bookmark_borderEnvironmental Excellence Award Winners

Governor Tom Corbett today announced that 23 organizations involved in 19 environmental projects from across the state will receive the 2014 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.

“The recipients of this year’s award represent a few of the many dedicated Pennsylvanians who have committed their businesses, schools and other organizations to be good stewards of the environment,” Corbett said. “Their efforts are key to ensure that Pennsylvania’s air, land and water are clean for generations to come.”

Any Pennsylvania business, school, government agency, trade organization, non-profit organization or agribusiness that has completed projects to promote environmental stewardship and economic development was eligible to apply for the award. The winners were selected by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

“Each year, it’s inspiring to learn about the innovative, environmentally friendly projects from across the state,” DEP Secretary Chris Abruzzo said. “This year’s award recipients are protecting Pennsylvania’s environment with creativity and ingenuity.”

The winning projects include tailgate recycling, abandoned mine drainage (AMD) abatement, rain gardens and the use of alternative energy, among others.

Philadelphia
• Pennsylvania Horticultural Society of Philadelphia worked with local partners to create the Community Farm and Green Resource Center at Bartram’s Garden along the shore of the Schuylkill River in the low income neighborhood of Southwest Philadelphia. The farm and resource center includes a full-scale greenhouse, community garden spaces, an orchard of 90 fruit trees, a farmers market and an entrepreneurial jobs training and leadership development program for local high school students.

bookmark_borderWest Chester University

WEST CHESTER, PA — West Chester University students and alumni agree with Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, which in its latest ranking, identifies WCU as one of the top public universities in the country.

Kiplinger’s ranks the top 100 public colleges and universities based on measures of academic quality and affordability. This year, they also selected the top 25 best college or university values, whose tuitions are less than $30,000 a year, listing West Chester at #14 out of 22 public universities in the country. West Chester University is the only Pennsylvania school on the list.

“These institutions deliver the most academic bang for your buck,” noted the Kiplinger’s editors on their website.

bookmark_borderPenn State Campuses in the Philly Area

Penn State has several campuses in the Greater Philadelphia Region including Abington (Montgomery County), Great Valley (Chester County) and Lima (Delaware County). Here are some other Penn State facts:

1. Penn State names Eric J. Barron president

2. THON 2014 ‘redefines the possibilities’ with $13.3 million for pediatric
cancer

3. Times Higher Education global reputation survey ranks Penn State in Top 50

4. Family and friends create trustee scholarship in alumnus’ memory

5. CORED symposium highlights diversity dynamics, potential improvements

6. New MajorQuest guides students in choosing a major

7. Symposium puts spotlight on engaged scholarship

8. Smeal Finance student leads creation of Student Financial Education Center

9. Penn State students featured as ‘incredibly impressive’ undergraduates

10. Erickson addresses Pa. House, Senate appropriations committees

11. Sports Archive to celebrate 25th anniversary

12. Theatre Professor Susan Russell named Penn State laureate for 2014-15

13. Dates for your calendar: Spring 2014

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1. Penn State names Eric J. Barron president

The 18th president of Penn State has been named by the University’s Board of
Trustees. Eric J. Barron, a former dean at Penn State and current leader of
Florida State University, will begin as Penn State’s next president on or
before May 12, 2014.

Read the full story: http://news.psu.edu/link/bMStGkgZ

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2. THON 2014 ‘redefines the possibilities’ with $13.3 million for pediatric
cancer

THON 2014, Penn State’s 42nd annual Dance Marathon, concluded its annual
46-hour THON Weekend Sunday (Feb. 23) at the Bryce Jordan Center by raising a
record-breaking $13,343,517.33 in the fight against pediatric cancer.

Read the full story: http://news.psu.edu/link/j22sFh_h

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3. Times Higher Education global reputation survey ranks Penn State in Top 50

Penn State has ranked 39th among universities worldwide in the fourth annual
Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, released today (March 5).
The University entered the Top 50 for the first time in the 2014 reputation
rankings, based on 10,536 responses, from 133 countries, to an
invitation-only, worldwide academic survey of academics and researchers asked
to identify institutions they considered to be the best in research and
teaching.

