Behrend Magazine - Summer 2021

BEHREND M A G A Z I N E PENN STATE

SUMMER 2021

New Biomedical Research Lab ADVANCING REGIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH INITIATIVE

From the CHANCELLOR

We did it … together.

Last year, in the depths of the pandemic, my office was frequently a Zoom screen— an ever-shifting digital grid of colleagues finding new ways to work. Staff members set up desks in their guest bedrooms. Faculty taught from their dining room tables, often with their own children next to them, logged on to elementary-school Zooms and Kahoots.

One of the things we learned—other than how cats love to walk on laptops— is that the Behrend community is resilient.

We had an advantage: Many of our faculty members have long taught online, through Penn State World Campus. We leveraged that expertise, moving nearly 3,800 classes and labs into remote or hybrid formats without missing a single day of scheduled instruction.

At every step, our faculty, staff, and students rose to the challenge. Our IT team drove networking equipment to employees’ homes. The Residence Life staff assembled care packages for students in quarantine. A crossfunctional team developed Belonging@Behrend to engage first-year students, whether they were on campus or learning remotely.

Our faculty members found creative ways to keep students engaged, both in class and at home on camera: Dr. Lynne Beaty, assistant professor of biology, mounted her phone to a headband to film her hands during lab experiments. Emily Cassano, assistant teaching professor of music, theatre, and visual arts, staged the spring play in a parking lot, with the cast beneath a tent.

Our students wanted to be back on campus, and they did what we asked in order for that to happen.

They wore masks, kept a safe distance from one another, and agreed to random testing for COVID. That commitment, more than any other, kept the college open.

We ended the academic year with an outdoor, in-person commencement ceremony. That was especially meaningful to me, and, I think, to a great many others: Commencement is a milestone not only for our graduates and their families, but also for those at the college who helped guide them to this point in their lives.

That’s worth celebrating, even when there is extra space between our seats.

The year ahead should be better. Vaccines are proving to be effective. We’re about to begin a fully in-person fall semester, with hands-on learning and research, the return of athletics, and the residence hall, club, and social experiences that lead to lifelong friendships.

If you find yourself on campus, please stop in at Glenhill Farmhouse. We’re here, and my door is always open.

Chancellor Ralph Ford rmf7@psu.edu

Volume 38, No. 1 Penn State Behrend Magazine is published twice a year and provided free to alumni and friends of Penn State Behrend by the Office of Strategic Communications.

Executive Editor: William Gonda wvg2@psu.edu. Editor: Heather Cass hjc13@psu.edu. Design: Martha Campbell mac30@psu.edu. Contributors: Robb Frederick ‘92.

Photos: Rob Frank ‘06, Matt Kleck.

Change of address/Unsubscribe: Development and Alumni Relations at 814-898-6089 or amm74@psu.edu.

Correspondence: Behrend Magazine, 207 Glenhill Farmhouse, 4701 College Drive, Erie PA 16563-1902. Phone 814-898-6419.

Copyright ©2021 Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.

This publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. U.Ed. EBO 21-231.

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M A G A Z I N E ON THE COVER

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Dr. Jeremiah Keyes, pictured at left, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, collaborates with two student researchers, Biology majors Taylor Romania and Adam Boaks, in the college’s new state-of-the-art biomedical translational research lab. The 2,200-square-foot lab, located in Behrend’s Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Center, includes a cell-culture lab, an advanced microscopy lab, and flex space where faculty and student researchers can work together. Learn more on the next page.

INSIDE 10 Students’ Production Company Poised to Break Out at Film Festivals

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Engineering Musical Instruments Out of “Trash” Celebrating Our Students’ Success Health Career Programs Booming at Behrend Saving the American Chestnut Tree Athletics Season Report Meet Robert Betts: One of Behrend’s First Students Alumni News and Notes Trees Serve as Living Tribute

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SUMMER 2021

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New Biomedical Research Lab Opens Facility will advance regional women’s health initiative This summer, Penn State Behrend unveiled a state-of-the-art biomedical translational research lab that will support medical clinical trials in the Erie region and expand research opportunities for students in the college’s new biochemistry and molecular biology minor.

The lab also advances Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI) of Erie, a $26 million women’s health initiative.

Behrend is the academic research and commercialization partner for the initiative, which has already begun six local clinical research trials. The partnership of MWRI and Behrend to form MWRI Erie aims to improve the health of generations of local women and launch a new sector of the Erie region’s economy.

The new 2,200-square-foot lab, located in Behrend’s Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Center, includes a cell-culture lab, an advanced microscopy lab, and flex space where faculty and student researchers will collaborate.

“While we don’t yet know exactly where the research in this new lab will lead,” Chancellor Ralph Ford said, “we know that our students and faculty, working alongside the MWRI team, will foster discoveries that can lead to viable products, services, and commercial start-ups.”

A second MWRI-affiliated space—an advanced molecular biology teaching lab in the Otto Behrend Science Building— opened in late 2020. This past spring, new faculty members Dr. Jeremiah Keyes and Dr. Ashley Russell, both assistant professors in biochemistry and molecular biology, team-taught an inaugural course in proteins, nucleic acids, and molecular cloning in the new lab.

Keyes previously worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the 2

MWRI Erie was launched in the fall of 2019 with funding by a number of organizations, represented here at the summer lab opening event by (from left): Charles “Boo” Hagerty, chief development officer, Hamot Health Foundation; Michael Batchelor, then president, Erie Community Foundation; Dr. Ralph Ford, chancellor, Behrend; Dr. Ivor Knight, associate dean for research and graduate studies, Behrend; Dr. Halina Zyczynski, medical director, MWRI Erie; Dr. Robert Edwards, chair, obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital; David Gibbons, president, UPMC Hamot; and Michael Annichine, chief executive officer, Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation.

University of California at San Diego. He studies the complex signaling networks that control a cell’s response to stimuli.

His research has focused on extracellular signal-related kinase, or ERK, a signaling pathway that is hyperactivated in 90 percent of all human cancers.

Russell, an Erie native and 2012 graduate of Penn State Behrend, previously worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She studies extracellular vesicles, which allow cells to communicate with one another, and she also researches the effects of chronic stress during pregnancy.

