DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE It is an odd feeling to be writing my last Director’s Message for H&SS News. This summer, I told Chancellor Ford and the faculty and staff of H&SS that I would be retiring ERIC CORTY, PH.D. at the end of this academic year —June 30, 2022. At the time, that seemed so far away, almost a full year. But now, as I’m writing this, it is already only 10 months away, and I am aware of just how quickly the time is passing. This fall, academic convocation— the joyous opening of the new school year—was different for me. I realized it was the last time I would participate in such an event. I think this year will be like that. The months will inexorably tick by, surprising me with their swiftness. The markers of the academic calendar — fall finals, writing tenure and promotion letters, searches for new faculty members, spring finals, and graduation—will assume additional significance. I started here at Penn State Behrend in 1993 in a one-year, non-tenure track position. I liked my colleagues; I liked the students; I liked the emphasis on both teaching and research. When I was offered a tenure-track position for the next year, it was an easy decision. I was promoted to associate professor and then professor. I became associate director of the school and then director. I hope that our school, my school, has been changed in positive ways by me. I know that I have been changed by it. Thank you for a wonderful career in a special place.
ON THE COVER: From left, Marcus Jacobs, a senior majoring in Business Economics and International Business, works in Behrend’s VAR Lab with Dr. Chris Shelton, assistant professor of clinical psychology, and Jasper Sachsenmeier, lecturer in English composition.
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In Brief CREATIVE WRITING FACULTY PUBLISH NEW WORKS Faculty members in Penn State Behrend’s bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) in creative writing program are collaborating both in the program and on the page: All three have new books in print, and each lists the others on the acknowledgments pages of their books. “One of the great things about our creative writing program is the real sense of community among the students and the three of us,” said Dr. Tom Noyes, professor of creative writing and English and chair of the program. “We are good friends as well as colleagues, and we share our work a lot.” There has been a lot to share lately. George Looney, distinguished professor of creative writing and English, published two new titles—The Itinerate Circus: New and Selected Poems 1995-2020 and The Worst May Be Over, a collection of short stories. Noyes just released his fourth book—his first novel—The Substance of Things Hoped For. Aimee Pogson, associate teaching professor of creative writing and English, published The Sadness of Spirits, a collection of short stories.
FEDERAL HOUSE: A NEW HOME FOR CORE Construction is well underway on a $6.3 million renovation and expansion of Penn State Behrend’s historic Federal House to provide a new home for the Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Community Outreach, Research, and Evaluation (CORE). The facility, which will allow CORE to expand its school-focused and community programs for area youth, is on track to be completed late this year.
DID YOU KNOW? The Federal House is the oldest brick structure in Harborcreek Township. It is believed to have been built in 1838 and once served as a stagecoach stop.
