Penn State's Board of Trustees held its regular bi-monthly meeting July 11 at Penn State Erie. The following items were presented to the board for action or informational purposes:
Penn State Board of Trustees meets; President Spanier's remarks
Penn State's Board of Trustees held its regular bi-monthly meeting July 11 at Penn State Erie. In his opening remarks to the board, President Graham B. Spanier welcomed new chancellors to Penn State New Kensington and Penn State Great Valley; acknowledged Penn State Erie's 60th anniversary; reported on achievements by Penn State Hershey Medical Center; announced Penn State's designation as a National Center for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research; and announced a major gift to the University. Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33570
Gift creates admissions and alumni center on Erie campus
Robert D. and Sally Nelson Metzgar of Warren, Pa., have committed $2 million to Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, for the creation of a new admissions and alumni center. "The Metzgars generously proposed the idea for a facility that will serve to bookend our students' time on campus," said Chancellor Jack Burke. "The center will be the first place Penn State Behrend students visit on campus and it will be the same building that welcomes them back as alumni." Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33571
Hagen endows Center For Organizational Research and Evaluation
Susan Hirt Hagen has committed a major gift to Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, to create an endowment for the Center for Organizational Research and Evaluation (CORE). Hagen has supported the center since its inception 10 years ago, providing the funding to develop and sustain CORE. In recognition of her continued commitment, Penn State President Graham Spanier announced July 10 that the center has been named the Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Organizational Research and Evaluation. Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33574
Penn State Behrend celebrates 60 years of growth
As Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, celebrates its 60th anniversary with the start of the 2008-09 academic year, the college hosted the Penn State Board of Trustees' bimonthly meeting. In his remarks, Chancellor Jack Burke gave a snapshot of Penn State Behrend today, 10 years after the Board's last visit to campus. Burke addressed student life and enrollments, research and outreach initiatives, faculty achievements, academic progress, athletic successes and the college's sheer physical growth. Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33577
Behrend campus, community collaborate for mutual benefit
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, has a rich history of partnering its student and faculty resources with local business and industry locally -- as well as regionally, nationally and globally, reported Gail Hurley, interim vice president of Student Affairs, and panelists July 11 in a presentation to the University's Board of Trustees. Penn State Behrend undergraduates benefit from industrial collaborations by gaining research experience, often through academic assignments connected with companies in the region. Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33579
University closely monitors research with human, animal subjects
The Board of Trustees on July 11 heard an informational report about the programs designed to protect human subjects and animals used in research studies at the University, mostly under the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research -- except for the College of Medicine, which has its own compliance offices. "We ensure that research at Penn State is conducted in a way that maintains the public trust, reflects the highest level of respect for research subjects, and ensures all disclosures of conflicts of interest, real or perceived," said Eva Pell, senior vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School. Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33582
University trustees approve 2008-09 operating budget
Penn State's Board of Trustees on July 11 approved the University's operating budget. Based on the new state budget approved by the Senate and the House, and signed by Gov. Ed Rendell, the University's $3.6 billion 2008-09 operating budget includes a state appropriation increase of 1.2 percent, or $4.1 million. "This budget is carefully constructed and reflects our concerted efforts to tighten our belts in the face of significant fiscal challenges," said Penn State President Graham Spanier. "Over the last eight years, the total appropriation available to Penn State has increased by only 5.4 percent, an average of only seven-tenths of one percent per year. This signals a trend in state practice, perhaps unintended, to shift more of the burden of the cost of higher education to students and their families. This is a shift we lament." The state appropriation represents 9.4 percent of the University's total budget. Hospital and clinical revenue from the Penn State Hershey Medical Center accounts for 26 percent. The University's largest source of income remains tuition, producing one third (33.5 percent) of the University's total income. Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33573
Trustees approve tuition for 2008-09