“Dr. Russell and Dr. Keyes will help set the direction for MWRI Erie,” said

Dr. Ivor Knight, associate dean for research and graduate studies at Behrend. “Their research could, over time, become the framework for broader medical studies, including clinical trials.

“At the same time, the new teaching and research facilities made possible by the initiative will provide an opportunity for our students to be part of the collaborative research process,” he said.

“That’s a game-changer, in terms of career preparation. But the real impact will be felt outside the lab: The work we do in here will directly contribute to new treatments and medical interventions that will improve the health of women in and beyond Erie.”

BEHREND MAGAZINE

New Scholarships Advance ‘A Greater Penn State’ The success of every Behrend student hinges on the support and involvement of a host of others: parents, faculty members, college leaders, and staff members. Unquestionably, that success relies too on the many alumni and friends whose gifts enrich the learning experiences of our students. We are pleased to report two recent gifts from longtime friends of the college that will have a significant impact.

SALLY METZGAR MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP WILL PROMOTE DIVERSITY Bob and Sally Metzgar’s support for Behrend could best be characterized by its breadth: Their giving has expanded academic scholarships, athletics programs, and day-to-day operations of the college’s admissions, financial aid, alumni relations, and registrar’s offices, which are housed in the Robert and Sally Metzgar Admissions and Alumni Center.

A new scholarship named for Sally Metzgar, who died in July 2019, will extend that reach even further, supporting diversity efforts at Behrend. The Sally Nelson Metzgar Educational Equity Memorial Scholarship, established by Bob Metzgar, will benefit students whose

gender, race, or ethnic identity contributes to the diversity of the college.

“Sally was a nurturing person, and she saw the potential in every student she met,” Behrend Chancellor Ralph Ford said. “It was important to her that Metzgar Center be a resource for all students, and that it serve as a sort of ‘front door’ and welcoming point for the college.”

The former president of North Penn Pipe and Supply, Bob Metzgar is director emeritus of the college’s Council of Fellows and an emeritus member of the Penn State Board of Trustees. The Metzgars’ giving to Penn State Behrend now totals more than $2.7 million,

Sally and Bob Metzgar

including funding for seven different scholarship endowments. The new fund will support three students every year.

KOCHEL ENDOWMENT WILL SUPPORT BIOLOGY RESEARCH Jeff Kochel grew up on the grounds of Penn State Behrend, where his father, Irvin Kochel, served as chief administrator from 1954 until 1980.

Jeff Kochel “It was mostly field and forest then,” he said. “My mother loved the outdoors, so we spent a lot of time exploring. Wintergreen Gorge was our backyard.”

Outings with his father were different.

They’d check the school buildings after the final classes let out for the day.

“I was fascinated with the biology lab in Turnbull Hall,” Kochel remembers. “It was one of my favorite spots.”

Those experiences shaped his childhood, his career in forest and timber management, and a new gift to the college: The Jeff and Pam Kochel Undergraduate Research Fund for Biology, an endowed fund that will expand undergraduate research opportunities for students in Behrend’s biology major.

“Research allows students to expand their experience, knowledge and understanding of science, better preparing them for their future careers,” said Dr. Marty Kociolek, director of the School of Science at Behrend. “We are most grateful to donors like the Kochels, who know firsthand the impact of engaging with the natural world in an intentional and sustainable way.”

The new fund will support the college’s Open Lab strategy of learning

and discovery, which positions students and faculty members to engage with external partners from business, industry, and community organizations.

“One of the things I like so much about Behrend is that faculty, staff, and students work with the community, and with businesses in Erie and beyond,” Kochel said. “That was important to my dad, and it has carried on through Behrend’s culture. I hope this research grant will provide that type of real-world experience.”

These gifts will advance “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” a focused campaign that seeks to elevate Penn State’s position as a leading public university in a world defined by rapid change and global connections. To learn more, visit greaterpennstate.psu.edu.

SUMMER 2021

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In BRIEF

Decades of Service Add Up for Accounting Professor Dr. Ashutosh Deshmukh didn’t plan to be a college professor, but his path has led him to the highest academic rank possible at Penn State: He has been named distinguished professor of accounting and management information systems.

The designation of distinguished professor recognizes outstanding academic contributions to the University and service to students. Deshmukh joins Penn State Behrend faculty members Dr. Michael Campbell, distinguished professor of biology, and George Looney, distinguished professor of English and creative writing, in holding the title.

Deshmukh, who grew up in what was then known as Bombay, India, was just

19 years old when he earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting. He worked as an accountant in India before coming to the United States to earn an MBA at the University of Alabama, which is where he got his first taste of teaching as part of an assistantship.

After getting his MBA, he obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Memphis and joined the faculty at Behrend in 1993.

“I enjoy teaching because it is a multi-faceted activity,” he said. “It demands that you be on top of your subject matter, be able to communicate complex issues easily, be able to motivate and energize students, stoke the curiosity of your audience, and give students survival skills to make it in the messy real world. The challenge of doing well in as many dimensions as I can is what I relish most about teaching.”

“THE CHALLENGE OF DOING WELL IN AS MANY DIMENSIONS AS I CAN IS WHAT I RELISH MOST ABOUT TEACHING.” — DR. ASHUTOSH DESHMUKH 4

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Creative Writing Faculty Publish New Works

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he faculty members in Penn State Behrend’s bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) in creative writing 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 B.F.A. 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 the chair of the creative writing program. “We are good friends as well as colleagues, and we share our work a lot.”

There has been a lot to share, lately. 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. 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.

Behrend’s B.F.A. in creative writing is the only program of its kind at Penn State.

