Every year as fans clamor to get tickets to big football games, unscrupulous entrepreneurs crop up to take advantage of those who are willing to spend more than face value to see their favorite teams play. The danger for the fans goes beyond shelling out big bucks, though. In recent years, it has become increasingly common for scalpers to sell counterfeit tickets. With No. 4 Michigan set to visit Penn State in a highly touted Big Ten matchup this weekend, Tom Sowerby, University Police supervisor, is concerned that fans will encounter problems with counterfeit tickets once again. "I think it is very likely that we will see counterfeit tickets for this game, especially since the ring leader of a group that was arrested for selling counterfeit tickets for Penn State's game at Notre Dame a few weeks ago was arrested here for the same offense in 1997," he said.
Penn State always does well in the rankings that are designed to help parents and students sift through the thousands of colleges and universities in this country to decide which will help them spend their money wisely. Once again this year, Penn State also has been recognized for the job it does in preparing its students to benefit the nation. Up three spots from last year, Penn State now is ranked No. 3 in the nation behind only Massachusetts Institute of Technology (first) and University of California, Berkeley (second) by Washington Monthly, a political, inside-the-beltway publication. The magazine ranks institutions as engines of social mobility; as producers of academic minds and scientific research that advance knowledge and drive economic growth; and as forces to inculcate and encourage an ethic of service.
Penn State's Board of Trustees met on Friday, May 12, on Penn State's University Park campus. Items presented to the board included President Spanier's opening remarks; information about the popularity of Penn State recreation programs, indicating how highly students value these types of activities as part of their collegiate experiences; a description of the University's comprehensive influenza pandemic plan; an outline of interdisciplinary research and education programs; and a review of Faculty Senate efforts in 2005-06.
The Penn State Commission for Women celebrated the accomplishments of women throughout the University's history, and honored some of the University's notable achieving women at its annual spring banquet, held Monday, April 3, at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel on the University Park campus. Penn State President Graham B. Spanier commended the commission for its work over the years. "Twenty-five years ago, those path-breaking women could not have known where their work would lead. They were simply trying to find their voice, and change minds and attitudes. But their work, and yours subsequently, has forever altered the face of our University," he said. In addition to honoring the 2006 Achieving Women Award winners and the Rosemary Schraer Mentor Award recipient, the commission recalled the women of Penn State's past through a program titled "A Legacy of Women's Voices," which was produced and directed by Jo Dumas, lecturer in communications, and performed by Helen Manfull, professor emeritus of theatre arts; graduate student Crystal Endsley; and Sherrin McKenzie, group and program sales coordinator with the Center for Performing Arts at Penn State. The Essence of Joy choir provided music for the program, which featured highlights from the commemorative book, "We are a Strong, Articulate Voice: A History of Women at Penn State," written by Carol Sonenklar. For photos from the event, visit http://live.myxiwei.com/still_life/2006_04_03_cfw/index.html online.
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Registrations still are being accepted from new and newly tenured faculty for the 11th annual Road Scholars Tour. The tour, scheduled for May 8-10, is designed to give new and newly tenured faculty the opportunity to visit several Penn State locations and Pennsylvania businesses to learn how the University is making a difference. The bus will depart from University Park, and over the course of the three days, will visit Penn State campuses, Pennsylvania businesses and popular historic sites, and learn about the University and the state along the way.
Penn State students, faculty and staff who plan to travel out of the country over the spring break will not face any official travel restrictions due to Influenza A H5N1 (avian influenza strain, also referred to as bird flu). The U.S. Department of State, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) have not issued any travel alerts or warnings for avian-flu infected areas. However, the CDC advises travelers to countries with documented H5N1 outbreaks to avoid poultry farms, contact with animals in live food markets, and any surfaces that appear to be contaminated with feces or fluids from poultry or other animals. If going to a country where avian flu has been identified (see http://www.cdc.gov/travel/other/avian_influenza_se_asia_2005.htm for more information), travelers should consider the potential risks and keep informed of the latest medical guidance and information in order to make appropriate plans. Margaret Spear, director of University Health Services at Penn State, recommends that students and other spring-break travelers follow the basic CDC guidelines for reducing the risk of infections while traveling.
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Penn State received $42.9 million in gifts from alumni and friends in December 2005 -- the highest total ever for a single month, President Graham B. Spanier reported to the Board of Trustees last week. The previous record was $35.3 million in December 1999. "Several factors converged to allow us to accomplish such a feat," Spanier said. "For example, improvements in the financial markets have made securities a more attractive gift vehicle for donors. We ended the first six months of fiscal year 2006 with about $12.8 million in securities gifts, the highest total we've had at this point in the last five years." Philanthropic support typically is directed to scholarships and graduate fellowships, faculty endowments, library and laboratory acquisitions, equipment upgrades and many other purposes for which state and federal funds are inadequate or unavailable. For the six months ending Dec. 31, 2005, giving to the University totaled about $98 million.
Penn State will distribute $1.2 million in student-parent child-care subsidies during the next four years. The subsidies generate from a new grant the University received from the U.S. Department of Education. Penn State was awarded the maximum amount possible under the federal Child Care Access Means Parents in School program. The University will receive $300,000 per year for four years. The new funding represents an $80,000 increase over an existing grant that expired Sept. 30. Child-care subsidies will be distributed to student parents at all Penn State locations. As required by the Department of Education, priority will be given to student parents who receive federal Pell Grants. Students who do not receive Pell Grants can apply for future subsidy distributions.
More than a quarter of a million subscribers receive news about Penn State in their e-mail boxes through the Penn State Newswire, the companion Penn State Live Web site receives nearly 10,000 hits a day from people seeking information about the University, and RSS feeds deliver much of the same information directly to news Web sites and individual subscribers. Now, the Department of Public Information has launched the Penn State news widget. Anyone who uses an Apple computer loaded with the OSX 10.4 (Tiger) operating system can get Penn State news delivered right to the desktop with the new Penn State Live widget. Widgets, which are mini-applications that perform common tasks and provide fast access to information, run through the operating system's Dashboard feature. The Penn State Live widget gives users the most recent Penn State headlines automatically. The headlines then link directly to the full stories on the Penn State Live Web site.