Vol 33, No. 1 Finally Library of the Future to be Reality Danielle C. Hollister & Bradley Schlegel Staff Writers Penn State Harrisburg will finally get a new library, thanks to $17.33 million in state capital budget funds, which former Gov. Robert P. Casey released on Jan. 13. According to a statement released by Penn State President Joab Thomas, the college is planning a campaign to raise an additional $2 million in pri vate gifts to build the long-awaited new facility. The proposed 115,000-square foot "Library of the Future" will fea ture new technologies, an increased number of books, journals, microfilm and other information resources. "It will include electronic ser vices that will serve us well into the 21st century,".,Dr. Harold Shill, Di rector of Library and Information Ser vices said. "It will be a state-of-the-art facility to accommodate new technol ogy. We want to prepare for the in crease in information through elec- Ironic facilities, such as fiber-optics. We will stress flexibility. We must be .H Celebrates lack History onth The Student Government Association and Student Activities Office of Penn State Harrisburg Ate celebrating February as Black History Month with performances by K.J James, who performed on the 7th, and Namu Lwanga who will appear at noon February 22, in the Gallery Lounge. Namu Lwanga will relate the cultural heritage of Africa through storytelling, dance, song and mime. She also uses a variety of instruments in her performance including the endango - an eight stringed bowl lyre, the akogo/ katimba - a thumb piano and the ndingidi - a tube fiddle. The Race for Provost Begins Jeff Wittmaier Staff Writer Provost and dean candidate Dr. Robert W. Carrubba told faculty and students in an open forum Jan. 23 that a provost should maintain a visible presence on the Penn State Harrisburg campus, as well as being a strong advocate for PSH concerns at University Park. Dr. Carrubba is the second of two candidates for the position of provost and dean of Penn State Harrisburg. He is currently serving as provost and vice chancellor at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, a position he has held since 1991. Dr. Carrubba discussed three pri mary things that the provost at Penn State Ilarrisburg has to do at this point in time. The first of these is maintain a clearly visible presence on campus, he said. The provost needs to spend a lot of time on campus mingling with the students, with the faculty and people in administration. lie also said that the person needs to find out what people want to do with the campus. "We need to be a university and to have the feel and the look of one, Carrubba said. The provost also needs to be a strong and agile representative of PSII at University Park, Dr. Carrubba said. "The people at University Park, and I am speakin g from some experi ence, do not understand what the mis sion of a metropolitan campus is," Dr. Carrubba said. He served as associate dean of ESEBEi able to prepare for technologies we can't yet comprehend, he said. "We have a space crisis," he said. "The current library was a patchwork process. We have a medium-sized library, and we need to expand that." The overcrowded conditions of the current library are not a new prob lem. According to Dr. Shill, the li brary became overcrowded in the mid -1970's and the annex was built in 1978 as a "band-aid" to the problem. Dr. Shill said the plans for the new library will stress flexibility and economy with the capability to handle things that the school hasn't even thought of yet. Some of the proposals include more growth in on-line data bases, four seminar rooms and two classrooms, one of which would be a multi-lingual classroom. The Pennsylvania Department of General Services will advertise for bids for the construction of the project and an architect should be chosen by April 1995. Actual construction is scheduled to begin in early 1997. The projected completion date is spring 999, with the dedication and opening n the summer of 1999. 14 1 Namu Lwanga the graduate school for the Pennsylva nia State University form 1981-1985. Dr. Carrubba also taught at the uni versity as an associate professor from 1%9-1974 and as a professor of clas sics form 1974-1985. The third thing that Dr. Cam►bba thought was required was a standard bearer and a fund-raiser in the greater Harrisburg area. "The position calls for someone who will proudly display the flag of Penn State Harrisburg and talk about what it is you are doing and what you have accomplished, because your ac complishments have gone unnoticed in the Harrisburg area," Dr. Cam►bba said. Dr. Camibba said that he felt that the releasing of funds for the library was a positive sign, but the need for a person who would be a strong fund raiser is very important. Paying attention to some national See "Carrubba" page 2 Current students had differing reactions to the announcement. "I think funding is good, but by the time it's completed I won't be able to benefit from it because I will have already graduated," Allison Bowman, a junior business major, said. "This was something the univer sity needed," said A.J. Arfanella, a junior engineering major. "With the current library doing any research is Jeff Wittmaier Staff Writer Penn State Harrisburg Provost candidate Dr. Marilyn J. Boxer pro posed a concept of excellence beget ting excellence at an open forum on Monday, Jan. 16, in which staff, fac ulty and students met with her to ask questions. In response to a question about Gov. Torn Ridge's remark that a ma jor university was needed in Harris burg, Dr. Boxer, who is currently the vice president of academic affairs at San Francisco State University, ex plained that there are many things that can be done to get PSH the respect that it deserves. "If we treat the students well and make them feel like they have a home at Penn State Harrisburg, then they will circulate that to their friends and word will get around that we are a really good school," Dr. Boxer said. "We need to create a user friendly environment. Penn State Harrisburg has a lot of different types of students, many who are returning adults or stu dents who have to pay their own way through college, if we can make it as easy on them as possible