GIVING UPDATE

The success of every Behrend student relies on the support of many, including generous alumni and friends whose gifts enrich the learning, research, and service experiences of our students. Since the start of the Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence fundraising effort in 2016, gifts to Penn State Behrend have combined to make an impressive impact.*

$60 MILLION

NEARLY

IN CAMPAIGN GIFTS AND COMMITMENTS MORE THAN

13,800 GIFTS FROM 3,000+ DISTINCT DONORS *As of June 30, 2021

1,877

BEHREND SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED IN 2020-21

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NEW SCHOLARSHIPS VALUED AT $12 MILLION

$2.7 MILLION IN TOTAL BEHREND SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDENTS IN 2020-21 NEARLY

$993,000 IN NEW SCHOLARSHIP MONIES SUMMER 2021

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In BRIEF

Truck-Lite moving corporate headquarters to Knowledge Park Truck-Lite Co., LLC, a worldwide leader in LED lighting systems for commercial vehicles, is relocating its headquarters to the college’s Knowledge Park, where the company will have better access to engineering and technology talent as it prepares for the transportation industry’s shift to electric vehicles in the future.

“As the transportation industry shifts toward electric vehicles, developing new innovations for customers relies on our ability to attract, develop and retain qualified talent,” said Brian Kupchella, CEO of Clarience Technologies, the parent company of Truck-Lite. “Relocating our headquarters to Knowledge Park and expanding our association with Behrend creates a strong pipeline of future electrical engineers, data scientists, and business leaders.”

Approximately ninety employees, including engineering, planning, product testing, finance, marketing, and customer service staff, will work at the new location, which is targeted to open later this year.

The company believes the future research and development capabilities needed to design components in next-generation electric vehicles will require its workforce to have deeper expertise in electrical engineering, software programming, and advanced analytics. At Knowledge Park, the company will have more access to a specialized talent pool.

The move also increases opportunities for Truck-Lite to engage in Behrend’s Open Lab environment, which provides access to student and new graduate talent, faculty expertise, and facilities.

Truck-Lite will build two research labs in the Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Center: a 1,745-square-foot prod6

A Truck-Lite recruiter talks with students at a Penn State Behrend career fair. (Photo taken pre-pandemic.)

uct-modeling lab and a 4,075-squarefoot photometric testing facility, which will be used to study the light emitted by LEDs, lamps, and other devices.

The move expands a long history of collaboration between Truck-Lite and Penn State Behrend: The company has sponsored student research and later opened an innovation center at Knowledge Park. In March, Clarience

Technologies announced an Early Career Professorship at Behrend. The company will work with a faculty member to guide four senior design projects in the field of data analytics.

“We look forward to this new phase in our longstanding partnership with Truck-Lite and Clarience Technologies,” said Ralph Ford, chancellor of Penn State Behrend.

Are you living the dream (job)?

Have you landed your dream job? Found yourself doing something you never expected? Surprised by the things you’re discovering about yourself in your daily work? If you’re in a field or have a position you find exciting, challenging, or personally fulfilling, we want to hear from you. Whatever you do, if you go to work every day (or most days) with a smile, we encourage you to share your story with us. Email Heather Cass, Behrend Magazine editor, at hjc13@psu.edu. Photos encouraged!

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Construction updates Construction is well underway on a $6.3-million renovation and expansion of Penn State Behrend’s Federal House to provide a new home for the Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Community Outreach, Research, and Evaluation (CORE). The project is on track to be completed late this year for staff to move into the new space in early 2022.

Across campus, preparations are underway for construction of a 60,000-square-foot fitness and recreation center that will replace Erie Hall. The $28.2 million center, which will be triple the size of the current building, will address longstanding interest by students for individual and group recreation space. It will feature a gymnasium, fitness facilities, and locker rooms as well as team rooms, athletic training areas, and practice space for several of the college’s NCAA Division III athletic programs. Work on the project is expected to begin late this summer, with anticipated completion in Spring 2023.

DID YOU KNOW? The Federal House at Penn State Behrend is believed to be the oldest brick structure in Harborcreek Township. It was built in 1838.

ARCHITECTURAL RENDERINGS of the Federal House CORE project (top) and the fitness and recreation center (bottom)

SUMMER 2021

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In BRIEF

Parents, Families & Alumni Weekend Is October 1-3 “ Parents, Families & Alumni Weekend has long been a staple of the college’s fall programming, but this year, I think it will have special meaning,” said Ralph Ford, Behrend Chancellor. “Fall is such a beautiful time here on campus, and we could not be more excited to welcome everyone back.”

WE HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US WHETHER IN PERSON OR FROM AFAR.

PARENTS, FAMILIES & ALUMNI WEEKEND ATTENDEES WON’T BE BORED.

AMONG THE ACTIVITIES PLANNED:

If ever there was a year to come together and celebrate the simple joy of connecting with one another, it would be this year.

And Behrend offers the perfect opportunity for you to do that.

Parents, Families & Alumni Weekend will be held October 1-3, with most events being offered in person.

There will also be some virtual options for those who cannot be with us in person.

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family picnic lunch Creamery ice cream social with Chancellor Ford f Glenhill Farmhouse tours f Midnight bingo (at an earlier time!) f Penn State football watch party f Behrend Black Alumni Reunion reception f School-specific alumni reunion gatherings See a full schedule of activities at behrend.psu.edu/weekend.

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New group to engage black alumni, students Penn State Behrend’s Alumni Society recently opened a new chapter in the college’s Black history—an affiliate programming group (APG) known as the Behrend Black Leadership Alumni Coalition (BBLAC).

The initiative began as a conversation among college administration, faculty, staff, and alumni to explore opportunities to celebrate diverse voices and viewpoints. After months of collaboration, BBLAC was chartered to serve as a direct connection for Black alumni to share their unique perspectives and engage with current and potential Black students. Spearheaded by a group of Black Behrend alumni, the group is the first APG the Behrend Alumni Society has had in at least a dozen years.

BBLAC has hit the ground running with a robust membership and a board of directors who have already formed several committees around the areas of campus engagement, professional development, coalition events, collegiate recruitment, fundraising, and more.

A donation from alumna Tesha Nesbit, a 1993 Communication graduate and director of diversity, equity, and inclusion and corporate social responsibility at North American Partners in Anesthesia, will help advance BBLAC’s mission.

MISSION OF BBLAC The mission of the Behrend Black Leadership Alumni Coalition (BBLAC) Affiliate Programming Group is to provide a direct connection for the college’s Black alumni to share their unique perspectives as alumni. BBLAC is positioned to: engage with current Black students to support educational opportunities; mentor current Black students as they make the transition to higher education; provide a conduit for Black alumni to advise Behrend leadership; assist in recruiting Black students; help develop greater financial support for Black students; facilitate allyship; and help improve the overall educational environment for students of color.

