Behrend Magazine - Summer 2018

BEHREND M A G A Z I N E PENN STATE

SUMMER 2018

From 1948 to 2018

Seventy Years and Still Growing

Making good on Mary Behrend’s investment

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o ften wonder if Mary Behrend ever imagined that her Glenhill Farm would still be growing so many years after her gift created Penn State Behrend. Could she possibly have envisioned that her investment in the future would pay off so handsomely?

Today, we’re a destination—enrolling more than 5,000 students from across the United States and forty-plus other countries. More than 400 faculty members guide students toward completion of nearly fifty undergraduate and graduate degrees across four academic schools. In the 1970s, we became the first Penn State location outside of University Park to offer four-year degrees; our graduates now number in the tens of thousands— alumni who are leaders in the Erie region and around the world.

As northwestern Pennsylvania’s research institution, we support multi-million-dollar research programs. Our faculty are engaged in a wide range of research endeavors: bioluminescence as an energy generator, fuel cell technology, cybersecurity, prevention of bullying. In a great many of these activities, our students are researching side-by-side with our faculty.

We’re a driver of the Erie economy. A top 20 employer in Erie County. A supplier of high-performing talent to a multitude of businesses. A launch point for faculty-led companies like Beaumont Technologies and Larson Texts.

Decades ago, we played a pivotal role in the growth of the region’s plastics industry, creating a plastics engineering technology degree that’s still one of only six accredited in the country. Today, in our Innovation Commons, teams of students are helping entrepreneurs turn their ideas into marketable products and services; to date, they’ve worked with seventy-plus innovators, supported three start-ups, and been named as inventors on five patents.

Our open-lab model of academic-industry partnership is drawing companies to our technology and research park.

Knowledge Park is currently home to twenty-one companies employing more than 500 people. Growth in the park continues with the recent opening of an R&D center by biodiesel manufacturer HERO BX and the anticipated fall arrival of 200-plus employees of Erie Insurance.

As the local leader in outreach, we’re making an impact well beyond our campus borders. Our Youth Education Outreach staff engages with 23,000 young people and teachers through a rich array of programs. Our Economic Research Institute of Erie provides area decision-makers with quarterly snapshots of the region’s economic activity. Our Pennsylvania Sea Grant program works to sustain the Commonwealth’s coastal resources. In all, we operate more than three dozen centers and initiatives serving business and industry, youth, and regional development.

So as we enter our 70th year, I like to think that if Mary Behrend was gazing out a window of Glenhill Farmhouse today, she would be more than pleased with the view.

As always, I invite you to share with me your thoughts and ideas.

Chancellor Ralph Ford rmf7@psu.edu

Vol. 35 No. 2 Penn State Behrend Magazine is published twice a year and provided free to alumni and friends of Penn State Behrend by the Office of Strategic Communications. Executive Editor: William Gonda wvg2@psu.edu. Editor: Heather Cass hjc13@psu.edu. Contributors: Robb Frederick ‘92, Steve Orbanek, Christine Palattella. Photos: Rob Frank ‘06, Matt Kleck, Tim Rohrbach. Change of address/Unsubscribe: Development and Alumni Relations at 814-898-6367 or kcc146@psu.edu. Correspondence: Behrend Magazine, 207 Glenhill Farmhouse, 4701 College Drive, Erie PA 165631902. Phone 814-898-6419. Copyright ©2018 Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. This publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. U.Ed. EBO 19-104

BEHREND MAGAZINE

BEHREND M A G A Z I N E PENN STATE

ON THE COVER

ON THE COVER

SUMMER

2018

The cover of this issue of Behrend Magazine features a collection of memorabilia from the college’s 70-year history. These items from the Behrend Archives reflect the evolution of the college from Behrend Center in 1948 to Behrend College in the 1970s to today’s Penn State Behrend. Among the items pictured: The Cub, a yearbook from 1950; a felt Behrend College banner; a freshman dink, worn to identify a first-year student in the 1940s; photos of Ernst and Mary Behrend; the Behrend Medallion awarded to Mary; and a 1980s-era notebook depicting Glenhill Farmhouse. Read more about Behrend’s history on page 12.

JOIN US TO CELEBRATE

You’re invited to join in the celebration of our 70th anniversary. Make plans now to come to campus September 21-23 for Parents, Families & Alumni Weekend.

See page 25 to learn more.

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IN THIS ISSUE Behrend Professor Chosen as Penn State Laureate................................................ 3 New Residence Hall Ready for Students.................................................................. 7 Nursing Graduate Serves at Sea Aboard Mercy Ship............................................. 8 Partnership Offers Research Opportunities........................................................... 11 Behrend Celebrates 70 Years of Growth................................................................ 12 Students Engineer a Better Trash Can.................................................................... 16 Alumnus Enjoys Sweet Career................................................................................. 17

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Athletics News.......................................................................................................... 20 Parting Pix................................................................................................................. 24

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In Brief

SUMMER 2018

Need for nurses leads to expansion When Penn State Behrend’s nursing graduates walked across the stage in May, they all had jobs waiting for them.

nursing labs. The increased space will allow for admission of an additional thirty B.S.N. students this fall, beyond the fifty of previous years.

“All of our nursing students had job offers before their senior year,” said Kimberly “I have hospitals and medical Streiff, campus coordinator of nursing programs at facilities scooping up nurses Behrend. “I have hospitals as soon as we can get them and medical facilities through the program.” scooping up nurses as soon as we can get them through – Kimberly Streiff, campus coordinator of nursing programs the program.”

It’s not easy: Behrend nursing students must meet high grade point average standards and rack up plenty of hours in labs practicing their clinical and critical thinking skills before they do rotations at Erie-area medical facilities.

Recognizing the demand for nurses, locally and nationally, Behrend is expanding its

Students spend spring break in service Two dozen Penn State Behrend students joined more than eighty students from five other Penn State campuses on an alternative spring break service trip, helping residents in southeastern Texas recover from the catastrophic flooding caused when Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area in August 2017. Students helped with a variety of projects including demolition, debris removal, reconstruction, and general labor tasks.

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The program’s existing simulation lab will be moved to a larger room that will allow for three SIM bays.

“Two labs will be medical/surgical and one will be OB/neonatal, but we have the option to change one of the med-surg labs to pediatrics or mental health, or any other specialty,” Streiff said.

Activities in the SIM labs will be broadcast into a classroom next door, so students can learn from one another's experiences. The former SIM lab space will become a larger skills lab.

“These changes will allow for more access, greater flexibility, and a larger number of students who can use the labs at one time,” Streiff said. “We are very excited about it.”

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Behrend professor chosen as next Penn State Laureate Dr. John Champagne, professor of English, has been selected as the Penn State Laureate for 2018-19. He was chosen by University President Eric Barron and Executive Vice President and Provost Nick Jones on the recommendation of the laureate review committee.

Champagne has been teaching courses in English, literature, communication, philosophy, and the arts at Behrend for twentyfive years. He has been published extensively in both scholarly and creative venues; has received numerous awards for teaching, research, and writing; and has served on a range of committees and initiatives at the program, school, and college levels.

