A faculty panel will explore pressing government issues including the fiscal cliff and debt ceiling at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 6 in the Gallery Lounge (W-107 Olmsted Building) at Penn State Harrisburg.

Kathleen Pavelko, president and CEO of witf, will deliver Penn State Harrisburg's fall 2012 commencement address on Saturday (Dec. 22). The campus expects to confer more than 600 undergraduate and graduate degrees during the ceremony, which starts at 9:30 a.m. at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa.

Since her tenure began in October 1999 at Harrisburg-based witf, a public media center, which serves 2 million citizens in south central Pennsylvania, Pavelko has led and completed a $39 million capital project, which financed the construction of a 72,000-square-foot public media center that opened in 2007. Under Pavelko's leadership, witf's total assets have quintupled.

Political scientists and public policy experts at Penn State Harrisburg gathered on Nov. 7 to discuss the re-election of Barack Obama. Chief among the lessons learned from the election, they said, was that the face of the electorate in the United States is changing.

While polls reported a tightening race across the nation in the final days before the election, the contest came down to a few battleground states, according to the panelists. "It was a more targeted election than we've ever had in that there were only about nine states up for grabs," said Jeremy Plant, professor of public policy. Obama created momentum by taking early contests including Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Obama's ability to capture the vote of key groups proved pivotal to his victory. Obama took the youth vote, according to CNN exit polls garnering 60 percent of voters under 30, who made up a greater percentage of the electorate in 2012 than in 2008.

A panel discussion examining the presidential candidates' campaign strategies is next up in Penn State Harrisburg's fall 2012 series Academic Perspectives on the Election Season, which looks at important election-year topics. Scheduled for noon Wednesday (Oct. 3) in the Gallery Lounge, W-107 Olmsted Building, the panel will explore the electoral system, party and candidate strategies from party perspectives, and communication strategies and the use of media.

Goktug Morcol, Penn State Harrisburg associate professor of public administration and policy, has authored A Complexity Theory for Public Policy, a book that introduces practical application of complexity theory into the field of public policy. Published by Routledge, the book brings new perspectives into understanding the characteristics of complex policy systems.

Penn State Harrisburg honored graduate and undergraduate students for accomplishments in academics, service, and leadership at the 2012 Student Awards Convocation.

Adm. James M. Loy, retired deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Coast Guard commandant, will deliver Penn State Harrisburg's spring commencement address on Saturday, May 5. The college will confer more than 600 undergraduate and graduate degrees during the ceremony, which starts at 9:30 a.m. at the Giant Center in Hershey.

The campus' recent 40th anniversary Model U.N. provided unique opportunities for college and high school students. More than 200 student delegates from 17 area high schools learned about global issues and practiced maintaining international peace and security at the conference. The campus' IAA club members coordinated the event and used it to kick off a fundraiser to help polio victims in Nigeria.