LEADERSHIP/BOARD OF DIRECTORS Executive Board President: Brandon McGraw ‘09 Vice President: Adell Coleman ‘09 Treasurer: Jeremy O’Mard ‘13 Secretary: Angela Coston Jones ‘95 Emerita: Conchita Dixon ‘97

Committee Chairs Conchita Dixon ‘97, Fundraising Tesha Nesbit ‘93, Professional Development Shelley Askew Floyd ‘92, Campus Engagement Jeffrey Grant ‘90, Membership Stanley Husband ‘90, Collegiate Recruitment K. Sasha Singh ‘09, Coalition Events

To join the alumni group, visit behrend.psu.edu/alumni/ alumni-organizations/bblac. To support BBLAC with a donation, visit raise.psu.edu/BBLAC.

New Science and Business Major The college’s School of Science and Black School of Business have teamed up to create a new major—a bachelor of science in Interdisciplinary Science and Business (ISB)—that will prepare students for unique career opportunities. It’s the latest example of Penn State Behrend’s strategic focus on creating programs that span disciplines.

Students pursuing the ISB degree will have a choice of three business modules—accounting and finance; technical sales; or operations and supply chain management—and three science modules—quantitative science, including courses in statistics, mathematics, visualization, and databases; laboratory science, covering biology and chemistry; or human health, emphasizing studies of the health-care industry.

Completion of the ISB degree will prepare students to work on the business side of science-based companies and organizations.

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HEAVY HITTERS STUDENT-FORMED PRODUCTION COMPANY WILL HIT INDIE FILM CIRCUIT WITH SHORT FILM

Much of the filming was done in Ames’ attic, a creaky, dusty, wood-framed space reminscent of an earlier time in the country. COVID-19 complicated production, but Pakulski said the pandemic also gave them time to work through all aspects of the project, including fundraising using a crowd-sourcing website.

The trio made the entire 20-minute film for less than $6,000, thanks in part to equipment borrowed from Behrend’s Open Laboratory for Digital Creations (BOLD-C), which encourages collaboration between students and community filmmakers, nonprofit institutions, and commercial clients.

An outreach program of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, BOLD-C rents out state-of-the-art filmmaking equipment that was funded by a gift to the college.

Oddity Productions—Simon Yahn, Danny Pakulski, and Liam O’Brien

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hat do three high school friends, a classic David Bowie song, and bare-knuckles boxing have to do with one another? Spoiler: It’s not a 1970s-era barroom brawl. It’s a video-production company, Oddity Productions, that former classmates Danny Pakulski, Simon Yahn, and Liam O’Brien formed about a year ago when they were college students, Pakulski and O’Brien at Penn State Behrend and Yahn at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Named after Bowie’s epic song, “Space Oddity,” the company will hit the indie film circuit this year with Alexander the Brain, a short film about—you guessed it—bare-knuckles boxing. Set in the post-Civil War United States, the psychological thriller “dives into the dangerous, testosterone-fueled world of underground boxing to tell the story of Alexander Conroy, a victim and now cog in a cycle of violence in the United States.”

“The period after the Civil War was a really divisive time,” said Pakulski, who graduated from Behrend in May with a degree in Digital Media, Arts and Technology (DIGIT). “I saw a connection between that era and where we are in this country today, and I wanted to look at that.”

The film, which explores themes of toxic masculinity, class systems, and patriotism, was shot last year in Erie. The lead actor, Jacob Ames, fit the role so perfectly that it’s hard to believe they found him at Starbucks, where the aspiring actor was working part time with O’Brien.

THE BUSINESS OF FILMMAKING Pakulski is the writer and director for most of Oddity’s work, which includes not just films, but paid commercial work.

“Writing is the hardest part,” he said. “You’re just sitting there, staring at a blank screen. When you’re directing, at least you have a script to go by.”

Directing presents its own challenges. “Shooting is the performative part,” he said. “Everyone has to be on top of their game and perform their part, whether that’s directing, acting, lighting, makeup, or sound.”

Then, comes the editing. Pakulski said that is when they can relax, take their time, and put it all together.

Pakulski became absorbed in video production as a teen.

At Fairview High School in Erie County, he and Yahn were the go-to guys for all things audiovisual. That’s how O’Brien, who has known Pakulski and Yahn since primary school, began working with them.

“I asked Danny to help me film an advertisement for a school project when I was a senior in high school,” O’Brien said. “Little did I know that I’d be coming up with advertising ideas and filming them with Danny three years later.”

‘BEING ODD IS BEING MEMORABLE’ Oddity has done work for Erie-area businesses that include Altered State Distillery, Tipsy Bean coffee shop, Presque Isle Partnership, and Erie Brewing.

“Our company name is meant to represent how our creativity will propel our clients’ marketing into new

DID YOU KNOW? ONE OF THE BEST MATERIALS TO USE AS “BLOOD” IN CINEMATOGRAPHY IS CHOCOLATE SYRUP. ALEXANDER THE BRAIN USED THREE GALLONS OF IT! 10

BEHREND MAGAZINE

frontiers, uncharted creative territories,” said O’Brien, a junior dual-majoring in International Business and Finance, who handles the company’s business development and project management. “Being odd is being memorable.”

A CLUB FOR WOULD-BE FILMMAKERS At Oddity, Yahn handles the technical aspects of shooting.

His skills, honed at RIT, where he is a motion picture science major, will benefit Behrend students, too, through workshops he will help lead in a new club that O’Brien and Pakulski are helping to develop.

“We want to teach students about the film industry, how to use the BOLD-C gear, and facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration between Marketing and DIGIT majors to create speculative advertisements for companies, with the goal

of eventually taking on commercial work, contributing to Behrend’s Open Lab style of learning,” O’Brien said.

ERIE, A WELL-KEPT FILMMAKING SECRET “The Behrend club aligns with our company’s mission to raise awareness and build the film industry in Erie,” O’Brien said.

“We want to make film production more accessible.”

Pakulski is in no hurry to take the company to California or New York City. “Erie is very versatile,” he said. “You can find nearly any setting you want here—forest, downtown, beach, farm—and it’s a nice place to live and work.”

