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VOLUME XXXVII NO. 3
Four To Receive
Medallion Awards
Penn State President Dr. John
W. Oswald will present the
Medallion Award at a dinner to
be held at the Kahkwa Club, Oc
tober 22, 1981. Dean Lilley ex
plained that Penn State does not
give out honorary degrees but, in
stead, bestows Medallion
Awards. The award is given to
people and their families who
have made outstanding contribu
tions in their field. The recipients
of the award are: Donald M.
Alstadt, president of Lord Cor
poration; Mrs. Harriet Behrend
Nbiow, whose former home is
now Behrend College; Robert C.
Reed, retired General Electric
executive; and Allyn S. Wright,
Chairman of the Board, Reed
Manufacturing Co.
Alstadt has been recognized
throughout the world for his work
Lord Corporation and for his
writings on management,
technology and innovation. He
frequently lectures both here and
abroad. He is a giaduate of the
University of Pittsburgh and
holds an Honorary Science
Degree. Mr. Alstadt serves as a
member of the Behrend College
Council of Fellows.
Mrs. Ninow, Reed and Wright
are being honored especially for
their contributions to the
establishment and growth of
Behrend College. Mrs. Ninow is
the daughter of Ernst and Harriet
Behrend, whose former home,
Glenhill Farm, is now Behrend
College. In the mid-forties, Mrs.
Behrend donated the 425-acre
estate to Penn State as a
memorial to her husband, a
founder of Hammermill Paper
Co., for the establishment -of a
Penn State campus.
Mrs. Ninow has been an active
member of the Junior League
and.the Red Cross, and during the
war served as a nurses' aid. She
is a former member of the
Major Pigott and members of the Behrend ROTC are shown here on
their rappeling trip Saturday. According to member Pat Sedlak, the trip
was "a great success."
Behrend Council of Fellows, a
post once held by her mother and
now by her son, Richard.
Reed, a native of Erie, is a
graduate of Carnegie Institute of
Technology. For 40 years until his
retirement in 1963 he served in a
variety of positions with General
Electric, including assistant
branch manager of the Erie
Works, and the in executive posi
tions with the company in
Scluiectady and New York City
executive headquarters.
Reed is a former member and
vice president of the Behrend Ad
visory Board (now Council of
Fellows), and in 1953 served as
chairman of the capital fund
raising committee for the con
struction of Erie Hall, the first
new building added to the cam
pus. For his efforts he was the
recipient of a "Penn State
Chair." The J. Elmer Reed
Building at Behrend is named in
honor of his father, -an Erie at
torney and historian.
Wright, also an Erie native,
was a member of the committee
working to bring to Erie a na
tionally recognized college" to
round out educational,:bppor
tunities for thp - youth or• Erie;
resulting in._ P-enn State's
establishment - of the - Behrend
campus. He became a member
of the First Advisory Board, serv
ing as an officer for many years
and president for two years. He
is now a life fellow of the present
Council of Fellows.
This is only the fifth time the
Medallion has been presented at
Behrend. Previous recipients
are: Irvin H. Kcchel, director of
Behrend for 26 years (1980);
Msgr. Wilfred J. Nash, former
president of the Gannon College
(1977); Dr. Russell P. Roth, past
president of the American
Medical Association (1975); and
Skylab Astronaut Paul J. Weitz
(1973).
STATION ROAD, ERIE, PA. 16563
Provost At Behrend
Behrend College has $500,000
from University Park, providing
it can match these funds from
private sources, according to
University Provost Edward D.
Eddy.
Eddy spoke to students and
faculty in separate sessions Tues
day morning on topics ranging
from inconsistencies in Com
monwealth Campus programs to
l3ehrend's future role in the Erie
community.
Described in an introduction by
Dean Harshbarger as "the chief
academic officer of the Universi
ty," Dr. Eddy said later that his
job involves much more, in
cluding student affairs, all cam
pus libraries, and the Com
monwealth campuses.
"Everything except the Medical
Center," noted Dr. Eddy.
The first student at the early
discussion complained about
what he saw as a discrepancy
between courses taught at
New
History Majo
By Steve Repasy
The latest in History at
Behrend is a realigned major in
the field of study. The four-year
program is more structured and
now offers a choice of two
degrees. According to Associate
Professor of History Dr. Daniel
Frankforter, "for students who
enter Behrend with no specific
career goals in mind it makes
sense to get a broad based type of
education .at the undergraduate
level, and leave specialization for
a time in the future."
The objective of a new major is
to prepare students uniformly,
requiring the student study all
major periods of European and
American history, general trends
and outlines of events that shaped
our past. Similarity between the
degrees ends here. The student
opting for a 8.A., in addition to
the core of history course is re
quired to pick up a language op
tion. This degree has changed lit
tle from what was offered
previously, which were approved
last July and are in effect at
present.