The Penn State laureate is an annual faculty honor established to bring greater visibility to the arts, the humanities, and the University, as well as the laureate’s work. The laureate appears at Penn State campuses and other events throughout a year-long appointment.

George Emanuele

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Dr. John Champagne >

Executive in Residence program grows Who better to introduce students to the realities of the business world than a successful industry insider? That’s why the Black School of Business has created an Executive In Residence (EIR) program, inviting professionals on the cutting edge of business and industry to share their experience with students and faculty members.

The school’s first EIRs—Behrend alumnus Justin Bloyd ’05, president of RB Sigma; and Marc Nachman, regional president of Sprint for Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia—will soon be joined by two more executives: George Emanuele, senior director at BNY Mellon Wealth Management and vice president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Chartered Financial Analyst Society, and Ann Scott ’82, ’99 M.B.A., community outreach manager for Erie Insurance Group.

Activities in which EIRs participate include speaking engagements, attending networking events, judging business competition entries, mentoring students, and more. They are appointed for renewable one-year terms. < Ann Scott '82, '99 M.B.A.

Energy University Partnership established Penn State has committed $250,000 to an Energy University Partnership that will support business opportunities created by a $6 billion Shell Pennsylvania Chemicals investment in Beaver County.

Shell is building an ethane “cracker” plant that will convert natural gas liquids into polyethylene, a source material for producers of plastics, including many companies in Erie County.

Penn State Behrend will lead the partnership and maintain a dedicated strategy room where stakeholders can collaborate on Shellrelated projects.

The first element of support already is in place: A web-based research network where businesses can post questions related to oil, gas, shale, plastics, and related energy matters. There will be no charge for initial research at the site, which is at www.askpennstate.psu.edu.

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New director selected for School of Engineering Dr. Timothy Kurzweg, formerly the vice provost for undergraduate education at Drexel University in Philadelphia, is the new director of the School of Engineering.

Kurzweg, an expert in optical microsystems and alternative materials for electronics and antennas, holds a doctorate and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. He has a bachelor’s degree from Penn State.

He has served as principal or co-principal investigator for approximately $9.5 million in funded research and has published more than eighty journal and conference papers.

He also holds multiple patents.

Kurzweg’s research, which has applications in bio-sensing, communications, and medical imaging, has been supported

by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and private industry.

At Behrend, Kurzweg will lead an engineering school with 1,600 students and a top-30 national ranking, according to U.S. News & World Report.

It will help that Kurzweg has firsthand knowledge of Erie: His wife, Jennifer, a Penn State graduate who now works as an attorney, is an Erie native. The couple, along with their three children, have regularly visited the region.

“Erie is a special place for us,” he said, “and there are excellent opportunities here for additional collaborations with the college. A Penn State Behrend education clearly is not limited to the classroom. It should extend into the community, through research co-ops, internships, and other learning experiences.”

In Memoriam Three longtime friends and advocates of Penn State Behrend have passed away in recent months.

Larry Smith, owner and CEO

of Automation Devices in Fairview, Pennsylvania, died March 9 at 79.

The Smith family’s support of Behrend dates back more than thirty years. Larry and his wife, Kathie, donated parcels of land adjacent to the Behrend campus, including land on which the Federal House, thought to be the oldest brick structure in Erie County, sits; the couple also established two separate student scholarship funds.

Most notably, the Smiths provided the funds for construction of the Larry and Kathryn Smith Chapel in conjunction with the Floyd and Juanita Smith carillon and bell tower, funded by an earlier gift from Larry’s parents.

From the time of the opening of the chapel and carillon in 2001, the Smiths continued to provide support for the building and programming.

Myron Jones, a pioneer in Erie’s radio and television broadcasting industry, died June 28. He was 92.

Jones founded Erie’s WJET Radio in the 1950s and introduced Erie’s ABC TV affiliate with the launch of WJET-TV in 1966. He helped Penn State Behrend secure the license for the college’s commercial radio station, WPSE, and in 2014, he and his wife, Marlene, created the Myron Jones Fund for Broadcasting to support the station in perpetuity.

In addition to their support of WPSE, the couple contributed to student scholarships and youth programs at Penn State Behrend. In 2011, Jones was honored at the opening of Behrend’s expanded student radio, television, and digital media facilities. Since then, an award in his name has been given annually to a Behrend student involved in the broadcasting field who demonstrates leadership, volunteerism, and entrepreneurship.

Ethel Kochel, widow of longtime Behrend administrative head Irvin Kochel and an influential campus presence in the college’s early years, died July 19 at the age of 94.

Between 1954 and 1980, Irv and Ethel oversaw Behrend’s transition to a four-year college, the addition of on-campus housing and academic buildings, and explosive growth in enrollment, from fewer than 100 students to more than 1,800. The couple raised their children in a small house on campus, attended most student events together, and hosted college functions.

The Kochels’ support of students extended to their philanthropy; over the years, they established four separate student scholarships. In 2007, Jeffrey Kochel ’71, the oldest of the couple’s three children, commissioned creation of a garden adjacent to Kochel Center to honor the behind-the-scenes role his mother played in the growth and success of Behrend. In 2013, Ethel was named an Honorary Alumna of Penn State, an honor reserved for individuals who did not graduate from the University but have made significant contributions to its reputation and prestige.

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Fords lead creation of $100,000 scholarship Penn State Behrend Chancellor Ralph Ford and his wife, Melanie Ford, assistant teaching professor of computer science and software engineering, were first-generation college students, so they have a personal understanding of the importance of supporting students in achieving their goals of a college education.

That's why the Fords decided to pledge $50,000 to create an endowment that would directly aid Penn State Behrend students who are most in need of scholarship funds. In a show of support, a group of alumni, faculty, and friends matched the Fords’ gift.

In all, the Fords and eight additional donors contributed a total of $100,000 to fully fund the Dr. Ralph M. and Melanie R. Ford Trustee Scholarship, which Penn State will match at an established percentage every year in perpetuity. Since the University’s matching funds began immediately with the Fords’ gift, several students have already benefited from scholarships beginning in the fall of 2017.

“We feel strongly about the importance of providing access to higher education because we represent the first generation in our own families to have that opportunity,” Ralph Ford said. “We wanted to create a way to help future generations of students learn, explore and succeed at Behrend and in the world after graduation.”

“Ralph and I believe firmly in the value of a Penn State Behrend education and in the tremendous opportunities students have here to succeed,” Melanie Ford said, “and it’s a great feeling to have friends and colleagues who share our commitment to Behrend and its students join us in creating this endowment.”

The establishment of endowed scholarships, through singular and group efforts, is one of a number of ways Penn State alumni, friends, faculty, and staff can support the University.

To learn more about giving opportunities, contact Kevin Moore at 814-898-6159 or kem7@psu.edu

Remembering longtime Behrend leader Bob Light It would be impossible to overstate the influence and impact that Dr. Bob Light, former senior associate dean for research and outreach and chief operating officer of the college, had on Penn State Behrend.