Check out some of the company’s work at oddityproductions.com.

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TRASH TO (MUSICAL) TREASURE Engineering students turn cardboard tubes into instruments

Team “Phonies” working on their thongophone. From left, Deaja Vital, Mackenzie Sloan, Alex Croll, and Jake Lehotsky.

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or Behrend’s Youth Education Outreach (YEO) K-12 programs, one person’s trash—paper towel tubes, unused yarn, plastic spoons— is another student’s hands-on engineering project.

Participants in YEO programs are often challenged to transform a collection of random items into a vehicle or whirligig or other device.

So, when Onex, an Erie manufacturing company, offered Melanie Ford, director of Behrend’s YEO programs, a truckload (literally) of sturdy cardboard tubes, she immediately thought about turning them into some sort of musical instrument or sound installation.

THONG-A-WHAT? Ford reached out to Dr. Joel Hunt, associate teaching professor of music and digital media, arts, and technology, who knew just what to do.

“When I saw the tubes, I was reminded of the Blue Man Group’s performances with a xylophone-like instrument made from PVC pipe,” Hunt said. “The instrument, which is known throughout Australia and Papua New Guinea as a thongophone, consists of a series of tubes of varying lengths, similar to that of a pneumatic pipe organ or pan flute.”

The thongophone player strikes the end of a tube with a rubber clapper to initiate vibrations, which cause the tube to resonate at a frequency that is determined by its length and diameter.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Hunt and Ford wanted to expand on that idea to make it an interactive installation that employs mechanical beaters and computer-controlled installation.

They decided to turn their idea into a senior capstone project for engineering students. Two groups of students worked on different versions of the instrument.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED Team “Phonies”—an interdisciplinary group of Computer Engineering majors Alex Croll and Deaja Vital and Electrical Engineering majors Jake Lehotsky and Mackenzie Sloan—not only had the engineering knowledge to tackle the project, but a musical background as well; three of the four are musicians.

Croll has been playing percussion since he was in the sixth grade; Sloan plays the piano, flute, and ukulele; and Lehotsky plays the guitar and harmonica and has designed electronic instruments before.

“Being musicians gave us knowledge of what good sound should be and helped immensely with some aspects of the project, like picking the right material for the pipe drumheads,” Croll said.

“Having had experience making music, we knew what things to be picky about and what things wouldn’t have much impact on the thongophone’s final sound.”

APPLIED ENGINEERING Lesson No. 1 in their effort to build a product from scratch was finding a starting point, Croll said.

“From our first meeting in October, the enormity of this project was clear,” he said. “Our project was fresh with no previous information or schedules to work from. You might think having lots of leeway would be good, but it was nerve-wracking.”

For Lehotsky, the project brought to light the joy (and sometimes frustration) of engineering.

“Every time we brainstormed one engineering problem, another would arise,” he said. “How do you support forty-eight six-inch diameter cardboard tubes ranging from ten inches to ten feet? Build four separate chassis. How do you communicate notes between chassis? Run a USB cable. How do you parse a serial transmission from a USB cable? Place a separate computer in each chassis. And so on and so on. It’s pure engineering. This is what we live for.”

THONGOPHONE TIMES TWO The second student capstone team— Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology majors Arielle Alfonso, Darren Brigham, and Ryan Seltzer— also built a thongophone with the tubes, in their own creative way.

“Our team used thirty-six tubes cut to various lengths that correspond to specific notes, determined through a mathematical equation,” Brigham said.

“Solenoids, which are electromagnetic devices, shoot out a small metal plunger when given voltage. These solenoids connect to a programmable microcontroller, which we uploaded various songs to, and mounted above the tubes. Thus, it is a self-playing thongophone!”

MISSION(S) ACCOMPLISHED All of the students who worked on the thongophones graduated in May. Their creations will be installed in the college’s Kochel and Reed buildings to showcase their creativity and ingenuity and, it is hoped, “foster more interdisciplinary collaboration going forward,” Hunt said.

Ford, too, was pleased with the students’ work and said that YEO is now developing hands-on activities that will utilize the instruments.

“I love to see projects where the different aspects of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) all come together,” Ford said.

“The thongophones will be installed in places where our students can take a few minutes to play and where we can show future Penn Staters in our K-12 outreach programs the types of projects we do in our Open Lab environment.”

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Student SUCCESS

Penn State Behrend Students Succeed In and Out of the Classroom Here are just a few recent examples of their accomplishments

Student-Managed Fund Surpasses $1M The Intrieri Family Student-Managed Fund, which began in 2012 with a $100,000 gift from alumnus Vincent Intrieri ’84 and his wife, Joanne, has grown to more than $1 million! Reaching this milestone means funds above the million-dollar mark will support student scholarships.

While the scholarships are a nice bonus, the value of the student-managed fund is evident for upper-level Finance students who have the opportunity to actively manage the fund. Many business alumni have reported that their experience with the fund has directly contributed to their early career success.

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Leadership, Service Rewarded Josh Slayton, who graduated from Penn State Behrend in May with a degree in Mathematics and a minor in Civic and Community Engagement, was chosen by Penn State’s Student Service and Leadership Awards Selection Committee to receive the Smile for Sam award. The award recognizes outstanding Josh Slayton ’21 undergraduate students who have demonstrated academic excellence and leadership through community service and/or student organizations.

Slayton was a Schreyer Scholar and was active at Behrend in Alternative Spring Break, the Gender and Sexuality Equality Club, STEM Leaders, Science Ambassadors, and the Lambda Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies. He plans to pursue a graduate degree in statistics at Bowling Green University, with the goal of teaching at the college level.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Serenity Now

A team of Penn State Behrend students has developed a mental health and mindfulness app that helps users track their emotions and suggests activities and resources that can help with stress and depression.

The Serene app, available as a free download at the Google Play store, features videos that introduce users to meditation, guided breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation, among other topics. It also provides links to Erie County mental-health support services, including crisis centers, and national emergency hotlines.

“When people are in distress, it can be difficult for them to think clearly,” said Antigoni Kotsiou, who developed much of the app’s content, “so we made it as simple as possible: Try a new recipe. Take a walk in a different neighborhood. Call your grandparents.”

