CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION
1 obbins to serve first lunch Friday despite fire delay
After facing a debilitating fire. a staggering cleanup
job, and a tight schedule, the Dobbins Dining Hall
has managed to complete construction in time to
serve lunch to incoming freshmen.
The fire which all but destroyed the Gazebo at Dob
bins on March 1 set hack the renovation project of
Dobbins, which was already on a tight schedule.
However, through a type of construction "triage,"
workers and Penn State Behrend employees have re
stored the building enough to serve food to students.
Ken Miller, Director of Student Affairs, says that
the fire set back the project in more ways than just
the destruction.
Alec Rationo/ The Behrend Beacon
Orientation staff begin their training early so they are prepared to help freshmen with a smooth
transition into college. Several days of events were held outside of the Reed Union Building.
Ambassadors forSebnmd-
Orientation leaders, known to most students as
just the moving men and women, are actually
trained specialists in the art of icebreaking, team
building, and building a strong first image of
Penn-State Behrend.
Seniors Erin Bliley and CJ Burns have been
doing freshman orientation since their sopho
more years and head all other activities orienta
tion leaders do around campus as well. These
responsibilities range from the convocation to al
cohol presentations to even simple tasks such as
directing lost and worried freshman to their des
tination on campus.
"I think it is a fun experience and really enjoy
doing it." Bliley said. "CJ and I have been doing it
for three years now and it really enhanced our
leadership abilities.
For four days before freshman arrive, orienta
CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION
Metzgar building completes "portal" to PSB
BY JENNA ABATE
For decades, the first experience many
students had at Penn State Behrend was
climbing cramped staircases in a farm
house and hitting their heads on its
wooden beams.
The students of the future, though, will
have the newest building on-campus to
look forward to: the Robert and Sally K.
Metzgar Admissions and Alumni Center.
The completed Metzgar building allows Admission and Alumni to work together in a new space
INDEX
News: 2-3 Opinion: 6
Culture: 4-5 Sports: 8-9
CONNOR SATTELY
editc)r-in-chief
BY ALEC ITALIANO
sports editor
The building, for which construction had
been completed this summer, provides
what college officials call a "portal" for
students: the first thing they see when
they arrive, and the first thing they see
when they come back.
Matt writer
"We finally have the front door that
matches the rest of the college," said An
drea Konkol, an Admissions Counselor
who has a new office in the building.
Konkol, who manages on-campus tours
and meets with prospective students, says
Amanda Stetz / The Behrend Beaco
"We lost a lot of time on a project which already
had a very quick pace," he said. "You have to think
about the process of figuring out what is salvageable
from the building, then salvaging it, then the cleanup,
the insurance, and then rebuilding the entire
Gazebo."
"It's been an incredible coordinated effort that's led
to the building's opening."
Much of the credit, says Miller, goes to Perry Con
struction Group Inc. and the Vice President of Oper
ations for the company, Dennis Dolph.
"[Dolph] has been unbelievable moving the con
struction along," said Miller. "He's done a great job
coordinating all of the subcontractors electrics,
plumbing, kitchen work and getting them all to
work in unison."
"I REALLY WANTED TO MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT"
tion leaders work on a variety of icebreaker sce
narios and work on making a good first impres
sion to parents and students arriving to Behrend
for the first time.
Senior finance major Caleb Rodgers has been
doing freshman orientation for three years. His
motive? Simply the kindness of his heart and the
traumatic experience he had while moving in four
years ago.
"When I first came to Behrend, no one was re
ally helping new students and I really wanted to
make a positive impact," Rodgers said. "Making
sure parents are comfortable with where their
kids are going and that they have the best individ
ual experience they can is what is most impor
tant."
By about mid-afternoon Sunday, orientation
leaders' responsibilities ease and they integrate
themselves back into the mainstream on campus,
but for two long days they are ambassadors to our
home.
8 5/6 5 mostly sunny
that having them go to the Glenhill Farm
house might have given visitors the wrong
first impression.
The $4.7 million construction project
took roughly 18 months to complete, and
has been in operation for several weeks,
according to Randy Geering, Director of
Operations for Penn State Behrend. Geer
ing also mentions a unique part of the
process was the involvement of architec
tural students from University Park, who
worked on the designs and execution of
the building, under the Metzgars' request.
Director of Admissions Mary-Ellen
Madigan is happy about her new offices
at least, it means she can stop using bath
tubs for storage.
"We had boxes of brochures in bath
tubs, shelves in bathrooms, pamphlets on
old inactive fireplaces," she said.
