June 2010 Archives

In my commencement address for the World Campus this spring, I tried to articulate a vision of education as a lifelong journey in which we constantly stretch out beyond ourselves in an attempt to better understand one another and the world in which we live.

Here is the YouTube video of the address, entitled Milestones.  The full text can be found on my digital vita. I would welcome any thoughts and comments.

Even before the formal ceremony, work began across the street, setting up the construction staging area in front of the Ford building (the first photo). Unfortunately, the residents of that building will be looking at a disturbed "front yard" for months and years. After the public attention of the ground breaking, the real work began. The north wing of the current Moore building will be stripped to its structural frame and the new building built around it. The attached photos illustrate work beginning on June 7, the Monday after the ceremony, as trees were cleared for the work. The photos also show the boarding of between window spaces, in preparation for the demolition, and then preparation for new infrastructure to be laid on the west side of the building.

For those who enjoy wrecking balls, the next stage will involve some demolition.

Associate Dean Long, Ashley Tarbet, and Jillian Balay led the workshop.  The presenters talked about the ways that LAUS is currently making use of social media.  They discussed the LAUS blogs, Facebook page, Twitter accounts, Flickr account, and You Tube channel.  The presenters emphasized that the overall goal of LAUS' new social media initiative is to build a community around the undergraduate experience in the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State.

Take a look at a screencast of the Invitation to Participation Prezi below:


The workshop participants had the opportunity to brainstorm ways that their departments or units could also begin using social media technology. Several Liberal Arts staff members thought that creating departmental Facebook pages would be a good way to begin to build an on-line community.  Others thought that Flickr pages would allow their units to draw attention to certain events by posting pictures in a more public domain.   

The workshop was a great way to bring Liberal Arts staff together to begin talking about ways that all Liberal Arts departments can use social media to build an even stronger community.

Take a look at some pictures from the workshop:

I trust that everyone is enjoying reading our summer intern bloggers' firsthand accounts of their summer experiences.  Of course, many additional Liberal Arts undergraduates also secured internships this summer, in a wide range of career fields at organizations all over the country.  I wanted to take this opportunity to list a few more of these experiences, which I believe represent the wide variety of career possibilities open to students pursuing Liberal Arts degrees. 

In Washington, D.C., in addition to Capitol Associates and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (the sites of two of our bloggers), we have students at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Republican National Committee, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, Washington Sports and Entertainment, Congressman Robert Brady's office, and the Office of Innovative Engagement in the Department of State.

Quite a few students ventured to New York for internships related to entertainment and publishing.  Students--many of whom are CAS or English majors--are working at Wenner Media Publicity, the Hearst Corporation, USA Today, Gotham Casting, The Merv Griffin Show, Pearson Education Publishing, Viacom (MTV Networks), and CBS Radio.

Not surprisingly, many students decided to stay in Pennsylvania for their summer internships.  Harrisburg is a particularly popular destination for political science, economics, and other Liberal Arts majors interested in public policy.  In Harrisburg, we have students interning with the PA Judiciary Committee, the PA Human Relations Commission, the PA Department of Aging and Office of Long-Term Living, the Education Policy and Leadership Center, the National Sexual Violence Resources Center, the Pennsylvania Republican Caucus, the AFL-CIO, and Common Cause.  The majority of these internships were arranged with the help of the Harrisburg Semester internship program.

In the State College area, students are working with various nonprofit and government operations, including Center for Alternatives in Community Justice, the Rockview State Correctional Facility, the Second Mile, ARC of Centre County, Strawberry Fields, and the Office of the Attorney General.  Other students are interning with various offices and centers at Penn State itself, including the university's Office of Governmental Affairs, Office of Global Programs, College of Agriculture Office of Alumni and Development, Sports Marketing, the International Center for the Study of Terrorism, and the PA Center for the Book.

Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, students are experiencing a variety of career fields at their internship sites, which include the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Adult Probation and Parole, Pennies for Heaven, Education Works, Office of Senator Bob Mensch, Fox 29, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Montoursville Borough Police Department, the Dan Onorato Gubernatorial Campaign, and the Starfinder Foundation.

Crossing over the PA state line, other students secured internships with the New Jersey Nets, New Jersey Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande's office, the Gloucester Mayor's Office (MA), Neurobehavioral Associates (MD), the Carroll County District Attorney's Office (MD), the Prince George County Police Department (MD), Garrett County Government (MD), and the Hingham Police Department (MA).

