The Capital. Tunes Vol. 34, No.l CRAGS building undergoes changes for this semester Tina Shearer Staff Writer Are you wondering what hap pened to the registrar's office? On July 27, the admissions office and the registration office relocated to the C R.A.G.S. building, combin ing to become Enrollment Services at Penn State Harrisburg. Renovations to C.R.A.G.S. have been under way all summer to pre pare for the merger. The concept of enrollment ser vices is to bring together the major services for students that are interre lated into one area. "We did not just physically move, it is a whole revolution in the regis tration process," explains Dr. Thomas I. Strevler, Director of Enrollment Services. Students gather materials (and food) from an information table at orientation. Malaysian students respond to uniquely American experiences at By Danielle Hollister Staff Reporter foundation within that program to provide training and education for their citizens, which is how the stu- Imagine coming to a new country dents were able to study in Canada where you're surrounded by new and now here at PSH, . people with a different culture and at Dr. Ray and Dr. Ed Minnick, for the same. takingfive or six col- mer director , developed ector,Office theof Continuing legelev timeel courses crammed into a Education connection six week session. between the Canadian_colleges A a n n n d gilivittoit PS H 0 „„„„„,,,,,„,„„„„„,,,,,,pwomvaglik..„,,,,, Verobish, the ogMlPi!ilqillt!lirS6l2tal 1111,4diii*, ,filorril 611 jill Anot ocneummfth,:,:;.,a;:,:,„ l4 1 former intern% .4..'116 1000 (6111 1 ti , *j ,1 ;,i..... i,..,Pi li r 6 1 60 , 1;11h th tion p al sll adv s i tu so d r en a t tllll,,,,i....miiiiillyitiiitierl#4,4ll'.-.4al'i!l Im e • ,4.ollprtin'iinot'-'. 61168#14:11P1 A s s i s t a n c e liummitiAlit .0rmr ,,, r77.1 , ,,:,.. , ,,,....„ , ,,r4 1 1 ,1 , 1 !lit-406A .4. ''' 1 601Mitilinit , eti i d l I Center, prepared #611i 11401 .e::..r..!.::1:116,„d01.,,,,,„..,..i„ti1..kifiviriat , f or th e arrival of ni.' ' O l i n g' --- .7. 4 riii ; llli,Hoifi 10011 the Malaysianh Il i Ilitlii,. 60f :brit M i gt4ilP o .o,llllilt f ill students, .w o it t ikin ..'h.....gliailitliiiititent,HßT' are all Muslim. l'""'• 7 0 7 1"' . 141 1 *itllllllll 1, „ Some of her 1,1 :11111; i 1!i11 ' i 1 !111!.,11Y...1111i11iga.1..,1i......,,Lia1ii1ii, 1,,,;,th0iii.:1111,411011,... That is the oi challenge that 37 '' Malaysian engi neering students faced his stun- heavy class load will continue for Ai the next 16 months to allow them to graduate g l with bachelor's 1,1,1 degrees in 1996. Before coming to PSI-1, the Malaysian students had already earned associate's degrees in engi neering technology in their home land. They also spent six semesters studying in Canada for a three-year diploma in engineering technology. The 37 students attended four differ ent colleges in the Toronto area. "The transition from Toronto to here was a little difficult," Fuad Zakaria, 25, mechanical engineer ing, said. "I made some good friends in Canada and now I have to start all over again. It's going to be tough to make new friends." Another challenge for foreign stu dents is communicating with American students. "Sometimes it is difficult to communicate. Something I say might not be cool or it might hurt someone else [unin tentionally]. Some people do not understand how hard it is," Zakaria said. The Malaysian students are part of a Vision 2020 program created by their government which has set a goal to become a powerful industri al nation by that year, Dr. Guatum Ray, director, School of Science, Engineering and Technology, explained. The Malaysian govern ment has developed an education Ideally, a student will be able to apply to the college, have transcripts sent and leave with a course sched ule all from enrollment services. "It is like one stop shopping," adds Dr. Strevler. Since Dr. Strevler's hiring early last spring semester, he has been looking at the idea of creating one unit to handle both the admission and registration functions at PSH. The idea really took off when the library needed more space in order to better serve the students until the new library is completed. Dr. Kiffer, Interim Provost and Dean during the 1995 Spring semes ter, decided that the space occupied by the registrar's office would be large and close enough to also house the processing functions of the library. Atomib - responsibilites included finding markets that offered hala-butchered meat which is part of the Muslim diet and find ing mosques for them to worship in. Verobish found three local mosques in Oberlin, Wormleysbuig and Enola. She also gave the students the names of a few butchers in Lemoyne and Mechanicsburg, as well as