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Recognizing exemplary outreach teaching, research, and service These Penn State faculty members are sharing research with individuals, organizations and communities to make life better:
	John P. Beaumont Assistant Professor of Engineering Director, Plastics Computer-Aided Engineering Center Penn State Erie, The Behrend College In 1992, Professor Beaumont established the Plastics Computer-Aided Engineering Center at Penn State Erie to help plastics companies in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York evaluate and apply computer-aided engineering technologies and other emerging technologies to enable them to become more competitive in the development of new products and processes. The center, which has a membership of 25 companies, organizes demonstration projects using new technologies and provides training, expertise and hands-on experiences to companies at minimal financial risk. To date, the center has contributed to the creation and retention of jobs and to increases in sales and productivity totaling $2.75 million for the plastics industry in the tri-state region. At the same time, Professor Beaumont provides his engineering students with real-world work experiences with plastics companies.
	David S. Bender Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology Penn State Berks Dr. Bender’s outreach activities center on improving public education. Since 1983, he has served on the school board of the Exeter Township School District, including two terms as president. He played a critical role in creating the Pottstown Homework Center to help middle school students improve their academic performance. He helped to generate more than $100,000 in grants to fund the center and served as coordinator. He also coordinated the federally funded Minority Advanced Placement Program at Berks campus to provide 11th-grade minority students with college experience; served as coordinator of the Berks Campus Student Literacy Corps, training Penn State students to work in Reading School District homework centers; and was a liaison to the Berks County Intermediate Unit.
	John J. Coyle Professor of Business Administration Executive Director, Center for Logistics Research, Penn State, University Park Dr. Coyle has spent more than 30 years at Penn State extending his research to the business community through courses delivered by multiple modes and by building relationships with businesses to provide Penn State continuing education and training programs. In 1989, he founded the Center for Logistics Research to conduct and disseminate research on logistics and supply chain management. The center has grown to include more than 26 corporate sponsors and benefits Penn State faculty members and students by involving them in research. Dr. Coyle also co-founded the annual R. Hadly Waters Symposium in Logistics and Transportation in 1989. He was a pioneer in using videotapes to teach introductory courses in business logistics. This method was used on Penn State Public Broadcasting’s WPSX-TV, reaching thousands of students. Dr. Coyle also served as a program coordinator for numerous continuing education and distance education initiatives. In addition, he serves as Penn State’s representative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (since 1970) and Big Ten Conference (since 1990).
	Frederick J. DeMicco Associate Professor and Associate Director School of Hotel, Restaurant and Recreation Management, Penn State, University Park Dr. DeMicco has devoted his academic career to helping individuals, professional organizations and businesses in the health care, food service and hospitality industries. His research deals with the needs of children and older adults as they interface with school, health care and hospitality establishments. His outreach programs focus on distance education degree programs for entry-level employees in these industries. He also works with professional associations to establish partnerships and upgrade educational requirements for industry employees. Dr. DeMicco involves undergraduate and graduate students in his research and also develops international study tours for students, faculty and alumni. Since 1986, he has chaired the annual Pennsylvania Summer School Food Service Institute, and he has co-chaired three seminars for the food service industry.
	Carolyn R. Dexter Professor of Management and Marketing Penn State Harrisburg Dr. Dexter created and coordinates an annual lecture series on Current Issues in Business for the benefit of the Greater Harrisburg community. Now in its fourth year, the lecture series is comprised of 10 lectures by School of Business Administration faculty members and MBA graduates. The program gives faculty members an opportunity to share their research with the local business community and MBA graduates a chance to showcase their companies. Some 2,700 business, government and community leaders are invited to the lecture series, which is held during the lunch hour at the Eastgate Center, located in downtown Harrisburg near state office buildings. The School of Business Administration at Penn State Harrisburg has become more well-known in the region as a result of the lecture series. Business and government leaders view the program as a training and professional development opportunity for employees.
	Larry Golden Associate Professor of Physics Penn State Worthington Scranton Dr. Golden’s outreach interests are geared toward young people. For more than 22 years, he has been involved with the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science at state and regional levels, and he also provides physics and astronomy demonstrations to Boy Scout and Girl Scout organizations and other groups. The Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science promotes science education in elementary and secondary schools and involves students and their teachers in science and research activities. When Dr. Golden and several others initiated the program in their area in 1975, 50 students participated. Today, as many as 1,000 students and more than 200 teachers from 45 schools in Region 2 participate in the annual program. At the state level, more than 4,500 students, 250 student technicians, 750 teachers and a variety of sponsors and judges participate. Dr. Golden was instrumental in having University Park campus host the annual event, and he has served as state judging co-chair and chair of the Region 2 Advisory Board.
