The Capital Times Vol 32, No. 2 Provost Leventhal steps down after Says institution improved under her leadership Yvette Martin Staff Writer Provost and Dean Ruth Leventhal will be leaving Penn State-Harrisburg at the end of the calendar year, but will continue to pursue a university teaching career in biology. She is "stepping down from adminis tration," not retiring from the academic life, she said. Leventhal has been provost and dean here for 10 years here, outlasting the average dean stay of 21/2 years. Although she said she feels the insti tution has improved under her leadership, she feels it is time to move on. The decision to step down enables Dr. Leventhal to pursue her main interest: biology. With her Ph.D. in Parasitology, (the study of parasites), she plans to join the staff at Hershey Medical Center. Multi-media enhancements ready PSH for future Renee Jackson Staff Writer Penn State Harrisburg has a new pro gram of multimedia and communications re sources that will help students to access infor mation and assist instructors in enhancing their teaching presentations. Howard Sachs, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, said that teh program began with Dean-Provost Ruth Leventhal, made a commitment to connect all faculty at Penn Statc Ilarrisburg to the Univer sity Park mainframe. `That gives everybody access to the so-called 'lnformation Super Highway' ," Sachs explained. The plan developed from this com mitment into a project that involves an on campus multimedia development center, spe cial multi-media-enhanced classrooms, elec tronic mail, and new CD ROM databases in the library, Sachs said. `The real power of multimedia is to take a subject that is difficult to teach and bring it alive," Sachs said. Penn State Harrisburg students will benefit from this project with multimedia enhanced classrooms such as the one already in operation in 211 Olmsted. "Those classrooms are examples of what we're going to do more of in the future," Sachs explained. He also said that at least one more classroom of this type will probably be established this year. Students will also have the use of another part of the project, a CD-ROM local PSH offers special health servi Matt Fisher Staff Writer The Health Services Office (located at w-102 Olmsted) provides a wide variety of services to students. Health Services allows students to acquire information regarding per sonal health care, dealing with illnesses, pro moting good health, nutrition, acquiring medi cation, accessing medical attention, and cur rent issues and events in health care. One of the many services available to students is the self-treatment center in the lobby of the Health Services Office. The self treatment center is a walk in lobby which students can access from Monday through Thursday from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The facility allows students to conveniently stop by and pick up non-prescription medication, coupons for medication, and information on file in the following areas: Women's Health, Men's Health, Breast Health, HIV/AIDS, Nutrition, Minority Health, and Pregnancy. Students are also encouraged to fill out a Self- Assessment Checklist to determine whether they should schedule an appointment or sim ply pick up some medication or information. The Health Services Office at PSH serves over 5,000 patients a year, that's 25-30 students each day it is open. Injuries treated typically include trauma, burns, bike injuries, sports injuries, and contagious illnesses with Leventhal came to PSH from Hunter College in New York City, where she was Dean of the School of Health Sciences and Professor of Medical Sciences. She also served as Acting Dean of the School of Allied Medi cal Professions at the University of Pennsyl vania. Leventhal has earned several awards in science and has a M.B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She is also co author of "Medical Parasitology: A Self instructional Text." Leventhal said she has dedicated her life to higher learning for herself and her students. Her advice to PSH students is: "Be passionate about your career; love what you are doing. It's your only chance for success." She takes pride in three specific ac tivities of her administration here: the recruit ment of excellent faculty, the physical devel opment of the campus and the outreach pro grams that created more partnerships with the area network in the library. It will allow them to call up databases such as Modem Language Association papers, dissertation abstracts, ERIC (an educational database), and several in business. The databases will offer thou sands of pages of infolination on each CD. In addition to being able to use the Electronic Mail system from dorm rooms and homes to access campus databases and to perform other types of communications, stu dents will soon be able to call up their own records, with a program called OASIS. They will be able to access information such as a degree audit and the courses they need for graduation, Sachs said. This will "allow you to be little more in charge of your education," he explained. For faculty, the new multimedia en hancements will serve many purposes, includ ing a training application, Ken Voneida of Penn State Harrisburg's Whitaker Multimedia Development Center said. Both campus faculty and teachers from some area school districts will be able to "create interactivity between the students and the instructor," Voneida explained. The new Whitaker Multimedia De velopment Center, funded by the local Whitaker Foundation and the college, was established over the summer in W-311 Olmsted. The room is now a resource center serving two purposes—support for the facutly here as well as for three area school districts: Middletown Area, Steelton-Highspire and Har risburg. "Projects that used to take teams of individuals years to do can now be accom- symptoms such as stuffiness, sore throat, and headaches. In addition to these daily services, Health Services also has clinics offering blood pressure screenings, Flu immunizations, and TB (Tuberculosis) Tine Tests. Flu immuniza tions are especially important for students to keep in mind because living in crowded cam pus conditions allows the flu to spread very quickly and easily. This year, students should devote special attention to flu immunizations because two new strains have occurred in addition to the already existing strain. It is also important for education students and other students who will be spending time in public schools to have recent Tuberculosis Test re sults. Health Services at PSH has also recently be come affiliated with The Family Medicine Center of Middletown. Through this affilia tion, students can now access the attention of a Medical Doctor by appointment from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thurs days. The benefits of having MDs available are almost unlimited. Medical Doctors can provide counseling and services regarding stress related