Penn State's Board of Trustees on July 11 approved a tuition increase for lower division students at University Park of 4.7 percent for non-resident students and 5.9 percent for resident students. For students at the Commonwealth Campuses an increase of 5.3 percent was approved for both residents and non-residents. While the percentage increase is less for non-resident students than for resident students, the dollar increase is greater. Translated into dollars, resident lower-division students will see a tuition increase per semester of $365 at University Park; $289 at Altoona, Berks, Erie and Harrisburg; and $277 at the other Commonwealth Campuses. Non-resident students will see a tuition increase per semester of $548 at University Park; $442 at Altoona, Berks, Erie and Harrisburg; and $422 at the other Commonwealth Campuses. Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33572
Alumni Association updates trustees on accomplishments
The Penn State Alumni Association reported to the Penn State Board of Trustees July 11 that among its major accomplishments of the past year was a surge in membership that has made it the first dues-paying alumni association to top the 160,000-member threshold. In addition to announcing this membership news, Alumni Association President David C. Han, a 1988 and 2005 Penn State graduate, outlined the Alumni Association's strategic goals and highlighted achievements during the 2007-08 academic year. Topping the list was the announcement of the new membership numbers. As of July 1, total membership in the Alumni Association is 160,742, an all-time high, with 93,243 life members, also an all-time high. "This is an enormous accomplishment that reflects the pride and loyalty Penn State alumni have for our alma mater," said Han. Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33584
Record number of alumni make gifts to Penn State in 2007-08
Penn State received gifts from 77,400 alumni for the year ending June 30, 2008, an all-time high that reflects a broad base of support for its capital campaign, according to a report to the University's Board of Trustees on July 11 from volunteer campaign Chair Peter Tombros. "That's a 3 percent increase from the previous year," said Tombros, "and it's all the more remarkable at a time when the number of alumni making gifts to their respective alma maters is flat or declining nationally. For example, some of our peer institutions were down as much as 4 percent." Gifts overall for 2007-08 totaled $181.5 million, second only to last year's $190.3 million as the highest philanthropic total in Penn State's history. These numbers represent actual gifts received and exclude pledges. Alumni and friends are continuing to respond to For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, the University-wide fund drive that began its leadership gifts phase on Jan. 1, 2007, reported Tombros, a retired pharmaceutical executive who holds two degrees from Penn State. Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33581
Architect appointed for Moore Building addition, renovation
Seeking to improve facilities for Penn State's Department of Psychology, the University's Board of Trustees on July 11 approved Kling Stubbins of Philadelphia to design renovations and an addition to the Moore Building on the University Park campus. The Moore Building is located along Fischer Road, adjacent to Cedar Building. The University intends to build a 50,000-gross-square-foot addition to the building as well as completely renovating the existing 84,000-gross-square-foot structure, said Gary C. Schultz, senior vice president for finance and business/treasurer. Built in 1969, Moore Building "requires a substantial upgrade to address the pressing needs of this important academic unit," Schultz added. Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33583
Penn State to sell strip of land at former Zetachron property
Penn State will sell a .2-acre parcel of land at the former Zetachron property near the University Park campus following approval from the University's Board of Trustees Friday (July 11). The section of the property, to be sold to Torron Group LP for $20,000, was once a portion of a right-of-way held by Ferguson Township. The tract reverted to the University's ownership when the Township vacated the right-of-way area in 2003. Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33578
Campus announces interdisciplinary business and engineering degree
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, will offer a bachelor of science degree in interdisciplinary business with engineering studies (IBE) beginning fall 2008. Offered through the Sam and Irene Black School of Business and in conjunction with the School of Engineering, IBE is the only program of its kind offered within the Penn State system and one of a few nationwide. As the campus' 34th baccalaureate degree program, IBE offers students an interdisciplinary program containing both business and engineering course content and capitalizes on Penn State Behrend's vision for the Research and Economic Development Center. Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33607
Campus honors Verizon investment with named lecture hall
The Penn State Board of Trustees today announced the naming of the Verizon Technology-Enhanced Lecture Hall at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. The new name recognizes a $100,000 grant from Verizon that supports academic enrichment experiences in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills development for middle and high school students in northwestern Pennsylvania. Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/33606