Graduates of the fall 2009 class were conferred degrees by Curtiss E. Porter, chancellor of Penn State Greater Allegheny at commencent ceremonies held in the Wunderely Gymnasium on Thursday, December 17.
Teaching East Asia at Penn State Greater Allegheny ended the fall 2009 semester with a field trip to The National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C.
The exhibition, "Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor," featured treasures from China's first emporer, Qin Shihuandgdi and the tomb complex including 15 life-size figures, weapons, armor, coins and more. Students and faculty on the trip also visited the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery, which has an extensive Asian art collection (see photo on right).
Lori Hepner, Penn State Greater Allegheny assistant professor of integrative arts, is the artist for December's 1stfans Twitter Art Feed for the Brooklyn Museum's blogging community. Using the social networking site, Twitter, Hepner creates abstract portraits of individuals' virtual identity which she has titled, Status Symbols.
It has been 28 years since the first case reports of individuals with a newly recognized immunodeficiency disorder called AIDS were described. Soon thereafter the viral cause of AIDS, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), was discovered. This discovery led to the development of tests that could quickly and accurately diagnose HIV infection. We then began to watch as the epidemic spread not only in the United States and other developed nations, but to a much greater extent in the developing world, particularly on the African continent where the combination of a deadly infection coupled with an often non-existent health care infrastructure resulted in untold misery and hardship, says the newest edition of The Medical Minute, a service of the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Students presented the results of their East Asia research projects to the Greater Allegheny campus community on Thursday, November 19. The projects were from a variety of disciplines, including art, business, communications, social sciences, and science, and were to relate to this year's emphasis on East Asia and the environment. Comments from those who attended indicated that the projects had helped to raise awareness of the region and theme.
Winners were named in three catagories: art, posters, and Powerpoint presentations.
The Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) will be the topic of a workshop at Penn State Greater Allegheny on Monday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Frable Building. DUS, is Penn State's largest unit of enrollment for first-year students and academic home to thousands of other students exploring programs and meeting requirements before entering majors.
As part of the Teaching International curriculum at Penn State Greater Allegheny, the film, He ni zai yi gi ("Together"), will be shown on Thursday, December 3 at 4:30 p.m. in the Frable Building, room 119.
The story follows a young violinist, Xiaochun and his father as they move from their small, provincial town to Beijing so Xiaochun can audition for a prestigious music academy. Their new life is unfamiliar but full of promise, allowing the young man to truly figure out which direction he wants to take in life.
The second in a series of East Asian painting classes was held on November 3. Instructor Elaine Bergstrom demonstrated techniques for painting chrysanthemums.
The series is sponsored by the campus Teaching International program, which is focused this year on East Asia. The first class covered orchids, and two classes are planned for the spring semester.
At a recent ribbon cutting ceremony in McKeesport, a new Blueroof research cottage was dedicated.
The facility will serve both as housing for the elderly and as an arena for research on smart technologies that are used to assist older individuals or those with disabilities to live independently.
Two PSUGA students who have helped in these efforts, Richard Knapick and Michael Figliolia, were at the dedication.