Light, who died in February at age 64, arrived at Behrend in 1984 as a biology faculty member. Almost immediately, he took on additional responsibilities, including development of a program that funds undergraduate student research. The Sigma Xi Undergraduate Research and Creative Accomplishment Conference, which Light launched, has become the region’s premier showcase for undergraduate research.

His work on behalf of Pennsylvania Sea Grant positioned the college as a leader in environmental and ecological studies.

Light’s efforts made Penn State eligible for Sea Grant College status—the highest designation given by NOAA. His leadership of Sea Grant changed how we view Erie: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to delist Presque Isle Bay as an environmental Area of Concern was based largely on research by Sea Grant staff.

Light also led the development of Knowledge Park, the cornerstone of the college’s open-laboratory philosophy. Today, the park plays a pivotal role in supporting academic and industry collaborations that advance student learning while fostering innovation in our region.

He also oversaw functions ranging from enrollment management and the college budget to community and workforce programs and campus sustainability projects.

To honor Light and recognize his contributions to the college, including his strong support of Behrend Athletics, colleagues and friends have established a program endowment in his name. Gifts to the Robert W. Light Endowment for Penn State Behrend Athletics may be made online at giveto.psu.edu/LightAthleticsEndowment or by contacting the Office of Development at 814-898-6159.

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Honoring an Alumnus Hagen Awarded Behrend Medallion

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he Behrend Medallion, Penn State Behrend’s foremost recognition of an individual who has brought honor to his or her profession and community, has been awarded for only the twentieth time in the college’s seventy-year history.

The Medallion was presented to alumnus Thomas B. Hagen, chairman of the board of Erie Insurance Group companies, by Chancellor Ralph Ford at the Glenhill Appreciation Dinner held in May. John M. Lilley, former provost and dean of the college, told the audience that when he interviewed for Behend’s leadership position in 1980, Hagen promised to support him in his efforts to grow the institution. “And he surely did,” Lilley said. “Tom understood what Penn State Behrend could become, and as a discerning businessman, he knew the region needed a high-quality public research university, a unique mission for this area.”

Hagen began working at Erie Insurance in the early 1950s, while he was a student at Penn State Behrend. He retired from the company forty years later as chairman and CEO. From 1995 to 1997, Hagen served as Pennsylvania’s twenty-eighth and last Secretary of Commerce. When the Commonwealth offices were restructured, he became the first Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development in the administration of former Gov. Tom Ridge.

Long identified with Erie’s community development and historic building restoration efforts, Hagen is an advisory board member and former officer and director of Preservation Pennsylvania. In 1993, he received the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Institute of Architects’ Honor Award for contributions to the profession by a non-architect. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has honored him with its Preservationist of the Year Award and, in 1997, named him Emissary Plenipotentiary.

“Tom cares deeply about his community, as I’ve seen firsthand in our joint efforts to revitalize downtown Erie through the Erie Downtown Development Corporation,” said Timothy NeCastro, president and chief executive officer of Erie Insurance and board president for the Erie Downtown Development Corporation, a private nonprofit Hagen helped to found. “And he cares deeply about education and learning, as we’ve all seen in his commitment to Penn State Behrend.”

Hagen is a member and past chair of the Penn State Behrend Council of Fellows, a member of the advisory board of the college’s Black School of Business, and the current honorary chair of the Penn State Behrend Campaign Committee. In 1998, he received the designation of Alumni Fellow, the highest individual honor bestowed by the Penn State Alumni Association.

Hagen and his late wife, Susan, endowed what is now called the Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Community Outreach Research and Evaluation, or CORE. An outreach program of the college, CORE conducts research and evaluation of program effectiveness and best practices for healthy youth development.

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< Tom Hagen, center, is flanked by Chancellor Ralph Ford, left, and former campus leaders, from left, Dr. Jack Burke, Dr. John Lilley, and Dr. Don Birx

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Trippe Hall Ready for Students!

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his fall, more than 250 students will be moving into Penn State Behrendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newest residence hall: Trippe Hall, a $28.5-million building with all the latest living-learning amenities.

A portion of Trippe will offer an international-focused environment intended to help students build cultural competency. The community, called Global Boarders, will be a mix of international and domestic students who want a culturally diverse learning experience. Special academic

enrichment and out-of-class experiences will be part of Global Boarders.

Tree House will be another special living option in Trippe Hall for students who want to lead lives of heightened environmental consciousness. Residents will engage the Behrend community on sustainability topics, encouraging others to consider the environmental impacts of their daily choices.

Each floor in Trippe has a large community room with additional study lounges in each wing of the building.

A fully-equipped community kitchen is accessible to all residents as well.

Trippe Hall continues a Behrend tradition of naming all on-campus residences for ships or captains that participated in the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812: The Trippe was a onegun sloop that fought a duel with the British ships Lady Prevost and Little Belt.

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Serving At Sea

Nursing alumna volunteers on floating hospital in Africa

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s many as five billion people lack access to safe, affordable surgical and anesthesia services worldwide, and fewer than 6 percent of all operations are performed in the world’s poorest countries.

It’s not hard to understand why. Establishing a sterile surgical center in places such as sub-Saharan Africa is nearly impossible. Lack of access to clean water, reliable electricity, and trained healthcare providers are just three of the myriad challenges to be overcome.

But what if you could bring the hospital to the underserved?

Enter Mercy Ships and its 16,500-ton vessel, the Africa Mercy.

Kaylynn DeFusco, a 2010 graduate of Penn State Behrend’s nursing program, recently spent six months working aboard Africa Mercy with 400 other volunteers from forty different countries.

She had learned about Mercy Ships long before she set sail in November. “I first heard about the ships in seventh grade chapel when my high school teacher gave a talk about it,” she said.

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Mercy Ships was established in 1978 with the Anastasis.

In 2007, it launched Africa Mercy, the largest of the ships operated by the faith-based organization.

DeFusco, a Pittsburgh native, raised funds and took a leave of absence from her nursing job to work on the Africa Mercy.

“God has blessed me with a lot in life, and I wanted to pay that forward,” she said. “It was also a good time in my life to do it as I have some nursing experience under my belt and the scheduling freedom to go.”

She took care of patients who had had hernia repairs, goiter removals, lipoma removals, burn contracture releases, and pediatric cataract removals. But she primarily cared for women who had received obstetric fistula repairs.

A fate worse than death Obstetric fistulas have been called a fate worse than death for women in developing countries. A complication of prolonged obstructed labor, obstetric fistulas result in a woman’s inability to control her body’s wasteremoval functions. She is often rejected by her

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husband and shunned by her village because of her foul smell and inability to bear more children.

Though virtually unheard of in developed countries and often repairable, obstetric fistulas are sadly common where women don’t have access to safe, affordable surgical care.

Patients travel, often for days or weeks, to the ship, which remains docked in one location for about ten months at a time. The working language of the ship is English, but the patients speak a variety of languages.

“The region we were docked at in Cameroon was mostly French speaking,” DeFusco said. “But patients came from all over the country, and with nearly 275 different ethnic groups, there were several different dialects spoken.”

