Friday, August 29, 2008
A look back over the
-Logan House refurbished and dedicated.
-Almy Hall, residence unit, opens.
-Penn State Erie celebrates 50th anniversary.
-School of Business receives $2O million endowment gift, the third largest gift in Penn State's history.
-First-ever All-Class Reunion held.
-Ohio Hall, residence hall, opens.
-Knowledge Park at Penn State Erie opens
-$10.2 million Athletics and Recreation Center dedicated. (The facility will be renamed the Junker Center in
-Mehalso Observatory and telescope erected.
-Enrollment stands at 3,700.
-Dr. John M. Lilley leaves Behrend after twenty-one years as provost and dean to become president of the
University of Nevada, Reno. Dr. Jack D. Burke named interim provost and dean effective July 1.
-New baseball and softball complex opens.
-Three new buildings open in Knowledge Park: a second office building, the Center tor Advanced Manufacturing
and Technology, and the Penn Stale Behrend Child Care Center (relocated from Station Road).
-The Larry and Kathryn Smith Chapel and Floyd and Juanita Smith Carillon opens, located across from the
Library.
•Construction begins on the Eastside Access Highway, which will run through campus and will connect the col
lege and Knowledge Park to the Bay Front Parkway and downtown Erie.
-Design begins on the $3O million Research and Economic Development Center, which will house the School ot
Business and the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology.
-Two existing facilities named in honor of previous Behrend administrative heads. Students now study in the Irvin
Kochel Center and the John M. Lilley Library.
-A Bachelor of Science dei
State Erie now offers thirty majors, nineteen minors, and three graduate-degree programs.
-The college breaks ground on a new residence facility, named Senat Hall, to open in fall 2004.
-Behrend’s 725-acre campus earns official recognition as an aboretum from the American Association of Botanical
Gardens and Arboreta.
-Dr. Jack D. Burke named campus executive officer and dean, succeeding Dr. John M. Lilley as the college's top
official.
-The Sam and Irene Black School of Business named in honor of the Blacks' $2O million estate gift for school
endowments, originally announced as an anonymous gift in 1998. The Black School also achieves accreditation from
AACSB International.
-A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in creative writing is added to the curriculum. Penn State Erie now otters thirty
one majors, nineteen minors, and three graduate-degree programs.
-The college breaks ground on the Research and Economic Development Center (REDC). Once completed, the
center will effectively double the amount of classroom and office space at Behrend.
-Senat Hall, Behrend's latest residence facility, opens to its first residents. The hall is open to lirst-year students
participating in the Freshman Interest Groups program.
-In December, Pascale Malouin traveled from her home in Edmonton, Alberta, to Erie to take part in commence
ment and become the very first graduate of Penn State's online Master of Project Management (M.P.M.) program. This
marked the first time she had stepped foot on the campus.
-In January, an asteroid is named for Roger Knucke. director of the School of Science, in recognition of his astro
nomical work,
-The Penn State Behrend Lion statue pounces into temporary quarters on the college grounds in February.
-Penn State Behrend grants first groups of student SAP Certification. SAP certification gives students an edge in
the job market after graduation.
-At spring commencement, Penn State Behrend graduates its largest class in the college's history.
-In June, the long-awaited Bayfront Connector opens, providing a direct route between Penn State Behrend and
downtown Erie
-The college’s innovative Logan Music Series wins the Chamber Music America/American Society of Composers.
Authors and Publishers’ (CMA/ASCAP) Award for Adventurous Programming.
-In May, Penn State Behrend moves its spring commencement to Tullio Arena to allow larger groups to attend.
-The Research and Economic Development Center (RED-C) opens for student classes, research, and studies. The
facility houses the Black School of Business and the School of Engineering.
-Student enrollment at Penn State Behrend tops 4,000 for the first time. This is the largest incoming class in the
history of the school.
-An associate degree in Nursing is announced. Classes will begin in fall 2007.
-The Penn State Behrend Lions athletic teams win their fifth AMCC Presidents' Cup in six years. The award rec
ognizes the best overall athletic program in the conference.
fete historical timeline can be found at www.behrend.psu.edu/aboutPS/timeline.htm
* A comi
By Jennifer Juncosa
perspective editor
jdjso6l@psu.edu
Penn State Behrend is not only cele
brating its 60th anniversary, but is cele
brating the highest number of students
enrolled since 1948. There are about
4,400 students attending Behrend this
year and roughly 1,100 of them are
freshman. 75% of freshman said that
Behrend was their first choice.
However, the enrollment of freshman
students is lower than in the past
because Behrend admissions wanted to
better accommodate the upperclassmen
that planned on returning.
To prepare for the high number of
people interested in Penn State Behrend
this year, admissions raised the criteria.
They were looking for people with a
more competitive combination of high
school GPA and SAT scores.
In the early 1990’5, Behrend was no
longer seen as a two-year but a four
year school. Still a good number of
Behrend’s upperclassmen were expect
ed to continue their education at
University Park. Recently Behrend has
noticed that only about 25% of upper-
;ree in Science and a Master of Project Management are added to the curriculum. Penn
As Behrend grows,
classmen actually leave come junior
year. More and more students are will
ing to stay due to the campus’ growth.
