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THE BEHREND BEACON
Friday, September 17, 2004
We’re happy and we know it
Survey suggests satisfied students
By Meghan Whitesel
staff writer
According to the results from the Student Satis
faction Survey, Penn State Erie was ranked highest
in most hours spent studying and for fewest classes
skipped. Among the 20 campuses, as well as Uni
versity Park, Behrend students were most satisfied
with their academic experience and had the great
est sense of belonging.
What is the Student Satisfaction Survey? The
survey is used to gain feedback from students at
tending Penn State. The results help the Division
of Student Affairs to understand the students’ ex
periences and satisfaction with the institutions. Us
ing the results, the DSA can make efforts to im
prove a scholar’s encounters.
The survey took place between March 18 and
Inside
Student Life, Fantasy Gamers
Club
Sports, New volleyball coaches
CONTENTS
News 1-4
Editorial 5
Student Life 6-7
Sports 9-10
CONTACT US
Newsroom: 898-6440
Fax: 898-6019
E-mail: behrendbeacon@aol.com
Our offices are located down
stairs in the Reed Union Building.
A Penn State Erie Student Publication
April 5,2004. Overall, 3,770 students participated.
About 125 of those students were from Penn State
Erie.
According to the survey results from students at
UP and Behrend, 62% chose Behrend as having the
greatest sense of belonging to Penn State.
“The campus has grown over the course of the
years,” said Ken Miller, Director of Student Affairs.
“It’s a very good sign that the students are recog
nizing that Behrend is a great place to be.”
Many projects have helped create the environ
ment that Behrend possesses. Many of the institu
tional buildings have been renovated and new ones
are being built. According to Miller, the honors
program has continued growing over the past years.
“Our students feel that they are at the best cam
pus the university has to offer,” said Miller. “Stu
dents demand high quality, and they are glad to see
it.”
All Penn State campuses emphasize faculty re
search. At Behrend, the faculty’s main objective is
to educate and then research. This allows for bet
ter relationships with professors.
“The students here at Behrend are qualified and
very focused,” said Miller. “The curriculum runs
on strong academics.”
Survey results showed that 85% of the students
who knew one or more faculty members were from
Behrend. Of the participating campuses, 75% felt
that Behrend had the greatest quality of teaching.
“The faculty reacted positively to the survey re
sults,” said Miller. “They were very pleased.”
Efforts are continuing to increase the learning
experiences for students. With the completion of
the Research and Economic Development Build
ing, many of the programs will grow.
“There is a lot of momentum going here,” said
Miller. “We are already seeing the benefits of
projects past, and we will continue to see Behrend
strive for greater excellence.”
Speaker Series faces unsure future
By Sarah Weber
staff writer
On Sept. 23, the Penn State Behrend Speaker
Series will host the nationally recognized political
analyst, columnist and author Linda Chavez.
Chavez, an “unlikely republican,” as she dubbed
herself in her 2002 biography, is widely hailed as
one of the country’s most prominent Hispanics.
A native of Albuquerque, Chavez writes a weekly
syndicated column and hosts her own program on
the Liberty Broadcasting Radio in Washington D.C.
She is also a political analyst for FOX News Chan
nel.
In 2001, Chavez was chosen as President Bush’s
nominee for Secretary of Labor. Chavez however,
withdrew her name from the ballot.
Chavez’s presentation like all other Speaker Se
ries presentations will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the
McGarvey Commons of the Reed Union Building.
All invited to Welcome Weekend
By Tanya Doggwiler and Elizabeth Cybulski
staff writers
This year’s Welcome Weekend is bringing all
of Penn State Behrend’s family together. For
the first time in six years, Family Weekend and
Alumni Weekend are being combined for a joint
celebration.
The idea to combine the two events came from
Associate Director of Development, Kevin
Moore, Director of Student Affairs, Ken Miller,
Assistant Director of Student Affairs, Kris
Mottatorok, Manager of Special Events, Judy
Glembocki and Assistant Director of Develop
ment, Rebecca Grimaldi. The inspiration to
combine the two came from “the real desire
alumni have to have more interaction between
current students and other alumni,” said
Grimaldi. “The alumni want to show students
how they care and still remain connected to the
college.”
“It’s a win-win situation, a better collabora
tion,” said Mottatorak in a separate interview.
It is a win-win situation that is going to com
bine activities that were signature events at sepa
rate weekends. In the past, the Alumni Week
end included an ice cream social and the Fam
ily Weekend featured a carnival. This year’s
Welcome Weekend will include both events.
Taking place Sept. 24 to 26, two highlighted
events are the Athletic Hall of Fame, which will
feature alumni who were major athletes during
their time at Behrend and the Scholarship Lun
cheon, an invitation only event for current schol
arship recipients and their families.
A new event during the weekend is the Aloha
Dinner and reception, which will be hosted by
CEO and Dean of Students, Jack Burke. Not
New University Relations Director
Logan House fills vacant position
By Maggie Causgrove
staff writer
The Logan House has added a new addition to
the college grounds. The University Relations
office is pleased to welcome Dewayne Wright as
the new Director of University Relations.