Translators were available, but DeFusco said few words were needed to understand the needs of her patients and the pain they were experiencing: Compassion and empathy are universal languages for nurses.

Laughter and smiles abound DeFusco said that despite the seriousness of the mission of the Africa Mercy, the atmosphere onboard is one of hope and joy. Patients often arrive with children in tow.

“In Cameroon, it feels like the entire community takes responsibility for caring for the children, so there were always a lot of kids running around,” she said. “It definitely made me happy to have them there making every situation lighter.”

Mercy Ships says the services it offers can be not only lifesaving but also life changing.

DeFusco, who has returned to work as a nurse at the Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh, said that statement holds true for volunteers as well.

“It has renewed my desire to nurture an appreciation for life, even in the midst of struggle and sorrow,” DeFusco said.

Heartbreaking and heartwarming days Not all of the obstetric fistula surgeries were successful.

These were some of the most heartbreaking days on the ship for DeFusco.

Whether the surgery was successful or not, patients in the obstetrics fistula ward were invited to a celebration before they left the Africa Mercy.

“We held a dress ceremony with music, dancing and storytelling,” DeFusco said. “Every woman was given jewelry and a new dress made of vibrant African fabric. It was wonderful to see these women honored and given a platform to speak after years of being ostracized by their own communities.”

Visit mercyships.org to learn more about Mercy Ships.

< Kaylynn DeFusco '10

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Students Provide Financial Literacy Training to Teachers Two-thirds of the U.S. population cannot calculate basic financial transactions, including interest payments

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ere’s $1,000. It’s a loan, offered at twenty percent interest. If you accept it, how much are you expected to pay back in the first year?

If you say $200, you’re correct. You’re also more financially aware than most Americans: Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population cannot calculate an interest payment, according to a 2016 study by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.

FINRA surveyed more than 27,500 Americans, asking basic questions about financial risk. Respondents were deemed financially illiterate if they missed three of five given questions.

In those households, problems compound faster than a payday loan. Consumers who do not understand basic financial concepts tend to borrow more, and at higher rates.

They also pay more in transaction fees.

“If two-thirds of our population were book-illiterate, that would be considered a national crisis. We would be addressing it at every level of our educational system,” said Dr. Greg Filbeck, director of the Black School of Business at Penn State Behrend.

“Financial illiteracy also can hold families back, but as a culture, we tend to not show the same level of concern for an issue so central to our lives.”

Twenty-six states, including Pennsylvania, have no curriculum requirement for basic K-12 financial education. Students are not learning to budget, and that’s costing them money: Roughly a third of all bank fees and interest-rate overcharges are due to errors or oversights by borrowers.

Two years ago, Filbeck and Dr. Jessica Zhao, professor of finance, surveyed < Jason Pettner 18

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teachers in fifty-three high schools. They asked about numeracy—the ability to grasp basic financial data—but also about students’ confidence when handling finances.

“That aspect shouldn’t be overlooked,” said Jason Pettner, a 2018 Black School of Business graduate who expanded the surveys and presented learning plans to teachers in Pittsburgh, Warren, and Buffalo, N.Y. “People fear what they don’t understand, and when they don’t understand budgeting or the basics of investing, they miss out on opportunities,” he said. “They plan for the future by putting money under the mattress.”

Pettner’s passion for financial education began at home: He was just 10 when his father died. A financial planner helped the family invest the insurance money— a financial life raft that carried Pettner into college.

Last year, he and two classmates—Ben Lowery and John McDermitt—trained teachers at more than forty high schools to incorporate basic financial awareness in their lesson plans. A partnership with the CFA Society of Pittsburgh could expand the effort to eighty-five more schools in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

“Teachers are fighting an uphill battle,” Pettner said. “The data shows that this works, but it takes manpower. We need more people going out and talking to these classes.”

He tells his own story when he meets with teachers. It gives them perspective.

“This isn’t just about data sets,” Pettner said. “This is about people’s lives being changed through financial education. That change doesn’t occur overnight, but if you start early and stay with it, it really isn’t difficult to put yourself on solid financial ground.”

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^ From left, Dr. Martin Kociolek, director of the School of Science; Scott McCain, chair of the Penn State Behrend Council of Fellows Board of Directors; Pat Black, founder and CEO of HERO BX; and Behrend Chancellor Ralph Ford

Biofuels R&D Center Opens HERO BX partnership extends open-lab model to college’s School of Science

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research during the academic year and $1 million investment by HERO as summer interns for the company.

BX, an Erie-based biodiesel company, will create research “Having a lab on campus gives our opportunities for students and faculty students the flexibility to work in new members in the School of Science ways,” said Marty Kociolek, director at Penn State Behrend. Much of the work will be conducted in “Having a lab on campus gives a new, 1,500-square-foot chemistry lab the company our students the flexibility to has developed in the work in new ways."

Advanced Manufacturing — Dr. Martin Kociolek and Innovation Center in Knowledge Park. of the School of Science and an Students will work with HERO BX chemists and other researchers to reduce the sulfur in biodiesel feedstocks, which are processed for reuse as transportation fuels and heating oil. HERO BX produces more than fifty million gallons of biodiesel every year.

Subsequent work by students is expected to focus on increasing the efficiency of biodiesel in coldtemperature applications, including commercial aviation.

HERO BX operates production and distribution facilities in Erie, Alabama, and New Hampshire. The company is the largest producer of biodiesel in the eastern United States.

associate professor of chemistry at Penn State Behrend. “It will be much easier for students to integrate their work with HERO BX into their academic schedules. They can walk over and work for a few hours between classes.”

The commitment by HERO BX to staff the lab with a manager and, as needed, additional researchers will allow students to engage with industry scientists on a daily basis, Kociolek said.

“They’re not going to work in isolation here,” he said. “They’re going to learn the entire process for the production of biodiesel, from beginning to end,

and see how the chemistry they have learned in their classes is used in a reallife application.”

The HERO BX partnership is the first open-lab initiative in the college’s School of Science.

“The HERO BX lab will create new opportunities for Penn State Behrend students to collaborate with an industrial research partner – in this case, developing cleaner, domestically produced, renewable fuel sources,” Chancellor Ralph Ford said. “This is a true collaboration, with a commitment by both partners to engage directly and regularly in a way that only a presence on campus makes possible.”

The Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Center was designed to foster exactly that kind of collaboration.

The building, which is located in the college’s Knowledge Park, advances Penn State Behrend’s open-lab model of learning, which matches students and faculty members with privatesector partners for experiential student learning, applied research, and advanced product development.

HERO BX will staff the Knowledge Park lab with a full-time manager. Penn State Behrend students will contribute to

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Happy Birthday, Behrend!

70 years old and still growing Only three months elapsed between Mary Behrend’s June 1948 donation of her Glenhilll Farm to Penn State and its reinvention as The Behrend Center. Yet 146 students showed up for classes in September, motivated by post-World War II G.I. Bill benefits and a new ability to pursue public, co-ed higher education in Erie.

Over the past 70 years, Behrend’s growth story can be told in part through the changes in its enrollments.

