Editor's Comments
By Kelly Nagurny
Assistant Editor
kxnl63@psu.edu
Here we are in November, and
I'm sure I'm not the only one
who could use a break from
school, work, school and school.
The good news for all of us is
that the end of the semester is
fast approaching. The bad
news? We have to climb over
that little hump called finals
before we can finally enjoy a
month of catching up on sleep
and spending "quality time" with
the family while relaxing in front
of the fire (or yelling at each
other...l'm not sure what it's like
in your house).
For those of us who are sen
iors, and even juniors, the end
of the semester signifies some
thing else that is fast approach
ing. What might I be speaking
of? The end of college itself.
(Imagine a doomsday sound
here).
Yes, the days of considering
ramen noodles sustenance and
carting around town in your
mom's old Pontiac Grand Am
are ending.
While in the midst of a work
heavy semester, students prob
ably find the idea of college end
ing refreshing. Admittedly, I was
anxious at first to shuttle right
through college, get a cushy job
and find a cute apartment that I
could decorate with cheap stuff
from Target.
But now that May is finally a
blip on my radar, the excitement
is joined by a little hesitation.
Will I get a job? Where will I
live? Will I have to, dare I even
say, take on some RESPONSI
BILITY? How will I do that when
my dad still does my taxes?!
What I'm trying to say is that
college rushes by so fast, and
we're so busy that we don't
always notice. For many of us,
it's a four-year transition
between the zits and crushes of
high-school and the bills and
reality-checks of adulthood.
We're adults, we can buy ciga
rettes, go to bars and vote, but
many of us still rely on our par
ents for a lot. In the grand
scheme of things, I think that's a
pretty good deal. Take some
time to enjoy it before you're
walking down the aisle in your
graduation gown wondering
where the past four years went.
Enough of the gloom. Did I
scare you?
In other news, the editors of the
Capital Times would like to
Students, faculty adjust to changes
VISER continued from 1
A search for temporary replace
ments for the spring semester
will begin in January 2005 and a
search for a permanent tenure
track position, chaired by Dr.
Peter Kareithi, lead journalism
professor for the
Communications program, will
begin in August of 2005 said
Churchill. The search commit
tees are already being formed for
these positions. They are looking
for one to two students to join the
alumni and faculty on the search
committees. Churchill said he
would like to have one professor
to teach all of the courses origi
nally assigned to Viser. The per
manent position should be filled
with someone with public rela
tions and advertising experience
and a Ph.D. "There is no way
these classes won't be offered,"
said Churchill.
Adding more confusion to the
Communications program is the
emergency medical leave of Dr.
EXECUTIVE BOARD-
Assistant Editor:
Kelly Nagurny
Copy Editor:
Maruja Rosario
Kelly Nagurny, assistant editor
make a complaint. WHERE IS
THE PUDDING? On many
occasions, we headed down to
Stack's Market to treat our
selves to a little reward (pud
ding) for all the hard work we do.
However, as of late, it has been
missing. Chocolate, vanilla, it
doesn't matter. Just bring it
back! We're having withdrawal
symptoms. And also consider
making grilled cheese once in a
while. Is it clear that we eat in
Stack's constantly?
One more point, and then I'll let
you go so you can flip to page
11, because I know the Police
Report is your favorite part of
the Capital Times. The newspa
per is an outlet for PSH students
to speak their minds. We love to
hear from anyone with sugges
tions, story ideas or time to help
out.
With that said, I'd better get
back to work on the paper. It's
10 p.m. on a Wednesday night,
and I think I'm the only person in
the Olmsted Building. What a
geek.
Submissions:
You may reach The
Capital Times at Penn
State Harrisburg
Campus, E 126, Olmsted
Building. 777 W.
Harrisburg Pike,
Middletown, PA 17057.
