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Dr.
Craig D. Weidemann,Vice
President for Outreach
"As Penn State celebrates
its sesquicentennial, we highlight
the many ways our dedicated
faculty carry on our heritage."
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Spring
is a time for renewal and celebration.
And each spring we celebrate and recognize
a faculty member who has made significant
contributions to Outreach, with the
Faculty Outreach Award. This year's
recipient is astronaut Dr. Jim Pawelczyk,
a scholar whose extensive outreach
activities have grown directly from
his involvement with the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Following his 1998 space mission,
he has been sharing the experience
both in and out of the University,
visiting schools and community groups
across Pennsylvania and in surrounding
states to educate children about spaceflight
and offering expert commentary to
numerous international news organizations.
You can read more about his activities
here.
While Dr. Pawelczyk is a stellar example
of how Penn State extends its scholarly
work to community audiences, the fact
is that there are more than 1,800
faculty and staff who make an impact
while contributing to communities
across the Commonwealth. This issue
highlights just some of these innovative
efforts.
For example, a feature
story describes a Penn State Abington
professor's work exploring how survivors
overcome trauma. While focusing on
Holocaust survivors, Dr. Hannah Kliger's
research with the Philadelphia-based
Council for Relationships' Transcending
Trauma Project has reached survivors
of trauma, including those from 9/11
events, as well as torture victims
from Africa.
Spring is also an ideal time to recognize
the many programs at Penn State with
a botanical theme. "How
Does Your Garden Grow?" details
the University's leadership in teaching,
extension, and basic and applied research
that informs garden enthusiasts and
plant-based businesses alike.
Read about a new initiative that aims
to celebrate the creative
achievements of Black Pennsylvanians
and use their artistic contributions
as a way to promote racial and cultural
diversity.
In this issue we also put a spotlight
on the sciences, with an interview
of a National
Science Foundation expert about
that organization's views on outreach.
Finally, in our news sections of the
magazine, find interesting facts and
information about a broad range of
outreach programs--summer camps for
youth (Children,
Youth & Families), research
and workshops to fight obesity (Health),
career exploration initiatives (K-12)
and efforts to help the mining industry
(Workforce,
Community & Economic Development),
to name just a few.
Penn State's outreach and engagement
activities are an important part of
the University's land-grant mission,
bringing Penn State teaching, research
and service to the people of the Commonwealth
and beyond. As President Spanier noted,
"Penn State's heritage as a 'people's
university' has set us apart from
other institutions. Our University
has always been about educating people;
about discoveries that advance knowledge;
about service that is shared for the
benefit of people and their communities."
As Penn State celebrates its sesquicentennial,
this issue highlights the many ways
our dedicated faculty carry on this
heritage.
We encourage you to provide feedback
to our editorial team by e-mail: outreachnews@outreach.psu.edu.
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