And lastly, we have some students who have ventured outside of the Northeast, and even the country, for their internships.  CLA students are at Target in Minneapolis, Brillstein Entertainment Partners in California, Exelon in Chicago, Fort Abercrombie State Park in Alaska, Bank of America in Florida, the American Embassy in London, Nike in China, and ProyectARG in Argentina.

While comprehensive, this list is not by any means complete.  Let us know what we are missing!  And even if your internship is listed, touch base with me and/or your academic adviser in the fall to let us know how it went.  The more we know, the more we can assist future CLA interns seeking out valuable professional experiences.

My name is Eli Glazier and I will be a junior in the fall, majoring in International Politics. This summer, I have the great opportunity to intern at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, more commonly known as CSIS, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. 

In episode ten of Liberal Arts Voices, CLA advisers Tracey Melnick and Courtney Orr and Director of Advising Mary Fleming join the program to discuss this summer's Freshmen, Testing, Consulting, and Placement (FTCAP).

FTCAP is a university-wide program designed to help freshmen prepare for college life and choose appropriate curriculum. The Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), the Division of Student Affairs, Undergraduate Admissions, and the academic departments all play a role in the organization of FTCAP.

The CLA advisers discuss the history of FTCAP and what a typical day of FTCAP looks like for these first year students. Students typically arrive early in the mornings to pick up their student IDs and activate their access accounts. They then attend a presentation organized by DUS to talk about how students can prepare for college life and what they can expect from their college experience. In the afternoons students break out to their appropriate colleges. At this point, Liberal Arts freshmen have the chance to meet with CLA advisers and to pick out their schedule of courses for the fall. Parents also have the chance to meet with a CLA adviser and ask their own questions.

Dean Long encourages Liberal Arts freshmen to take a look at the Liberal Arts Undergraduate Studies social media and to join our online community early on in their college careers.

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 10

To subscribe to Liberal Arts Voices through iTunes, click here.

We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices.

My name is Amanda Craig, and I am a senior double majoring in International Politics and Sociology. After countless internship applications, I interviewed with Capitol Associates, Inc. (CAI) and was later offered one of its two internship positions for the summer. Thrilled with the possibilities, I headed south to Washington, DC.

CAI is a lobbying firm in Capitol Hill that specializes in areas of health, education, and human resource programs. The firm recently celebrated its 26th Anniversary (Congrats, CAI!). As explained to me, the commodity of a lobbying firm is information. My job for the summer would be to provide accurate, rapid, and reliable information from DC to clients located across the country. As someone who has always considered working in Washington, DC and who is extremely curious about the policy making process, my experience at CAI will be invaluable.

My first day of work at Capitol Associates, Inc. (CAI) was May 10--the Monday after finals week. On top of trying to study, I was trying to prepare for my first day. Looking back, I recommend three things for your first day on the job.

Do a test run of traveling to your internship location. For me, commuting by metro was new territory, so I took the metro into DC with a friend the Sunday before and learned how to switch trains to get to Union Station. I forgot my directions but remembered that Massachusetts Avenue led right to the office, so we found Mass. Ave. and started walking. The office should have been about 5 blocks away next to a park, but we didn't see it anywhere. After a lengthy walking tour of DC, I learned that we took Mass. Ave. Northwest instead of Northeast. For those of you unfamiliar with DC streets, there is a quadrant system (NW, NE, SW, SE) with vertical numbered streets, horizontal lettered streets, and diagonal state streets. Needless to say, I learned the system quickly, and I am very grateful that I did not get lost on my first day of work.

Do learn names. You are going to spend the rest of your summer working with the people you meet throughout your first week. Take the time to learn their names. Don't hesitate to carry a notebook and jot down names if you need to. Introduce yourself to others, and repeat their names after they introduce themselves to you.

Do ask questions. I was told this countless times, and it is so true. Many of us interns are entering brand new environments, so it is ok for us to ask questions. Better to ask now and know later.

I also want to share some advice that I've been given by the CAI staff. First, make a list of things you would like to do for your summer and actually do it. This is really big for me as I am a city full of opportunities. I've already toured the Capitol Building and Supreme Court. Second, diplomacy matters. Reach out and network as much as you can in your new position, but be aware of how you introduce yourself and ask things. I reached out to my Congressman, and within my second week, I had the pleasure of meeting him. Finally, get the facts. Our job as students is to challenge current research, rules, etc. As I gather research and write reports for CAI clients, I must back up what I say, check my sources, and know the whole story. For those of you who have opinions on the controversial Arizona immigration law, I challenge you to read the law. It is about 17 pages long, and shouldn't you read it before you can judge it?