Phone us at: (717) 948-
6440. or email:captimes
@psu.edu
Next Issue:
November 22,
2004
Please tell our advertis
ers that you saw it in
The Capital Times
Samuel Winch. Beginning the
tenth week of the semester, just
after midterms, Bill Cologie, a
well-versed communications pro
fessional, took over teaching his
Media Law and Ethics class and
Dr. Troy Thomas, American stud
ies professor at PSH is taking
over his photography class.
Winch plans to resume teaching
in four weeks, following a quick
recovery from treatment.
Churchill and Kareithi each took
one of Viser's classes. The third
class, public relations, is now
being taught by Sloan
Auchincioss, public relations pro
fessional. "Students are fortu
nate that other faculty members
took over for Dr. Viser," said
Mahar. "It shows real commit
ment to the Communications
program." Churchill said he sees
this change as a positive one
because it gives students a
chance to learn from a different
perspective the replacement pro
fessors will bring with them. "We
recognize that these are unusual
Business Manager
Dan Berger
STAFF-
Editor in Chief
Kathryn Herr
Nigerian
IDOWU continued from 1
a colleague brought up the idea
of traveling to rural western
Uganda where community lead
ers were asking for help with sci
ence programs. Last summer,
Idowu made the idea a reality.
"It was an experience that I very
very much value," said Idowu.
During his three-week trip, Idowu
visited approximately 3,000 stu
dents and their teachers in
remote Ugandan schools and
universities, where he was able
to help address problems faced
by the schools. Many of them
suffer from desperate economic
circumstances, prolonged war,
and a lack of resources such as
textbooks and libraries, said
Idowu.
"The satisfaction really is in
being able to talk with people like
Makerere University, who think
certainly we can work together
toward addressing those
issues," said Idowu.
Makerere University is a school
that Idowu is working especially
closely with. Together, Idowu
and the university are exploring
feasible options for finding sup
port for the school's science pro
gram, locating resources and
tools, and developing libraries.
Dr. Peter Idowu stands in a school's science lab in Uganda. Idowu
visited the country last summer to assist in the development of sci-
ence programs
times and we hope students will
be patient and generous by help
ing the replacements," said
Churchill. Although students are
in the midst of all these changes
the general mood is positive.
Because each professor has
different teaching styles and
classroom standards students
will need an adjustment period.
"We were used to online assign
ments and a more discussion
driven class," said Kellye Way,
senior Communications major.
"Dr. Kareithi conducts class as a
lecture and we were just getting
used to the discussions," she
said.
The replacement professors are
able to alter the syllabus at their
discretion, but are required to
consider the original curriculum.
"My job is to try as best as I can
to ensure that there is some con
tinuity and that students don't
suffer," said Churchill. All work
done for Viser will be counted in
whatever way the professor
chooses to incorporate into the
Assistant Editor:
Sharon Furfaro
Photo Editor:
Jennifer Kauffman
Advertising Manager
Justin Shellenberger
News
professor aides in Uganda
Idowu's collaboration with rural
Uganda is a continuing project.
He is currently working on a
memorandum of understanding
between Penn State's School of
Science and Engineering and
Makerere University's College of
Engineering.
When he is not traveling to dis
tant lands, Idowu teaches electri
cal engineering classes at PSH.
Teaching gives him an opportu
nity to explore things much more
deeply than he would have oth
erwise, said Idowu. "I think I ben
efit more from teaching than the
students...because in preparing
for classes, I am' pushed to
explore so many things," he said.
Despite his love for teaching,
exams are a part of the job that
Idowu could do without. Giving
exams and grades is stressful for
both him and the student, he
said. However, he understands
that they are necessary for some
students.
Taking exams taught Idowu a
valuable lesson during his years
of education. After acing tests in
college, he arrived at graduate
school only to find out that mem
orizing material was no longer
enough. When he failed the final
in an automatic control systems
course, Idowu did not know how
Photo courtesy of Dr. Peter Idowu
class requirements, said
Churchill. "I took over [Viser's]
Media Law and Politics class and
it's working out fine," said
Kareithi. "The transition was very
smooth."