Wright came to Behrend after previously teach
ing at Tennessee State University for one and a
half years. “The beautiful campus; expansion,
both in facilities and programs, as well as the
opportunity of Knowledge Park; and the continu
ing education are some of the reasons why I chose
Penn State Behrend,” said Wright.
The University Relations Office is in charge
of a number of tasks. Their obligations entail de
veloping successful marketing and communica
tion strategies, as well as promoting the ongoing
effort towards outreach programs to help further
continuing education.
Along with Bill Ericson, the University of Re
lations Publication Coordinator, Wright hopes to
strengthen these resources over his course at
Behrend and get the word out to future prospects
about all that Penn State has to offer.
Wright believes that there are enough activi
ties occurring on campus for current students to
enjoy their Behrend experience and get involved,
as well as encourage potential students by show
ing all the university has to offer.
One of the most important parts of his new job,
Sponsorship for the series, however, has been a
topic of deliberation for several campus groups.
Late last year, the Student Activity Fee committee,
which consists of faculty and student members, dis
cussed discontinuing funding for the series. How
ever, after students on the committee voiced con
cern about completely cutting the program, the se
ries was given partial funding. The series’ funding
was cut in half since last year from $50,000 to
$25,000.
“None of us wanted to cut it all together,” said
Scott Soltis, Student Government Association presi
dent and SAF committee member. “The hardest part
was to gage the level of student interest. It’d say
it’s definitely deserving of SAF money.”
During the 1990’5, Penn State Behrend’s Speaker
Series won the National Association for Campus
Activities’ Best Lecture Series Award twice.
Ken Miller, director of Student Affairs, says that
only is the event new, but online reservation
requests for the dinner are available.
Other new events are the Golf Instruction and
the Horse Trolley where guests can take a “lei
surely tour of the campus.”
Students and faculty alike will also be pre
paring events for Welcome Weekend. “Each de
partment is gearing up to present their most
positive face,” Grimaldi said. On Saturday, the
Lion Entertainment Board and Residence Life
will have booths set up at the carnival and the
Jazz Band will be performing.
Welcome Weekend is not only designed for
the elder alumni and students with families, but
for students campus-wide and alumni of all ages.
Grimaldi was quick to say that including the
alumni does not mean the weekend is geared to
ward the eldest alumni but “the broad spectrum
of alumni from alumni just out of college to the
alumni with children who are starting to look at
colleges themselves.”
Students already have positive feelings about
the alumni joining family Sept. 24 to 26. “It’s
pretty cool that the alumni are still a big part of
the campus because they help out so much fi
nancially,” said Ivan Eisenberg, 01.
Freshman Lauren Kessler is happy to see the
alumni included because “the alumni can come
and see how much the campus has changed since
they’ve been here.”
The alumni themselves are geared up for a
great weekend. “The alumni will enjoy seeing
the upgrades in student life and education as
well as the nostalgia from walking around their
former school,” said Grimaldi.
The new Welcome Weekend’s main goal is to
enhance the relationship between students, their
families, faculty and alumni.
Wright said, is to, “tell the story.” Wright hopes
to get the word out about Penn State Erie and all
the up and coming events and proceedings around
campus as well as throughout the Erie area.
Another goal of Wright’s is to share the suc
cess stories here on campus of the faculty, staff,
alumni and undergraduates. All have a story to
tell about past accomplishments, engaging new
research, exceptional work experience and so
forth. By informing the area and truly getting the
word out that Behrend is full of successful in
habitants, Wright hopes this will spark an even
greater interest in Penn State Erie.
With many new plans in the works and vari
ous goals in mind, Wright is off to a great start
here at Behrend. When asked how he felt about
his new position and the effect he hopes to make
on the university, Wright said, “1 am definitely
excited to be here. When I first found out about
the position I wanted to find something with
strong ground work and support and I feel that
the Behrend College offered me that.”
Wright was a finalist for the position in the
summer and has said that his “enthusiasm has
stayed constant over time.” He has acknowledged
Behrend is an excellent opportunity and that
while it may present him with some challenges,
that these obstacles will only provide a greater
growth opportunity for the college and Erie in
general.
the Speaker Series is a well attended program that
students enjoy.
“[The program] is under appreciated because it
is not the first thing students think of in terms of
activities,” said Miller. “It is an excellent opportu
nity to sit down with some really influential people.”
Miller also said that the biggest issue with the se
ries is cost. He said that in the last few years the
market for speaker presentations has “gone crazy.”
This year, the Sam and Irene Black School of
Business chipped in to pick up the deficits that the
SAF contribution cuts left.
“There is no guarantee that the series will be able
to go on every year, but we can try,” said Miller.
Other contributors to the series are the Janet Neff
Sample Center for Manners and Civility, and the
Harriet Behrend Ninow Memorial Lecture Series
Fund.
Vol. LII No. 4