the location of hala-grocery stores in Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Baltimore. The Malaysian students said thr have traveled Washington stock up on ti hala-meat, whit is part of the] religious belief They said th, they can eat oda things like fif and eggs that ai offered here on campus. Verobish also conducted an orien tation program to introduce the stu dents to this area. She said she was amazed when she arranged to take them to downtown Harrisburg a few days after they had arrived at PSH and when they got to Strawberry Square, the Malaysian students told her they had already been there the Obititus Dictum With the registrar's office needing a new home, the plan to implement an enrollment services was put into action To create space for enrollment services in C.R.A.G.S, the Ben Franklin Technology Center and the Agriculture Extension Service were moved from C.R.A.G.S. to the building that admissions was locat ed. They were moved closer to the entrance of campus because they are both affiliated with off-campus con stituencies. Admissions could then be merged with registration and move into the newly renovated area in C.R.A.G. S. The new location of these once separate departments will take some adjusting for students, faculty and staff alike. ' J' ' 'l .' ,''iP .. ;, i i,•, , :•'l''!' i ' ' ''il i ii' ' ' ' ' ' day before. "They took it upon themselves to travel downtown. They figured out the public transportation system without our help," Verobish said. The public transportation system in Middletown is not as extensive as the system in Toronto. This was intially somewhat of a problem for the Malaysian students. Now at least five of the 37 students have bought cars which makes it easier for them to get around. One adven turous guy even bought a Harley- Davidson. Twelve other students have bought bicycles. According to most of the staff members who have dealt with the students, they are very independent, self-sufficient and eager to learn. Donna Howard, who is the inter im international advisor, said, "They are very anxious to learn about our different cultures and they want to learn as much as they can about everything around them." "I truly enjoyed working with the students. They were a joy to be with," Verobish said. The Malaysian students represent the largest sir 41c contingent of inter national students to enroll at the school. "These students are part of Malaysia's vision for the future and PSH is now part that nation [ding," Dr. said. "This mite exciting our faculty." `The chal ige was to •,kage the cur ulum," Dr. • said. "Most idents have advanced standing in some areas and deficiencies in others. After evaluating the curricula of the four colleges, the requirements for the Malaysians will range from 53 to 65 credits here at PSH." The students have an intense pro gram in order to complete their degree early. "It's good to finish Continued on Page 4 "This will force us to make better use of technology because we are not where we used to be," comments Dr. Strevler. "One of the characteristics of PSU sees changes in leadership President Thomas retires, PSH welcomes new Provost/Dean A change of command is happen ing at Penn State University. The President of the University, Dr. Joab Thomas, will prepare to retire on Aug. 31, 1995. President-elect Graham Spanier, chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has been elect ed to succeed Dr. Thomas. Dr. Spanier first became a part of the Penn State faculty in 1973. He was an assistant professor of human development and sociolo gy. Spanier then transfered to become a part of the academic administration in 1977. Prior to serving at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he served as provost and vice president for Departing interim provost describes the best-kept secret in PA education new, PSH Seven months ago I was enjoying retirement from Penn State University. 1 had been retired three and one-half years when I received a tele phone call from the executive vice president and provost asking me if I would consider giving up my retire ment to come to Penn State Harrisburg as Interim Provost and Dean After much thought and consideration, I agreed to trade my retirement for the chalenge of serving as the chief adminis trator of what was to me a relatively unknown entity. That decision has proven to be one of the most pivotal actions of my entire life. Now I have turned the leadership of Penn State Harrisburg to Dr. John Bruhn, newly arrived from his most recent assignment as vice president for academic affairs at the University of Texas, El Paso. Before I leave the Capital Region, I want to share some of my impressions with you. I want also to thank the