Read the full story: http://news.psu.edu/link/DT1vHnk8

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4. Family and friends create trustee scholarship in alumnus’ memory

Family and friends of late Penn State alumnus Kyle Johnson, Class of 2012,
recently established a scholarship in his memory. The Kyle Chase Johnson
Memorial Trustee Scholarship will provide financial support for students who
are members of the Lion Ambassadors at Penn State, an organization in which
Kyle participated as an undergraduate.

Read the full story: http://news.psu.edu/link/P_vhM24X

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5. CORED symposium highlights diversity dynamics, potential improvements

While Penn State has made strides in promoting diversity and inclusion on its
campuses, “there’s always more to do,” Vice Provost for Educational Equity
Terrell Jones said as he opened the Commission on Racial/Ethnic Diversity
(CORED) spring symposium and open house held Tuesday (March 4) at the
Pasquerilla Spiritual Center.

Read the full story: http://news.psu.edu/link/NWnrcFpx

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6. New MajorQuest guides students in choosing a major

The Division of Undergraduate Studies released a newly designed version of
MajorQuest last week to help Penn State students find majors that relate to
their areas of interest. The new site at
http://dus.psu.edu/students/majorquest introduces an improved interactive
tool that prompts students to select one or more of their interests, such as
art and design, cyber information, environment and sustainability, helping
people, sports and teaching. MajorQuest then filters Penn State’s
more-than-160 majors and lists those that incorporate all the selected
interests.

Read the full story: http://news.psu.edu/link/GqZgHXzg

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7. Symposium puts spotlight on engaged scholarship

Penn State’s inaugural Engaged Scholarship Symposium provides an opportunity
to learn more about engaged scholarship and how it enriches student learning.
The symposium, planned for March 25 at the Nittany Lion Inn on Penn State’s
University Park campus, is open to faculty, staff and students from all Penn
State locations. For more information and to register for the conference,
visit http://goo.gl/iv1tW2 online. Those unable to attend in person can
register to view a live stream.

Read the full story: http://news.psu.edu/link/NzMsW4BJ

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8. Smeal Finance student leads creation of Student Financial Education Center

Concerned with soaring student loan debt and what he perceived as a lack of
financial literacy among college students, Penn State Smeal College of
Business finance student Anand Ganjam proposed an effort last spring to
provide students with personal finance education. Earlier this semester, the
Student Financial Education Center (SFEC) opened its doors in 309 Paterno
Library on the University Park campus.

Read the full story: http://news.psu.edu/link/22ZN41JS

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9. Penn State students featured as ‘incredibly impressive’ undergraduates

In the classroom and laboratory, performing on the field — or in it, doing
world-class research and altruistic service around the globe — these Penn
State students represent just a small fraction of what is “incredibly
impressive” about our University.

Read the full story: http://news.psu.edu/link/X3f7HDFj

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10. Erickson addresses Pa. House, Senate appropriations committees

Penn State President Rodney Erickson addressed appropriations committees for
both chambers of the Pennsylvania General Assembly on Feb. 25, urging
lawmakers to keep the partnership between the University and the Commonwealth
strong in the coming year.

Read the full story: http://news.psu.edu/link/1CBHw6Yg

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11. Sports Archive to celebrate 25th anniversary

The public is invited to events surrounding the 25th anniversary of the Penn
State Sports Archives, a collection in The Eberly Family Special Collections
Library. Established in 1988, the collection consists of athlete files,
audio-visual materials, media guides, press kits and memorabilia.

Read the full story: http://news.psu.edu/link/HJJBMfgP

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12. Theatre Professor Susan Russell named Penn State laureate for 2014-15

Susan Russell, associate professor of theatre, has been named the Penn State
laureate for the 2014-15 academic year. She succeeds 2013-14 Penn State
Laureate Kenneth Womack, senior associate dean for Academic Affairs and
professor of English and integrative arts at Penn State Altoona.

Read the full story: http://news.psu.edu/link/hczmddb8

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13. Dates for your calendar: Spring 2014

Spring Semester 2014

March 9-15: Spring break, no classes
May 2: Classes end
May 5-9: Final exams
​May 9-11: Commencement

Many additional dates during the semester are important to the academic
progress of your student, available online at
http://www.registrar.psu.edu/academic_calendar/calendar_index.cfm

Read the full story: http://news.psu.edu/link/grgY2Wd2

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Parents@psu.edu.

For your convenience, we provide an online form for updating parent addresses
and other information at
https://parentinfo.psu.edu. You will need your student’s PSU ID number to
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