Kotsiou, who graduated from Behrend’s Master of Applied Clinical Psychology program this past December, created the content in collaboration with Dr. Chris Shelton, assistant professor of clinical psychology and director of the college’s Virtual/Augmented Reality Lab. Marc Maromonte, a Computer Science major who graduated in May, handled the coding, and Erica Juriasingani, who also graduated in May with a degree in Psychology, led the user-experience research and design.

Students Take Second in Undergraduate Paper Competition The Penn State Behrend chapter of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh IISE Chapter, hosted the virtual 2021 IISE Regional Conference this spring. More than 120 students from Penn State, the University at Buffalo, Rochester Institute of Technology, Clemson, and others attended.

Two Behrend Industrial Engineering students, Megan McRandal and Alexis Rimpa, who both graduated in May, won second place in the undergraduate research paper competition for “Investigating the Effectiveness of Visual Instructions for Teaching Manufacturing Paradigms.”

MMG Club Members Surpass $250,000 in Scholarship Funds Behrend students who belong to the Materials and Manufacturing Group (MMG) club get two of the most valuable things any student can acquire outside of a college classroom—professional contacts and opportunities for hands-on experience.

Even better, many of them find membership in the club financially rewarding: Every meeting starts with a rundown of job, internship, and scholarship opportunities by the club’s advisers, Dr. Paul Lynch, associate professor of industrial engineering, and Shannon Sweeney, associate professor of engineering.

Since the MMG’s inception five years ago, members have received more than a quarter of a million dollars in scholarships! Most of the awards have been to Industrial, Mechanical, and Mechanical Engineering Technology majors, but the club is open to students in any discipline, Lynch said.

It’s little wonder the MMG is now one of the largest clubs on campus, with nearly 100 members from engineering, business, and science programs.

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CAREERS IN THE HEALTH FIELDS START HERE Penn State Behrend’s School of Science has a pre-health program that is strong and growing—and receiving rave reviews from students who are now studying to become doctors, dentists, optometrists, pharmacists, physician assistants, even veterinarians.

In the past four years, more than fifty students have completed their undergraduate work at Behrend and moved on to professional schools in the health sciences. Some of them shaved a year off their undergraduate studies, taking advantage of the college’s accelerated 3+4 program with institutions including Ohio State University, the University at Buffalo, and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) in Erie. Here are the stories of five recent Behrend pre-health students.

KAYLA ESHBAUGH Recently finished her final year at Behrend as a 3+4 student, going to Ohio State University’s College of Optometry.

Career goal—to be an optometrist.

A visit with her grandfather inspired Kayla Eshbaugh to pursue a career in optometry. “While we were visiting, half of his vision went black,” she said. “At the optometrist’s office, we learned that it was because his retina was detaching in his left eye. He was scheduled for immediate laser surgery, which was successful in restoring his vision.

That experience spurred my interest in optometry.”

JACOB OSLOSKY Finished final year at Behrend as a 3+4 student, accepted at LECOM. Career goal—primary care physician practicing in an underserved or medically disadvantaged area.

Unlike many in the health-care fields, Jacob Oslosky didn’t feel “called” to be a doctor. For him, the realization came more quietly, confirmed after several job shadowing experiences.

Drawn in by friendly faculty and staff members and students, he saw Behrend as a way to have the best of

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A search for accelerated programs led her to Behrend.

“I visited and felt as though I’d have opportunities at Behrend that I wouldn’t elsewhere, including leadership roles in clubs and the chance to do research and volunteer work,” Eshbaugh said.

Proof of a choice well-made was in the Optometry Admission Test (OAT). “The way Behrend’s program was laid out helped prepare me for the OAT,” she said. “I had just covered much of the content in my classes.”

Faculty members, including associate professors of biology Dr. Beth Potter and Dr. Todd Cook, who also serves as coordinator of the pre-health programs, prepared her not just for the test, but for admission into optometry school, including helping her practice for her admissions interview.

both worlds, enjoying the benefits of a large university with the perks of a small-college experience.

“I ultimately chose Behrend because I knew I would be able to have close relationships with faculty and the chance to do research work,” he said.

A Biology major at Behrend, Oslosky said he feels well-prepared for medical school.

“The faculty members involved in pre-health programs are knowledgeable, realistic, and helpful, often suggesting opportunities to students when they know it will help them become a more competitive applicant to medical school or play a meaningful role in their career journey,” he said.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

“ The faculty members involved in pre-health programs are knowledgeable, realistic, and helpful, often suggesting opportunities to students when they know it will help them become a more competitive applicant to medical school or play a meaningful role in their career journey.”

— JACOB OSLOSKY

TAYLOR HIBBARD Just finished her first year in the physician assistant studies program at Mercyhurst University.

Career plans—to work as a physician assistant in primary care.

Taylor Hibbard is attending a two-year master’s degree program in physician assistant studies for free, thanks to a National Health Service Corps Scholarship that she received.

In exchange, Hibbard is committed to working in a medically

DEVIN HILL Just finished her first year at George Washington University’s School of Medicine.

Career plans—to be a surgeon.

In her high school anatomy class, Devin Hill observed an open-heart surgery that led to her current career path.

“I was fascinated by the surgeon’s skill and confidence,” Hill said. “I was intrigued by the human body—how it looked, the deformities that may occur, and the ability our bodies have to heal.”

MORGAN SHIELDS Just finished her second year at Michigan State’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Career plans—to be a veterinarian specializing in either large animal surgery or small animal orthopedic surgery.

Like many youngsters, Morgan Shields loved animals and wanted to be a veterinarian. By the time she was in high school, though, Shields had decided she didn’t want to go to school for eight more years. At Behrend, she bounced around among a few

underserved community for two years after her graduation.

“I considered many of the medical professions, but ultimately chose to pursue physician assistant school,” she said. “I’ll start in primary care but may choose to specialize later, possibly in dermatology, surgery, or pulmonary critical care.”

Like the other pre-health alumni, she felt ready to take the next step in her medical career.

