Penn State Outreach Magazine - Fall 2009

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The winding road to health care for remote Pennsylvania communities TACTICS FOR COMMUNITY SAFETY 路 ECONOMIC RECOVERY EFFORTS 路 WATERSHED PROTECTION

A Letter From Outreach and the School of Nursing

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ural Greene County is an area of Pennsylvania where the mountainous terrain, lack of public transportation, or illness prevents many residents from being mobile.

These individuals might never have access to health

care without a new mobile health clinic—a health care office on wheels—that makes convenient stops close to their homes.

The cover story in this issue explores how the clinic, run

by Dr. Mona Counts, Elouise Ross Eberly Professor of

Nursing at Penn State, responds to the needs of these citizens of Appalachia, so they can have the quality of life that we all

School of Nursing Dean Dr. Paula Milone-Nuzzo with Vice President for Outreach Dr. Craig Weidemann

deserve. The initiative also shows nursing students how health care can be delivered—with innovative approaches, support

and thoughtful providers.

This is one outstanding example of outreach from faculty in the School of Nursing.

The school takes an entrepreneurial approach toward its outreach programming, through continuing education and professional development offerings that allow nurses to be better providers. More knowledgeable and skilled providers will, according to research, improve

patient outcomes and the quality of health care.

Some new activities that not only advance the educational level of nurses but also ad-

dress the critical nursing shortage include an on-site program at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center that prepares the center’s licensed practical nurses as registered nurses (RN) with an associate degree.

An accelerated A.D. to B.S. program is now available at Penn State Altoona and Penn

State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, this program is designed to allow registered nurses with an associate degree to

obtain a baccalaureate in nursing in one calendar year, taking courses one day per week.

In addition, an online Graduate Certificate in Geriatric Nursing Education—a program

of the John A. Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at Penn State and the School of Nursing—will give nurse educators a background in caring for the elderly that they, in turn, can use in teaching RNs and nursing students.

This online certificate, delivered through Penn State World Campus, demonstrates the

effective partnership of the School of Nursing and Penn State Outreach. The school and the Outreach organization team up to make the school’s vision of outreach a reality—delivering education and service activities that have a broad impact on Pennsylvania citizens.

Craig Weidemann and Paula Milone-Nuzzo

CONTENTS

Steve Tressler, Vista Professional Studios

Volume 12, No. 2

Features 2

COVER STORY: RURAL RX

A clinic on wheels traverses the narrow, winding roads of Greene County—bringing health care services closer to the homes of Appalachian residents

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FUEL FOR THE ECONOMY

Fluctuations of natural gas prices can be painful—but many remain optimistic about the benefits of natural gas reserves in Pennsylvania

GREEN UP An award-winning group of students and faculty race to find cutting-edge hybrid solutions

Gretchen Graham

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KEEPING THE PEACE

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The Justice and Safety Institute equips law enforcement personnel with the latest tools and tactics for community safety

ASK THE EXPERT: BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL

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Secretary of Education Dr. Gerald L. Zahorchak answers questions on the state of learning in Pennsylvania

ON TH E R O A D :

BRINGING HEALTH CARE TO THE UNDERSERVED

Departments INSIDE OUTREACH · Lockheed Martin Goes to World Campus

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· New Learning Opportunity · What the Adult Learner Advocate Is Saying · On the Front Lines With Military Students

ARTS & HUMANITIES

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· Race Relations Take Center Stage · Berks’ Latino Flavor

· What’s New Online: The Art of the Cinema

CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES

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· Local Nonprofits Get Help

· If You Build It ... · Diversity in Leadership · On the (Local) Level

· Health Care Careers: Up Close— Job Shadowing; Live From the Whitaker Center

ENERGY & THE ENVIRONMENT

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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· Nano-Rama

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· What’s New Online: Master of Professional Studies in Information Sciences · Engineering—One Girl At a Time · Web 2.0 Course 101

· Navigating the Waters · Flying Squirrels

ENDNOTE

· Trail Mix

HEALTH · Energizing the Diabetes Diet

INTERNATIONAL

· Students in the Spotlight

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· First Person—Orthopaedic Surgeon Ned Schwentker in Honduras

· Philadelphia’s Disadvantaged

THE ECONOMY & WORKFORCE

EDUCATION

22 GI R R L P O W E R :

P URSUIN G MAL E-DOMIN ATED C AREERS

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A clinic on wheels traverses the narrow, winding roads of Greene County—bringing health care services closer to the homes of Appalachian residents

By Melissa W. Kaye

T

o urban types, a place like Greene County seems lost in time—with residents isolated by its mountainous terrain, harsh winters and lack of public transportation. Steeped in Appalachian culture, residents are suspicious of intervention and have learned to rely on themselves, their families and their neighbors for support.

“It’s like another world here,” said Dr. Mona Counts, Elouise Ross Eberly Professor of Nursing at Penn State.

“You don’t see it exist in other places.

Because it’s so different, others tend to look down on it. But the people are wonderful. I’m very protective of them.”

Counts is a fixture here in Greene County, where the population is the poorest in the state. For 15 years she has been the director of the Primary Care Center of Mount Morris—which offers preventive and primary care services for the county’s geographically and culturally isolated, underserved families, regardless of their ability to pay. Now, as an extension of that facility, a mobile health clinic has taken to

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the roads throughout the county.

For up to four days a week, in different routes publicized in the “Green Saver” and through word of mouth, the mobile clinic sets up at churches, granges, food banks and other convenient places throughout the county, offering the same health services as the Primary Care Center.

“We call ourselves the ‘circuit riders,’” said Counts.

Barriers to Health Care

The mountainous terrain discourages Greene County residents from seeking care at facilities outside of their community. Services available 20 to 30 miles away may take residents as long as an hour to travel the distance along the narrow, winding roads. Bad weather is known to double the travel time.

Plus, there are a high number of older adults in Greene County living alone who are not comfortable with driving.

Even those willing to travel might not have health insurance or be able to afford the gas to get to a facility. Greene County—where coal mining is the

primary industry—is one of the two counties in Pennsylvania identified by the Appalachian Regional Commission as a distressed Appalachian county.

According to census data, household income here is more than $10,000 below the state average, and many employers can’t afford to buy into health care plans.

Appalachian culture is another barrier to seeking out care. “They tend to utilize self-care practices,” said Counts.

“For example, they will use tea and hot toddies to treat colds and not consult a health care professional until they develop pneumonia. They show little interest in how their actions may impact their future.”

Counts cites as an example a patient who received a diagnosis of lung cancer.

“He places the blame on the ‘fact’ that he is just cancer-prone, not his years of smoking history.”

Nurses More Approachable Residents are also hesitant to seek out health care services from individuals who don’t understand their way of life

Gretchen Graham

Mona Counts

is the driving force behind a mobile health care effort.

Gretchen Graham

The Primary Care Center of Mount Morris is staffed with nurses schooled in Appalachian culture.

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more than 5,000 individuals in the area who can travel there. The center is staffed with nurse practitioners who are schooled in Appalachian culture and who educate patients on prevention and the connection of behaviors with illnesses.

For example, one man who came in after cutting his hand on ice told Pam Armstrong, a nurse practitioner at the center, that he hadn’t been to a doctor in 15 years. He was overweight, so Armstrong checked his blood sugar.

It was high, at 500. “We got him on medication and talked about the benefits of fruits and vegetables. Six months later he lost 40 pounds, and his diabetes is under control,” said Armstrong, adding, “Mona and the center have a wonderful reputation.”

On the Road

Armstrong herself grew up in southern Appalachia and came to the center as a nursing student. She was asked to stay on after she graduated, and she helped work on the initial grant to get the center’s mobile health clinic moving. It has been on the road for about a year now.

Gretchen Graham

or who they perceive are talking down to them, said Counts.

Counts has found through her research—interviews with hundreds of residents—that the people of Greene County are more likely to seek professional services provided by nurse practitioners than by doctors. “Nurses are perceived as more approachable, understanding and part of the community,” said Counts. “They are not perceived as ‘highfalutin’—a typical Appalachian statement.”

Gov. Ed Rendell sees facilities led by nurse practitioners—registered nurses who have completed advanced nursing education, including a master’s degree and possibly a doctorate— as a vital way to increase access to health care.

Rendell and University of Miami President Donna Shalala recently called nurse-managed health care centers—particularly for low-income and vulnerable populations—a “solution in plain sight.”

This has been the case for patients at the Primary Care Center of Mount Morris, which provides services to the

The mobile unit’s staff includes a nurse practitioner, medical assistant and a social worker, offering the same services as the center. Recently, dental services were added to the mix.

“Now people can drive a few minutes instead of a half-hour to get to a clinic.

They can save that gas money for food or medicine,” said Armstrong.

Armstrong sees the benefits. For example, an elderly woman who used an oxygen tank found it difficult to get out and go far. She had been consulting a doctor in her town, but he left the area.