	Lawrence E. Hochreiter Professor of Nuclear and Mechanical Engineering Penn State, University Park For more than 10 years, Dr. Hochreiter has been actively involved with Penn State’s distance education master of engineering degree program in nuclear engineering for working engineers, first as a member of the Westinghouse Energy Systems Business Unit, Nuclear and Advanced Technology Division, and since 1997 as a full-time Penn State faculty member. Penn State offered its first extended degree program in nuclear engineering in 1985 at the Monroeville Center. A recognized reactor safety analyst, Dr. Hochreiter was an instructor and adviser for the first program and in 1994 initiated a second master’s degree program, serving as the director, instructor and adviser. The research from many of the students’ papers, completed as part of the extended master’s degree programs, has been published in engineering journals.
	Patreese D. Ingram Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Extension Education Penn State, University Park Dr. Ingram’s outreach programming is designed to empower people to more effectively address their personal needs and become contributing members of their local communities. She is responsible for cooperative extension lifelong learning programs in diversity education, as well as educational support for character education programming for youth. Among her diversity-related initiatives are a new course for teachers, Teaching in an Increasingly Diverse Society; a workshop on Issues of Sexual Orientation for county extension directors; a Directory of Diverse Organizations in Pennsylvania, a resource for reaching underrepresented groups with extension programming; an educational packet, Diversity: Overview Awareness, for extension agents and others involved in training programs; a survey of the attitudes of extension professionals in the state toward diversity; and a variety of diversity training workshops and seminars.
	Walter P. Kilareski Professor of Civil Engineering Faculty Associate, Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, Penn State, University Park Dr. Kilareski has been active in outreach and continuing education activities since 1983, when he became involved with LTAP—The Pennsylvania Local Roads Program. In Pennsylvania, more than 2,500 local municipalities participate in LTAP and receive technical training and assistance and other resources to help them maintain and ensure the safety of local roads. Under Dr. Kilareski’s leadership, Pennsylvania’s LTAP program has become the premier outreach program for local highway technical assistance in the nation. The program provides practical road and bridge assistance and training to more than 4,000 municipal officials annually. Thousands more attend conferences and symposiums offering the latest technological advances in transportation. Pennsylvania municipalities report more than $20 million in savings during the last two years as a result of this outreach program.
	John E. Lennox Associate Professor of Microbiology Penn State Altoona Dr. Lennox’ outreach interests include designing biology programs for young people and working with elementary and high school teachers to develop science programs for students. He also teaches in Penn State Altoona’s Elderhostel program. Among his outreach activities are a series of Saturday science classes for children in the areas of critical thinking and problem solving, dinosaur biology, environmental biology, microbiology and the biosphere. He also helped develop a Summer School of Excellence Program for 8th and 9th graders, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The success of the first Summer School led to funding for a second program in 1998. In addition, Dr. Lennox is active in the American Society for Microbiology and the National Association of Biology Teachers, where he has presented many papers and organized several symposia. An award-winning teacher, he involves students in his research projects.
	Dennis J. Murphy Professor of Agricultural Engineering Penn State, University Park Dr. Murphy has developed and led the Farm Safety and Health Cooperative Extension Program in the College of Agricultural Sciences for more than 20 years. During that time, more than 10,000 people have participated in his educational programs, and he has received more than 350 requests for farm safety materials. He also brings his safety education programs to the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show and Ag Progress Days programs. His dedication to reducing agricultural-related injuries has been recognized nationally and internationally. He has developed safe methods for dealing with farm hazards, such as safely extinguishing silo fires, and created demonstrations on the safe use of tractors and corn pickers. Most recently, he is developing the database that Pennsylvania insurance companies can use to determine premium discounts for farms with proven safety records. His work with farm organizations, state government, insurance companies and agribusiness led to the signing of Pennsylvania’s Farm Safety and Occupational Health Act 134 in 1994. Dr. Murphy involves his students in his outreach activities and research projects.
	Kyle L. Peck Associate Professor of Education Project Manager, Professional Development Project, Link-to-Learn, Penn State, University Park Dr. Peck focuses his outreach activities on helping schools innovate and make effective use of technology. In his 10 years at Penn State, he has worked with more than 50 school districts and intermediate units and has been involved in the development of educational software programs for schools. He has initiated and led the Consortium of Innovative Districts and Schools, the Reinventing Education for Active Learning Initiative and the Institute for the Reinvention of Education. Currently, he is heading the professional development component of Gov. Tom Ridge’s Link-to-Learn program, designed to connect Pennsylvania’s schools, colleges, universities and libraries to a high-speed voice, video and data network called the Pennsylvania Education Network. Dr. Peck and his colleagues are creating a set of learning experiences and tools for Pennsylvania K-12 teachers, school board members, principals and counselors. He involves his students in his outreach and research projects.