issues, for which they can order prescriptions such as anti-depressants. They can also provide services to students who require assistance in dealing with Upper Res piratory Infections (bad colds) and Sinusitis in cases in which non-prescription medication has not cured the cold within 7 days. They are CARPE DIEM Dr. Ruth Leventhal resi, local community Leventhal would like to see the school continue its current development. She said she plished in months," William Henk, Division Head of Behavior Sciences and Education, said of the center. Henk is in charge of the development of the center. The center currently uses both IBM and Macintosh platforms for teachers' use. With the resources available, teachers can develop ideas into applications they can use in their classrooms, or wherever they wish to use them, Voneida, who operates the center, said. The center provides software that can be integrated from many different types of sources such as animation, carts, photos and illustrations, The software has three dimensional capability. Also 'self-contained' software is provided for the school districts (who are working mainly in the area of mathematics) so that students can make private use of learning materials, Henk said. Technology software and instruc tional design work together in the multimedia center project, Henk explained. Teachers from the area schools involved in the project were brought here over the summer to learn how toouse the resources. The Whitaker Multimedia Develop ment Center, a key part of the overall multime dia and communications enhancement project at Penn State Harrisburg, will have a dedica tion later this fall. Meanwhile, both students and faculty will have the current resources for a wide variety of uses. "I would like to see faculty utilize this in their instructional curriculum; it's some thing that is capable of presenting ideas in a way that is more understandable," Voneida said of the center at W-311. ces for students also available for consultation and assistance with STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases), general health issues, and treating injuries which require the attention of a Medical Doc tor. Reproductive Health Issues are also at tended to and prescriptions relative to such can also be filled. In the event of an illness or accident that could be classified as an urgent, non-emergency, students should schedule an appointment at The Family Medicine Center of Middletown as soon as possible if the Health Services Office is not available or closed. The center offers reduced student rates and is open until 8:00 p.m. daily. As with the Health Services Office, students need to make sure to call ahead and schedule appointments. Other services offered by Health Services in clude nutrition seminars and counseling (by request). This month, Health Services will also be sponsoring a Weight Watchers pro gram on campus beginning September 27th. The group will be meeting from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Tuesdays for ten weeks in the EAB. Students interested in the program must pre-register with Health Services and are in vited to call with any questions or concerns. During the week of September 19-22, from 5:45 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., the University Physi cians Center, in conjunction with the Hershey Medical Center, offered free prostate screen ings. Prostate Cancer is the second most Health Services continued on page 2 hopes her successor will maintain the growth that she believes has taken place under her leadership. But Leventhal's tenure at PSI-I has not always been tranquil. She has sometimes had a tense relationship with The Capital Times, PSI-I's student newspaper. The resignation of Humanities Pro fessor and Capital Times adviser Peter Parisi over after being denied tenure in 1993 left some PSH students disgruntled. According to Leventhal, the story about Parisi in the last issue of The Capital Times was incorrect. "I was misquoted, and I am unhappy with that article," Leventhal said. "Dr. Parisi seems to he a martyr for the students; he was well liked." Staff Photo In the Sept. 14 article, Dr. Leventhal is said to have refused Dr. Parisi's tenure because he did not do enough research and publication. Problems in Meade Heights Cathy Nolan Campus maintenance and housing policies are among several student concerns addressed recently by Joanne Coleman, man ager of Housing and Food Services. In an interview with The Capital Times, Coleman discussed several issues con cerning campus maintenance, including hous ing repairs reports and new policies on oppo site sex housing in Meade Heights. Coleman said that housing and main tenance are totally self-supporting, relying fully on the housing charges paid by students each semester to pay salaries, and all repair costs. All expenses are covered from this fund, including lawn maintenance, repairs to all houses, and full-time salaries for herself, four maintenance workers, and all employees I 1 Poison [ivy] is only poison to people who have an allergy to it ft - Joanne Coleman, Manager of Health and Food Services In reponse to why the campus doesn't spray for poison ivy in Meade Heights in a September 22, 1994 interview, 10 year stay at PSH Staff Writer Capital Times editor Erik Mein re sponded to the charge, saying that Leventhal never commented about the original article concerning Parisi's resignation in September 1993. Parisi told the Capital Times that the lack of research and publication were the reasons Leventhal gave him for his tenure denial. A reported rape at the Capital 1. anion Building last year during daylight hours also brought some controversy to campus. Leventhal still calls the incident "very strange" and said she continues to be puzzled and concerned that no one heard or saw any thing related to the assault. She referred any other questions about the incident to Police Services. A search is currently underway for Leventhal's sucu.ssor. About 120 people have applied for the position so far. The new provost and dean should be in place at the beginning of the 1995-96 school year. of the dining hall and the Lions' Den. have been neglected, such as windows not latch ing, or not closing at all, or holes in walls or ceilings, Coleman said many of these prob lems are subcontracted out to other compa- "At the beginning of school, when we clean, we try to look for repairs, but since we don't live in the house, you don't always notice things," Coleman said. "'When you clean during the day, you don't notice that this switch doesn't work, or that light doesn't work." Coleman said that although the last few weeks have been busy, most work orders requested on check-in forms have been com pleted, with the help of the four-person, full time maintenance staff, and additional help brought in to clean the Meade Heights resi- Meade Heights" continued on page 2 October 5, 1994 Erik Hein
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