“She was able to come to us when our mobile clinic was near her home,” said Armstrong. “She had diabetes and had been put on a complex regimen of insulin. She was having trouble reading her syringes because of her failing eyesight. We were able to educate her and get her on a simpler regimen. Since then, she’s been feeling better.”

Diabetes and other chronic diseases such as hypertension are common in Appalachia, because of lifestyle and genetics.

Gretchen Graham

are perceived “ Nurses as more approachable, understanding and part of the community,” said Counts. “They are not perceived as ‘highfalutin’—a typical Appalachian statement.”

—Mona Counts

Robert Mt. Joy of Cornerstone Care, which manages both the center and the mobile unit, said that early indications show that the mobile unit is doing everything he’d hoped.

“It has taken hold quickly,” he said, adding that he expects the unit to reduce inappropriate use of emergency rooms.

“The people here are wonderful,” says Counts, at right. “I’m very protective of them.”

The unit will soon make stops in neighboring Fayette County as well.

While medical mobile units are used regularly around the world to accommodate hard-to-reach populations, Counts likes to view the mobile health project of the Mount Morris Primary Care Center as unusual, because of its interaction with a large

research university.

“It shows that Penn State is fulfilling its mission as a land-grant university, by addressing the need for access to health care and improving quality of life,” said Counts, who teaches a full workload in addition to working at the center. “The School of Nursing has been phenomenal.”

THE NURSE DEARTH IN PENNSYLVANIA, RURAL ELDERLY ARE THE FASTEST GROWING SEGMENT OF THE POPULATION and are projected to increase by 30 percent over the next 20 years. According to experts, there is a severe shortage of nurses and physicians ready to take care of these older adults, with the greatest scarcity in rural areas.

The new online Graduate Certificate in Geriatric Nursing Education—a program of the John A. Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at Penn State and Penn State’s School of Nursing, delivered through Penn State World Campus—aims to address this challenge. The certificate will give nurse educators a background in geriatric nursing that they, in turn, can use in teaching RNs and nursing students—in areas with the most need—the information and skills to work with elderly patients.

“There is a hunger for this type of knowledge,” said Dr. Ann Kolanowski, director of the Hartford Center, explaining that the center often hears from area nurses seeking the latest research on elder care. “They really want to know how to care for frail, older adults.”

Other efforts include: • The School of Nursing is able to prepare nurse practitioners all over the state by offering a master’s-level program with a rural focus, through video conferencing at every Penn State campus.

• The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to B.S.), offered by the School of Nursing through World Campus since 2004, allows RNs to earn a bachelor’s degree, which in turn lets them pursue a graduate degree and the opportunity to teach. There have been more than 400 participants in the program to date.

Fall 2009 · 5

Fuel FOR T HE ECONOM Y Fluctuations of natural gas prices can be painful—but many remain optimistic about the benefits of natural gas reserves in Pennsylvania

By Melissa W. Kaye

I

t may be too soon to tell how the Marcellus Formation and its potential for huge amounts of natural gas reserves play out in the Commonwealth, but there’s no denying that the shale discovery has already had a positive impact on Pennsylvanians.

Residents in poor, rural areas of Appalachia who own oil and gas rights suddenly have money after striking deals with gas companies. And, according to a recent study conducted by the new Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center (MSETC)—an effort of Penn State Extension and Pennsylvania College of Technology—the industry will bring thousands of new job opportunities.

“The shale will have the biggest effect on the Pennsylvania economy since the lumber era more than 100 years ago,” said State Sen. Gene Yaw, who represents Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Union counties— where there has been heavy land leasing, permitting and drilling activity.

The shale, located in Appalachia, has been a producer of natural gas for years, with the first wells appearing in the

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1880s. But until 2008, it had been identified as holding a relatively small amount of potential reserves. Penn State has been involved in many educational efforts and initiatives—including an annual natural gas summit held in November— surrounding the Marcellus Shale since the discovery it could hold up to 363 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Focus on Workforce Training

According to a recent workforce needs assessment conducted by the MSETC, up to about 2,000 direct, full-time jobs could be required in the Northern Tier (Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wyoming counties) by the end of this year; that number of jobs is expected to grow to about 5,400 by 2013.

Headquartered at Penn College, the MSETC aims to serve as a central resource for workforce development and community education needs for the

industry. The MSETC conducted the assessment through a series of meetings and surveys with industry representatives and started to offer courses and training this fall, based on that assessment.

“Workforce development and training issues are critical to the success or failure of the industry,” said Larry Michael, executive director of Workforce and Economic Development at Penn College. He added that the combination of Penn College’s technical

THE SHALE UP CLOSE

Courtesy of Penn College

Marcellus Shale photos by Terry Engelder

Penn College alumna Amanda Kennedy works for Chief Oil & Gas, a company involved with the development of the Marcellus Shale natural gas formation.

training and Extension’s community programming has been well received by the industry.

Yaw, a proponent of the center, added: “We need to be ahead of the curve and train the local workforce, so that industry workers are hired from the citizenry of Pennsylvania.”

THE MARCELLUS FORMATION stretches across the Appalachian basin in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia.

Joints, or cracks, in the shale have occurred from natural gas pressure over time. Dr. Terry Engelder, Penn State professor of geosciences and a leading authority on the shale, likes to compare cracks in the shale to craquelure— the fine pattern of cracks formed in old paintings. In the old masters, cracks in the paint form from tension over long periods.

Engelder says that while the shale has been a producer of natural gas for years, gas can be more readily accessed using the relatively new technology of horizontal drilling, rather than traditional vertical wells. According to a recent study by the new Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center, the industry will drill up to approximately 500 wells in the north central and northeast regions per year by 2013.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center www.pct.edu/msetc 2009 Natural Gas Summit www.outreach.psu.edu/programs/natural-gas

Fall 2009 · 7

Courtesy of the Advanced Vehicle Technologies Team

Up GREEN An award-winning group of students and faculty race to find cutting-edge hybrid solutions

By Karen Cavaliere Zitomer

I

n a little corner of University Park, something big is happening. Something that could change the future. Something with an electric power train … and an optimized combustion engine.

Spurred by the spirit of competition and the drive to innovate, a team of 40 undergraduate and graduate students is trying to address a significant problem as part of an intercollegiate contest known as EcoCAR: The NeXT Challenge.

In an effort to thwart impending transportation and ecological crises, the group is designing the ultimate green car—one that uses new technologies to optimize fuel consumption and decrease emissions, all while preserving the vehicle’s perfor-

Revving it up—Penn State’s Advanced Vehicle Technologies Team

mance, safety and consumer appeal. Oh, and they are trying to do it better than 16 other groups of students at universities across North America.

“These students are highly motivated and dedicated and put in long hours working on a topic near and dear to their hearts,” said Dr. Gary Neal, team faculty adviser and department head for systems development and engineering at Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory.

Goal: Save the Planet

Sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy and overseen by Argonne National Laboratory, EcoCAR is a three-year, collegiate, advanced vehicle technology engineering competition, running from 2008 to 2011. This cooperative effort among government, industry and academia aims to address demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles in light of concerns about oil prices and global warming. It tasks each team to use real-world engineering processes to design and build a working hybrid car out of a 2009 Saturn Vue stock vehicle donated by GM. The Penn State group working on the competition is known as the Advanced Vehicle Technologies Team, housed at the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute. The students are exploring a variety of cutting-edge, clean solu-

“ These students are highly motivated and dedicated and put in long hours working on a topic near and dear to their hearts. ”

—Gary Neal Team faculty adviser

tions as they create their hybrid vehicle. They must consider which technologies (full-function electric, range-extended electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or fuel-cell) will best suit their vehicle; which materials will improve aerodynamics; and which alternative fuels (ethanol, biodiesel or hydrogen) might be utilized. The estimated miles per gallon depends on which technology is used; for example, the team calculates that the car’s plug-in capability will have a 20-mile range on electric and then 42 mpg on diesel after that.

Decisions must be made carefully to give them the best chance of creating a machine superior to their competitors’— in addition to making a serious contribution to their field and the future of the planet. “Not only are these students receiving an invaluable experience and opportunity, but they also are doing so while working on a program whose goal is to help our environment,” said Neal.

“The team prides itself on outreach,” said Dana Bubonovich, public relations coordinator for the team and a senior public relations major.

Getting high school students involved is a priority, particularly those interested in studying at Penn State. In hopes of attracting interested students, the team has participated in the annual College of Engineering Open House, which is directed toward incoming undergraduates. Also, one of the college’s first-year seminars introduces new students to the work of the team and invites them to participate in the competition.

“Getting high school students and new undergraduates involved whenever possible is a great mentoring opportunity,” said Mark Hull, former student outreach coordinator for the team and recent mechanical engineering graduate.

“They can see what options they have among different majors and learn that when you want to accomplish a common goal, it takes the actions of many contributors from different backgrounds.”

In fact, the competition requires a multidisciplinary approach, and the team is always looking for volunteers who can assist with duties that range from administrative to promotional.

