scholarship.

He received a $1,000 cash gift to designate to the program of his choice, a certificate, and inscription of his name on a permanent plaque. The Penn State Alumni Association honored Adams for his service and dedication to Penn State in October 2011, at the Annual Alumni Volunteer Awards Dinner at University Park campus.

Sandy Kreis, Financial Assistant at Penn State Berks, recently retired after 37 years of service to the college. Kreis began her career at Berks in 1974 as an Administrative Assistant to the faculty. Later, she worked in the Dean’s Office and then in the Business Office.

During her time at Penn State Berks, Kreis was active on the Community Service Committee and served as a representative of the professional assistants on the Faculty Senate.

“I’ve seen the campus grow from one building to the expanded campus that we have today with many state-of-the art facilities,” commented Kreis. “I’ve made a lot of friends and wonderful memories that I will always cherish during my time at Penn State Berks.”

Now that she’s retired, Kreis plans to visit her second home at the Delaware shore more frequently and move there eventually. She also plans to pursue hobbies such as fishing, clamming, and crafts.

Cody Lundin, co-host of the Discovery Channel’s Dual Survival, will discuss his adventures as a professional survival instructor with more than 20 years experience at Penn State Berks on Thursday, January 19, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.

Lundin has lived everywhere from the desert to the mountains to a brush shelter in the woods. In 1991, he founded the Aboriginal Living Skills School in Prescott, Arizona, where he teaches modern wilderness survival skills, primitive living skills, urban preparedness, and homesteading. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Yavapai College and a faculty member at the Ecosa Institute, where he teaches varied survival curriculums. He is the best-selling author of two books on survival and preparedness, and he lives in a self-designed, “hobbit inspired” solar earth home in the high-desert wilderness of northern Arizona.

This presentation is part of the Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Student Life at 610-396-6076.

The Penn State Berks Freyberger Gallery will present the exhibition titled Witness by Maureen Kelleher from January 19–March 2, 2012. There will be a  question-and-answer session with the artist on Wednesday, January 25, beginning at 1 p.m, and an opening reception will be held on Thursday, January 26, at 6 p.m. These events are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

Maureen Kelleher began her career as a social activist, and she now works primarily as a private investigator on cold-case files and with the Innocence Project. Her work involves revisiting witnesses, and meeting with inmates and attorneys. Through their dialog, Kelleher found her own voice as an artist, as she creates artwork about prisoners and other marginalized individuals. She recounts their stories as a witness to both good and evil. Heavily texted and brightly colored paintings and constructions merge seamlessly into her own unique form of storytelling folk art.

The Freyberger Gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Thursday evenings until 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. For more information, contact Marilyn Fox, Gallery Director, at 610-396-6140 or via e-mail at MJF14@psu.edu.

Scratch Track, a duo comprised of David “DJ” Lee and guitarist Jason Hamlin, will share their unique sound at Penn State Berks on Thursday, January 26, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room. This event is free and open to the public.

Some label their sound as acoustic hip-hop soul, while others call it a deft blend of beats and unplugged instrumentation. Scratch Track is an anomaly that is perhaps best described as mind-bending, style-bending, and undeniably original. The duo began performing on college campuses, coffee houses, and clubs, and evolved into touring with O.A.R., and opening for such groups as The Roots, Los Lonely Boys, Erykah Badu, Jarassic 5, and Living Colour, just to name a few. Despite the band's commercial success with three CDs and soundtracks for CSI New York, Warren Miller's skiing film Off the Grid, Sony Playstation's “MLB” video game, they have stayed true to their college touring roots.

This presentation is part of the Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Student Life at 610-396-6076.

Robert Forrey, Professor of Physics at Penn State Berks, has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). Election to APS fellowship is based on outstanding contributions to the field and is limited to no more than 1/2 of 1 percent of the society's membership.

Forrey was elected for "contributions to the understanding of internal energy transfer in atomic and molecular systems" and for "meaningful involvement of undergraduate students in research." His research focuses on applying quantum mechanics to problems in ultracold physics and astrophysics. He was nominated for fellowship by the Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics.

 The Berks County Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association and the Reading Royals are teaming up to hold a fundraising event to benefit THON, the world's largest student-run philanthropy dedicated to supporting children with pediatric cancer and their families, on Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 7 p.m. at the Sovereign Center in Reading.

Jay Paterno, former member of the Penn State football coaching staff for 17 years and quarterback coach for 12 years, and Josh Brandwene, Penn State's first varsity women's ice hockey coach, will be the keynote speakers. Brandwene will also drop the ceremonial first puck of the game.