Another dilemma for the
Communications program is
accommodating students need
ing advising and supervisors for
internships. It is the common
practice of the Communications
program to match a student with
a particular type of internship
with a supervisor specializing in
that field. Viser was the main
public relations and advertising
professor, thus he was the
supervisor for the large majority
of communications students
interested in those fields. All
internship supervisions and aca
demic advisees have been dis
persed throughout the rest of the
faculty, adding to their workload
considerably. Churchill said the
communications faculty is trying
to serve each student's needs as
best as they can and that is the
Photographers:
Jennifer Kauffman, Kelly
Nagurny, Kathryn Herr, Jessica
Pouchan
Graphic Design:
Kristen Poole
Dr. Peter Idowu is an associate professor of engineering. He spe
cializes in high-power electrical engineering.
to go about arranging for a
makeup exam. After all, he had
never needed to take one in the
past. By the time he figured it
out, it was only one hour before
the makeup exam was sched
uled to begin. "So I did what a
real man must learn to do. I
refrained from panic, went back
to my dorm room, got on my
knees, prayed and asked God
for help in what I believed then
as a great crisis of my life. I went
over and sat for the makeup
exam, and to my amazement, I
pulled a 100 percent." Impressed
with Idowu's performance, the
professor then offered him a
position as a teaching assistant.
The experience was both a
blessing and a lesson in humility,
said Idowu.
One way that Idowu hopes to
improve the academic environ
ment for engineering students is
through the use of information
technology. The field of electrical
engineering is a "static field,"
said Idowu. "In 40 years, nothing
has changed." He would like to
develop creative ways to use
technology to make the field
attractive and exciting for young
people.
Even though he has accom
plished a lot, Idowu still strives to
do more. "I still have goals of
making a wider impact than I am
able to at this level," he said.
Idowu's accomplishments have
not reduced his sense of humili-
Dr. Victor J. Viser recently resigned from Penn State Harrisburg
citing denial of tenure as his reason for leaving aburptly leaving
other saculty to cover his classes for the remainder of the semester.
number one concern. All stu- gram are encouraged to bring
dents with problems regarding their concerns to either Churchill
these changes or any other issue or Robinson immediately.
within the Communications pro-
Writers and Contributors:
Osman Abdalla, John Fox,
Sharon Furfaro, Michael Green,
Patricia Grick, Kathryn Herr, Bill
Howe, Molly E. Kane, Thomas
LeClair, Nat Melnicove, Beth
The Capital Times
Photo by Kelly Nagurny
ty. His Web site features the
quote, "Trust in the Lord with all
your heart, and do not rely on
your own insight or understand
ing." This statement, said Idowu,
reminds him that no one has the
answers to everything and that
we all must learn to be humble.
Outside academia, Idowu
enjoys "doing nothing." To relax,
he listens to music and plays
with his 4-year-old son Jacob,
who is "a regular" on campus,
said Idowu.
Traveling is also a great pas
sion of Idowu. He and his wife,
who works at PSH as an event
planner, have visited Canada,
England, and Germany. They
hope to travel to the Philippines
and Nigeria for their next trip.
Although Idowu did not initially
intend to end up in the engineer
ing field, his skills have allowed
him to help those in need. Born
in the Nigerian town of Ijebu-
Ode, Idowu came to the United
States to master the field of elec
trical engineering, only to return
to Africa to use his expertise for
a great cause.
Idowu is actively seeking facul
ty and other people who are
interested in and passionate
about assisting foreign institu
tions. If you are interested in
offering professional insight on
how to help foreign educational
institutions develop scientific
programs, please contact Dr.
Idowu at pbil @psu.edu.
Photo by The Capital limes
Mozeleski, Kelly Nagurny,
Jessica Pouchan, Maruja
Rosario, Herb Smith, Christian
Torres, Elizabeth Wingate,
Kellye Way