“A well-developed and engineered car means nothing if the public does not know about it,” said Derek Bailey, a mechanical engineering graduate student who joined the team as an undergraduate.

And neither the engineers nor the public relations team could continue their jobs without business-minded members, who keep the whole project within the budget set by EcoCAR organizers.

Not Just for Engineers

Cheer Joy

Reaching out to the community for volunteer support is vital to the Advanced Vehicle Technologies Team’s EcoCAR effort, and the team is always eager to get others involved in not only this but also other competitions, whether that means new undergraduate or graduate students or members of the community.

The first year of the three-year EcoCAR Challenge, which concluded at the end of the spring 2009 semester, was strictly a design effort, in which the students used math-based tools to compare and select hardware and control systems in a virtual atmosphere. In June, at the year-one concluding competition in Toronto, Canada, the Penn State team presented its plans

Fall 2009 · 9

Courtesy of EcoCAR—The Next Challenge

“ At many of our

outreach events, we get cheers and thanks of appreciation from the public, which only works to further motivate us.”

—Mark Hull Recent graduate

GM is donating a 2009 Saturn Vue stock vehicle for the challenge.

honors in the 2008 Challenge X competition, including best vehicle appearance for its hybrid Chevrolet Equinox.

Often the community’s reaction to the team’s work is reward enough. “We get lots of opportunities to show off

what we have accomplished and teach others about how this topic affects them,” said Hull. “At many of our outreach events, we get cheers and thanks of appreciation from the public, which only works to further motivate us.”

Courtesy of the Advanced Vehicle Technologies Team

for its vehicle and finished seventh overall. The team also won awards for best sportsmanship, best social networking and outreach efforts.

The second year of competition commenced with the delivery of the stock vehicle in late summer and will involve integration of components to build a prototype vehicle. In the third year, the vehicle will be completed, and Penn State will put its entry through a battery of competitive tests against the 16 other schools.

Penn State’s team has been active in these types of competitions for about a decade. Previously, team members participated in the FutureTruck and Challenge X competitions, which were both organized by Argonne National Laboratory. Penn State took several top

FOR MORE INFORMATION To learn more about Penn State’s Advanced Vehicle Technologies Team and the EcoCAR Challenge, visit www.hev.psu.edu.

The team won best vehicle appearance for its hybrid Chevrolet Equinox at a 2008 competition.

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Keeping the PEACE

The Justice and Safety Institute equips law enforcement personnel with the latest tools and tactics for community safety

By Deborah A. Benedetti

J

Deborah A. Benedetti

ennifer Allison, a Columbia County deputy sheriff, enters the courtroom and proceeds to outline her case against a defendant

for allegedly passing a stopped school bus—with flashing lights—that was dropping off children.

The defendant counters—citing several technical issues, including the citation’s listed location for the violation, which the defendant said is not clear. She argues that several roads in the area have similar names.

Magisterial District Judge Carmine W. Prestia Jr., Borough of State College, agrees with the defendant, acknowledging, “This is a difficult and complex section of law.”

Case dismissed.

“I’m really not disappointed,” Allison admitted. “I just went in there and tried my best and learned things to do the next time.” The 25-year-old from Bloomsburg said the mock hearings

Deputy Sheriff Jennifer Allison gets ready for a court hearing.

“will make me better able to do my job.” That’s the point of mock hearing day for Pennsylvania deputy sheriffs participating in state-mandated training at Penn State’s Deputy Sheriff Basic Training Academy, delivered by the Justice and Safety Institute (JASI), a unit of Outreach.

The day in court is

the latest new element in the training academy, which JASI has been offering since 2000. The academy was created in response to a state Supreme Court ruling expanding deputy sheriffs’ law enforcement responsibilities. Since then, the academy has trained nearly 1,600 deputies in partnership with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) and PCCD’s Deputy Sheriffs’ Education and Training Board.

Fall 2009 · 11

Deputy sheriffs practice making traffic stops and participate in crime scene processing exercises. Bottom right: Instructors monitor and record the deputies’ actions as they go through simulation exercises.

It is one of many law enforcement training programs offered by Penn State. As a partner with law enforcement and government organizations nationwide, JASI has provided training programs to more than 750 municipal, county, state and federal agencies since 1971. JASI also provides services to law enforcement internationally and in May 2010, with Canadian law enforcement, will host in Baltimore an international executive-level conference on policing.

The deputy sheriff training focuses on authenticity, with training scenarios featuring instructors in the role of

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suspects and the trainees in the role of deputies. Traffic stops, abuse protection orders and building searches are among some of the scenarios.

The Real World

“The closer we can get to reality, the better the training,” said Matt Simmonds, lead instructor for defensive tactics. “[The 19-week program] allows deputy sheriffs to apply what they are learning and make mistakes in a safe environment before they get out in the real world, where mistakes can have serious consequences,” added

Bob Stonis, academy director.

On the last day of training, deputies present their cases before Magisterial District Judges, just as they will on the job. “They’ve done the physical work of making the arrest. Now they have to be able to document and present their cases,” explained academy instructor Dominic Pelino, who is also a Dauphin County Magisterial District Judge.

Recent academy graduate Keith Homer, Franklin County deputy sheriff, appreciated his experience.

“The level of academy instructors is top notch.”

sheriffs to apply what they are learning and make mistakes in a safe environment. ”

—Bob Stonis

Academy director

Training emphasizes the tools firstline supervisors need to manage police teams, while another program focuses on guiding police leaders in the concepts of personnel promotion, merit raises, retention and termination.

David McIntyre, deputy director of the Allegheny County Police Training Academy, said, “While few things remain constant these days, the excellent quality of the instruction from the Penn State Justice and Safety Institute has been one. … The institute has been providing outstanding and essential training for supervisors and training officers through its courses.”

NEW ON CAMPUS: JUSTICE CENTER FOR RESEARCH

Courtesy of Doris Layton MacKenzie

Top left photo, Deborah A. Benedetti; others courtesy of Justice and Safety Institute

program “ The allows deputy

Another recent addition to JASI training is a program for police leaders in Allegheny County. Since 2008, JASI has partnered with the Allegheny County Police Training Academy to train police leaders in the county’s more than 120 police agencies, as well as other police agencies in western Pennsylvania.

This fall, JASI is offering four programs at the Allegheny County academy, including two Police Executive Development programs that focus on risk management, problem solving, policy development, leadership and ethics. Police Supervisor In-Service

Doris Layton MacKenzie, new Justice Center director, in China to present research at a conference

CARRYING OUT RESEARCH IN CRIMINOLOGY and helping local, state, federal and international communities with criminal justice-related policy decisions are the goals of the new Penn State Justice Center for Research. A joint venture of the College of the Liberal Arts and Penn State Outreach’s Justice and Safety Institute (JASI),

the center debuted Sept. 1.

Dr. John McCarthy, head of the Department of Sociology and Crime, Law and Justice, where the center is housed, said his vision for the center is to make Penn State “even more widely known nationally, internationally and to people in the Commonwealth for its basic and applied research in criminology.”

Dr. Doris Layton MacKenzie, formerly professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Maryland, has been appointed the Justice Center’s founding research director.

A criminal justice expert whose research focuses on corrections and correctional policy, MacKenzie said the center will seek grants to fund research and will collaborate with faculty and students University-wide, as well as work closely with the Justice and Safety Institute. “JASI has wonderful contacts with people who can help us identify the critical issues where research and theory can help policy makers,” said MacKenzie.

“I want to bridge research and community to help decision makers.”

Fall 2009 · 13

ASK THE EXPERT

Interview by Deborah A. Benedetti

Back to School Special Secretary of Education Dr. Gerald L. Zahorchak answers questions on the state of learning in Pennsylvania

Gerald L. Zahorchak wants every student to graduate ready for college and careers.

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Steve Tressler, Vista Professional Studios

D

r. Gerald L. Zahorchak has set the expectation that all of the Commonwealth’s nearly 2.1 million schoolchildren should graduate ready for college and careers.

Before being confirmed Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Education in 2006, Zahorchak was deputy secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education in the department. He earned his doctorate from Penn State and has served as a superintendent, principal, teacher and football coach during his career.

Zahorchak’s advice to Penn State?

“It should keep the ends in mind—good knowledge and skills—when preparing teachers and education leaders. Penn State is a great ally and friend to the Department of Education.”

He recently spoke with Penn State Outreach magazine about the state’s biggest education challenges.

Q:

What’s the most important issue you face as the Secretary of Education?

A:

We know that Pennsylvania’s students are entering the most difficult and unforgiving economy in our history. It is our responsibility to ensure that they are prepared for the challenges ahead. I want more than anything to be able to say with confidence that every Pennsylvania student who receives a high school diploma is ready for the real world.

Q:

How are you responding to this challenge?

A:

We are investing in the future of our students, so that they are ready for college and the workforce.

We are doing this in two ways: (1) investing in quality resources and supports that are reinforcing the knowledge and skills necessary for success in the high-skills global economy and (2) instituting a funding formula to fill a large gap in education funding. According to a legislative costing-out study, we need to invest $2.6 billion more in our schools just to assure adequate educational resources for all Pennsylvania students.

