Individuals and businesses seeking Marcellus Shale training can get the training they need locally through a special partnership of Penn College's Shale Training and Education Center (ShaleTEC) and Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.

The training offered at the Fayette campus features a range of noncredit courses to meet the needs of Marcellus Shale industries in the region.

Tina Sepic, Penn State Fayette's area representative in Outreach and Continuing Education, said "With Marcellus Shale, it's like the Wild West out there. These courses offer local companies the opportunity to become players and grow their businesses, but at the same time they are training their workers in safe and responsible drilling practices."

For the first time, a silicon-based optical fiber with solar-cell capabilities has been developed that is capable of being scaled up to many meters in length. The research, led by a Penn State University chemist, opens the door to the possibility of weaving together solar-cell silicon wires to create flexible, curved or twisted solar fabrics. More information and high-resolution images are online at http://www.science.psu.edu/news-and-events/2012-news/Badding12-2012. The information is published in the early online edition of the journal Advanced Materials.

Penn State coach Bill O'Brien has been selected 2012 Big Ten Coach of the Year by the coaches and media, and defensive end Deion Barnes from Philadelphia has been named the conference's Thompson-Randel El Freshman of the Year. O'Brien and Barnes join the seven Nittany Lions who were named All-Big Ten on Monday (Nov. 26), six of whom were first-team honorees. On the Watch List for the Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year, O'Brien led the Nittany Lions to victories in eight of their final 10 games, earning an 8-4 overall record and a 6-2 mark in the Big Ten. Barnes, a redshirt freshman, joins tailback Curtis Enis (1995) as Nittany Lions to win the Thompson-Randel El Freshman of the Year, first awarded in 1986 and named for Darrell Thompson (Minnesota) and Antwaan Randel El (Indiana).

The local community is invited to hear Zach Wahls speak on marriage equality at noon Nov. 28, in Swimmer Hall, located in the Williams building at Penn State Fayette. In 2011, Zach Wahls addressed the Iowa House Judiciary Committee in a public hearing regarding a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Iowa. The then-19-year-old son of a same-sex couple, Wahls proudly proclaimed, "The sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character." Hours later, his speech was posted on YouTube, where it quickly received more than 2 million views.

The community is invited to participate in the New York Food Bank Food Drive from Monday, Nov. 12, through Friday, Nov. 16, at Penn State Fayette the Eberly Campus. Throughout the week, nonperishable food donations can be dropped off outside the Office of Student Life, located in the downstairs of the Williams building on campus. Penn State Fayette staff and students will be personally delivering these items to the New York City Food Bank.

Scholarship recipients, scholarship donors, and family and friends gathered recently for a special recognition dinner at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. The event, now in its fifth year, provides an opportunity for scholarship recipients to get to know some of the individuals that make a Penn State education possible. This year, 270 Penn State Fayette students were awarded scholarships.

Gregory A. Burton, president and CEO of BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co., continues the fall CEO Conversations series from noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 17, at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. This free event is open to the public and will be held in the Community Center's Bird's Nest Cafe.