The B.S. option is unique to
Behrend. The courses are not of
fered at any other Penn State
campus, and..but a handful of
schools across the nation. Re
quirements include courses in
statistics at the 200 level, and an
introduction to computer science,
plus a special course that de- 1s
with applying statistics. These
courses are substituted for the
language option, which is not re
quired for this degree.
New this year is a senior 400
level course that consolidates and
puts to use skills learned in
previous courses. They are
taught mostly in the libraries of
various Commonwealth cam
puses, and those taught at
University Park. Eddy respond
ed by saying that the course
structures within the Penn State
system were "filled with am
biguity," but added that he
couldn't "think of anything worse
than having twenty-two cam
puses stamped out exactly
alike." Eddy said that no two sec
tions of a course have to be taught
alike, even at University Park.
Another important issue which
came up at the student discussion
was whether or not students
should have to pay a mandatory
activities fee. Eddy said that the
University's Board of Trustees
attempt to adhere to a policy of
only one fee (tuition) for
academic and co-curricular
services.
Responding to the Collegian's
question of poor funding for stu
dent organizations, Eddy said
that two years ago funding was
increased "one-hundred per
cent," and said, "there's a
chance we may increase it again,
the local museum and historical
rsociety. The course involves in
vestigating several historical
sites around the area in search of
raw data to be compiled into a
senior research project. Design
ed to get the student out of the
classroom, the class provides
students with the opportunity to
gain experience in working with
actual data, to really "do
History."
Job opportunities are as
diverse as student interests. The
major emphasizes communica
tion and analytical skills in
valuable to the student whether
they choose to continue their
education, seeks placement in the
government or foreign services,
or employment in the private
business sector. Both degrees
serve as an excellent jumping off
points for entrance to graduate or
professional school as well.
A graduate with a B.A. could
teach, do research, or obtain a
position with one of the many
companies that have foreign
holdings - where the language op
tion and a solid background in the
development of country and
culture in Europe would prove
invaluable.
Students opting for the B.S.
degree, with its special
background, can look forward to
opportunities in fields such as
contemporary and economic
history, that require the resear
cher to sift through and critique
huge amounts of data, as well as
the business and educational
fields.
Interest in the new major,
especially the B.S. degree, has
been healthy so far, and is ex
pected to grow as students
become acquainted with the pro
gram. Seen as a viable option to
some of the more specialized, and
Continued on page 4
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1981
although I wouldn't promise it."
At the faculty meeting follow
ing the student's session, the Pro-•
vost elaborated upon topics
discussed earlier. Faculty ap
peared to show many of the same
concerns that students had,
specifically, the need for an ade
quate library for an expanding
school, and new athletic and
recreational facilities.
Eddy then said that $500,000 in
funds were available from
University Park, providing
Behrend could come up with the
same amount from private
sources. At this point, Eddy noted
Behrend's lack of success in this
area in the past.
At the faculty meeting, Eddy
also praised Dean Lillie, saying
that the U.P. administration is
"delighted with the leadership
John Lillie is providing at
Behrend." Eddy also said that
right now Behrend is in a "transi
tional period," and that Behrend
should strive to make itself more
visible as the high 3s t quality
academic school in the Erie area.
Punkin'
Party
By Chuck Beckman
"How often does Halloween fail
on a Saturday?" asks Student
Union Manager Chris Reber.
With this in mind, the S.U.B. has
plans to make Halloween not-so
hallowed this year at Behrend.
Featured the night of October
31 will be a "Rock & Roll Jam
boree." The action will begin at p
p.m. in the Gorge Cafeteria as the
"Cyclones," described as an "up
and coming band," will play a set
prior to the appearance of the "X-
White", the featured group of the
night.
Following the "Cyclones," the
"X
-Whites", authors of twenty
songs and five mispelled words
on their press release, will
enlighten the Behrend audience
with their own brand of music.
Described as "essentially
punk," the "X
-Whites" have a
moderate repertoire, with tunes
ranging from the Beatles' "Twist
& Shout" to "Somethin' Else" by
Sid Vicious.
At 1 a.m., following the "X-
Whites," night people can attend
two horror flicks across the hall
from the Gorge. "Count
Dracula" and "Phantom of the
Opera" will run in the Reed Lec
ture Hall as the last official
events of the night.
Of course, some Behrend
students may dare to brave Count
Dracula and watch the sun come
up the following morning. But
after the X-Whites, the movies,
and bobbing for apples in a vat of
Wild Turkey, the student may
find himself unconscious long
before the Count has to be.