Q:

A:

What happens without that money?

If schools do not have the resources that are necessary so that all students can be successful, then we are creating significant problems not only for those students, but also our economy overall. We need a productive, highly skilled workforce to remain competitive and not create a system in which too many of our students are at great risk of ending up in remediation programs in college or, in the worst cases, on welfare or in prison.

Q:

Q:

A:

A:

You’re partnering with WPSU and PBS to bring interactive, digital media into classrooms. What’s the importance of this initiative?

We will be creating a nationally and internationally envied system by harnessing learning materials that have been produced in a world-class fashion. We can use this content to target what our students need. I commend Penn State and PBS. (See below box, “Going Digital in the Classroom.”)

Q:

There are new certification requirements for teachers to create inclusive classrooms. How are teachers responding?

A:

In the same way we adapt and ensure by codes that buildings are universally designed and accessible, instruction in the classroom should have a universal design that everyone can use. We’ve mandated in a certificate an understanding of human development and universal design that will make our workforce much more responsive to any child, regardless of his or her disability.

Q:

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has suggested students spend more time in school.

Is this a good idea?

A:

We have to do it. We are already providing after-school and summer tutoring and other interventions. We need to provide professional development year-round for teachers. We can’t do everything we need to do in five-hour days for 180 days a year and expect to compete with nations whose children spend more time in school.

Spring

Gov. Ed Rendell proposes consolidating Pennsylvania’s school districts from 500 to 100 districts. What will this mean for children’s education?

We know two things: We need to buy big and get cost benefits, and we need to deliver small, using funds closer to teaching and learning of the students.

Q:

A National Governors Association report indicates American public education has failed to recruit a top-notch teaching workforce. What needs to change?

A:

The top one-third of high school graduates do not major in education. We’re not attracting these graduates into the profession. We need to put the best and brightest in the classroom. Teaching is a great career.

GOING DIGITAL IN THE CLASSROOM A new partnership between the Pennsylvania Department of Education, WPSU/Penn State Public Broadcasting and PBS will provide teachers with high-quality digital media for the classroom and also serve as a national model.

Dr. Babs Bengtson, director of Educational Services for WPSU/Penn State Public Broadcasting, said the goal is “getting into classrooms with digital media—Flash animations, interactive games—and making a difference in student achievement.” The first digital media, for math, will be available in January 2010.

“It’s very important to us that we’re offering this for free,” said Bengtson. “We feel strongly that the rural population in Pennsylvania has access to this.”

PBS’ Educational Digital Content Asset Repository and newly created digital media will help teachers implement new state standards for math, science, social studies and literacy.

WPSU and PBS also will create professional development videos for teachers.

INSIDE OUTREACH

PENN STATE WORLD CAMPUS has been selected by Lockheed Martin Corporation to supply a distance learning master’s degree education program to its Information Sciences Leadership Development Program (ISLDP) participants. The selected participants must have demonstrated leadership and solid analytical skills and related work experience.

According to Lockheed Martin, participants complete three to four job rotations with the goal of exposure to a wide range of information systems capabilities, technologies and growth plans. They must also participate—through an online distance learning arrangement—in an innovative master’s degree program.

Penn State was selected to partner with the company’s program because of the University’s newly formed online Master of Professional Studies in Information Sciences degree, according to Tim Kerchinski, assistant director of Outreach Client Development.

The degree program, offered by Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology via Penn State World Campus, “provides leading expert faculty; content in Lockheed Martin growth areas of information assurance, cyber security and software development; and flexibility in course access via live online lecture or asynchronous delivery,” said Kerchinski. (For more information, see page 30.)

Lockheed participants began their course work at Penn State this fall.

16 · Penn State Outreach Magazine

NEW LEARNING OPPORTUNITY PENN STATE YORK CONTINUING EDUCATION has partnered with Hanover Hospital to create a community-learning center complete with new laptop labs, multimedia equipment and high-speed connectivity to University resources.

Bill Wallace

LOCKHEED MARTIN GOES TO WORLD CAMPUS

The site offers a Penn State bachelor of science degree in business and several credit certificates that can step up into degree programs. The dedication ceremony took place last spring. More information can be found at http://ce.yk.psu.edu/hanover.html.

Gwendolyn Jordan Dungy

By Outreach News Bureau Staff

ON THE FRONT LINES WITH MILITARY

STUDENTS WHAT THE ADULT LEARNER ADVOCATE

IS SAYING

AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NASPA– STUDENT AFFAIRS ADMINISTRATORS IN HIGHER EDUCATION, GWENDOLYN JORDAN DUNGY IS A NATIONAL ADVOCATE FOR ADULT STUDENTS. Dungy was the keynote speaker at Penn State Outreach’s annual Hendrick Best Practices for Adult Learners Conference last spring at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.

In her remarks, Dungy commended the Penn State Commission for Adult Learners’ mission to improve the adult learner experience at the University and said all of higher education should adopt a similar mission.

“There are 54 million adults in the workforce who do not have college degrees,” she said. “If we want to become part of President Obama’s initiative to increase educational attainment … you need to be on the road sharing what you know about adult learners, because other colleges and universities haven’t gotten it yet.”

Penn State’s population of nearly 93,000 students University-wide includes more than 25,000 adult learners.

PENN STATE WORLD CAMPUS LOGGED MORE THAN 2,600 MILITARY SERVICE MEMBER COURSE ENROLLMENTS LAST YEAR—11 percent of total enrollments.

Dr. Todd Bacastow, World Campus professor of geospatial intelligence and an Army retiree, wants to make this enrollment higher. “Today’s service members and their families are our next ‘greatest generation,’” he said.

“We owe it to the nation to make it possible for them to achieve their highest potential.”

Bacastow notes that while the military provides education funds for active duty personnel, there is a gap between what the military will fund and the actual cost for the credit hours online.

Enter the recently formed World Campus Military Scholarship Advisory Committee—a group that seeks to make this gap disappear.

Ryan J. McCombie, chair of the advisory committee and a retired Navy captain (SEAL), is actively recruiting donors who share his belief that “our military forces deserve the best education available: Penn State.”

Penn State World Campus As a recent World Campus graduate increased credit course (B.A. in law and society), Franklin Barrett, U.S. Army Sergeant First Class, likes to enrollments by more than sing Penn State’s praises. “I chose Penn 37 percent in 2008–09.

State because I knew it would give me a quality education and a solid foundation that I could use to start a career … after I finish my service with the army,” he said.

Donors can support active-duty military personnel in several ways, explains Spencer Lewis, director of Outreach Development. A $50,000 gift will fund a named scholarship, and a $25,000 gift could create a named program development fund for the World Campus—both of which can be contributed over five years. In addition, smaller gifts can be brought together to create a general scholarship fund.

In another effort to reach out to the military, the World Campus is now partnering with the Department of Defense on the Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA) program to provide spouses with improved access to flexible online education. MyCAA offers $6,000 to military spouses who are interested in pursuing degree programs, licenses or credentials.

WORLD CAMPUS: ENROLLMENTS UP

ARTS & HUMANITIES

RACE RELATIONS take

CENTER STAGE

Schools in the Big Ten tackle a play based on life after a destructive race riot IN 1967, ONE OF THE DEADLIEST AND MOST DESTRUCTIVE RACE RIOTS in modern history took place in Detroit.

Soon after this rioting, a group of upwardly mobile, like-minded families, including playwright Joanna McClelland Glass, attempted to maintain a fully racially integrated neighborhood within that devastated city. Her play based on the experience, eponymously named “Palmer Park,” premiered last year in Canada and until now has not been performed in the United States.

But thanks to an initiative of Dan Carter, director of Penn State’s School of Theatre, Glass’ experience will be shared across much of the country when schools in the Big Ten produce the play throughout the 2009–10 academic year.

Carter pitched the idea at an annual meeting of all the theatre chairs in the Big Ten, and it stuck. “The play is an example of the best kind of drama due to its mutually destructive forces, yet lack of villains,” he explained, noting the neighborhood’s attempt at integration ended up failing. “The playwright gives everyone their day in court. The people who bring it down are ultimately just looking out for their kids.”

The play focuses on the families whose children attend Hampton Elementary, a school that briefly maintained a ratio of 65 percent white

students to 35 percent black students.

The parents successfully raise money for programs in art and music at the school, which leads to unrest among neighboring schools that are racially segregated—and struggling.

“For a ‘brief, shining moment’ in that community of 1,100 houses, we were able to maintain racial diversity both residentially and at the neighborhood school,” Glass has said. “My Palmer Park experience is all the more haunting because we clung to our ideas and our ideals so tenaciously … . And

finally, we failed.”

That experience, although heartbreaking, is part of the reason why Chaya Gordon-Bland is excited about directing the first of the Big Ten productions at Michigan State University, Oct. 27–Nov. 1. “Ms. Glass has a really important story to tell, and she tells it movingly, sensitively and intelligently. It is both a privilege and an important responsibility to direct this significant play.”

