University Park

The 16th annual Road Scholars Tour gets under way

About 50 new or recently tenured faculty members from across Penn State embarked on the 16th annual Road Scholars Tour on May 9, along with University President Graham Spanier and Anne Riley, member of the University's Board of Trustees. The three-day bus tour, which left from the University Park campus, is meant to introduce participants to the University’s Commonwealth Campuses and highlights Penn State’s impact across Pennsylvania. To see photos from Monday's portion of the tour, visit http://live.psu.edu/flickrset/72157626686921196 online.

The group began its tour at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. There they took a trolley tour of the campus with a stop at the welding and fabrication laboratories in the Metal Trade Center. They also had lunch at Le Jeune Chef, the student-run restaurant on campus, awarded four diamonds by AAA.

Next, the group toured a Marcellus Shale drilling site. Faculty saw a working drilling rig and heard first-hand how a well is drilled. The group also saw pipeline and water infrastructure and learned of the impacts on the roads, rail development and landfill operations involved in process and disposing of drill waste, and business development associated with natural gas development.

The Road Scholars then headed further northwest to the Allegheny National Forest -- Pennsylvania's only national forest -- for a catered dinner at Chapman State Park. Scott Weikert, forest educator for Penn State Cooperative Extension, talked about the forest and the wood production industry from both a regional and state perspective.

The tour ended at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, the largest of Penn State's campuses outside of University Park in terms of enrollment and campus size. It is home to more than 4,700 students, offering 40 bachelors, graduate and associate degree programs.

The trip continues Tuesday, May 10, when the group tours the Penn State Erie campus, the Erie Maritime Museum, the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, Presque Isle and Port Erie Plastics.

Nancy Adams from University Libraries reaches in to feel Marcellus Shale residue. Click on the image above to see more images from the first day of the tour. Credit: Rebekka CoakleyAll Rights Reserved.

Last Updated May 10, 2011