	Jan F. Scholl Associate Professor of Agricultural and Extension Education Penn State, University Park Dr. Scholl provides statewide leadership for the development of outreach programming in the 4-H family living curriculum. She manages more than 100 4-H family living projects with an annual enrollment of 35,000. Her outreach programs on textile sciences and foods and nutrition are targeted to young people. She uses a variety of media to incorporate scientific concepts, life-skill development activities and research-based information into her programs. Her model curriculum development process, which involves electronic technology, has been adopted by extension professionals in other states. Dr. Scholl also is a national juror in the human development area, a member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Team Nutrition program in Pennsylvania and the principal investigator of two Agricultural Experiment Station projects to speed the development of curricula. She writes an electronic newsletter for extension agents and manages a Web site on the 4-H family living program for extension agents and volunteer leaders.
	Edward A. Smith Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Penn State, University Park For more than 20 years, Dr. Smith has been actively engaged in working with communities, schools, health departments, social service agencies, the military, the U.S. Department of Justice, advocacy groups and other organizations to improve the lives of children and families. His partnerships with these organizations have involved addressing issues of teenage pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, violence and gangs. He has shared the results of his research in invited presentations, as a convener of national conferences, in testimony before government groups, in his courses and as a member of national, state and local committees. Dr. Smith has chaired two conferences on preventing teenage pregnancy and is working on a third conference. Currently, he is the principal investigator for a drug prevention program for children of military personnel and inner-city youth, supported by the U.S. Navy and Department of Justice. He also involves students in his research and works with the College of Health and Human Development’s internship program.
	John D. Swisher Professor of Education Head, Department of Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology and Rehabilitation Services Penn State, University Park Dr. Swisher focuses his research and outreach efforts on the prevention of substance abuse and chemical dependency. For more than 25 years, his outreach initiatives have involved writing extensively on prevention of chemical dependency and intervention strategies; conducting research on prevention strategies targeted to keeping adolescents from using tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, with support from grants totaling $5 million; consulting with school districts and state education departments about assessment of student substance abuse; serving on state and national task forces; teaching courses on prevention; presenting workshops and speeches worldwide; developing training modules and curriculum materials for training courses; designing an 18-credit certificate in Chemical Dependency Counselor Training; developing a master’s degree program in counselor education for delivery via distance education; and preparing the certificate and master’s degree programs for delivery through the Penn State World Campus.
	James E. Van Horn Professor of Rural Sociology Penn State, University Park For nearly 30 years, Dr. Van Horn has been involved in a wide range of outreach activities aimed at helping individuals, families and communities throughout Pennsylvania and the nation. A certified family life educator, his outreach efforts have reached tens of thousands of people around the world. He is responsible for the Better Kid Care Statewide Program reaching more than 45,000 parents in all 67 counties and delivering 197,000 hours of training to child care providers annually. Among his other outreach contributions are participation in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Program to provide nutrition information to low-income households; design and implementation of a program involving families in discussions at the local level about their cultural traditions and contributions to American life; development of the Pennsylvania Forum on Families; initiation of the MAPP Project, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to create a family life and human development information database; creation of the annual Symposium on Building Family Strengths: Celebrate the Family; and development of materials to train child care workers and guide parents in finding quality child care.
	Nancy Wyatt Associate Professor of Speech Communication Penn State Delaware County Dr. Wyatt is sharing information about sexual harassment worldwide through a World Wide Web site (www.de.psu.edu/harass/intro.htm) she developed for the Speech Communication course on Gender Roles and Communication. The site provides reliable, easily accessible and useful information on legal aspects of sexual harassment, academic theory and analysis of sexual harassment, text- and Web-based references and resources and links to Penn State policies and procedures. The information is designed for both University and community audiences. Dr. Wyatt worked with faculty, staff and students at Penn State Delaware County to design the Web site as a supplementary resource for her course. She also collaborated with Penn State’s Office of Affirmative Action to create four hypothetical case studies for class discussion. Creation of the Web site resulted in a dissertation research project for one Penn State graduate student. She has succeeded in creating a learning community that is learner-centered, resource-based and universally available.
	Vickie L. Ziegler Associate Professor of German Director, Center for Medieval Studies, Penn State, University Park As director of the new Center for Medieval Studies, Dr. Ziegler is extending Penn State’s expertise on this topic to university scholars and researchers, elementary and secondary school teachers, children and the public through a variety of outreach programs. The center’s model for outreach has been recognized nationally by the Medieval Academy. Among the outreach initiatives she directs are annual conferences involving leading scholars from around the world; Medieval fairs held in conjunction with conferences; an annual Medieval Banquet, which has been held at Penn State for more than 30 years; and a project with Elk County schools to help teachers prepare modules on the Middle Ages and host related community activities. Dr. Ziegler is planning a 1999 conference on the Medieval Garden, which will involve faculty and students from several Penn State colleges.