Tickets for the game are $15, and $5 from every ticket purchased through the chapter or through the event web site (royalshockeyevents.com/psu) will be donated to THON.

The chapter will also host a dinner at the Sovereign Center, which is open to alumni, students, and the general public. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and the dinner includes chicken parmesan, baked spaghetti, mixed vegetables, Caesar salad, breadsticks, dessert, and beverages. Tickets for both the dinner and the game are $30, with $5 being donated to THON. Individuals who already have tickets to the game and would like to attend the dinner can do so for $15.

The Reading Royals will wear special Penn State football-themed jerseys. These one-of-a-kind game-worn jerseys will be autographed by the players wearing them and auctioned off following the game, with a portion of the proceeds also benefiting THON.

To keep with the Penn State tradition, the Royals have received special permission from the ECHL to wear jerseys that do not include nameplates on the back, and the Royals logo will be in the traditional bowl game patch location.

Last year’s Reading Royals night, hosted by the Berks County Chapter of the PSAA, raised nearly $15,000 for Penn State Berks benefitting THON.

In addition, the THON families who are sponsored by the Berks campus group will be at the event to meet the Royals players and watch the pre-game warm-ups from the Royals bench area, and Penn State Berks students will be “canning” for THON in the arena during the game.

The deadline to order tickets from the web portal is Friday, January 20. To order tickets, please visit the event Web site at royalshockeyevents.com/psu.

As its name indicates, the Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research focuses on service learning and community-based research. Service learning is defined as a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Community-based research is one main form of service learning; the service activity is research. 

At Penn State Berks, several projects for the Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research are currently underway.

Students in the Introduction to Teaching English to English Language Learners course, instructed by Andrea Paff, are collaborating with the Salvation Army’s Mañana program. Each Berks student will partner with one Mañana program child, helping that child to develop language and literacy proficiency in English. Berks students will identify the child’s proficiencies in language and literacy and develop a number of instructional activities that address each child’s specific needs. Berks students will then evaluate the effectiveness of their instruction by assessing their child’s academic progress throughout the semester.

Meanwhile, students in Dr. Jill Burk’s Rhetorical Theory course will embark on an extended research project that investigates the history of buildings that comprise the skyline of the City of Reading as seen through the windows of the Pagoda, a local landmark and tourist attraction. Students will learn how to recognize and apply rhetorical theories and concepts outside of the classroom and will consider the notion that local history is itself “rhetorical.” This project will take several semesters and courses to complete. The students’ work will provide tourists with information about the cityscapes outside the Pagoda windows.

Students in the Environmental Science course, led by Dr. Mahsa Kazempour, will learn about and take action regarding environmental issues by working closely with several local community organizations, including the Berks County Parks Department and the Berks County Conservancy, to address their research, service, and/or educational needs. The Students will write a paper about and present their research findings and subsequent actions to their peers, the community organization members, and the campus community.

Finally, students in Dr. Jui-Chi Huang’s Introductory Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy course are planning to complete a service learning project with Friend, Inc. Community Services or the Greater Berks Food Bank to enhance their studies of U.S. poverty from an economic perspective. Friend, Inc. provides a food pantry, case management, budget counseling, parenting support groups, and financial crisis interventions. The Greater Berks Food Bank collects, stores, and distributes food to more than 270 charitable agencies, including Friend, Inc. Students will provide 15 hours of service to one of these organizations to further their understanding of poverty from an economic perspective.

Dr. Laurie Grobman, Professor of English and Women’s Studies, brought the concept of the Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research (formerly known as The Laboratory for Public Scholarship and Democracy at Penn State Berks) to the college in the fall of 2010. Penn State Berks is the first campus outside of University Park to launch the initiative. 

The Laboratory for Public Scholarship and Democracy at Penn State University was the brainchild of Jeremy Cohen, Associate Vice President and Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, and a group of colleagues representing several Penn State colleges and campuses. 

In 2000, Cohen worked with faculty members to develop Penn State’s Public Scholarship Associates, a group of Penn State faculty, staff, students, and alumni dedicated to integrating faculty and student achievement with “the habits and practices of civic engagement.” The Laboratory for Public Scholarship and Democracy was born, and financial support in the form of grants was made available to faculty who implemented community engagement and scholarship.

For additional information on The Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research, please contact Dr. Laurie Grobman at 610-396-6141 or via e-mail at LEG8@psu.edu.