resi dents of greater Harrisburg for the warm reception and genuine hospitality which have been extended to me. I want to thank the students, faculty and staff at Penn State Harrisburg for their warm response to my efforts to make the col lege a better place in which to live and learn. One of the first impressions I gained was that Penn State Harrisburg is the best-kept secret in the entire university and in higher education in Pennsylvania. Quality, realistically priced university edu cation is available to the citizens of Harrisburg and the Capital Region through remarkably co-operative efforts involving the two-year Commonwealth Campus System, Harrisburg Area Community College and Penn State Harrisburg. By Joy Maatman Staff Reporter By Theodore E. Kiffer Theodore Kiffer technology is that it begins to make distance a transparent issue," points out Dr. South. People will use E-mail and fax machines more frequently to com- demic affairs at Oregon State University. He has also served as vice provost for undergraduate studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and as associate dean for resident instruction in the then, College of Human Development. Spanier will assume his responsi bilities Sept. 1, 1995 and is sched uled to visit Penn State Harrisburg early in 1996. Penn State Harrisburg has also seen a change in leadership this summer. Dr. John G. Bruhn assumed his position as provost and dean on July 1, 1995. Bruhn was formerly the vice president of academic affairs and research at the University of Texas at El Paso. Farewell & Hello municate from building to building. Technology will also allow the student to have more input over his/her education. The introduction of touch-tone registration, personal E-mail accounts, and Gopher are just some of the ways students can be more informed and active in their educa tional planning. t Enrollment Services works under A the philosophy of impowerment, "enpowering faculty, staff and stu .s dents too give them more control over the registration and informa tion process," Dr. Strevler said. For most, it means, "learning new organizational patterns and work place behaviors," Dr. South com ments. Dr. South urges returning students to look at it as, "different, but better. Bruhn was with the University of Texas system for almost 25 years. In 1972, he was appointed associ ate dean for community affairs at the University of Texas Medical Branch. In 1981, he became dean of the medical branch. Prior to this experience he began his career at University of Nebraska School of Medicine as a researcher. Bruhn then moved on to Yale University where he received sev eral academic appointments. He later took a position with the University . of Oklahoma Health Services Center. Bruhn plans to give Penn State Harrisburg a more friendly, cam pus environment and invites par ticipation from students and facul ty. At the Spring 1995 commencement, Penn State Harrisburg conferred five doc torates, 90 master's degrees and 400 baccalaureate degrees. As an upper divi sion college, offer ing course work only to junior and seniors and graduate stu dents, Penn State Harrisburg provides local residents who start at Harrisburg Area Community College or else where the opportu nity to complete their college studies while continuing to meet the other responsibilities of life such as working or raising a family. The high quality programs attract other stu dents who attend full-time. Colleges exist because of students who desire an education. Because I lived in student housing and ate in the Dining Commons with students during the three or four or five days I spent in Harrisburg each week, I became well acquainted with number of students. I have never been an "ivory tower" administrator, far removed from the student body, so I tried to meet other students - the commuters and evening students as well. The Penn State Harrisburg student body is a most heterogeneous group of people. Typical juniors and seniors, parents, government workers and professionals of all interests and ranks mingle together in a common quest for knowledge and skills and create a wonderful learning environment. I like to think I leave something of myself in Harrisburg; but I know that lam taking something away. lam taking with me the knowledge that a few miles down the river from center city Harrisburg lies Penn State Harrisburg - a student body to make any university proud, and a univer sity to make a city proud. I have learned this in seven short months and I want to let you in on the secret as I depart. (This article was reprinted from The Patriot-News with the permission of the author.) September 1, 1995
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