Page 11 The Lion’s Eye va Penn State News September 14, 2011 029, Budget Officer Curley Leaves PSU After 41 Years Special to The Lion's Eye UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- He knows it sounds cliché, but after more than four decades working at Penn State, University Budget Officer Steve Curley is certain that it’s the people he will miss most when he retires at the end of December. “Everybody says that, but that’s what it’s going to be,” Curley said. “ We have an outstanding staff here in the budget office, and it has been a pleasure to work with them. We also have a very good senior leadership team, deans and chancellors whom I’ve had a chance to work with over a long period of time.” Curley will leave Penn State after 41 years, having first joined the staff of the controller’s office in 1970, shortly after graduating from the University with a degree in business administration. “Penn State has been very fortunate to have Steve spend his entire career here,” said Penn State Presi- dent Graham Spanier. “His work has played an important role in the University’s growth-during the past 40 years, and his knowledge, leadership and dedication have helped Penn State manage difficult state and national economic downturns. Through the past five years in the budget office, and for many years before that, he has led with great skill and integrity.” After three years in the controller’s office, Cur- ley moved on to become financial officer for the College of Business Administration and in 1976 became financial officer for the provost’s office, where he worked for the next 30 years. While in the executive vice president and provost’s office, Curley worked with senior leadership on a wide array of growing and evolving issues related to budget and financial operations across the University. In 2006, Curley was appointed university budget officer, where he has overseen a staff responsible for developing, implementing and controlling Penn State’s annual operating budget, with an office including sections for budget, information resources and network services. “I’ve enjoyed being involved in developing the University’s budget and putting together the best program we can to make things work as effectively as possible,” Curley said. “It’s difficult to go through the funding cuts that have taken place over the last few years in particular, because they affect people’s lives. One of the most challenging things we’ve faced is to continually explain the benefits Penn State provides to the people of Pennsylvania and beyond. Living and working here, you think it’s self-evident.” At times his work could be challenging, not to mention complex, but also rewarding. He said he feels fortunate to have spent his career in the unusual posi- tion of seeing how the entire University runs and how its many pieces fit together. He also has been proud to see how the Univer- sity has grown while remaining true to its values. “During the time I’ve been here, Penn State really has transitioned to an international university, and it’s grown tremendously in both size and quality,” he said. “Through all those years, I think we’ve always stood for trying to do things the right way and to provide a quality education for our students while excelling in our research and outreach.” Rachel Smith will succeed Curley as University budget officer. She will begin working alongside Curley on Oct. 1 to ensure a smooth transition and assume the position as budget officer on Jan. 1. Smith has served at the University for more than 30 years in various and increasingly responsible roles within Penn State’s Fi- nance and Business. For the past five years, she has been financial officer and special assistant to the executive vice president and provost. Creativity In Action Comes to Great Valley PSU Berks Welcomes Zubrin To Discuss OPEC Special to The Lion's Eye GREAT VALLEY, Pa- Previous research on creativity has focused on the cognitive and psychological aspects of creative thinking. Much less has been written on creative ac- tion -- the behavioral and decision-making aspects of creativity. Eric W. Stein, associate professor of management science and information science, will present highlights from his new book, “The IDEAS Method: Nurturing Creativity, Performance and Innovation,” from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 12 in Room 224 of the Main Building at Penn State Great Valley. The presentation is free and open to faculty, staff, students and the community. For more details, or to register, visit http://sgps.psu.edu/OctMR S/default. ashx online. Hershey Medical Center Stories Score Big At Emmys Special to The Lion's Eye HERSHEY, Pa- Three stories focusing on Penn State Hershey’s patients, fami- lies and history earned Mid-Atlantic Emmy® Awards during the National Academy of Television Arts and Sci- ences (NATAS) chapter ceremony held at the Lowe’s Hotel in Philadelphia on Saturday, Sept. 24. The television productions, produced by FryFilms, earned the Hu- man Interest News Feature Emmy for “A Mother’s Gift.” The piece featured the story of Children’s Miracle Network miracle child Mitchell Pollack and details the cou- rageous fight of Penn State Hershey Chil- dren’s Hospital caregivers and Mitchell’s family to save his life from kidney failure. The Emmys also honored the Public/Community Affairs Feature “Con- quering Childhood Cancer,” a story about the Four Diamonds Fund, the pediatric cancer charity supported by the annual IFC Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) with proceeds benefitting cancer care and sup- port services for pediatric cancer patients as well as pediatric cancer research at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. FryFilms partner Todd Fry was awarded the Mid-Atlantic Emmy for Di- recting for the Penn State Hershey Medical Center historical documentary, “Memories and Milestones.” “Memories and Mile- stones” also was nominated for the docu- - mentary Emmy but fell short of the prize. “All of the children, families and medical professionals trusted us with their ‘A Mother’s Gift,” a video piece featuring the story of Children’s Miracle Network miracle child Mitchell Pollack, was one of three stories focusing on Penn State Hershey’s patients, families and history to earn a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award. (photo courtesy Penn State University) stories, and we are honored to work with each and every one of them,” said Cara Fry, producer for all three productions. - The goals of NATAS are to recog- nize outstanding achievements in television by conferring annual awards of merit in the Chapter’s designated award region. The presentation of these awards is intended to be an incentive for the continued pursuit of excellence for those working in the televi- sion industry and to focus public atten- tion on outstanding cultural, educational, technological, entertainment, news and informational achievements in television. All three videos can be seen on the Medical Center’s YouTube channel, www. YouTube.com/pennstatehershey. Special to The Lion's Eye BERKS COUNTY, Pa- World-renowned engineer and best-selling author Robert Zubrin will lay out a bold plan for break- ing the economic stranglehold that the OPEC oil cartel has on our country and the world from his book “Energy Vic- tory” at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 5, in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium at Penn State Berks. This event is free and open to the public. Zubrin offers an exciting vi- sion for a dynamic, new U.S. energy policy, which will go a long way toward safeguarding homeland security and providing solutions for global warming and Third World development. In this compelling argument for a new direction, Zubrin presents persuasive evidence that our relationship with OPEC has resulted in the looting of our economy, the cor- ruption of our political system, and now the funding and protection of terrorist regimes and movements that are commit- ted to our destruction. This presentation is part of the campus’ Arts and Lecture series. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Life at 610-396-6076. Special to The Lion's Eye UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — This year, State’s recently developed online educa- hol Feedback and Education). Linda La- Salle, associate director for educational services at University Health Services, is pleased with the results. “The implementation of the program went very smoothly,” LaSalle said. “The responses from students at all Penn State campuses, including Univer- sity Park, were positive.” : While LaSalle will have ad- ditional data to share in the spring, she from students who have completed PSU SAFE, a two-part online instructional curriculum that helps first-year students understand the risks associated with excessive drinking. According to LaSalle, more than 13,500 Penn State first-year students completed the first part of the program by Aug. 22, the first day of the University’s fall semester classes. These students watched the overview video of PSU SAFE, read and explored the use assessment, learned about Penn State community expectations -- laws and University rules and regulations -- and viewed a research-based preven- tion component of the program. Of that new Penn State students completed Penn tion program, PSU SAFE (Student Alco- already has received promising feedback educational content including an alcohol PSU Aims To Educate New Students About Alcohol group, 86 percent reported that PSU SAFE helped them learn new informa- tion about high-risk drinking and 89 per- cent said it provided them with tips they will use to engage in low-risk alcohol use. Additionally, 92 percent of students reported increased awareness of Pennsylvania laws related to alcohol and 94 percent reported that the program improved their understanding of Penn State alcohol policies and related conse- quences. On top of those figures, 80 per- cent of new Penn Staters who completed PSU SAFE reported that it helped them prepare for the transition into college. University Health Services is working with John Hustad, an assis- tant professor in Penn State’s College of Medicine, to conduct an evaluation of the program. Hustad is an expert in evaluating alcohol education programs for college students. LaSalle said results from the second component of the program -- a follow-up alcohol use assessment that “students complete 30 days after the start of classes -- and the evaluation study will be available in the 2012 spring semester. For more information about PSU SAFE, please visit http://edge.psu. edu/firstyear/faq.shtml online.
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