then Penn State Harrisburg will get more recog nition from the community. What's interesting is the small scale, create linkages and get to know everyone, that scale helps students learn better and get to know the faculty." Dr. Boxer said that this is a com petitive market for higher education and PSH needs to bring on a strong sense of identity for the campus. ii=!!!El Artist's concept of the new library difficult at best." Shill pointed out that the new facililty will have plenty of desk space and should eliminate the current over crowding of students looking for quiet. "That's what sounds most appeal ing to me," said junior engineering major Gregg Wybranski. "I need peace and quiet to study. I go [to Heindel] a lot, but finding a seat can be difficult sometimes." t 44 ....., The major point that Dr. Boxer made was that "excellence brings in excellence." "If we provide the best of every thing that we can and all the faculty and the students to get the most out of Penn State llarrisburg than we will be breeding excellence," Dr. Boxer said. "Penn State Harrisburg needs to be more of a presence in the commu nity," Dr. Boxer said: "The fact that the money was released for the library shows promise. If we could build a great library, Penn State Harrisburg will have a sense of presence that community doesn't give us a t thi s point." Dr. Boxer has been a vice presi dent at San Francisco State University since 1989. Before that she was dean of the college of arts and letters at San Diego University from 1985-1989. Dr. Boxer received her under graduate degree in history from the See "Boxer" on page 2 ' A Press Photo Dr. Marilyn J. Boxer Beth Ebersole, a junior commu nications major, said, "I think it will be an improvement to the school." "I won't he here. I don't really care," Michelle Smith, a junior husi ness major, said. According to Dr. Shill, the tuition will probably not increase as a result of the construction because it is funded by the state capital budget. The uni versity has been anticipating the fund ing since 1977. "It has been a slow and arduous process," Shill said. Gov. Casey signed the capital budget bill on December 29, 1994, which was two days before the end .o'' 0 0 0. of-the-year deadline. "We are deeply grateful that Gov. Casey has made this commitment to the future of the Capital Region, which increasingly will depend on the qual ity and capacity for service for its leading university," Dr. Thomas said in a statement released Jan. 13. "This new facility will strengthen the part nership between Penn State Harris burg and southcentral Pennsylvania." The new library may also offer new employment opportunities as Humanities Department Mourns the Loss of Two Dr. Robert G. Crist and Dr. Francis L. Ferguson, both long-time members of the Humanities department faculty, died at the end of January. Dr. Ferguson, 62, a professor of humanities and architecture since 1971, died after a brief illness. The author of several academic books on architecture, Dr. Ferguson also served as the chairman for the graduate pro gram in urban and regional planning. According to Dr. William J. Mahar, head of the Humanities Division, Dr. Ferguson's breadth of knowledge made him an important asset to the department. "We will be hard pressed to replace his courses in the history of architec- tune, modern architecture, historic preservation, modernism in the arts, and many others," Mahar said. "But, we will miss him the most as a person whose quiet ways and subtle humor made him such a good colleague." Prior to joining the faculty at PSII, Dr. Ferguson was a professor at Co lumbia University's School of Archi tecture, in New York City. Be re ceived his bachelor's degree in archi tecture from the University of Notre Dame, and earned his doctorate from Columbia University. Dr. Ferguson also served with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in France, where he received an Army Commendation for his work design ing facilities for the selection ceremony of the Unknown Soldier for World ?:, SI 0 0 ~.. 4 February 16, 1995 well. According to Dr. Shill, the li brary has given up the position of head of Technical Services and one technical services clerk. The library has been recruiting a Reference Li brarian with perhaps a Government Documents Specialty. If Penn State Harrisburg becomes a Depository, a government documents clerk would also be needed. The other positions include a spe cial collections curator or librarian and an engineering reference librar "We are only now beginning to address the question of jobs," Dr. Shill But he said he would like to see extra circulation assistants, full-time staff supervising on evenings and weekends, an outreach librarian to address community needs and possi bly on-line data-bases for the commu nity on a per use charge. The tentative location of the new library is either across from the sci ence and technology building directly in front of the Olmsted building or further up the hill toward the CUB See "Library" page 2 Erik Mikael Hein Reporter War II Europe at the American Cemetary and Memorial in Epinal. Dr. Crist, 70, was a prominent local historian and community leader who taught American studies at PSII for 14 years. He was also the state coordina tor of a Congress-sponsored educa tion project on the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He held a bachelor's degree from Dickinson College and a masters and doctorate We wIU miss him the most Parann whose ' quiet ways an übt'le humor made him such ood eolleague." Dr. Malin J. Aloha. on Dr. Fergus° from Penn State According to Dr. Mahar, Dr. Crist was also very important to the depart ment. "We will miss his many eye witness accounts of local politics, historical facts about local towns and villages, encouragement for students interested in exploring their family histories, and so many more little things characteris tic of his learning and dedication to history," Mahar said. Also according to Dr. Mahar, Dr. Crist, in later years, was noted in the department for the support he gave his son Jeff, who suffered from brain can- This ".. . was an example of pater nal love, Christian charity, and firm See "Sad Times," page 3
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers