Penn State Altoona will celebrate its largest graduating class to date on Saturday, May 10 beginning at 10 a.m., as 247 students receive their degrees -- including 238 students enrolled in Penn State Altoona majors. Spring commencement ceremonies also will be held for the first time in the College's outdoor Spring Run Stadium. CNN Congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl will deliver the commencement address. He was named Congressional correspondent for CNN in April 2000.

From clean-ups and hikes to conservation activities and fairs powered by solar energy, people all over the United States will be making a difference on Earth Day. Penn State Altoona is sponsoring a variety of activities on campus for all ages on Tuesday, April 22 to celebrate this national event. All events are open to the public, including all-day children's activities with face painting, games and prizes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as a "living simpler" teepee display. Displays and information from area conservation and environmental organizations will be on exhibit.

Nurses can satisfy Act 48 requirements, earn college credits for advanced-level nursing courses and acquire skills that can be applied to their jobs by attending Penn State Altoona's five-course professional development series for school nurses, beginning in June. Led by Penn State-approved instructors, the courses will be delivered in condensed formats at times designed to minimize the impact on summer vacation plans. Participants can earn three or six credits within a single two-week period. Some courses also may be applicable toward a master's degree or other School of Nursing programs.

Penn State Altoona faculty member Lori Bechtel was recently named as the 2003 recipient of the Penn State University Commission for Women's Achieving Woman Award for faculty. This University-wide award is given annually to one outstanding faculty member who has demonstrated outstanding leadership at Penn State and who has contributed significantly to the University through leadership, mentoring, and achievements in teaching, research and service. Bechtel, a professor of biobehavioral health, is head of the division of education, human development and social sciences at Penn State Altoona.

Penn State Altoona will be celebrating the 2003 "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" on Thursday, April 24. The expanded program now includes daughters and sons being invited to experience workplaces at Penn State Altoona. This year's program includes arts and engineering workshops, along with visits to police services and the college's greenhouses with many fun activities for all to enjoy -- including a family photo taken with Penn State Altoona's Nittany Lion. Children ages six through 12 are invited to attend.

Lee Ann De Reus, assistant professor of human development and family studies and women's studies at Penn State Altoona, has received the 2003 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. De Reus joined the faculty at Penn State Altoona in 1997. As an assistant professor of human development and family studies and women's studies, she strives to help students develop empathy for individuals different from themselves. Following the terrorist attacks in 2001, for example, she led her students in planning a campus/community response.

Penn State Altoona's club roller hockey team, the Altoona Express, captured three of the four awards given at last weekend's Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association's (ECRHA) All-Star Game in Feasterville, Pa. Team member and defenseman Mike Bowman was presented with the leadership award, which is given to an individual who is a stand out asset to his team. Penn State Altoona also received a community service award for their successful orchestration of a celebrity charity ice hockey game, as well as the Hockey College award.