A2O-Lancast*r Farming, Saturday, August 19, 1995
pennState
1995
College of
Agricultural
Sciences
Alumni Society
Annual Report
Gov. Tom Ridge, Dean Lamartine Hood, and Alumni Pres
ident, Richard Hann at Ag Progress Days.
More than 25 years of service...
The College ol Agricultural Sciences Alumni Society board directors, representing a broad spcctium ol carceis
and interests .is well as the geographic and age range of the College alumni, arc very busy people who (icely
donate their time to service to their College and fellow alumni On August 18, 1992, a year-long celebration ol 25
years ol CAAS began Presidents who had served over the 25 years were honored, and a histoiy booklet was
compiled and published In July, 1993, the National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association meetings
were held at Penn State sponsored by CAAS. This year. May 1995, CAAS participated in the National Service
Week project A week-long food drive was held at the Creamery and netted 90 pounds of food for the local Food
Bank CAAS continues to carry out its mission of fostering fellowship among alumni, faculty, students, and
Inends of the College of Agricultural Sciences through various projects and events CAAS committees supported
many varied activities this past year. 1994-95
The Executive Committee is responsible for budget and finance, long range planning, and nominations, as
well as director naming, evaluation of CAAS activities, and improving the image ol agrictilluic A new budget
lormat was put into place beginning July I. 1994; the long range plan was revised foi the next live ycais. 1994 -
1999, and a diverse slate of nominees for board directors was presented The long range plan and new budget
lormat continue to serve the needs of the Board of Directors
The Activities Committee has a mission ol fostering fellowship, maintaining an alumni oiganuation. and
preserving the unique experience of the College through activities and assumed the duties of the former program
committee The committee sponsored Alumni Day at Ag Progress Days including staffing pf the Alumni Pavilion
the graduation luncheon with 760 attending, and the annual tailgate with attendance of 411. bialwuist made bv
John Ziegler, and the band Bavarian Stumpers A new activity, a sludent/alumm event, is being planned loi (lie
I mure
The Alumni Committee provides means tor alumni to support the College and participate in activities such as
Affiliate Gioup establishment, provides means for alumni to be active m College affairs and receive information
through communications such as CONNECTIONS and a promotional piece (CAAS Membership Benefits
brochure), assures the continuation ol the society through membership development, testers lellowship and
provides a means for alumni to be active through networking; and maintains an alumni organization and (osiers
fellowship through membership recruitment and reunions. The committee helped advertise and support the
activities of the six College affiliate program groups (listed later in report) and plans to help establish one new
affiliate group next year The committee previously developed a plan to enhance communication and to save
money Three yearly mailings arc currently being done; a spring newsletter issue of CONNECTIONS, a ballot
and APD luncheon invitation issue (summer), and an annual report and tailgate invitation issue (fall), saving the
cost of two mailings per year. Support and assistance was provided for Penn State Alumni Association reunions
A new activity was sponsored this year-a food drive at the Creamery during National Service Week. May 15
through May 21 About 90 pounds ol food was collected for the Intcrfailh Food Bank
The Students Committee is responsible for supporting student programs and Caiecr Day, recognizing alumni,
(acuity, and friends, providing the Outstanding Advisor Award, encouraging excellence in education by providing
scholarships for students, recognizing outstanding students by awarding Lion statues at graduations, supporting
the programs and activities of the College by recruiting students to the College (mainly through NAC), and
supporting programs and student activities through students internship awards and coffee house Eleven students
were awarded $5OO for outstanding internships. Career Day received financial support ol $5OO, Paul
Shellenberger received a brass plate and $lOOO honorarium as the Outstanding Academic Advisor, and five
students were recognized as outstanding students at various program commencements The College '
Agricultural Sciences Alumni Scholarship Endowment yielded $6,670 to sponsor a total of eight scholarships loi
the 1994-95 academic year
The Pasto Museum Committee has the mission of preserving experience with the College and agriculture
through support of the agriculture museum. Guides are trained and provided for Ag Progress Days and lours ol
the museum. A fund-raising subcommittee was established for the purpose ol funding the endowment and
building fund As of June 1995, the endowment contained $24,357.35, and the building fund contained $5, 610
Affiliate program groups provided a way for Penn State alumni and friends to get together and enrich their
respective departments and the University, Affiliate groups and their representativc(s) to the CAAS Board
include’ Ag and Extension Ed, Don and Betty Jane Minccmoyer: Dairymen's, Mary Ann Keith. Food
Science. Larry Campbell, School of Forest Resources, Albert Schulz and Glenn Haney. Horticulture
Tracey Harpstcr; and Stockmen's, John Ziegler. These groups provide additional avenues ioi contact with a
particular academic, professional, or extracurricular activity, unit, or program.