The other Big Ten universities are presenting both staged readings and full productions. Carter, who is directing Penn State’s production in April 2010, is leading the development of a repository of resources related to the play, such as photos and scenic elements, to be shared among the schools.

He said a collaboration among theatre departments in the Big Ten would not have happened 15 years ago.

“Our relationship has evolved from a friendly rivalry to genuine collegiality,” he noted. “This initiative will help us to develop best practices for reaching the largest audience.”

Palmer Park, 2008; Dan Chameroy (left) as Martin Townsend and Nigel Shawn Williams as Fletcher Hazelton; Photo by David Hou; Courtesy of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival Archives

Until now, “Palmer Park” has been produced only at Canada’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

18 · Penn State Outreach Magazine

Lenin Agudo

By Melissa W. Kaye and Amy Milgrub Marshall

BERKS’

FLAVOR Hispanic immigrants in Reading and Berks County took to the streets as part of the 2006 “Day Without Immigrants” march.

A 7-YEAR-OLD BOY MAKES AN ARDUOUS JOURNEY from Ecuador to New York with strangers to join his father; he eventually earns a college scholarship and an MBA, and he now directs the Kutztown University Latino Business Resource Center in Kutztown, Pa. A girl moves with her family from Puerto Rico to Kansas, struggling with the language and cultural differences.

She settles in Reading, earning a Ph.D. in urban and bilingual education from Temple University. And a man, born in New Jersey to Puerto Rican parents, becomes so devoted to his Reading community he runs for mayor, losing by only a small margin.

These are some of the 17 Hispanic life stories included in a new booklet— written by students of Dr. Laurie Grobman, Penn State Berks professor of English and women’s studies—that paints a picture of the Hispanic community in Berks County.

The Hispanic Center of Reading and Berks County, a linguistic and cultural skills community organization, is distributing the booklet throughout the county, where the Latino population has continued to grow over the last few decades. “It’s important for people to see the different cultures in our community,” said Ileana Torres-Young, director of social services at the center.

This fall Grobman is building on the project by working with students on a more detailed and comprehensive history of Latinos in the area. Grobman aims to give students a research experience “in which they work with community members to expand their own understanding of the region, and at the same time give the region a better understanding of its history and culture.”

Grobman, who previously documented the African-American experience in Berks County (along with Penn State Berks senior lecturer in English Dr. Gary Kunkelman and his students), added that she makes race relations issues part of the syllabus. “I try to make sure all students understand what it means for a primarily white group of people to write a history of a minority group,” she said. “It needs to be addressed and acknowledged and not be the elephant in the room.”

WHAT’S NEW ONLINE: THE ART OF THE CINEMA A BLENDED LEARNING VERSION of the Art of the Cinema—one of Penn State’s most popular courses, with enrollments of around 500 in resident instruction—is a new offering this fall from Penn State’s College of Communications and World Campus.

The effort is part of the Provost’s Blended Learning Initiative,

which aims to make large enrollment classes more accessible and interactive.

“Other popular culture types of courses have done quite well in the online version, and this course, with its multimedia content, has the potential for large enrollments,” said Dr. Matt Jordan, assistant professor of film/video & media studies.

Spring 2009 · 19

PJ Maierhofer

CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES

LOCAL

NONPROFITS get H E L P Service learning pays off—for everyone WHEN IT COMES TIME FOR THE CAPSTONE PROJECT IN HIS CLASS, Shaun Knight, senior instructor and associate director of online education in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, usually directs his students’ focus toward building Web sites for businesses. Last year, Knight instead contacted the Centre County United Way to see what nonprofits might be interested in their help.

“It was a good way to give back to the community that has raised these students as young adults for the past four to five years,” said Knight.

Students ended up working with nonprofits such as CentrePeace, Centre Volunteers in Medicine and Smart Start Centre County.

For example, Eileen Wise, executive director of Smart Start, which prepares young children for school, needed help tracking the organization’s funds and events. Six IST seniors performed a needs-assessment with the organization, then designed and developed a project-management Web site.

“When we saw [it] we were delighted with the clean, spare and inviting visual design,” said Wise. The Web site frees time for Wise and others to focus on administering programs for families instead of administrative details.

PR Success

Dr. Denise Bortree, Penn State assistant professor of communications, works with her students to create public relations campaigns for local chapters of nonprofits—including Big Brothers Big Sisters, the youth mentoring organization, and Special Olympics.

Students who worked with Big Brothers Big Sisters were charged with increasing program awareness in surrounding areas. They organized the “One Day, Big Difference” event at Port Matilda Elementary School, bringing together more than 40 current and potential participants; led focus groups; and

20 · Penn State Outreach Magazine

Penn Staters run a Big Brothers Big Sisters awareness event.

ran an announcement through the Penn State Faculty/Staff Newswire, resulting in several direct inquiries.

Jodi Morelli, Big Brothers Big Sisters program coordinator, said, “We’re very fortunate because the University provides a huge resource for us in recruitment opportunities.”

Bortree added, “The class becomes both community outreach and service learning,” guiding students through a PR campaign process—from identifying the needs of a group, to strategizing and planning, to carrying out the campaign.

Thanks to another group in Bortree’s class, more than 200 new potential volunteers signed up for Special Olympics.

Their efforts included stories placed in the Centre Daily Times and The Daily Collegian.

Heather Fetterman, a student participant, said, “Instead of simply receiving a classroom grade for our efforts, we were giving back to an outstanding organization and, ultimately, helping other people.”

By Kristen Sedor

PHILADELPHIA’S DISADVANTAGED Poor neighborhoods and broken families may have shaped these young adults—but with literacy training they can improve their lives

IN NORTH PHILADELPHIA, Penn State Abington students are participating in a program in which they work one-onone with high school dropouts who have basic literacy issues.

“It isn’t easy,” said Lisa Morris, Penn State Abington senior instructor in administration of justice, who coordinates the program. “The Abington students are dealing with a challenging population—mostly from poor neighborhoods, broken families and weak school systems. They have responsibility and maturity issues, too.”

Part of the Pennsylvania Literacy Corps (PALC)—a partnership between higher education institutions and adult basic literacy agencies statewide—the program is designed to train college students to help young adults earn their

GEDs so that they can go on to get jobs, and possibly even a college education. The Literacy Corps has been in existence for about a decade and is managed at Penn State by Dr. Sheila Sherow at the Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy.

Morris has been coordinating the program with Penn State Abington students for about four years—training her students to be tutors, who then work with the clients for more than 40 total hours during the semester. The tutors also take the clients on a tour of Penn State Abington’s campus.

Reduce Dropout Rate

Morris, who examines the status of education among young adults and how education helps them succeed

in the future, estimates that if the national high school dropout rate was reduced by 50 percent, it would save the economy $45 billion annually. She said that high school dropouts are more than three times more likely than high school graduates to be arrested in their lifetime. Nearly half of all Philadelphia public school students drop out of high school and do not graduate.

Maria Thuy, director of the Philadelphia E3 Center (stands for Empowerment, Education and Employment), where Penn State Abington students go to work with the clients, said that oneon-one tutoring is very important.

“Many of these young adults are very low-level. They do not do well in a classroom setting because they are selfconscious.” Thuy added that the tour of the campus is “eye-opening. These young adults are not familiar with a college environment.”

Morris says that in the end everyone benefits. “The clients go on to get their GED, and student tutors gain real-world, transferable life skills. It’s a positive outcome all around.”

Student tutors and clients

Courtesy of Lisa Morris

Gaby Perez (right) at a Latino festival

THE ECONOMY & WORKFORCE

IF YOU

BUILD IT ...

AN ADVANCED WATER TREATMENT PROJECT that generates electricity while preventing nitrogen from entering the Chesapeake Bay; a downtown revitalization strategy for Warren, Pa., in which buildings are updated with geothermal heating and cooling; and a partnership with Clarion County to improve the availability and affordability of carrier-class broadband services.

These are just a few of the projects that Penn State is working on with the nonprofit Pennsylvania Alliance for Cooperative Innovation (PA-AFCI) to improve critical infrastructure within the Commonwealth and to stimulate local economies by creating new jobs.

“Investment in the building, rebuilding and maintenance of our nation’s critical infrastructure are among the most important things we can do to ensure economic prosperity and the health, safety and welfare of all Americans,” said Dr. Theodore Alter, Penn State professor of agricultural, environmental and regional economics, who is involved in the PAAFCI projects. The PA-AFCI is a member of the national AFCI, whose mission is to help its members develop and implement critical infrastructure projects—the physical structures and

Improving infrastructure is the aim of a new initiative.

organizational systems that support such necessities as water, energy, transportation and communication.

Last spring, Penn State’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, a unit of Outreach, hosted and co-sponsored a Critical Infrastructure Summit with several colleges and units across the University, including Extension, which focused on identifying additional ways the University can work with government and private sectors to respond to issues regarding critical infrastructure. Alter was centrally involved in organizing and planning the summit with William Shuffstall, a senior Extension educator.

