Page 2a
The Behrend Beacon
WEEKEND WEATHER
OUTLOOK
SATURDAY
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Snow
High: 38°
Low: 28°
Winter closing/delay info
Eventually, it will snow. And when it does, it probably won't stop. Here are some
ways to touch base with Behrend during cold times:
• Before 8 a.m., call (814) 898-6000 and select "class cancellations or school
closings" from the voice-mail menu (press 4).
• After 8 a.m., call (814) 898-6000 and speak with the switchboard operator if
she is at work. Otherwise, select from the voice-mail menu.
• The following TV and Radio stations will also provide coverage about delays
and closings
TV: WICU-TV 12; WJET-TV 24; WSEE-TV 35; WFXP-TV 66.
RADIO: WFGO-FM (Froggy 94.7); WJET-FM (The Point 102.3);
WPSE-AM 1450; WQLN-FM: 91.3; WRKT-FM (Rocket 101);
WRTS-FM (Star 104); WXKC-FM (Classy 100); WXTA-FM
(Country 98).
• Check the Penn State Behrend Web site at www.pserie.psicedu and click on
the new link to weather cancellations. There is a free account on Accuweather's
"Cancellations.com" site. The college's information can he found by typing
"behrend" and "pa" in the appropriate search boxes.
Physics honor society inducts five
Five outstanding physics students at Penn State Behrend were inducted into Sigma Pi
Sigma, a national physics honor society, on Nov 19. The 6 p.m. induction ceremony
took place at Logan House following dinner and a presentation by guest speaker Richard
Chromik, a 1994 graduate.
New members of Sigma Pi Sigma are Kimberly Herrmann, Mark Niedermyer, Justin
Crepp, Brian Sands, and Bruce Tepke. All were nominated by members of the physics
faculty.
Chromik is a physics graduate who recently completed his doctorate in physics at
SUNY Binghamton. His talk, titled "Thermal Processes in Thin Films over Nanometer
Length Scales: Everyone Wants Their Cell Phones to Work," brought students, their
family members, and active and retired physics faculty up to date on his current research
He will soon begin a post-doctoral fellowship at Lehigh University.
Sigma Pi Sigma chapters are restricted to colleges and unive rsities of recognized
standing that offer a strong physics major. Total membership in the society is more than
58,000 in 686 chapters.
Did you miss them the first time?
Well, here's your chance to listen to them again. Recent Behrencl speaker Peter Leyden,
as well as the Music at Noon performers Ying Quartet will air on WQLN-FM 91.3 in mid-
December. Leyden's speech, "The Long Boom," will air Dec. 16, at 4 p.m. The Ying
Quartet will air Wednesday at 7 p.m.
08:05 The window in Lawrence Hall's east emergency door was
reported broken. It appears a rock was thrown through
the window.
12/01/01
09:15 An officer was informed that graffiti was spray-painted on
Stadium Drive.
1 2/02/0 1
15:35 A visitor came to Police and Safety to report that another
motorist struck his car while backing out of a space in the
Erie Hall Lot. The complainant got pertinent information
from the other driver.
1 2/02/0 1
23:45 A staff member reported a set of work keys missing
12/03/01
12:30 A complainant reported the theft of a logistics management
textbook.
12/05/01
-In last week's issue, Julie Eisenman's and Jule Gardner's names w ere spelled incor
rectly in the article "Comm. women go 'From College to Career'."
-In the the November 16 issue, there were several errors in the 'Behrend Diversity'
supplement page. Though this information was part of a submitted project from a first
year seminar class, and though much of the incorrect information was obtained from the
multicultural and diversity section of Penn State Behrend's Web site and from a member
of the Multi-cultural council, the Beacon appologizes for the inaccuracies.
Fraternities • Sororities •Clubs • Student Groups
Earn $1,00042,000 this semester with the easy
Campusfundraisencom three-hour fundraising event.
Does NOT involve credit card applications. Fundraising dates are filling quickly, so call today!
Contact Campusfundraisencomat (888) 923-3238, or , ,_.riii,llSfundraisenconi
SUNDAY
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Snow
High: 40°
Low: 30°
BEHREND BRIEFS
MONDAY
Partly Cloudy
High: 45°
Low: 28°
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Friday, December 7, 2001
Though it sure doesn't feel like the holiday season with the weather as mild as it is, it really is here - Christmas,
Kwanza, Hanukkah, you name it. December is here and it brought the holidays along. So be merry, have some fun,
have some food, and celebrate. In the words of our good friend Lord Alfred Tennyson, "Ring out the old, ring in the new/
Ring, happy bells, across the snow/ The year is going, let him go/ Ring out the false, ring in the new." Seasons greet
ings and happy new year from the Beacon staff.
Courses subject to faculty approval
by Erin McCarty
assistant news editor
Although most students take for granted
the classes they take, the process of creating
those classes is very complicated. Every' ,
course,listed in the Blue Book has undergone
an extensive series of proposals and reviews,
and the entire process usually begins with
one faculty member who feels there is an
empty space in either a particular program
or in general education which needs to be
tilled. Two classes at Behrend, COMMU 402
and PSYCH 401, are now up for approval.
That instructor must first write up a
proposal detailing the course he or she wishes
to add and explain why such a course is
necessary. Next, the proposal must be
presented to faculty who would be affected
by such an addition; the same is true when a
faculty member wishes to either change or
drop an existing course. Advance warning is
advantageous both to the one making the
proposal and the faculty who would be
affected by it. Failing to follow this
procedure often results in complications
further along in the process.
"Major courses are always much easier to
approve," said Dr. Rod Troester, associate
professor of speech communication at
Behrend. Since only a limited number of
faculty are qualified to teach major-specific
courses, fewer are therefore involved in the
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approval of a specific course. For general
education courses, however, more faculty
input is usually required.
"Gen ed courses are as broadly conceived
as possible," said Troester.
" Both' , general and major courses must pass
Many courses that were
considered a diversity
focused (DF) course have to
be re-evaluated for the new
international and intercul
tural (GI) requirement.
through an approval board at the college,
campus, and university level. Each course
must adhere to the guidelines set forth in
Penn State's Guide to Curricular Procedures
and the particular criteria required for each
unique type of course.
"The University decided a couple of years
ago that it wanted to see more active learning
strategies," said Troester. Therefore, older
courses frequently come up for revision.
Among the requirements for the proposal
must be plans that show how the course will
incorporate active educational strategies
which help students learn. A main job of the
curricular board at University Park is to
Liz Hayes, News Editor
behrcolls@aol.com
ensure' that all of the courses, including
general education, will contain the proper
amount of depth, even though general
education courses at one time focused on
breadth of information at the expense of
depth. The committee also must ensure thin
no duplicate courses are approved.
"[COMMU 4021 was Diversity Focused
(DF) approved for General Education
requirements and must be reviewed for the
new International and Intercultural (GI)
requirement," said Richard Englund,
associate professor of engineering. Because
it is already taught at Behrend and is a course
within a major, COMMU 402, Intercultural
Communications, will probably not be very
difficult to approve. However, it will need
to go through the GI sub-committee at
University Park. All DF courses must be
reviewed in this manner to ensure that they
fit the new GI requirement.
"I expect little difficulty with [PSYCH
4011 at any level of the process," said
Englund of the other course. Although this
course, which deals with evaluation, is new,
its placement as an elective in the psychology
major increases the likelihood that it will
encounter little resistance.
"It's a long and cumbersome process," said
Troester, "but on the other hand, the faculty
have input and representation. Faculty have
almost exclusive control over the
curriculum."