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Spring 1951

Fall 1963

Young men are being drafted into service for the Korean War, and enrollment at The Behrend Center consequently plummets to 64; rumors circulate that the campus may close.

360 students enroll. Looking ahead, campus leaders project growth to 800 students by 1980.

September 1948

1953

1966-1972

126 men and 20 women enroll to pursue their first year of Penn State education. They are supported by a dozen faculty members and six staff members.

Associate-degree programs are added; they are the first to be offered outside of State College.

Nationally, college attendance by young men jumps; some are using G.I. Bill benefits while others want a deferment from service in Vietnam. With the opening of the first three on-campus residence halls— Perry, Niagara, and Lawrence—enrollment grows to 1,500 by 1972.

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January 1973

Fall 2001

Behrend is the first location outside of State College to be awarded college status by the Penn State Board of Trustees.

Four-year degrees now can be pursued in Erie.

Enrollment reaches 3,700.

Fall 1985

Fall 2006

Enrollment makes another leap, to 2,250. The first graduate program, an M.B.A., is introduced, and oncampus apartments are added.

Enrollment tops 4,000; a space crunch is alleviated by the openings of 60,000 square feet of classrooms and labs in Burke Center and the University Gates private apartment development.

Fall 2017 Total enrollment in Behrend programs is 5,184. Some Behrend students see our beautiful campus only online; three of the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s forty-three degrees are offered through Penn State World Campus.

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Beyond Tolerance Creating inclusive learning environments for transgender children < Dr. Ashley Sullivan

A

s an undergraduate social work student, Dr. Ashley Sullivan saw a documentary she could not forget.

In an effort to continue helping children in difficult situations, Sullivan switched to early childhood education and taught kindergarten in an underfunded school for several years.

Is it a Boy or a Girl? explored the ethics of gender reassignment surgery of “I really enjoyed teaching, but I knew intersex children, a general term used I could have a bigger impact and help for a variety of conditions in which a more children by teaching teachers,” she person is born with a reproductive or said. “Also, I love to sexual anatomy “It’s one thing to struggle do research and there I that doesn't seem simply had no time for to fit the typical with who you love, but it’s that.” definitions of another to struggle with After earning her Ph.D. female or male. and obtaining a faculty who you are.”

“I remember — Dr. Ashley Sullivan position at Penn State thinking that it’s Behrend, Sullivan, an one thing to struggle with who you love, assistant professor of elementary and but it’s another to struggle with who you early childhood education, took on the are,” she said. “It really affected me.” research topic that had intrigued her a Sullivan followed her chosen career path decade earlier—transgender children— until she realized social work was not a and how teachers can help them by good fit for her. creating gender-inclusive environments.

“The day I had to make six calls to Child Protective Services, I knew it wasn’t a sustainable career for me,” Sullivan said.

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“Forty percent of transgender persons attempt suicide,” Sullivan said. “As a society, we need to do a better job than just accepting or tolerating, but move

toward a place of advocacy and activism for transpersons. We should strive for full inclusion.”

Sullivan believes that early education teachers can play an important role in

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Public Policy Fund Established

that process. Her research has led to strategies teachers can use to create inclusive environments for all children.

“There are some very simple things teachers can do, such as eliminating gender segregation as much as possible by not asking them to line up by gender, or by saying ‘Good morning, students’ instead of ‘Good morning, boys and girls,’” Sullivan said.

“They can intervene in gender policing, too, because 3-year-olds will tell a girl they can’t play with a football or a boy that he can’t wear a tiara from the dress-up box.”

Lately, Sullivan has been focusing on books. She teamed up with Dr. Laurie Urraro,

assistant teaching professor of Spanish, who researches gender in Spanish plays, to conduct a content analysis of children’s picture books that contain transgender characters. They also held focus groups with transgender people in three states. The results of that work were recently published in Bank Street, an industry publication for teachers.

Sullivan and Urraro have a contract to write a book about Sullivan’s dissertation research, interviewing transgender adults about their early childhood education experiences.

“Basically, we need to stop making transgender kids feel like they are broken, like there is something wrong with them,” Sullivan said. “Kids should get to be who they are, and we should trust them to know that.” < Dr. Laurie Urraro

The Public Policy Fund at Penn State Behrend, established with a gift from Rev. Charles Brock, launched this spring to bring together a diversity of perspectives to inform public policy decisions that affect the Erie region and similar communities in the Great Lakes and Ohio River Basin areas.

“To be effective at solving problems in their communities, leaders need to use integrative approaches that draw on knowledge, insights, and experiences from a range of disciplines,” said Caitlin Handerhan, executive director of the fund. “We are uniquely positioned to support that.”

The fund draws on the expertise of Behrend faculty members to research policy solutions of importance to the Erie region, increase the policy research available to decision-makers, emphasize the importance of research-driven policy decisions, and promote interdisciplinary approaches to policy.

Brock, a lecturer in political science and director of Behrend's Institute on the American Dream, is a longtime supporter of numerous Behrend programs. The fund is based in the political science program of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Caitlin Handerhan, > executive director of the college’s new Public Policy Fund.

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SUMMER 2018

Engineering a Better Can L

itter is unsightly, to be sure, but officials in the city of Wausau, Wisconsin, thought the waste containers on every corner downtown were unsightly, too. The city’s procurement director approached Wausau Tile, a company that manufactures site furnishings, and suggested they come up with a more aesthetically pleasing trashcan design.

Having met students and faculty members from Penn State Behrend’s plastics engineering technology program at trade shows and other industry events and knowing Behrend had resources they could tap into, Wausau Tile reached out the School of Engineering.

Meanwhile, Jon Meckley, associate professor of engineering and chair of the PLET program, had been tweaking the curriculum in some of his classes, including PLET 323 Packaging Processes, to encourage more critical thinking and hands-on work.

“As much as I love to think students memorize everything I say, I know they only retain a portion of what I teach them in lectures,” he said. “I’ve started moving toward more selfdirected learning and organizing projects in such a way that students also have to do research and defend their choices.

Those discussions help them learn and retain information.”

Meckley’s colleague, Jason Williams, assistant teaching professor of engineering, suggested Meckley task his PLET 323 students with the Wausau trashcan design project.

Working in small teams, students came up with options to present to Justin Plunkett, site furnishing division manager at Wausau Tile, who would pick the winning design.

“We gave them ideas and guidelines for what we thought we wanted,” Plunkett said. “But we knew those things might change a bit in the actual design process.”

“We designed our trashcan to be simple, yet functional,” Siegel said. “We wanted it to do what was required effectively without over-the-top additional features.”

“We designed our simple, yet functional. We wanted it to do what was required effectively without over-the-top additional features.”

-Jess Siegel '18

Each design was accompanied by a report.

“The students really went above and beyond by providing not just designs, but suggestions on what plastics materials to use

BEHREND MAGAZINE

The winning team— Nathan Albensi, George Haws, Dan Judge, and Jess Siegel, who are all now PLET graduates— focused on simplicity.

“As Da Vinci, said ‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,’” Albensi said. “Our locking mechanism, designed trashcan to be by Dan Judge, was unique in that it only required the force of gravity to lock and unlock.”