DIVERSITY IN LEADERSHIP HAVING A DIVERSE POOL OF POTENTIAL LEADERS in the Capital Region is the goal of a new effort, the Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Development Institute.

The leadership institute, which graduated its first class last spring, aims to train a multicultural group of individuals to be prepared to take on a leadership role if called on by the community. Penn State Harrisburg Continuing Education helped launch the institute, directed by Joseph Robinson Jr. “The region needs leaders with various backgrounds, ethnicity and educational achievements to provide diversity and

new approaches to problem solving,” said Erin Shannon, acting director of Continuing Education at Penn State Harrisburg.

To become a candidate for the institute, individuals must be identified and sponsored by local community leaders. Students meet once a month for 10 months at Penn State Harrisburg’s downtown Eastgate Center and learn leadership skills through lectures, discussions, a group project and readings.

Harrisburg’s Interdenominational Ministries Conference, Prudential, WITF Public Television and Penn State all played key roles in preparing the first group of 24 participants to complete the program. For

example, students of the inaugural class hosted a community-wide forum, broadcast on WITF, with leaders from business, government, education, religious and community organizations to identify the challenges facing Harrisburg and begin to develop a strategy for confronting those challenges.

“The institute trained us to ‘think outside the box,’ to be involved in our community and to make a difference,” said Rae Talley, a member of the institute’s inaugural 2009 class.

This fall marks the beginning of the second group of students to go through the program.

By Sara LaJeunesse

On the

(LOCAL) Level

Struggling economies around Pennsylvania need a fresh start.

University-community partnerships can help LOCAL OFFICIALS IN PENNSYLVANIA COMMUNITIES facing hard times often don’t know where to turn for help reviving industries, attracting a talented workforce or transforming vacant lots. A new Penn State initiative aims to partner with such regions across the state to support innovation and spur economic growth.

PA Prosperity Partnerships is an effort of Penn State Outreach’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development to “convene regional groups, identify strategies and link Penn State campuses and resources around a shared agenda to drive entrepreneurship and innovation,” said Dr. Tim Franklin, director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development. “The idea is to help develop, draw and retain talent and technology so that these communities can become more competitive.”

Big Group Means Business

The first forum of the effort was held in Fayette County in the spring. A multidisciplinary range of more than a dozen faculty and staff represented Penn State and more than 65 state and local government officials, and industry and community leaders met in a town hall-style forum to share ideas about the region’s opportunities, strengths and weaknesses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Fayette County has an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent, compared with the 8.5 percent state figure.

While the team will initially work in a few pilot regions, the goal is to help in every location where Penn State has a campus. Forums have also been held in New Kensington and York.

“The focus will be on economic renewal in small industrial-based cities that have population and infrastructure assets but need to strengthen their economic engine,” Franklin said. “It’s in Penn State’s best interests to help promote prosperity in the communities where it operates.” He added that he hopes successful deployment in the pilot regions will contribute to a model for university-based economic development and regional transformation.

A Web site, www.PAProsperityPartnerships.org—which offers a brief Penn State Public Broadcasting-produced video, featuring speakers such as former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and National Association of Manufacturers Senior Vice President Emily DeRocco (and Penn State alumna)—will track efforts of the initiative.

Fall 2009 · 23 How communities can turn to Penn State—go to www.PAProsperityPartnerships.org

EDUCATION

HEALTH CARE CAREERS:

UP CLOSE C LOSE

JOB shadowing

Kelly Ruth

ACCORDING TO A RECENTLY RELEASED WHITE HOUSE REPORT, “Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow,” health care is forecasted to remain a large source of job growth in the labor market.

“Elements of a more effective [education and training] system include a solid early childhood, elementary and secondary system that ensures students have strong basic skills,” according to the report.

These new programs aim to engage high schoolers in health care early on.

FRIDAYS ARE POPULAR IN SCHOOL—with pizza for lunch and weekend plans in the works. But some high school seniors in Berks County are looking forward to Fridays for a different reason: a chance to learn more about the health care field by shadowing health care workers at the Reading Hospital Medical Center. Thanks to an effort between the medical center, the Berks Career and Technology Center’s East Campus and Penn State Berks Continuing Education, interested students can apply to the Medical Health Professions Program. In its third year this fall, the program incorporates not only the on-site hospital observation, but also classroom and lab studies that can earn the students college credits. Here’s what participants have said: “The program has reassured me that nursing is definitely what I want to do. I am thankful for the wonderful preceptors I’ve shadowed.”

– Tessa Gerberich, Tulpehocken (2009 graduate) “The [program] has opened my eyes to the wide variety of medical careers. I definitely learned the most while job shadowing on Fridays. I have seen surgery and a baby’s birth. I have learned a lot and I am even more eager to go to medical school and become a doctor.”

– Hali L’Esperance, Governor Mifflin (2008 graduate) “This is no TV show; this is reality, and we actually get to stand up close with the doctors and nurses in the hospital to see what they do for a living and to see what they do to make a difference in the world.”

– Manpreet Kaur, Exeter (2008 graduate)

24 · Penn State Outreach Magazine

Students Tessa Gerberich and Jennifer Reinhart

By Melissa W. Kaye and Kay Shirk

LI V E from the

WHITAKER CENTER

Body of Work

“The students have asked very high-level questions,” said Dr. Ann Rogers, the director of the bariatric surgery program, who has spearheaded the efforts of the weight loss team. “They’ve been fascinated with what’s going on.”

After viewing the surgery, one student commented, “This experience taught me so much about the human body and what the body is capable of dealing with.” Another said, “You learn how to prevent yourself from having to have the specific surgery you are watching performed in front of you.” And another: “If you are at all interested, or even considering, a career in the medical field, you should make sure you attend ‘Surgery Live!’ ... Watching this surgery was absolutely amazing.”

“Surgery Live!” is the first of its kind in Pennsylvania and only the fourth in the country, according to Lori Lauver, the Whitaker Center’s director of education, who facilitates the students’ discussions with the medical team. “We hosted six sessions this spring, all bariatric surgery performed by Dr. Rogers and Dr. Timothy Shope. We hope to increase both the number of sessions and the types of surgery performed in the future,” said Lauver. So far, students from 10 area schools have participated in the program.

“It’s been a great experience,” said Rogers.

Whitaker Center

WATCHING A SURGEON PERFORM A BARIATRIC OPERATION IN REAL TIME might seem like an unusual activity for a high schooler. But an innovative new program allows them to do just that—as part of an effort to stimulate their interest in health care careers.

“Surgery Live!” is a program that allows students and their teachers to observe surgeries via high-definition videoconferencing technology at Whitaker Center. The program, funded by Highmark Blue Shield, is a result of a partnership between the Harsco Science Center at Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, Harrisburg; and the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

“Our original focus is on encouraging interest in medical careers,” said Dr. Lillian Erdahl, a research fellow and general surgery resident at the Hershey Medical Center. “But we also teach about healthy living habits that we hope the students will share with their families.” Erdahl provides commentary at the Whitaker Center during the sessions—demonstrating surgical instruments used in the surgery and explaining factors that cause disease. Bariatric surgery is performed to treat obesity.

The students, chosen from advanced biology or anatomy and physiology classes where interest in health and science careers is greater, get to see and hear the surgical teams in real time, ask questions and learn more about the team members’ education backgrounds and responsibilities.

Bariatric surgery via high-definition video conferencing

ENERGY & THE ENVIRONMENT

FOR THE HUNDREDS OF ORGANIZATIONS, researchers and state agencies committed to protecting watersheds in the Mid-Atlantic region, it can be challenging to find and showcase measurements, photos and other information to help them in their work. But with access to a new interactive and searchable database, these groups and any other interested individuals can now virtually explore watersheds and highlight their interests and efforts.

The Mid-Atlantic Watershed Atlas (www.mawa.psu.edu)—a collaborative effort of researchers at Penn State, Drexel University and Johns Hopkins, led by Dr. Patrick Reed, Penn State associate professor of civil and environmental engineering—is easy to use, with search and share functions, downloadable images and live stream data displays.

Take, for example, Spruce Creek, a favorite fishing locale for former President Jimmy Carter. The atlas allows users to explore the creek from either a road or aerial view and discover flow conditions, among other things. Organizations working to protect the creek can interactively place tags on the map to briefly describe their efforts.

“It’s a way for organizations to advertise themselves and see who’s doing what,” said Reed. “It’s a way to make this work more public.”

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission, a multistate water management agency, is excited about the project. “The sharing and gathering of information is the first step in any water-related assessment,” said Andrew Dehoff, a director at the agency.

Over the next few months, Reed and colleagues will be continuing an educational outreach effort on the project.

26 · Penn State Outreach Magazine

Steve Tressler, Vista Professional Studios

NAVIGATING the WATERS

Watershed groups can publicize their work.

