— LION’SEYE — OT ear RN oT BE aT A dE IN September 21, 1994 Professor’s Ballova, Kavkova & Ferencir share information about their home, Slovakia, with Delco teachers. . Photo by: BOB SERVIAN Delco Greets Slovakian Profs Here for American Studies By Norman Castiello and Tony Moore What would it be like to meet with three professors from a former communist country? Well, Delco recently had that privilege! Here from Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Presov, Slovakia, for two weeks were Professors Margita Ballova, Blazena Kavkova, and Milan Ferencir. They are working on an American Studies syllabus by examining textbooks and other needed material. As they spent time at Delco and briefly at University Park, they saw American students as independent, self-supporting students with a knowledge limited to American history for the most part. However, they said that most here do not fluently speak a second language and that their literacy rate is about 99%. Penn State Delco will continue its ties with Safarik University in the months ahead during the development of an American Studies Program here. Fun, Frolic & Food Highlight Successful Student Spirit Day By Diana Desimone Spirit Day, Sept. 2 was a great way for Penn State Delco. to express their pride. Spirits were risen upon entering the Commons Cafeteria Doors. Decorations, streamers, and balloons clearly exemplified Delco. spirit. In the main gym were a series of pick up basketball games as the lady lions occupied the auxiliary gym with some intense volleyball. Carnations were purchased in the spirit of Labor Day, to honor war veterans. Free hoagies were given away to feed the supporters. A T-shirt and a hat were raffled off. Students were more than happy to express their Delco. pride and a Spirit Day success. All Penn State Delco. students, faculty, and staff were invited to celebrate the opening of the new sand volleyball courts. On Sept. 9 the first of three sand volleyball courts was finished. The other two were completed in the weeks following. The Student Government Association (SGA) purchased hamburgers, hot dogs, and kegs of birch beer to increase fan fare. The Cafeteria staff donated baked beans, pasta salad, and chips to promote the grand opening of Delco.’s beach volleyball event. Credit for the greater part of the hard work put into the sand court project is well deserved by the staff maintenance crew. Delco. students were also participating in the shoveling and grooming of the courts. There was a tremendous turnout from all areas of the campus and a full afternoon of barefoot, sand kicking Delco. fun. Penn State Delco Budget Cuts Force Changes By Kristen A. Zak Over 12 million dollars was cut from the Penn State budget for the 1994-95 year. This cut deeply affected all campuses, but the Commonwealth campuses were hit the hardest. The budget cut issue hit home when Delco students returned to classes in August minus some faculty and staff. In a letter sent out in August by Dr. Edward Tomezsko, Campus Executive Director, students were told of the ensuing changes. Students were given the names of some staff that - would not be returning for the semester. “It hurts to have this on Campus happen,” said Tomezsko in the letter. As stated in the letter, despite the budget cuts Delaware County Campus has been able to keep all of its student activities and clubs. Delco has even been able to add men’s baseball to the varsity sports activities. In addition,a new sand volleyball court has also been erected where the old tennis courts once stood. ~ There are still some adjustments to be made because of the new budget. The campus will continue to keep its students informed about the situation. As Dr. Tomezsko said, “We are optimistic about our future, even though there is change.” ‘Full Professorships Awarded To Dr. DeRosa and Dr. Sorkin By Rob Servian Two members of the Penn State Delco faculty were recently honored by their respective academic departments. Dr. Adam Sorkin, a professor of English and Dr. Michael De Rosa, a professor of Chemistry, were each granted full professorship. Many would look at receiving a full | professorship as common place, but in fact it’s quite rare here at Delco. Everyone refers to their teachers as “professor”, but unknown to some is that their are different ranks of professorship, which go as followed: Assistant professor, associate professor and then full professor. In fact the number of full professors at Delco number only in the single digits. Dr. Sorkin was hired in September of 1978 as an assistant professor. He gained associate professorship in July of 1985. During his career he strived to better himself in all aspects of his profession, including being published for his work in translating contemporary Romanian poetry to English, receiving advanced degrees, service to the university and the ‘community, and mastering subject matter. When asked about the year-long process to attain his goal he replied, “I think it is necessary to be judged by Dr. DeRosa (chemistry) and Dr. Sorkin (English) were both recently one’s peers.” Says Dr. Sorkin about the outcome, “I'm very pleased. It could have gone either way. I'm gratified that the university looks with favor on the work I'm doing.” Dr. De Rosa, a fairly recent addition to the Delco faculty was hired as an associate professor in 1989. He received his Ph. D in organic chemistry from the Brooklyn college of the city university of New York. From 1973 until 1989 he was a member of the chemistry department of the Universidad Simon Bolivar in Caracas, Venezuela. Dr. De Rosa and his wife originally went to Venezuela as members of the peace corps. During the last five years he has been conducting research on the chemistry of pyrroles. To date, eleven undergraduates, from this campus, have carried out research under the direction of Dr. De Rosa. These students have presented their work at the annual National Conference on Undergraduate research and the main campus research fair. Some of their work has been published. Dr. De Rosa also applied for full professorship in the fall of 1993. After all was said and done and the several committees involved with the whole process reached their decision, he said exuberantly, “I was happy it was all over.” granted full professorships in their respective departments. Photo by: ROB SERVIAN SGA Rap Around Session Rated A Rn by President By Janeane Aube . ARap Around session conducted by Rita Varano, Student Government Association president, was held in the cafeteria on Tuesday, August 30, to discuss some pros and cons of PSU Delco and what improvements could be made on campus. ~~ Students and faculty interacted and brought up some topics of concern. One student complained of the food in the cafeteria. He thought the quality of the salad bar was unsatisfactory and the grill, which closes at 2 p.m., was not open long enough especially for members of sports teams and students who can’t get to the cafeteria during common hour to eat. Budget cuts hit PSU Delco hard this year, limiting funds throughout - the campus. With the lack of funding, there has been reduction in the amount of faculty members. “We are losing motivated, intellectual, and involoved professors that the majority of the student body would prefer to keep. Itis up to us to 3 HERE FE e™% = change this,” said Varano. The need for nighttime security was mentioned along with the need for a better SEPTA busing system. Buses don’t always arrive on schedule, and it is a concern for many students who ride buses to get to class on time. Immediate action was taken on this issue by Sylvia Schaffer involving taking down names and complaints in an effort to solve this problem. An increase of book costs and the need for more course selection were also broughtup. “I hope to see people continue to participate and voice their opinions and concerns,” said Varano, “and by doing that they'd be Aelping to make a difference.” Positive points were brought up too, such as the official opening of the beach volleyball courts, putting gym locks back on lockers, and the availability of All U day tickets being sold for only $11. “If one good thing came out of that event (the Rap Around) then I would be completely happy,” Varano said. NEE A RR TNE I gi ; i § ne fa ay SREY MEER, Maen
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers