Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010 Official follows passions in work at PSU By Colleen Boyle COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER If Paul Ruskin totaled the distance he has ridden his bicycle to work since he began at Penn State’s Office of Physical Plant (OPP), he would be close to making one loop around the world. As great of a feat that may be, saving gas and the environment is just a way of life for Ruskin. Fbr him, caring for the planet is not only a duty but a passion, and no act is too small in his quest to save Mother Earth. As he said, “a little thing done a billion times over makes a difference.” Today, Ruskin spends his days on the edge of Penn State’s campus at the OPP office, working as the com munications and public affairs coordinator, responsi ble for alerting the Penn State community about OPP operations. But he’s also doing what he loves, assisting Penn State with many of its envi ronmental projects. ’‘OPP has led the ‘green ing’ of Penn State, and I’m proud to be a part of that,” Ruskin said. “Penn State offers the beauty of being immersed in nature [and] allows me to pursue inter ests that relate to the planet and to the earth.” Ruskin's concern for ener gy conservation began decades ago as a student at Penn State. Troubled by the amount of energy wasted by classroom lights left on dur ing the weekend, Ruskin began switching them off as he passed by on Friday evenings. RUSKIN’S TALE "When I was stationed in Spain, our intelligence people found out that the Basque separatists didn't like the fact that the Americans had a radio/TV station, so we got word that during a certain week, they were going to attack our station. It was going to be at night, and I had the station to myself at night because I had the night shift. So I went in every night at midnight not sure what was going to happen that night. The military put up two machine gun nests at either end of the hallway, and my orders were that if the terrorists attacked and got past, I had an M-16 rifle attached under my desk. So I was to move away from the microphone, grab the gun, swing around and shoot holes in the transmitter. And then after that, it was up to me, whatever I wanted to do - defend the station or surrender. But the important thing was that I was to shoot the transmitter so that the terrorists would not have access to put their message out. They found out that we found out, so they never came. But it was a stressful week." Paul Ruskin shows off the Segway he rides around the office, campus and seminars he is invited to attend. Purchasing Segways for OPP employees to ride was Ruskin’s idea. As time passed, this pas- Radio and Television Service sion for conserving energy and take his message across caught on. Today, the Friday the Atlantic. There, he Night Lights Out program worked on a late night radio continues Ruskin’s tradition, show out of Madrid, Spain. Ruskin began at Penn “Most of my radio show State, but his journey back was environmental issues,” took him across the Atlantic Ruskin said. Ocean, forced him to cleave After relaying his passion to an M-16 rifle night after for the earth to his listeners night and led him to a part on for four years, Ruskin the silver screen. After grad- returned to the United uating college in 1970, States, having experienced Ruskin left State College to the world about which he join the American Forces cared so much firsthand. r '-f * \ + \ J • V tSw v £ ' k r i • ?-S‘ * m |u# in the conference room of Penn Stai found while on one of his shipwreck •atiip from the late 1800's where th%j Michael Felletter/Collegian Paul Ruskin sits at his desk at the Office of Physical Plant Building. For Ruskin caring for the environment is not only a duty but a passion. Paul Ruskin, Office of Physical Plant spokesman, works to conserve energy. * i m - 7\i -.t' illjjf 1? ■ ’* / -/f; If you know \ ‘ »-> -Hafcllt* Do you know someone you think ' *4* v ® *® *- 5 should be on the We Are page? Call 4 .* us at (814) 865-1828 or e-mail *•,! collegian@psucollegian.com to «. . If* ,V suggest somebody. He had traveled the earth and seen her wonders, but for Ruskin, the next step was to return to where his love for the earth began: Happy Valley. “He has experienced so many cultures,” said Ruskin’s friend and col league A 1 Matyasobsky. “He is an environmentalist at heart.” Ruskin took a job at his alma mater and became the video producer for extension service in College of Agricultural Sciences, where he led many environmental initiatives. Since his days in Europe, Ruskin had witnessed many ways to protect the earth. Now, he relays these changes to the university. “He is willing to give any thing a try,” said Matyasobsky, OPP Central Support Services supervisor of labor and equipment. “But he is not hazardous it is always planned and well thought out." Possibly Ruskin’s favorite of these advancements is the Segway. Thanks to his encouragement, Penn State now owns more than four, nicknamed John, George, Paul and Ringo after the Beatles members. Ruskin enjoys using the Segway that shares his name to cruise around his office and Penn State’s campus. “I come up with lots of ideas not all of them good,” Ruskin said. “Penn State listens to my ideas, and they laugh for a couple of years. And then sometimes they do it.” Another product of Ruskin’s ideas is the time if' * v' For an interview with OPP spokesman Paul Ruskin on his job: psucollegian.com capsule located in the lobby of the Agricultural Administration Building. Placed- in the building in 1987, the capsule is set to be opened in 2087. It contains multiple items collected by Ruskin, including several Pennsylvanian wines, stream water samples from across the state and the seeds of endangered plant species. Ruskin said he hopes when the capsule is opened, future scientists can benefit from these samples, which would be impossible to gather in 2087. Also included are two $lOO checks and a job applica tion completed by Ruskin. By the time the capsule is opened, the checks will have matured to $200,000. The application is fbr the “Penn State Orbiting Campus,” which Ruskin predicts will be in full swing by the time the capsule is opened. “Why not have a campus floating above Harrisburg?” he said. In the coming years, Ruskin said he plans to con tinue his work with OPP But even in the small town of State College, Ruskin has not lost sight of the big picture and the planet that he loves. "Someday I want to volun teer for scientific explo ration. Off the coast of Turkey, there are diving expeditions," Ruskin said. Pf A N FT Paul’s Picks Music: Advanced electronic music "But it’s gotta be from the future.” Restaurant: Out-of-the-way mom and pop places “I like pleasant surprises in the out back ... and that’s not the Outback Steak House.” Book: “2001: A Space Odyssey" Penn State Spot: Natatorium Ruskin Film Reel: “The Wind and the Lion” (1975) “It actually is a good movie even though I’m in it.” The Daily Collegian To e-mail reporter: cabs3s6@psu.edu
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