Flying SQUIRRELS IN AN OLD CARTOON SERIES, Rocky the Flying Squirrel and his moose pal, Bullwinkle, always emerged unscathed from harrowing escapades. Today, perhaps Rocky’s adventurous spirit would be helpful in finding out why a real-life counterpart, the nocturnal Northern Flying Squirrel, is disappearing from Pennsylvania.

Dr. Carolyn Mahan, Penn State Altoona associate professor of biology and environmental studies, has studied the squirrels since 2001, when a colleague noticed their numbers dwindling in the northern part of the state. “Hemlock and other coniferous trees provide nesting sites and a nourishing fungus for the squirrels,” Mahan explained. However, “the hemlocks are disappearing because of development and pest infestation.”

Live traps and nesting boxes placed in the squirrels’ habitat show them only in Warren County and the Poconos. Southern Flying Squirrels, increasing in Pennsylvania, carry a parasite harmful only to their northern counterpart—and compete with them for nesting sites.

Mahan likens the situation to a “canary in a coal mine”: “Because we’re losing the squirrels and the conifers, it’s a signal that things are not going well with our forests. There may be a symbiotic relationship between Northern Flying Squirrels and conifers. Squirrels eat the fungi and then spread the fungal spores around, helping to inoculate other trees so they can better absorb nutrients.”

In 2007 the squirrel was declared endangered in Pennsylvania due, in part, to Mahan’s studies, funded by the Wildlife Resource Conservation Program and the Pennsylvania Game Commission. She worries time is running out, explaining that while capture efforts have increased, the number of squirrels encountered is decreasing.

By Melissa W. Kaye and Kay Shirk

TRAIL M I X Courtesy of Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center

WHO WOULD IMAGINE that a hike in the woods could ease the transition to college life? Penn State’s award-winning ORION Wilderness Orientation Program is designed to do just that—in a setting far removed from University Park’s teeming campus.

In July and August, before fall classes begin, ORION staff members accompany participating first-year students on a six-day overnight backpacking trip through the central Pennsylvania wilderness, to help them learn outdoor living skills as they develop bonds with each other and their natural surroundings. On the fifth day, they take part in a canoe trip or high ropes course.

Participants are also required to keep a journal, submit a final paper and take part in a follow-up community service project in the fall semester. “[The trip] inspired and changed me more in six days than I had ever anticipated,” said participant Lacey Salberg.

Learning to thrive in the wilderness—and at Penn State

A backpacking trip eases the transition to college life.

A Guiding Constellation

Taking its name from a prominent constellation in the northeastern sky that has long guided explorers, the program—run by Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, a unit of Outreach—was first offered in 1996 to 10 freshmen. It has grown steadily and is so popular that it was just expanded to four sessions this summer, taking in 240 students instead of its traditional 180 students. And one of the four sessions has been opened up—for the first time—to sophomores transferring to University Park from other Penn State campuses.

The course, which fulfills two credits of the students’ General Activity requirements, “goes beyond the traditional orientation program and allows students to develop bonds with one another that helps them throughout

INSIDE THE

OUTDOOR CLASSROOM

their University careers,” said Susanne Dubrouillet, ORION’s program director.

Michael Loggia called his decision to participate in the ORION program “the best decision I have made upon my arrival at Penn State.”

Dubrouillet added that the program has been a model for many universities developing first-year wilderness programs throughout the United States.

Students brainstorm for parts in an effort to make a hybrid out of an old vehicle.

SHAVER’S CREEK Environmental Center’s staff and guests are enjoying the new covered outdoor teaching pavilion adjacent to the center—complete with deck, stone fireplace and universally accessible climbing wall. The pavilion is thanks to contributions from private donors, the Penn State President’s Fund, the University Access Committee, and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Fall 2009 · 27

HEALTH

By Elizabeth Bechtel

ENERGIZING the DIABETES DIET Dining with diabetes doesn’t have to be drab—this new program dishes up tasty options AN OLDER COUPLE MAKES IT AN ACTIVITY TO DO TOGETHER. Two women go to the event, standing in for their husbands. And a group of 11 women from a church in Allegheny County arrive with enthusiastic support.

These individuals were participants in a Penn State Cooperative Extension pilot program designed to help people with Type 2 diabetes and their families prepare healthy and delicious meals that may mitigate some of the effects of the disease.

Type 2 diabetes—the most common type of diabetes in adults—results when the body does not make enough insulin or the body cannot use the insulin it produces. In 2005, the most recent year that data is available, there were an estimated 764,000 people with diabetes in Pennsylvania.

Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to a number of health issues, including kidney failure, blindness, heart disease and stroke. However, with proper testing, treatment and lifestyle changes, including increased exercise, Type 2 diabetes can be controlled.

That’s where Extension’s Dining with Diabetes program comes in.

Coordinator Jill Cox explains that the four-week program with three-month follow-up helps people with the disease

28 · Penn State Outreach Magazine

understand tests for levels of blood sugar, blood pressure, lipids or fats, waist measurement, and microalbumin— an early warning for kidney problems.

The classes then address Choose good carbs. healthy eating as a strategy for controlling diabetes, and promote drates (such as lemon-rice pilaf or walking, exercise sweet-potato salad) and single servings and other physical activities. of fruit and milk round out the meal.

A survey of pilot program particiRecipes for Success pants showed that 92 percent improved Using the “Idaho Plate” method, particitheir knowledge regarding the tests pants learn to visualize serving sizes. that help in controlling the risk of Half of a plate should be covered with diabetes complications, and 82 percent vegetables. With recipes that include gained knowledge regarding how carbostrawberry-spinach salad or mixed hydrates affect blood sugar. vegetable gratin, participants find that’s The pilot program, partially funded not hard to do. by grants from the Diabetes Prevention “They learn they can prepare meals and Control Program at the Pennsylwith less fat, sugar and salt without vania Department of Health and the cutting out taste,” said Cox. United States Department of Agricul A quarter of the plate is devoted to ture, covered eight counties in the first proteins (almond-crusted fish or thick year, with an additional 20 counties turkey chili, for example). Carbohyscheduled for 2009–10.

INTERNATIONAL

MY FIRST TRIP TO HONDURAS WAS IN 1995—a short twoweek project to San Pedro Sula, accompanied by a resident, a nurse and a medical student, and with that trip I was hooked. I started to make the visit twice a year with a team from Penn State College of Medicine to this northern city, performing a series of corrective orthopaedic surgical procedures on children and offering training to Honduran orthopaedic surgeons.

I am blessed to be in a profession where I can serve others, but never before had I encountered so much need or received so much satisfaction from caring for patients and teaching. Inevitably in the last couple of days of each project I would see children who desperately needed treatment but whom we had to leave behind. From the beginning, a dream was born to have a pediatric orthopaedic hospital where my wife and I could work full-time and year-round, a permanent resource for needy children.

In 2004, we affiliated with CURE International, a faithbased organization that has multiple pediatric specialty hospitals throughout the developing world. Construction on a pediatric orthopaedic hospital in San Pedro Sula began in late 2007. In June 2008, after 32 years on the orthopaedic faculty, I retired from the College of Medicine, and my wife and I moved to Honduras that fall.

The hospital opened in January 2009 and saw nearly 800 patients within the first two months. We are not working alone: A dedicated Honduran hospital staff assists us, and I have a wonderful Honduran orthopaedic surgeon as my partner. My wife functions as everything from an assistant hospital administrator to equipment manager in the OR. I also retain valuable connections with the medical school. We provide global health experiences here for both medical students and residents. In addition, through e-mail I am able to obtain world-class consultations from the medical specialists at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. This fall, Drs. Spence Reid and Jay Bridgeman, two of my colleagues from the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, are coming to San Pedro Sula to help us provide specialty care for musculoskeletal trauma and hand

Jordan Rassulo

F1RST PERSON

Orthopaedic surgeon Ned Schwentker describes how a part-time project helping Honduran children in need became permanent

A 12-year-old Honduran girl with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is now on effective treatment.

deformities, respectively.

We are here in Honduras, but in patient care and in teaching we are still very much Penn State.

Dr. Ned Schwentker is medical administrator of CURE International Honduras, a hospital that treats children who have orthopaedic diseases.

Fall 2009 · 29

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NANO-RAMA Through training and education, Penn State aims to steer nanotechnology research and development toward world change for the better A CANCER PATIENT IS INJECTED WITH A MICROSCOPIC VEHICLE that safely delivers a potent drug directly to cancer cells. A football player pulls on his lucky pair of socks, unwashed for 10 straight games, yet surprisingly odor-free. A college student eats a week-old portion of leftover sushi and does not get sick.

All of these scenarios may soon become a reality as nanotechnology—basically, the science of building objects at the nanometer scale, or 100,000 times thinner than a human hair—becomes an increasingly popular field.

“Nanotechnology is expected to play a key role in the next industrial revolution,” said Dr. Stephen Fonash, director of the new Nanotechnology Applications and Career Knowledge (NACK) Center at Penn State.