Near the end of the spring semester, Meckley sent all the designs to Plunkett.

“I sent them all because you can never really predict exactly what a client is looking for,” he said.

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and statistics and test results to support them,” Plunkett said.

Wausau Tile liked the design so much they put it into production. “We just delivered our first order of eighty-seven containers for a project in Miami, Florida, a month ago,” Plunkett said. “We’ve also given a few to the city of Wausau. They plan to replace all of the less-attractive ones downtown eventually.”

The team members were surprised to see their class project put into production.

“It’s extremely rewarding to see work you do in the classroom show up in the real world,” Haws said. “You can point to a tangible product and show your friends and family what you do. It’s pretty cool.”

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Behrend Alumnus Living the Sweet Life at Daffin’s

I

f you work in an office with a candy jar, you know how tough it can be to resist temptation. Now imagine if your office were the candy jar. Can one even focus when surrounded by milk chocolate and other sugary confections?

Stan Lefes ’89 is proof that you can. He’s been doing it for nearly thirty years at Daffin’s Candies. Lefes, who was a business and behavior science major, is the wholesale and distribution manager for Daffin’s Candies, working out of the company’s 53,000-square-foot factory in Farrell, Pennsylvania.

Focus around chocolate? Yes. Resist? Lefes says life is too short.

“I don’t resist. I’m a self-appointed taste tester.”

His favorites are Daffin’s two top sellers: Melt-a-ways, chocolate candies with centers that melt in your mouth, and caramel pecanettes, pecans and caramel covered in milk chocolate.

As the distribution manager, Lefes coordinates all product movement. He manages the wholesale department and is also assigned to a wide range of other responsibilities within the company.

“I enjoy the flexibility and challenge of dealing with multiple projects and not having a repetitive job,” he said.

Daffin's Candies by the numbers 400 pounds

Weight of Tommy the Turtle, one of the chocolate creatures on display at Daffin’s Chocolate Kingdom in Sharon, Pennsylvania

600 varieties

Candies made by Daffin’s

53,000 square feet

Daffin’s is a family-owned company with about 100 employees. Though not a member of the Daffin’s family by blood, after twenty-seven years of working for the company, Lefes is “family” by business standards.

Size of Daffin’s chocolate factory

“I’m lucky to work with such great people and for a great company,” he said.

1 million pounds

Sounds like a sweet gig.

110,000

Number of chocolate-nut eggs produced for the Easter season Weight of chocolate made by Daffin’s each year

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^ The Mellish family, from left, Emily, Joy, Thad, Lauren, and Taylor

Special Stars Shine Brighter Alumni produce inclusive talent show

J

oy Zahniser Mellish ’02, ’04 M.B.A., and her husband, Thad ’01, ’06 M.B.A., knew their first child would change their lives, but they had no way of knowing just how fully Emily’s arrival would upend expectations and set them all on a different life journey.

And that’s okay, Joy will tell you. One of the first things she and Thad, Penn State Behrend sweethearts, learned about parenting a child with special needs is that flexibility is required.

“We have spent unplanned days in doctors' offices, home sick, or recovering from surgeries in the hospital during holidays,” Joy said. “We have learned that any day can be a cause for celebration, especially those spent out of the hospital.”

Joy and Thad’s daughter, Emily, was born in 2005 with spina bifida and severe scoliosis—and with the beauty and generous spirit of an angel.

$120K recovery

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bracelets to sell and donating the proceeds to Shriners Hospitals. She hasn’t stopped since,” Joy said.

Emily has had plenty of down time to craft over the years.

At last count, she has had thirty surgeries, including several leg-lengthening procedures and biannual back operations to maintain the rod that stabilizes her spine.

Over the years, Emily’s handiwork has helped her raise more than $120,000 for Shriners Hospitals and other charities. She’s had some help.

“Emily hosted several bead-stringing outreach events and got groups of volunteers from various schools, organizations, and clubs to help her string beads,” Joy said. “People came from all over the region to participate. It was really great.”

Emily, 12, plans to continue giving back to help young people like herself.

“She dreams of working as a child life specialist and helping kids in a medical setting,” Joy said.

No doubt she will; Emily is one determined girl.

When she was just six years old, Emily began raising money—selling baked goods during the neighborhood garage sale—to help other kids like herself. In 2012, she started crafting for charity.

A force from birth

“She had a major back surgery that year and knew she’d have to sit a lot during recovery, so she began making beaded

“We were told she would never walk,” Joy said.

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With all due respect to Emily’s physicians, they underestimated her from the start.

Emily not only walks, but she sings and dances, too. Her favorite place to perform? The Shining Stars Pageant,

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Joy changed the format of the program to a talent show so that those with special needs of all ages, genders, and abilities could participate and share whatever gifts they have.

“We’ve had everything from magic tricks to comedy skits

The annual spring show is a family affair for the Mellishes. In the last few years, it’s been a sister act with Emily joined on stage by Taylor, 9, and Lauren, 5, who want to support their sister, share the limelight, and join in the fun. One year, Emily and her father, a mechanical engineering graduate who is now the vice president of proposals and aftermarket at CMI Energy in Erie, lip-synched and acted out Love is an Open Door from the movie Frozen.

Participants do not have to audition or pay to be in the show.

Audience members are asked for a $5 donation. It’s money well spent as most leave the program with aching faces from smiling for two hours.

“Our audience members don’t spend a moment judging the quality of the performances, but instead they rejoice in the happiness of the moment and the person on the stage,” Joy said.

“We all, every one of us, have disabilities, like fear and societal expectations, that keep us from doing the things that lead us to be happy,” Joy said. “What I see in those people with obvious ‘disabilities’ is that they don’t ever let that get in the way of enjoying themselves. They embrace life, live fully, and find joy in the everyday things many of us take for granted.”

Talent show photos by Katie Mihalak Photography

More stars invited to shine

STAR

“It started as a beauty pageant put together by a high school student as a fundraiser for a club,” Joy said. “In 2015, I was asked if I’d be interested in taking over the show.”

to hula hoop dancing to traditional talent show staples like singing,” Joy said.

^

an annual Erie County talent show for those with special needs, that her mother, a management information systems graduate, produces each spring with help from several other volunteers.

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SUMMER 2018

SEASON REPORT

Lions are Seventeen-Time

AMCC Champs P

enn State Behrend's Lions again won the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Presidents Cup. This is the fourteenth consecutive championship for the Lions, who have earned the honor for the most outstanding overall athletics program in the conference a total of seventeen times.

In this most recent season, the Lions captured seven conference championships— women's soccer, men’s and women's cross country, men's golf, men's swimming and diving, and men's and women's volleyball—and finished as runners-up in men's tennis, men's soccer, women's swimming and diving, and softball.

2017-18 Honors

We are proud of our players, coaches, and athletics staff for yet another exciting and successful season!