♦This report will be included in the tailgate invitation issue of CONNECTIONS as a cost-saving measure Please
watch for this issue in late October.
%M» «■»*!.--» i-ii
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X
Penn State Alumni
Hold 1995 Meeting
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
ROCKSPRING (Centre
Co.) The Penn State College of
Agricultural Sciences alumni day
luncheon at Ag Progress Days was
well-attended with opportunity to
“catch up with each other.” The
event was staged in the special
events building. Karl Girton, presi
dent, conducted the business meet
ing and presented the alumni socie
ty’s report (See full report as a
sidebar to this story.) The incom
ing president Richard Hann, pre
sented a lion statue with an inscrip
tion to Girton for his service to the
society.
Dean Lamartine Hood gave the
college status report and said Penn
State is what the land grant tradi
tion is all about: teaching, research
and public service. Hood said the
public did not understand this sys
tem, and the land grant colleges of
agriculture across the nation faced
some real challenges.
Research is the generator of new
knowledge and the foundation of
“all we do in the college.” Many
education programs are intert
wined with research efforts.
“What makes the Penn State
College of Agricultural Sciences
unique is that research and exten
sion education and resident educa
tion is really integrated into a
single effort to develop informa
tion and transfer that information
to the people,” Hood said.
The faculty and extension staff
initiated $2O million income for the
college for research. Private
research funds have increased by
57 percent in the last six years. Of
course, these funds come with a set
of expectations, and these funds
are influencing the research
emphasis of the college. While the
college has a large number of
research programs, the flexibility
is not as great as in earlier times.
Hood said the new four-year
plan of work for extension has just
been completed. The stated goals
include:
•To strengthen families,
enhance children and youth deve-
Ridge, Presiden
(Continued from Pago Al)
world aid make them more profit
able than they have been
historically.
Ridge said he had fulfilled his
campaign promise to change D£R,>
sighting the change DER will show
on July 1 of this year. DER is now
not to be a policeman to catch you
when you make a mistake but to
help you understand and comply
with the law.
“Farmers are the best conserva
tionists,” Ridge said. “We need to
bring a balance between protecting
the environment and answering
our economic capacity.”
On the subject of state funding
for Penn State College of Agricul
ture research and extension. Ridge
said his administration realized
that Penn State is a real resource for
the entire Commonwealth, but no
one gets everything he wants from
the legislative and budget process.
“We have a good, working rela
tionship with the University, and
we will continue to build on that
relationship,” Ridge said. “In the
situation in the state and federal
level where resources are limited,
we have to set target priorities.
Families have to do this, busines-
lopment and build community and
invest in human capital.
• To foster development and
maintenance of productive, profit
able and competitive businesses
and sustainable food systems in our
changing economic climate with a
long-term commitment to produc
tion agriculture.
• To develop the long-term vit
ality of natural resources and natur
al environment
* To help people to become
involved in the public arena.
Extension has a significant role
in urban area. A new Penn State
office has just been opened on
Market Street in Philadelphia
where the extension office has
been for the last eight years. Of the
117.000 4-Hers in Pennsylvania,
12.000 are in Philadelphia and
6.000 are in Pittsburgh.
Resident education enrollment
in the college increased 12 percent
in the 1994-1995 year. That makes
a 60 percent increase since 1989.
“Paid accepts” for the students
coming on campus this fall indicate
another 10 percent increase in stu
dent enrollment this year. The
3,000 students in the college of ag
makes Penn State the largest in the
Big 10 and sixth in the nation.
The college has the best facili
ties that include anew poultry and
research center, new green houses
and a new dairy research facility.
And unlike most other colleges,
these facilities are accessible to
students on campus.
The financial situation for the
college is not good with the same
funding from federal and state
sources at 1990 levels. Hood said
the low funding is very difficult
and unfortunately overshadows the
agenda of many people at the
college.
For the alumni. Hood said the
challenge was to continue to help
recruit students and help consum
ers to understand the contribution
the college makes to their well
being.
“We need to put the institutional
good ahead of personal benefit,”
Hood said. “I am bullish about our
future, and I hope you share that
enthusiasm.”