NACK, funded in September 2008 with a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), supports the development of two-year nanotech degree programs across the country; offers professional development programs for secondary teachers to become nano-literate; and develops and delivers worker education programs.

In Pennsylvania, more than 500 students from partner community and technical colleges have completed nanotechnology programs at Penn State, and nearly all of them have found nanotechnology jobs in more than 90 firms, ranging from pharmaceutical to photovoltaics companies.

“Not only students but also industry personnel must have a better understanding of nanotechnology and its

The nanometer scale is 100,000 times thinner than a human hair.

far-reaching implications if they hope to take advantage of the competitive opportunities becoming available,” added Fonash.

To Market, To Market

It’s the ethical implications of nanotechnology that led Penn State faculty Drs. Richard Doyle (English), Mark Horn (engineering science and mechanics) and Richard Devon (engineering design) to develop and deliver an NSF-sponsored undergraduate course in which students explore how nanotechnology is researched, designed and commercialized. Students in the class work in teams and collaborate with nanotech researchers to create scenarios for design commercialization and social impact.

Although nanotechnology is radically transforming our lives in wonderful ways, some health and safety analysts worry about how nanoparticles will behave in our bodies and in the environment.

“We need to think systemically about how these technologies will alter our lives,” said Doyle.

This fall, Doyle, Horn and Devon are hosting what they refer to as a “town hall on nano” with students who took the class last spring, plus interested researchers and members of the community, to discuss nano research and how it might affect people and the environment.

“It is important that not only students learn about these technologies, but also that researchers and policy-makers learn from the collective deliberations of students focusing their attention on this burgeoning field,” said Doyle. The students’ scenarios will be shared with researchers in ongoing Wikibooks on nanotechnology.

WHAT’S NEW ONLINE: MASTER OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES IN INFORMATION SCIENCES A NEW ONLINE MASTER’S DEGREE in information sciences aims to give professionals the skills to not only use the foundations of information sciences and technology, but also to apply them in a real-world context.

John Van Vactor, director of online education in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, gives as an example the challenges of protecting a computer system. “If a person shares a

30 · Penn State Outreach Magazine

computer system password, then that person has circumvented the technology side of information security. Once that information is shared, there isn’t anything that can be done from a technology standpoint to correct it,” he said. “This new program will help students ... deal with those information-centric challenges.”

Offered by the college through Penn State World Campus, a unit of Outreach, the program admitted its first students this fall.

By Sara LaJeunesse

Engineering:

ONE GIRL AT A TIME WHILE ATTENDING A CONFERENCE, David Meredith struck up a conversation with the woman sitting beside him and discovered that she was an engineer for a large cosmetics company. “How did you become interested in engineering?” he asked. “Well,” she said, “when I was in fifth grade, you came to my class to talk about engineering. Your message was inspiring, and it stuck with me.”

Meredith, associate professor of engineering at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, said that moments like this are what motivate him to continue science outreach to girls. Since 1995, he has conducted programs that introduce girls to engineering—a field historically low in numbers of women. In fact, for his efforts, he won the 2009 Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day Award (from the Women in Engineering ProActive Network), given to exemplary individuals who encourage young girls to pursue science, math and engineering.

“Girrl Power,” Meredith’s most successful outreach program for girls, is aimed at middle school students and is held each winter. The program focuses on topics such as how civil engineers use metal detectors to find underground pipes and how GPS systems are made. The program also includes visits by professional engineers.

For example, one year the first female to climb poles for a telephone company talked to the girls about the challenges she faced in a male-dominated career.

“I hope to see as many females as males registering for my college-level thermodynamics class before I retire,” said Meredith.

Meredith’s other programs run the gamut from summer camps to professional development for teachers—all reflective of the University’s commitment to the Pennsylvania Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Initiative, one of six U.S. public-private partnerships aimed at increasing students in STEM careers and training the current workforce.

Efforts encourage girls to pursue a male-dominated career.

WEB 2.0 COURSE 101 JUST2IT!, a new online training program in Web 2.0 technologies for faculty and staff, takes its name from Nike’s popular “Just Do It!” slogan.

“Sometimes people hesitate to try new technologies until they’re encouraged to ‘just do it,’” said Lawrence Ragan, director of faculty development for Penn State Outreach’s Continuing and Distance Education. “Our course is presented as a low-stakes experience that enables faculty and staff to test the technology waters.”

Developed by a team from ITS Training Services, Continuing and Distance Education and the College of the Liberal Arts, the course delves into the technologies for Wikis, micro-blogging, video- and photo-sharing, and social networking, among others.

“As Web 2.0 technologies become more commonplace in our work and learning spaces, it is important that faculty and staff be exposed to these tools and consider how they might impact the teaching and learning at Penn State, as well as the work of staff,” said Ragan.

The course was piloted last spring and has been offered as an eight-week course this fall. For more information about Just2It! or to register for the course, contact Ragan at lcr1@psu.edu.

Fall 2009 · 31

ENDNOTE

STUDENTS in the SPOTLIGHT

Centrice Martin (second from left) has had to sacrifice play time with her daughter for study time.

The Picture People

WHEN SHE JOINED THE PENNSYLVANIA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD in August 2001, Margaret Haydock was following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. “I always wanted to join the Army,” the 25-year-old single mother said.

After completing basic training, she returned home to Nanticoke and began her college studies, but soon she was deployed to Afghanistan for a year. A member of an aviation unit, she refueled helicopters and was a door gunner, earning several service medals. When she returned home, she resumed her college studies, earning an associate degree in criminal justice from a local community college.

But Haydock had bigger educational goals and, with her GI Bill benefits, enrolled in Penn State Wilkes-Barre’s bachelor’s program in administration of justice. For her academic achievement and community service, she received the campus’ 2009 Outstanding Adult Learner Award. “To be recognized by Penn State is quite an honor,” said Haydock, mother of Makenzie, 4. She graduated in May and has been accepted into a master’s program at Marywood University.

Andy Colwell

Two moms with different backgrounds have something in common: determination to continue an education

A Rebel Who Found a Cause

Centrice Martin was named the 2009 Outstanding Adult Student Award winner at the University Park campus. While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness management, Martin and her daughter, Mavalynn, had to make sacrifices, like missing out on playing in the park when Martin had an exam or class assignment. Martin believes the sacrifices they made will pay off in the future with a well-paying job.

The Bellefonte resident wasn’t always so dedicated to school and learning. “I was a rebel in high school,” she

32 · Penn State Outreach Magazine Margaret Haydock returned to school after a tour in Afghanistan.

By Deborah A. Benedetti admitted. But after working several years in customer service, she realized “no matter how hard I worked, I wasn’t going to top $10 an hour in pay.”

Martin graduated in May and is continuing her education this fall in the College of Agricultural Sciences’ master’s degree program in youth and family education.

Other adult learners honored in 2009 for academic and other contributions include Cindy Kosek, Jennifer Bodenhorn, Jeffrey Sexton, Pamela K. Ott, Ross Grady, Sueann Doran and Patricia Rutter at Penn State DuBois; Kristin L. McQueeney at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College; and Christine Washington at Penn State Mont Alto.

In addition, Dr. Jennifer Parker Talwar, Penn State Lehigh Valley associate professor of sociology, received the 2009 Superior Service to Adult Learners Award from the Penn State Commission for Adult Learners.

PENN STATE OUTREACH EDITORIAL STAFF Vice President for Outreach Dr. Craig D. Weidemann Executive Director Outreach Marketing and Communications and Adult Learner Enrollment Services Tracey D. Huston News and Communications Manager Outreach Marketing and Communications Dave Aneckstein Editor-in-Chief Melissa W. Kaye Art Director Steve Burns Senior Writer Deborah A. Benedetti Writers Elizabeth Bechtel Sara LaJeunesse Kristen Sedor Kay Shirk Karen Cavaliere Zitomer Production Assistant Selma King

Leveling the Field for Adult Learners IT CAN BE TOUGH FOR ADULTS to go back to school, with multiple responsibilities.

Here’s the latest in financial aid: • A new Adult Learner Opportunity Fund has been established to support outstanding adult students, aid their participation in internships and study abroad activities, provide book stipends, and support career enhancing programming initiatives. The goal is to level the playing field for these nontraditional-aged students.

“More adult learners would be willing to go on internships and participate in study abroad

if they had financial help,” said Leslie A. Laing, coordinator for Adult Learner Programs, Division of Student Affairs, and creator of the fund. Donations can be made online at www.givenow.psu. edu. Select “other” for designation and enter code XXTOF. • The Osher Reentry Scholarship program is providing up to $2,000 for tuition to 30 adult learners at eight Penn State campuses. The program is funded by a $50,000 grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation, which recently awarded Penn State a second $50,000 grant for 2010.

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The inaugural conference of C19: The Society of Nineteenth-Century Americanists

Imagining: A New Century

May 20–23, 2010

The Nittany Lion Inn The Pennsylvania State University State College, Pennsylvania

www.C19americanists.org/2010

Image courtesy of the Toledo Museum of Art

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