AMCC Coaches of the Year Patrick O’Driscoll – women’s soccer Dan Perritano – men’s soccer Phil Pisano – men’s and women’s volleyball Greg Cooper – men’s and women’s cross country

AMCC Players of the Year Savanna Carr – women’s cross country Jordan Oberlander – women’s soccer (offensive) Rachel Weyand – women’s soccer (defensive) Chris Ralph – men’s soccer (defensive) Mark Patterson – men’s swimming and diving Hannah Saunders – women’s volleyball Dillon Hildebrand – men’s volleyball AJ Nichols – softball (pitcher) Gwen Lowery – women’s swimming Malike Brinson – men’s basketball (defensive)

AMCC Rookies of the Year Mackenzie McIntire – softball Kelly Giles – women’s cross country Zachary Wortman – men’s cross country Jack Perfett – men’s golf

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^ Chancellor Ralph Ford and Brian Streeter, senior director of athletics

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Endowment honors athletics director

I

t’s not easy to pull one over on Brian Streeter. The senior athletics director says that he “knows about pretty much everything going on in athletics” at any given moment.

So the oversized presentation check leaning up against a wall at last summer’s Herb Lauffer Memorial Golf Tournament caught his attention.

“I thought, ‘Now, why did we bring that?’” he said. “I figured someone grabbed it by mistake, and we’d just take it back to the office after the tourney.”

It wasn’t a mistake. It was a surprise and a rare opportunity to shine a spotlight on the notoriously humble Streeter, who is entering his twenty-second year at the helm of the athletics program. He has led the Lions to seventeen Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Presidents Cup awards and 113 AMCC Championships since the inception of the conference in 1997.

Wrestling on the lawn One way to draw attention to the new wrestling program is to host practice outside the Reed Building in the center of campus on a beautiful fall afternoon.

To honor Streeter and his legacy at Behrend, the athletics department created an endowed fund that will help studentathletes for years to come. Money from the fund can be used for enhancements

“It’s something that will continue paying out for years. It’s a nice legacy.”

- Brian Streeter to athletics, such as equipment purchases, coach development programs, and more.

Streeter said he was completely, but pleasantly, surprised.

“It’s something that will continue paying out for years,” Streeter said. “It’s a nice legacy.”

The college’s offices of Athletics and Development were able to raise $25,000 to activate the endowment, but are still accepting donations to grow the gift.

If you would like to contribute, visit giveto.psu.edu/ StreeterAthleticsDirectorEndowment or contact Kevin Moore at kem7@psu.edu or 814-898-6159.

Trash to Treasure sale raises record funds Every spring, the athletics department works with members of Greener Behrend to host a new-and-used sale in Erie Hall with items left behind by students or donated by Behrend community members. This year’s sale raised a record $3,823 for United Way of Erie County. Thanks to all who put a lot of time, muscle, and sweat into this sale, which not only raises money for charity, but encourages reuse of items that might otherwise be thrown away.

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SUMMER 2018

Intramurals Have a Lot to Offer

T

he reasons students participate in intramural sports are as varied

and numerous as the actual activities.

Some athletes don’t want the commitment of a varsity or club team.

Some want to make friends and meet new people. Some are talked into it by their friends. Some can’t get enough of their favorite sports. Some enjoy the low-stakes competition among classmates.

Some students, like Derrick Clark, a junior with concurrent majors in accounting and finance, take part in intramural sports and activities for all those reasons and more.

Clark, who is a member of Behrend’s basketball team, has participated in intramural flag football, basketball, and volleyball.

“I enjoy intramurals because they are fun and competitive,” Clark said. “They give you a chance to meet new people and also to compete against your friends.”

Within one institution The word intramural is defined as “within the walls of one building.”

At the college level, those walls are expanded to include the entire educational institution. So intramural sports and activities are those that take place on campus among students.

At Behrend, more than two dozen activities are offered each semester, including five-on-five and three-onthree basketball, volleyball, cornhole, dodgeball, sand volleyball, tennis, fun runs, ultimate Frisbee, football, pingpong, arena football, soccer, and much more.

Rob Wittman, director of intramural and recreation programs, has been organizing these activities at Behrend for more than twenty-five years. He said the program has evolved over the decades to include activities such as fantasy football, chess, video gaming, and other non-traditional intramural offerings.

“It’s an effort to reach students who may not be as interested in athletics events or sports, but still want to get together for fun and competition,” Wittman said.

Sports without the commitment Intramural offerings are, at most, a three-week commitment. Many are just a one-time activity, so they give students the chance to play without having to devote too much time.

“Ultimately, intramurals are a retention tool,” Wittman said. “They give students an opportunity to have fun, meet people, and learn something outside of the classroom.”

Club sports are a step above intramurals, with regular practices and games against other teams, often from other colleges.

“Some don’t even want that sort of commitment, so intramurals are a nice alternative,” Wittman said.

In addition to organized tournaments and activities, Wittman offers students semester-long fitness challenges such as the Behrend Fitness Club and I Lift Weights Club, where students can earn a t-shirt or other Behrend swag by reaching specific goals.

“These are meant to encourage students to work out and stay fit,” he said.

Plenty take advantage. In the past academic year, almost a thousand students participated in at least one intramural activity.

Wittman said plans for the coming year include new activities, perhaps some oversized lawn games, like Jenga or Connect Four, cross-fit-type classes, and a Madden NFL online competition.

The staple sports, though, will remain.

“Football, basketball, volleyball, soccer, bowling, and other traditional sports are always popular, so we’re not doing away with those,” he said. “We just want to expand on that so even more students can participate.”

To learn more about intramurals or see a schedule, visit psblions.com and choose the "Inside Athletics" tab

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BEHREND MAGAZINE

ALUMNI NEWS 1950s

John Mallory ’58 (Behrend 1952-54) is a retired personnel manager who worked for Westinghouse and Northrop Grumman. He and his wife, Sue Smith Mallory ’58, have lived in Saratoga, Calif., for more than fifty years.

John writes that he and Sue are active in their community and church and walk two miles a day. John would like to catch up with other Behrend alumni by email or phone (408-252-7447). mallory58@aol.com

1960s

Paul Ottoson ’64 (Behrend 1960-62) is a Certified Public Accountant in Illinois. caspro04@sbcgobal.net

1970s

Debrah Goldstein Goldfarb ’72 (Behrend 1968-69) and her husband, William, live in Boca Raton, Fla. Deby writes that she has two jobs in “paradise”—she’s a restaurant writer for Simply the Best magazine and owner of the event website SteppingOutFlorida.com. “The jobs are good, the family is good, health is good. Life is good,” she says. debfarb1@gmail.com

1980s

Bob Koncerak ’83 (Behrend 1981) writes that he is pleased to be in his fifth year on the Board of Visitors for the Black School of Business. Bob and his wife, Carol ’83, live in Alpharetta, Ga., where Bob is EVP/COO-CFO for American Commerce Bank. rdahkoncerak@yahoo.com John McCutcheon ’85 plans to retire in July from his position as electronics lab technician in Behrend’s School of Engineering. “I’ve enjoyed working here, loved the students, and put my son and daughter through Penn State,” John writes. He lives in Erie with his wife, Rita. jcm2@psu.edu MarLynn Branson-Tomlinson ’86, ’90 is retired and living in Hanford, Calif. marlynn1@aol.com James Pastorius ’87 is a lead tech application analyst at ADP in Raleigh, N.C. jpastorius@gmail.com

1990s

Ken Anderson ’91 is a double boardcertified facial plastic surgeon who specializes in robotic hair restoration surgery at the

Anderson Center for Hair in Atlanta. He also founded the American Academy of Hair Restoration Surgery. dranderson@andersonhsc.com Eric Saraceno ’97 is an account executive at Workday in Tysons Corner, Va. “Behrend and its professors prepared me well for the real world. Glad to see Behrend thriving and receiving accolades,” he writes.

Michael Clarke ’98 has spent twenty years in the college bookstore industry. He currently is director of bookstores, convenience stores, and Starbucks for the Auraria Higher Education Center in Denver. mike72493@aol.com

2000s

John Setterberg Jr. ’00 is a retirement plan specialist at Boetger Retirement Plan Services in Erie. He lives in Waterford with his wife, Marie. johnsetterberg@gmail.com Janel Palmatier Smith ’00 lives in Coudersport with her husband, Dan. She teaches in the Coudersport Area School District. jpnelly@gmail.com Melody Sherosky Condron ’02 has published the book Managing the Digital You: Where and How to Keep and Organize Your Digital Life (Rowman & Littlefield). She is the resource description and management coordinator for University of Houston Libraries. melody.condron@gmail.com Deanna Sieberkrob ’07 is the controller at Carlow University in Pittsburgh. dsiebs@gmail.com

2010s

Jeffrey Beers ’10 is annealing operations/ maintenance leader at ATI Allegheny Ludlum. Jeff and his wife, Jacqueline, live in Greensburg. beers.jeffrey.a@gmail.com Kylie Swanson Hoyle ’11 recently earned her doctoral degree in science education from North Carolina State University. She has accepted an assistant professorship at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, where she lives with her husband, Taylor. kswanson@uccs.edu Jeffrey Fohr ’12 is an applications systems analyst at GEICO. He and his wife, Jessica, live in the Washington, D.C. area. jfohr3@gmail.com

Nathan Stockman ’12 is an owner and business development manager for Stockman Lawnscape in Plum.

Kalie Miller Hoover ’13 and Ryan Hoover ’13 live in Orlando. Kalie is a hematology and oncology nurse at Florida Hospital; Ryan is a sales and operations coordinator for Disney Vacation Club. ryan.c.hoover@disney.com Jeremy O’Mard ’13 is an infrastructure lead at IBM in Washington, D.C. He recently became an International Consortium for Agile Certified Professional. jeremy.omard@gmail.com Samantha Key ’14 recently joined Westinghouse as a system and performance analytics administrator. She lives in Freeport.

David Campbell ’16 calls pursuing his college degree in his 50s “one of the best choices of my life.” He is now a mental health technician at Millcreek Community Hospital in Erie. dcampbell6006@gmail.com Dan Scutella ’16 is a math teacher at Corry Area School District and member of the Naval Reserves.

Ashley Shuttleworth Stephenson ’16 is a project manager at Avail Technologies in State College.

Tyler Tracy ’16 teaches math at Harbor Creek Senior High School.

Alyssa Andrzejewski ’18 has joined the Quality Engineering Development Program at John Deere in Waterloo, Iowa.

Casey Staley-Bingaman ’18 is relocating to Virginia due to husband Justin’s military orders. jcbingaman@live.com Angela DeAngelo ’18 is a design engineer supporting the Road-Ready Telematics Team at Truck-Lite in Falconer, N.Y. deangeloangela@gmail.com Scott DeLaney ’18 is an engineer at Orbital ATK in Dulles, Va. sd140220@gmail.com Lizabeth Gerber Lewis ’18 M.B.A. works in payroll and bookkeeping at Van Cleve Inc. in Erie. lizabethgerber19@gmail.com Brianna Riley ’18 is a consultant at Deloitte in Pittsburgh. briannadriley@gmail.com Share your news at behrend.psu.edu/classnotes

SUMMER 2018

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SUMMER 2018

X I P G N I T PAR << Behrend represented at campaign kickoff The Campaign for a Greater Penn State launched publicly with a weekend of volunteer training and activities in April for members of the fundraising committees of various units from across the University. During the weekend’s Blue & White Game in Beaver Stadium, Penn State President Eric Barron, center, gave a nod to the college with Behrend campaign committee member Dr. Priscilla Hamilton ‘78, retired U.S. Army Colonel, and campaign committee chair Greg Yahn ‘85, ‘99 M.B.A., president of Advanced Finishing U.S.A.

Broadway star visits Behrend >> Students cast in the college’s spring production of Rent had the opportunity to learn from a pro when Wilson Jermaine Heredia, the actor who portrayed Angel in the show’s original Broadway run, taught a master class in the Studio Theatre in March. Later that day, Heredia and Behrend’s Rent cast members gave a free concert, performing selections from the Tony Award-winning rock musical.

<< 400 Science Olympians compete More than 400 middle- and high-school students from thirty-five northwestern Pennsylvania schools spent a day on campus this spring competing in individual and team events in biology, earth science, engineering, physics, and computing. Penn State Behrend is the regional host for the national Science Olympiad program.

Robotics Club members win big >> Members of the Behrend Robotics Club swept the competition at the Collegiate Clash in Ohio this spring. The team of Mechanical Engineering majors, from left, Sam Schoone, Patrick Murphy, and Chris Lang, won Best Documentation, Best Engineering Design, Best Sportsmanship, and First Place Overall!

<< Spring Commencement Penn State Behrend added 624 new members to its alumni ranks at the spring commencement held at Erie Insurance Arena in downtown Erie. See a gallery of photos from the ceremony at the college’s Facebook page, facebook/pennstatebehrend.

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BEHREND MAGAZINE

Behrend wins Supermileage Challenge, Sets New U.S. Record

Penn State Erie, The Behrend College 4701 College Drive Erie, PA 16563-0101

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Address Service Requested

Every year, car manufacturers meticulously work to improve upon the previous year’s vehicle models. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Club at Penn State Behrend takes the same approach.

“Last year, we decided to change over to a fuel-injected engine, so we really focused on refining that for this year,” said Scott Delaney, a Clarion native and president of the SAE Club. “We were fortunate that ANSYS sponsored us and provided us with their engineering simulation and 3D design software for a year. That really made a difference as it allowed us to simulate the operation of the engine where we could see the inside of the engine during its cycle. We probably spent between 1,500 to 3,000 hours just working on the engine.”

The increased focus paid off. Behrend’s SAE Club team finished first in this year’s International Supermileage Challenge, which was held in June at Eaton Corporation’s Marshall Proving Grounds test track in Michigan.

The competition challenges teams to create vehicles that squeeze the most mileage out of a single tank of high-octane gasoline. The Behrend vehicle traveled 3,013 miles on one gallon of gas, which was a new U.S. record. The team also placed second in the Design Report Sub-Competition.