Penn State Abington News | Penn State Abington

More companies recruit at Abington Spring Career Expo

Despite doubts about the national economy, more employers than ever turned out at the Abington Spring Career Expo - and many more of the recruiters were alumni.

December 2012 graduate Elizabeth Hilbert credits the Abington Career Expo with setting her on the path to her first professional position.

Six Penn State faculty members have received the 2013 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. They are Charles Elavsky, assistant professor of communications in the College of Communications; Mikhail Kagan, assistant professor of physics at Penn State Abington; Kathy Meehan, senior instructor of human development and family studies at Penn State Brandywine; Debra Miller, instructor of social sciences and education at Penn State Lehigh Valley; Cindy Parsons, senior lecturer of mathematics in the Eberly College of Science, and Peter Wilf, associate professor of geosciences in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. The award, named after Penn State's seventh president, honors excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level.

Each year, Penn State honors several members of its faculty and staff for the highest levels of academic excellence, outstanding leadership and meritorious service. The 2013 Faculty/Staff Award recipients reach across campuses, colleges and administrative units and exemplify best practices and achievements among Penn Staters reflecting the University's mission of teaching, research and service. The honorees will receive their awards at a ceremony at noon Monday, March 25, at the Nittany Lion Inn.

Penn State Abington students gathered to hear about the myriad of career options available to Integrative Arts majors. The panel discussion and networking event, Creative Careers in Integrative Arts, featured John Pachence, two-award winning producers, an entertainment management executive, an art educator and a music therapist.

Penn State Reads, a new common reading program for first-year University Park campus students, is designed to provide a shared experience among new students, encourage intellectual engagement within and beyond the classroom, stimulate critical thinking, and foster a deeper connection to Penn State's mission and core values. The book "Beautiful Souls: Saying No, Breaking Ranks and Heeding the Voice of Conscience in Dark Times" by author Eyal Press has been selected for the 2013-14 Penn State Reads program.

Board approves 2013-14 room and board rates

Penn State's Board of Trustees Friday (March 15) approved room and board rates for the 2013-14 academic year. The average room and board rate, which includes a standard double room and the most common meal plan, will be $4,685 a semester, a 4.23 percent increase over 2012-13. The increase addresses a projected rise in food and utilities expenses, as well as necessary maintenance, facility renewal and strategic needs.

Registration under way for Coaches Caravan

Building on Penn State's "One Team" inaugural year momentum, highlighting the highly successful first season under football Coach Bill O'Brien and looking ahead to 2013, the Penn State Coaches Caravan tour begins another road trip April 30 with visits to 12 locations during two weeks this spring. Registration for the general public is now under way; the April 30 Reading event has sold out.

Penn State employees who have not yet submitted the required documents for the Dependent Verification Program must do so by March 30 in order to continue medical, dental and vision plans beyond March 31. Non-verified dependents will be removed from coverage plans April 1. Additionally, those receiving tuition discounts that are not verified will lose this benefit by the start of the summer 2013 semester.

“Home away from home” is not phrase most people would use to describe a sterile commercial kitchen that produces thousands of meals each day for the homeless and the hungry. But 10 Penn State Abington students who traveled to Washington, D.C., last week for Alternative Spring Break (ASB) affectionately recall the long hours they spent there.