“Behrend prepared me for the rigorous learning of P.A. school, which my professors say is like ‘drinking from a fire hose,’” she said. “I am still able to recall lectures from my junior year at Behrend that have helped me a lot.”

She went on to shadow more than thirty physicians in specialties ranging from infectious diseases to pediatric urology.

“I want to be a surgeon because it is a combination of lifelong scientific learning and the ability to serve others, save lives, and alleviate pain,” Hill said.

Hill thinks Behrend prepared her well for the challenge of medical school. “The professors care about you like their own children,” she said. “They want you to succeed and will give you advice and resources you need. When I started medical school, I remember thinking ‘I am so thankful that Dr. Potter told me to take immunology!’ I felt very prepared to enter medical school.”

majors until she decided to take a couple of years off to figure things out.

During that time, she worked as a veterinary technician in her hometown of North East, Pa. Her boss, Gerald Ramsdell, D.V.M., encouraged Shields to return to school.

“I received a high-quality education at Behrend,” she said.

“I was 100 percent ready for veterinary school. I was surprised by how prepared I was compared to others in my class.”

Shields is quick to point out that it’s not an easy path. “I would advise that anyone considering vet school be absolutely sure that it is what you want to do,” she said. “It’s a tough road and very competitive. But, it’s rewarding, too.”

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A Tough Nut to Crack

Emily Dobry ‘20 and Bryan Hed

Scientists at Penn State research facility contribute to effort to revive the American chestnut If you were to design the perfect tree, it would be the American chestnut. It was known to grow tall and straight and be rot-resistant, making it prized at one time for lumber, furniture, and musical instruments. Despite its tremendous size, once felled, it could be easily split. It was also prolific, sending up new shoots that grew fast.

The average mature American chestnut tree could be up to 100 feet tall and 4 to 7 feet thick at the trunk. A healthy specimen might be expected to live for 400 to 600 years and produce several bushels of nuts each year, literally raining down food for humans and animals.

In the early 1900s, this majestic species made up a substantial portion of the eastern hardwood forests. There were almost 4 billion American chestnut trees in the United States until a fungal pathogen transported on chestnut trees imported from Japan and China wiped the species out in less than forty years.

It is considered to be the greatest ecological disaster to ever strike the world’s forests.

SMALLPOX FOR TREES “The pathogen is native to Chinese and Japanese chestnuts, so the two co-evolved, but the American chestnut had never been exposed to it before and had little natural resistance to it,” 18

said Emily Dobry ’20, a student in Penn State’s Plant Sciences Horticulture master’s program who is doing research work at the University’s Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Center (LERGREC) in North East, Pa. “Think smallpox for trees.”

Today, there are fewer than 1,000 American chestnut trees, largely in isolated areas outside of the tree’s historical range in the eastern half of the United States, along the Appalachian mountain ridge and through New England.

A few of them can be found at LERGREC, where researchers have been conducting a trial since 2013 with fifteen chestnut trees—five each of the American, Chinese, and AmericanChinese hybrid species developed by scientists, all planted in one long row.

“The idea was to plant American and Chinese chestnuts side by side with some of the hybrids that have been developed and allow them to be challenged with chestnut blight over the years,” said LERGREC’s Bryan Hed, a plant pathologist.

“Over the years, most of the trees have suffered dieback from disease, insects, or weather, and have had to be cut back and renewed from sucker growth from the original rootstock,” Hed said. “Interestingly, the Chinese trees have fared the worst.

The hybrid trees are notable exceptions; three of them are currently 17 to 21 feet in height.”

BEHREND MAGAZINE

‘FUNCTIONALLY EXTINCT’ “The American chestnut is now designated as ‘functionally extinct,’ which means that although the species still technically survives, it cannot reproduce,” Dobry said. “The shoots rarely grow large enough to produce nuts and, therefore, future generations.”

Originally, scientists hoped to engineer a tree that was as close to an American chestnut as possible with just enough genetic material from the Chinese chestnut to resist the blight.

“It sounds simple to breed that resistance into the American chestnut,” Dobry said, “but it has turned out to be much more complicated.”

The most promising hope for the American chestnut now is probably transgenic—that is, the development of a genetically modified tree.

“Researchers have developed partially blight-resistant transgenic American chestnuts that are capable of surviving infection from the pathogen that causes blight,” Dobry said. “It doesn’t kill the pathogen; it’s still present, but it doesn’t destroy the tree.”

A PLACE IN THE FOREST Reintroduction may not be simple for the American chestnut, as the oak tree has risen to fill its place.

“It will be interesting to see what happens,” Dobry said.

“It will be a challenge for the American chestnut to establish itself into the forest ecosystem again.”

And the American chestnut may bring its own problems to the forest. In 2018, while Dobry was a Behrend student and undergraduate researcher at LERGREC, she discovered on one of the trees a fungus that was atypical for the American chestnut species.

“Initially, we assumed this was an unusual presentation of chestnut blight infection, but after taking samples and doing research, we did not find blight, but a pathogen commonly known as chestnut brown rot,” she said. “At the time, there had been no published report of this fungus in our hemisphere.”

As a graduate student, Dobry continues to study the domestically isolated strain, examining whether it may be harmful to species of trees closely related to the chestnut, like oak trees.

“If this fungus proves pathogenic to oak, it could be another blow to forest dynamics, which is why the chestnut project and others like it are so important to protect the diversity and future of our forests,” she said.

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Athletics NEWS

Athletics in the Time of COVID-19

When COVID-19 forced the students, faculty, and staff of the college to go home and stay there, the shift to remote learning wasn’t easy, but it was far more achievable than any pivot to remote sports. You can’t have a swim meet or basketball game or wresting match from your own home.

“From the time we all had to go home, we just wanted to come back,” said Brian Streeter, senior director of Athletics. “We had work to do and our coaches were anxious to recruit and get back to playing games again.”

When they learned there would be no fall sports season, everyone in the Athletics program did what any good athlete does when faced with disappointment—they set their sights on the future and worked harder.

“Knowing our coaches and athletes wanted to compete, we worked hard to make sure everyone could play their sport in the spring of 2021,” Streeter said.

“Athletes and coaches were thrilled, but it was hard on staff to go from one sport to another for four straight months.”