“For a long time we really had pretty
flat enrollment and we had to because
we didn’t have any room. Then with the
REDC, that really enabled us to grow,’’
said Mary-Ellen Madigan, head of Penn
State Behrend’s admissions. “What’s
nice about Penn State is that students
have the option [to stay or leave], a lot
of students come here with the plan of
staying for two years, [they] get here
ears at Penn State Behrend
ast 10 >
Behrend’s technology has come a long way from these days
TEW,
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technology follows
and decide they really like it. They met
their friends here, they connect with fac
ulty, and end up staying here all four
years.”
Penn State Behrend had made techno
logical improvements in the past four to
five years to better help prospective stu
dents, and even those already attending,
by using AOL instant messenger
throughout the admissions office. Mrs.
Madigan receives three to four mes
sages a day. “Sometimes I get messages
saying ‘where do I go for this?’ It's a lot
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
r |
Top: Students wait outside of the Junket' center lor tin event.
Bottom: Modern-da\: A beautiful walk between classes at Penn Slate Behrend
Anniversary:
continuted from pane /
Athletics
The first athletic opportunities that
became available were the men's basket
ball and wrestling team, ami the prac
tices were held at Lawrence Park High
School. Behrend now has twenty-one
NCAA Divison 111 varsity-sporting
teams, in addition to the dynamic intra
mural program offered throughout the
school, which attracts students to ewents
so diverse that they can participate in
anywhere from dodgcball to bow ling.
Faculty
12 full-time faculty members were
employed from the start. The faculty
body has risen to a tremendous figure of
650 full-time and part-time employees,
ineluding 275 devoted professors.
Degrees
As previously mentioned, students
could not finish their degrees at Behrend
in the early stages. Jumping ahead to
modern day. the college currently fea
tures over 40 degrees at the associate,
bachelor's, and graduate levels.
Residence Fife
The first residence hall. Perry Hall, did
not appear until 1968. housing just 200
men and women. As of this year, over
1650 students live throughout the cam
•'l. ’
PENN STATE ERIE
THE BEHREND COLLEGE
less threatening then talking on the
While the number of students usine
the instant messenger service is grow
ing. so is the number of parents using
the system for getting their questions
answered quickly. Most of the offices
on campus, and even other Penn State
campuses, use instant messenger and
will communicate with each other on a
daily basis. "There is really good com
munication and cooperation between all
the offices. We work cooperatively to
ensure that we are doing what needs to
be done so we can manage the w hole
enrollment [process|. It s providing a
better service to students."
Penn State Behrend will undeniably
see more and more students interested
in attending. Renovations of the campus
happen regularly and the plans for more
housing are already in progress.
Behrend is known and preferred
because of its low student-to-teacher
ratio that will also keep the number of
students enrolled controlled. "I think
how' you do undergraduate education
really well is the faculty being able to
really work with the students and not
having huge classes."
The Behrend Beacon I
60 years and growing
pus in a w ide array of housing, including
dormitories, suites, and apartments.
Internet and cable television is standard
cvervwherc
The change hits been substantial. A
positively opportunistic place in endless
wavs. Whttl once stood as a two year
preface to an ultimate goal that students
would reach over three hours away can
now be fulfilled on a vibrant, natural,
beautifully secluded environment that
sits just off the Bay front Connector. As
far its Chancellor Burke is concerned, the
biggest and most significant change has
been the quality. But it's also the simple
things that combined to boost this cam
pus to its stance today.
It is interesting to hear the story of a
historical success such as the tale that
Behrend holds. What is even mote inter-
esting is the futuristic potential this
thriving community possesses. 1 await
the storv of the 100 vear anniversary: the
immensity of it is hard to imagine
C’ongradulations. Penn State Behrend.
Congradulalions to anyone who was
ever a part of it. Alumni, faculty, and stu
dents alike can appreciate the past and
wonder at the leaps and bounds to come
in the future from such a meat school.
Letter from the editor
I just want to take a lew hundred
words to say welcome to all new stu
dents. and welcome hack to the return-
ing ones. I bis is my first time as news
editor, however I have worked on the
staff for the past two y ears, so in no
way am I a novice. The past couple of
years I have heard numerous com-
plaints concerning stories that we’ve
covered, or stories we haven’t covered
that’s how the media vv oriel runs. We
will never please each individual. This
is a reality I have accepted, however, it
won’t stop us from try ing.
Here's the ileal- our staff is not big.
meaning we do not see everything that
happens on this campus. Considering
that the Beacon is a student-run paper,
every student on this campus is respon
sible for w hat gels printed.
To illustrate that point a bit more
clearly, if vou see anv thine that vou
think qualifies .is news
as that. Semi an e-mail, come to us
directly (office in lower Reed), do it
anonymously, or any other way you can
think of. It will help to produce a suc
cessful paper, providing you with con
tent that is more relevant to you. the
reader.
This we all we ask. Whatever you
think is important, there is a strong
chance that we will too. So don't he
shy. we're always looking to improve
our sen ices
tell us. Simple
Sincerely,
Ryan I’. Gallagher
news editor