Cathy Benscoter, marketing and Web specialist, and lecturer in communications at Penn State Beaver, is the recipient of an award presented by CUPRAP, Pennsylvania’s Association of Communicators in Education.
She received the 2014 Silver CUPPIE Award in the Featured Articles category for her article, “Little Engine, Big Impact,” which appeared in the summer 2013 edition of the Penn State Beaver Nittany News and was distributed to more than 12,000 Beaver campus alumni, donors and constituents. Benscoter’s article was one of more than 300 entries received by the CUPRAP awards committee. CUPPIEs are the highest awards given by CUPRAP, which is a voluntary organization of 400 communications professionals from 100 higher education institutions across the state. Her article showcased the achievements of students in a Beaver campus engineering class taught by James Hendrickson, instructor in engineering. Hendrickson’s students took up his challenge to recreate Henry Ford’s first combustion engine with a $1 budget. The students met the challenge so successfully that they were invited to display their creation at the 2012 Maker Faire Detroit, where officials from The Henry Ford Museum’s Greenfield Village were so impressed by it that they requested the engine to be part of their display honoring Henry Ford’s 150th birthday.
A CUPRAP award presentation will be held at the group’s annual professional development conference at Hotel Hershey in March. This is Benscoter’s second CUPPIE award. She received her first in 2012 in the Public Relations/Media Relations/Feature Article category for "An Eye for News,” an article she wrote and photographed for the spring 2011 edition of the Nittany News.
To view all copies of the Beaver Nittany News, go to http://www.br.psu.edu/Alumni/default.htm and click on the Alumni Magazine. Benscoter can be contacted at cub15@psu.edu or 724-773-3807.