Recently in Dean Welch Category

Welcome to the spring, 2012 semester!

After years of planning, and eighteen months of demolition and construction, on January 3 our psychology faculty, staff, and students begin the move to their expanded home in the Moore addition. The inhabitants of the addition will appreciate increased, contemporary spaces for seminar teaching and lab research, new offices and equipment, up to date technology, and a very large conference room which can accomodate full department meetings and larger lectures and seminars. Students working in labs and participating in meetings and seminars should also enjoy the modern, spacious, and well equipped spaces.

While some of the inhabitants of the "old Moore," will be moving to these bright new spaces, other psychology faculty and students have moved to Thomas Building, Ritenour, Pond, and Willard. They will be there for another 18 months or so while the renovation of old Moore takes place. We plan that in summer 2013, the department will be re-united in the Moore facilities.

We are very grateful for the support of the University that has provided the resources for this expansion and renovation for one of our and the University's outstanding departments. We also appreciate the philanthropic support for many alums, faculty, and staff who contributed to make the project possible.

You can view the slideshow below to see the progression of the Moore Building Construction project:

I am intrigued by our new electronic sign and thought I would contribute to its content by welcoming our new Liberal Arts students who joined us this summer and updating the Liberal Arts family on the Moore building project.

What a difference a year makes! At least that's true of our Moore building project, the expansion and renovation of the home of the Department of Psychology. During the past year, workers have demolished all but the steel frame of the north wing of the original Moore building, and constructed an addition on the north side that stretches the entire length of the original building, seamlessly connecting the structure of the original smaller wing to the extensions on both the west and east of that wing.

When completed, the addition will provide 50,000 square feet of new laboratories for psychology faculty and students, offices for faculty and graduate students, new undergraduate advising facilities, spaces for students to study or relax, clinical facilities for the psychological clinic, and a home for the Child Study Center. The building is scheduled to be fully enclosed within the next week or so and the project is still on target for completion at the end of 2011. We anticipate that part of the department will move into these new quarters in time for the spring semester 2012, while other faculty will exodus from the original building and renovation will begin there. It will be 2014 until all psychology faculty and students will be reunited in their long awaited new home.

You can view the slideshow below to see the progression of the Moore Building construction project:

Welcome back to all Liberal Arts students.  I extend a special welcome to around 100 new students who are beginning at UP in Liberal Arts.  I hope all of you will have a wonderful and productive semester, and will find some time to participate in the College's on-line and in person community. I am pleased that our Liberal Arts Undergraduate Student Council is sponsoring participation in 'Thon this year, and that is certainly a wonderful opportunity to get involved.

The College has made great progress this year. Our development team continues to be very successful in raising funds to support the College and our students, through scholarships and funds to support activities such as internships and study abroad.  The Paterno Liberal Arts Undergraduate Fellows program continues to thrive, with record numbers of new freshmen taking "the Paterno Challenge."  Most of the departments rated by the National Research Council received very high ratings last semester, testifying to the quality of our faculty and programs.

I've also been following a visible sign of progress, the construction of the addition to Moore building.  While we were focused on finishing the semester and then on holiday between semesters, workers at the construction site continued to build.  They constructed the steel structure on the west side of the building and poured the floors. To make sure the cement dried and cured properly, the addition was encased in a blue and silver wrap so the inside could be heated to 50 degrees. Soon workers will begin to enclose the west side of the structure. Meanwhile, on the east side, the steel structure is now being hung. So far, the project is on schedule.

During the last couple of months, almost all progress on the Moore building project has been underground.  Workers excavated the basement on the west side of the building and put in footings on the east side. During the last several weeks, they have poured the basement foundation and  walls and put in some utilities.

During the next several weeks, we should see much more above ground progress. A giant crane has arrived, and workers will start hanging the steel structure of the addition. So far, five months into the project, it is on schedule and on budget!

Meanwhile, the work of the department faculty and students is scattered to six buildings, including the Moore building. Other psychology faculty, labs, centers, and projects are located in Thomas,  Ritenour, Keller , Pond,  and University Services Building 2. The undergraduate advising center remains in the Moore building, where it will be until it is relocated to the new addition.

Visible progress on the Moore project has been substantial during the past month as the "bones" of the north wing have emerged.  All brick, mortar, and cement blocks have been removed from the facade of the north wing, exposing the steel structure underneath.  This structure will serve as the central core of the new addition.  Adhering to the timetable set for the construction, workers have also excavated the foundation for the part of the new building to the west of the north wing and have begun work on the excavation to the east.  Soon we'll be able to see the entire outline of the addition.

