newe GAS PRICES: Commute to class is costing students, faculty more Continued from page 1 He also rides a Honda CBR6OORR sport bike to work when the weather permits and puts $lO to $l5 in gas in that every week. Santoriello, moved to Annapolis, Md., because he works with the Department of Defense. Instead of transferring to a local college, he chose to stay at PSH. Santoriello said, "I decided to stay at PSU because I wanted the degree from Penn State and only had one and half years to go. Although, I regularly wonder if I have made the best choice." It is not just students who are affected by the commute, teachers are affected as well. In one week, C. Patrick Burrowes, Ph. D., drives 606 miles commuting from Columbia, Md. He leaves his house by 9 a.m. to be on time for his 11 a.m. class. His drive is about an hour and a half. HEALTH: New courses offered reflect changes in interests, society Continued from page 1 is essential knowledge in the flattened, crowded and worried world of the 21st century. A recent survey by the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that 137 of its 837 members, or 16 percent, now offer majors or minors in public health. (The number offering single courses is unknown.) Nearly two-thirds of the schools in that group require students majoring in the subject to undertake fieldwork or research. For the past two years, the association has offered summer workshops for colleges that want to add public health to the curriculum or expand their offerings. Representatives of 63 schools have attended. "Today's students want to contribute, to empower individuals and communities to take charge of their own health," said Ruth Gaare Bernheim, who teaches health policy at the University of Virginia. "I think In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina spiked gas prices, Burrowes, began teaching at PSH. He fills up his Honda Civic more now than previous semesters. "When I started, gas was selling for about $2.40 a gallon," Burrowes said. "Per week, that meant $48.50 and per month, it was about $200," he continued. "At $3.65 in September 2008, I'm looking at $73 per week about $3OO a month, so it's $lOO more." Commuting is not an issue for Burrowes because he genuinely enjoys working for Penn State. Though, he saves money when he can. Burrowes notices gas is cheaper in Pa., so he fills up in town when he can. He, also has a widget on his computer that monitors gas prices by zip code indicating the cheapest gas prices, and he eats out less and packs a snack. they also intuitively realize that the world is their community and that the gains of the 21st century will be in global public health." Several years ago, students at the University of Virginia started a Global Public Health Society, which sponsors various activities and service projects. Two years ago, the school began offering a global public health minor. Many forces have converged to make these subjects competitive for students' attention. For starters, global health is a huge growth industry. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has spent about $l5 billion in the past five years, and funding is being nearly tripled for the next five. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are channeling billions into public health initiatives. Malaria eradication which failed in the 1950 s and 60s is again on the table. Furthermore, the headlines are full of global health news. Today's freshmen experienced the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and bird flu scares in Want to join the Peace Corps? Plan to wait BY CYNTHIA DIZIKES (c) 2008, Los ANGELES TIMES WASHINGTON -- The Peace Corps boasts that it's "the toughest job you'll ever love," but this year, just getting hired may be the toughest part. At a time when both presidential candidates have pledged to promote and expand national service, the popular humanitarian assistance program that sends thousands of Americans abroad annually is now planning to cut 400 volunteer positions in the face of an unexpected multimillion dollar budget shortfall. With fewer spots, an increasing number of Peace Corps nominees who were expecting to begin service this fall have seen their deployments delayed at least until next year -- and in some cases indefinitely. "There are more people waiting this time than in years past," said Rosie Mauk, the Peace Corps' associate director of volunteer their adolescent and high school years, and they have lived their entire lives in the shadow of AIDS. "It would not have happened without AIDS," said Thomas Coates, head of the global health program at the University of California at Los Angeles, describing the new interest in public health. AIDS is a dramatic example of how whole populations, not just individuals, can be at increased risk for disease a key epidemiological concept. The emergence in the mid-1990s of life-extending treatment, which is only now being brought to Africa and Asia, where most AIDS patients live, provides a lesson in equity the principle that underlies public health. "It took something like HIV/ AIDS because it is so lethal and now that it is so treatable to capture our attention and make us realize that there were such inequities in the world," Coates said. But the benefits of studying recruitment and selection. "The recruiters don't like to tell people that there isn't a spot for them. To have to tell people that they have gotten to know -- and they know are passionate about the Peace Corps -- that there is just not room for them now is the most difficult part." Jen Casto, like many aspiring Peace Corps volunteers, applied to the program during her senior year of college. A double major in English and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia, she volunteered for years as a youth mentor and student tutor and speaks French and Spanish. Last October the Peace Corps nominated her to a secondary education program in sub- Saharan Africa, with an expected departure this month. "At the end of the interview, (my recruiter) said that I was Please see PEACE CORPS on page 6 public health go considerably beyond understanding infectious disease. The concepts introduced in basic epidemiology courses include causation and correlation, absolute risk and relative risk, biological plausibility and statistical uncertainty. Nearly all health stories in the news from the possible hazards of bisphenol A in plastics and the theory that vaccines cause autism, to racial disparities in health care and missteps in the investigation of tainted peppers are better understood with grounding in that discipline. Other forces driving interest in public health include the Internet's ability to put students in touch with far-flung people and institutions, and the expectation at many colleges that students will study or work abroad. Observers also credit a flowering of social consciousness in today's Please see HEALTH on page 7 1944 - 2008 www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/ e/f/efra/churchill.htm PSH theatre prof dies By PHIL NARSH STAFF WRITER PSNSOOI@PSU.EDU Last week, Penn State Harrisburg lost another artist and teacher. Eton F. Churchill Sr., a PSH faculty member, published novelist and playwright, died on Sept. 10th. He was 64. A man with a passion for educating and a talent for storytelling, Churchill taught at Penn State and other schools for over 30 years. His classes included the fundamentals of acting, screenwriting, playwriting and writing short stories. An accomplished writer himself, Churchill published a novel, "Mind How the Sun Goes," and several short stories. He won the Samuel French award for "Nightwine," a play he wrote in college and also received a red ribbon from the American Film Festival in New York in 1981 for "Changes," a documentary about Three Mile Island. According to his obituary on knox.villagesoup.com, Churchill is survived by his wife, Lou Schellenberg, of Mt. Gretna, Pa., Camden and Blue Rocks, Nova Scotia; as well as his children, Eton Churchill Jr. and his wife, Yukiki, of Tokyo, Japan, Christopher Churchill and his wife, Emily, of Amesbury, Mass., and Abbye Churchill; a sister, Carol Gutbroad and her husband, Ed, of Fredrick, Md.; and a granddaughter named Isabelle Mai Churchill. Mr. Churchill's memorial service was held at Children's Chapel in Rockport, Pa., on Sept. 19.
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