"It's really exciting because it gives us
more opportunities," she said. "We have a
presentation space, so we can do group
presentations without having to find an
open classroom or a conference room in
Reed or something. The space is right
here, and it's ready to use."
That space will prove even more valu
able to students as the year goes on.
"For current students, it's huge to have
the Registrar's Office, the Bursar's Office,
and the Financial Aid Office in one build
ing," Madigan said. "When students get
Dolph, however, was quick to shift the praise back
to Behrend.
"It's been great working with the school," he said.
"We couldn't have done it without their help and their
staff here. The architect of the building has been right
next to us to help us throughout the process too."
The workers worked ►2 to 14 hours a day, seven
days a week, said Dolph.
"It's a good group of people working here," he said.
"They work smart, and they want to get the job done.
They're so cooperative, and they know that they have
to work together."
The largest problem for the 60-strong staff of
workers, he said, has been one of materials.
Students were involved in the process as well, in
cluding a large contingent of student /lousing work-
here and have to deal with paying their
bills, instead of hopping between two
buildings it's all in one place, which is
going to be really nice for them."
For the Alumni Relations Office, the
new office space represents new opportu
nities as well as a new view on-campus.
Kristin Comstock, Associate Director of
Alumni Relations, says the Metzgar Cen
ter might help her office feel more "in
cluded."
"I used to have my office at the Logan
House," she said, referring to a building
on the far side of the Behrend fields,
roughly a 25 minute walk away from the
center of campus, "and at times that made
me feel a little removed from campus.
"Now, with my new office, foot traffic is
actually encouraged, and we're seeing a
lot more alumni on-campus."
That, in turn, will provide new oppor
tunities for the Alumni Office's new build
ingmates.
"Having the Alumni Office with us pro
vides some great ideas," says Madigan,
who has directed the Admissions Office
since 1990. "To be able to work collabora
tively, to he able to get alumni involved in
recruitment activities, that's invaluable.
"It's a warm and welcoming place, and
serves as a great front door for the cam
pus."
8 5/64 partly cloudy
ers who were responsible for moving things into the
building.
"It's not just building the structure," said Miller.
"You've got to think about moving in all of the equip
ment, setting up the dishes, getting all of the kitchen
equipment set up."
The building isn't 100 percent, says Miller, but stu
dents will be served a "normal lunch" on Friday.
Some parts of the building, such as the inner level
with conference rooms and a catering office, are not
completed. The staircase going through the building
will be closed for about the first month of the semes
ter Dolph expects to have it open in September.
Until then, students will have to walk around the
building to get in.
ADMINISTRATION
Birx settles
in to new
role as PSB
Chancellor
Chancellor Dr. Donald Birx spent the
past month and a half adjusting to not
only the administrative side of
Behrend, but also the culture of the stu
dents and faculty.
However, he did this by living as a
residential student in Ohio Hall for the
summer
While living on campus, Birx met
with a few students who did research
and took classes over the summer.
He observed the work of the re
searchers and got to know the students
better.
When he
was not in
meetings or
on campus,
Birx took the
time to ex-
and became
familiar with
the different
areas of Erie,
such as "I want to keep
Presque Isle Behrend the great
and the down- place it is for the
town area. students."
While his
time in the
summer has
been positive for Birx, he missed the vi
brant life that comes from the students
during the regular school year.
liked experiencing the city as well
as the campus life," Birx said. "I just
missed having all of the students here."
Before becoming chancellor of
Behrend, Birx was vice chancellor and
vice president for research for the large,
urban University of Houston.
Prior to his work at Houston, he
served as interim provost and vice
president for research as well as a pro
fessor of physics at a more rural New
Mexico State University.
With his experiences at two different
universities, Birx feels that it has
helped him understand the experiences
of students and the diversity of
Behrend.
"I was able to see two different per
spectives," said Birx. "I can relate to
both the commuter and residential stu
dents."
With the students moving in this
week, Birx has moved out of Ohio Hall.
Birz planned to live on campus
longer in Lawrence Hall, but he has
since secured a house in Harborcreek
and is expecting to move in this week
end.
"We were looking into moving me
into Lawrence Hall," said Birx. "But the
space was tight, and the housing needs
to go to the students first, not me."
'f
0 75 69 scattered T-storms
- ,
A
4 FULL FORECAST
Continued orpage 3
BY AMANDA STETZ
ne,t edam
- Donald Birx
Chancellor
Continued orpage 3
?RE 3