After a summer laying utilities and dealing with sinkholes, workers restored the alley between Nittany Parking Deck and the Moore building in time for the return of students and the beginning of classes, easing access around the building.  However, the parking lot to the north of the building has now been closed.

See the slide-show below for photos of the Moore construction project:

Welcome Liberal Arts students

We are glad to have you here! We spent much of our summer preparing for this year, hiring and orienting new faculty and staff and refreshing facilities. Our advisors and instructors are eager to help you make the most of your academic experiences. We hope that the challenges and learning opportunities make this year's Penn State Liberal Arts education the best ever.

Whether you are a freshman or a senior, you are preparing for the rest of your life. So we hope that you will take advantage of the myriad opportunities that await you to help you become a contributing member of your community and society after your life at Penn State. Use this year to broaden your perspectives so that you leave Penn State an educated person, capable of ethical and reasoned thought, with an appreciation for your own history and culture, and an increased understanding of the challenges of our global world. This is also the time to hone your skills as a good communicator, effective writer, and analytical thinker - all skills that our alums tell us will set you apart from the rest of the workforce. No matter where your future takes you, these skills will make a lifelong difference.

Use your critical thinking skills to make good choices in your social life too. Almost every year, at least one student on campus dies from alcohol related activities. Many other students' lives are blighted by convictions for alcohol related offenses or from serious injuries caused because they or someone else was drunk and incapable of good judgment. In addition to individual and family tragedies, the toll on the community is considerable. These are not the kinds of Penn State experiences you want to have. Be safe and be a good citizen of the university and community.

Use this year to challenge yourself and to change your life in positive ways. So many opportunities await you. If you've not been to a concert, art exhibit, or play, go to one this year to broaden your cultural horizons. Attend a film festival like the one on Dystopias scheduled in mid-October. Take a class in an area outside your comfort zone. Learn a foreign language or take a course in Asian studies, African studies, or the Middle East. If you are not a senior, plan to study abroad or take an internship. If you are a senior and plan to enter the workforce, take advantage of the resources the university offers to help you with career planning and job search skills.  Whether you are a senior or underclassman, find an activity that brings you satisfaction. Join our Liberal Arts Undergraduate Council, for example!

Your liberal arts education means opportunities in the classroom to gain knowledge essential to your future career. It means finding the compass that will guide how you think, reason, and communicate with others. It means having experiences that you will remember and appreciate the rest of your life.

All best wishes for a great Penn State year in the College of the Liberal Arts,

Susan Welch

Moore building construction has been underway since June 7. Actually, we don't see much construction yet. Constructing and renovating buildings are activities governed by a variety of federal, state, local, and university regulations, and a good deal of the preparatory work going on on-site now is in response to that.

Asbestos was widely used in floor and ceiling tiles in the late 1960s when Moore was built. Later deemed a hazardous substance, asbestos removal is covered by federal regulations. Asbestos in place (contained in intact floor tiles, for example) is not considered a threat to human health, but it is considered a threat if the tiles are broken or corroding. That can release asbestos fibers into the air. These fibers are quite dangerous because they embed themselves in the lungs, thus increasing the probabilities of lung cancer and other serious lung diseases. So when buildings containing asbestos are demolished, material containing asbestos must be carefully removed by workers wearing masks and protective clothing before walls, ceilings, and floors can be broken up and destroyed.

That is what has been going on in Moore for the past month or so. All asbestos-containing materials are being removed, floor by floor. At the same time, workers are also removing the boilers, pipes, and other infrastructure in the building. In fact, if you walk past the Moore site, you can see through the building on the first floor where the wall was opened to remove large items.
In terms of university regulations, one of interest is the protection of trees. Though trees have to be removed in most construction jobs, the university does attempt to save as many mature trees as possible. Saving trees was a topic that occurred periodically in meetings planning the building. We particularly prize "heritage trees," those larger and older. Thus, you will see a fence around a large oak tree to the west of the North wing to keep construction equipment away from the tree and its roots.

Work on the west side of the building under the alley that runs between Moore and Nittany parking garage continues. Workers have been laying utility pipes that will carry water and chilled water into the building and sewage from the building. This work has been complicated by several sinkholes that have emerged. Central Pennsylvania is conducive to sinkholes because of the limestone foundations under the soil. Fixing the sinkholes has meant redoing some of the work and is slowing that part of the project. The plan is to be able to reopen the alley before the commencement of the fall semester.

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.