I hope this advice helps you as much as it has helped me in my first weeks of working as an intern. Know that no matter where you are or where you are going, a fellow Penn Stater is probably close by.

Today, the College of the Liberal Arts hosted the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Moore Building, home of the Department of Psychology.

President Spanier spoke about the history of psychology at Penn State. He explains that "psychology has deep roots at Penn State, starting in 1871 when the course, Mental Science, was first offered." Courses in experimental and education psychology were developed next, until the Department of Education and Psychology was eventually founded. Psychology ultimately became its own separate department in 1945.

In 1972, the Moore Building was officially named after Dr. Bruce Moore, Psychology Professor and Department Chair. Professor of Psychology, Robert Stern, attended both today's ceremony and the first groundbreaking ceremony in 1968, when the initial construction of the Moore Building began. Stern reflects on the difference between the two ceremonies. He states that "the university did not plan any groundbreaking for Moore" the first time around. Instead, he and a few colleagues made a sign dedicating the "Psychology and Education Building 3" as it was then to be called. They spray painted a shovel silver, and called the Collegian to capture the "official" ceremony in 1968 (top right photo).

The ceremony today marks nearly a decade of planning and fund-raising which will, according to Dean Welch, help to add "an additional 57,000 square feet of space for interdisciplinary learning, research, and service and will provide state-of-the-art laboratories for research in areas ranging from neuroscience to language development to intercultural communication."

This much needed space will help to improve the experience of psychology students, including 900 undergraduate majors and 500 minors, hundreds of world campus students, and numerous graduate students. The new addition will also house a variety of centers and clinics, including the Psychological Clinic and the Child Study Center.

The connection between today's official ceremony and that first impromptu groundbreaking in 1968 was reaffirmed when Bob Stern joined Dean Welch to break new ground for the Moore building.

This time, he didn't need to spray paint the shovels silver, as they were already painted gold.

The slide show below captures today's ceremonial groundbreaking event:

The work of the Dauphin County CID Detectives is as diverse as the suspects that they investigate. As an intern I have the fortunate benefit of being able to experience an array of criminal cases that happen in county.

For example, a suspected arson in the Harrisburg area of the previous summer had come to trial this past week. The Detective that was working the case shared the details of the case with me in order to brief me as to how the trail was expected to proceed. Through a joint operation of County and Federal authorities, evidence was produced that gave the District Attorney enough confidence to press a case against a suspect. Over a week of court the defendant was not found guilty. However, I had witnessed the process of transfer of information form the Detectives that had investigated the case, the formation of a case against the defendant by the DA, and the entire process of the court system from jury selection to verdict. Although not a victory for the Dauphin County DA, it was for the Fire Investigation Detective and his ATF K9. The ATF often works in joint operation with one of the CID Detectives in order to isolate the cause of many of the counties suspected arsons. The fire investigator, along with his trained K9 is dispatched throughout the county and even nation wide to determine the source of suspected arsons. If the K9 alerts to a suspected accelerant that was used in setting the fire, evidence will be collected for lab analysis and may be used as evidence.

During that same week, I had observed the tactics of the Dauphin County Crisis Response Team in training. In the event that a county emergency should occur such as a hostage situation, a terrorist threat, major civil unrest (such as a riot) as well as other special operations such as anti-narcotic raids, the CRT is on call 24/7, 365 to handle such situations. The CRT keeps active in their training by running drills regularly at different locations preparing for different kinds of situational emergencies. One day may be hostage rescue; another may be raid of a major drug location. As with other aspects of county policing, the Dauphin County CRT often shares jurisdiction with other agencies in a joint task force. The CRT was formed in 1992 for the need the have a local emergency response team at the ready for hostile situations. Before this time if a department needed help from a tactical team, they'd have to call the Pennsylvania State Police Special Emergency Response Team. Being that this team was composed of state police spread out across the eastern end of the state, a need developed for a local emergency response team. Some members would have to travel two or more hours to get to an incident, whereas all of the members of the CRT reside in county.

-Travis R. Stotelmyer, Intern, Dauphin County CID