Every sport, except wresting, was able to have some sort of competition this past spring. It was less than ideal, but

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most were happy to have the opportunity to compete, according to Streeter.

“We give credit to our coaches and athletes for having a successful spring season with four AMCC championships—men’s golf, women’s tennis, softball, and baseball—and four NCAA tournament appearances,” he said. “But it was our Athletics department staff who really took one for the team(s), working around the clock to take care of our athletes’ needs. In the end, we helped more than 360 student-athletes compete. I’m proud of that.

“Maintenance and Operations staff took care of all the things we needed to maintain a safe environment and Housing and Food Services supported our student-athletes as well, as did members of the college administration,” Streeter said. “It was a terrific team effort.”

While COVID-19 challenged everyone, it may have made them stronger.

“I really believe our teams will be closer due to the circumstances they faced over the last year,” he said. “We met the challenge and overcame it.”

That’s what competitors do.

2020-21 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Behrend won the AMCC Institutional Peak Performer Award! (See story on page 22.)

• The Lions won four of the five AMCC Championships in which they competed—men’s golf, women’s tennis, softball, and baseball.

• Four student-athletes earned All-American status—Shannon Young, women’s water polo; Mackenzie McIntire and Kylee Bundy, softball; and Brady Smith, track and field.

• McIntire set the doubles career record in softball at Behrend with 51.

• Smith took home the bronze medal at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the men’s high jump. He was third out of seventeen competitors with a 2.05m mark and finished in the top 8 in national competition!

• Golfer Ryan Meyer was an individual champion in the AMCC Championships.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Disc Golf Course Doubled to 18 Holes Within five years of Behrend’s first 9-hole disc golf course opening, one thing had become certain: It was a popular addition to campus. Now, players will have even more targets to hit as the course was recently expanded to 18 holes. Check out the new course map at behrend.psu.edu/discgolfmap.

The new holes opened in April and expanded play from the west side of Jordan Road to the east side of the road. Brian Streeter, senior director of Athletics, said the course is a work in progress. Once the course is finalized, Streeter said they will install permanent signage, including a full course map and signs at each tee. For now, the new hole tees are marked with orange flags. Maps are available at Hole No. 1, near the tennis courts.

STUDENT LEGACY The original 9-hole course was a student-driven project, initiated

by Kyle Stephan ’14, a former Student Government Association president, who got the ball rolling, or rather, the discs flying.

Stephan was joined by then-students Trey Neveux, Mark Malecky, and Tyler Ferraino, now 2016 graduates, who together designed the course, located equipment, and secured funds.

“I’ve talked to all the members on the original board of the club, and we’re all extremely happy the course was expanded to 18 holes,” said Neveux, who is now a launch engineer at SpaceX in Los Angeles. “I’m looking forward to playing the expanded course and have talked to friends and former professors about playing a round the next time I’m in Erie.”

VISITOR PARKING, COURSE NOTES Visitors may play for free anytime the course is available. Users are encouraged to park in the overflow lot on the south side of Jordan Road on Old Station Road. A visitor parking pass can be obtained from University Police and Public Safety.

Penn State students, faculty, and staff members may borrow a set of three discs (driver, mid-range, putter) at the Junker Center registration desk with their Penn State ID.

Building Stronger Student-Athletes Earth, Wind & Fire is just one of the many tools Chris Viscuso, the college’s new coordinator of strength training, uses to motivate his student-athletes.

“I try to make it fun and keep things lively and upbeat,” he said. “I make them listen to my music, which drives them nuts.

They tease me about it, and I’ll say, ‘Hey, this group is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. If you can tell me who it is, you can cut your workout short.’”

Rare is the college student who gets to skip out of strength training early.

Like any good coach or fitness guru, Viscuso takes an approach that walks a line between pleasure and pain. He looks the part of a bodybuilder—bald, beardChris Viscuso ed, muscled, and tattooed. He’s often grinning, but with just enough seriousness in his expression to convey that if you slack off, he’s going to call you on it.

BACK TO BEHREND Viscuso joined Behrend’s Athletics staff in September of 2020.

It was a homecoming for the 1992 History graduate who had played basketball for the Behrend Lions. He has bragging rights as the first player to score a basket in the newly renovated Erie Hall when it reopened in 1992.

Nearly twenty years later, Viscuso is back at Behrend. “I’m the only ‘coach’ on staff who works with all 300 of our studentathletes,” he said. “And, I get to work with them year-round, not just when they are in season.”

One could argue that good athletes are generally built in the off-season.

“If you get stronger, you’re going to be a faster runner, a more explosive basketball player, a better soccer player,” he said. “There is not a sport you can play that you can’t play better with a stronger body.”

VISCUSO VITALS Before Behrend: Assistant basketball coach at Brescia University in Owensboro, Kentucky, then at Gannon University in Erie for fourteen years.

On one measure of athletes: “I ask them to do forty unbroken pushups and ten pullups on their own; it’s not a huge challenge, but it tells me where they are, physically. Then we have a starting point.”

On Behrend student-athletes: “As a whole, our athletes have impressive GPAs, unheard of in sports-scholarship-level schools. Personally, I have found them to be hungry for information; they love feedback. In general, they are just good kids—smart, hardworking, respectful.”

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Athletics NEWS

Behrend student-athletes: the 2020-21 Academic Peak Performers

Every year, Behrend head soccer coach Dan Perritano, pictured above at right, and his daughter Emma, who has cerebral palsy, embark on a days-long endurance walk. This year, they took Emma’s Hoyt wheelchair on a trek across the entire state of Colorado. The pair began their walk in Mountain Home, Wyoming, near the Colorado border and ended in Antonito, near the southern border of Colorado, a 320-mile journey that involved more than twenty days of walking. Along the way, they were joined by numerous Colorado residents, including Behrend alumni, such as soccer alumnus Ryan Ruta and his son, Reece, above at left and center. Each year, the Perritanos use their walk to raise money for a charitable organization. This year’s cause was Ainsley’s Angels of America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people with disabilities experience endurance events as well as building awareness about the community through inclusion in all aspects of life. At press time, the father-and-daughter duo had raised more than $10,000 for the organization.

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With the highest percentage of students named to the Academic All-Conference Team, Penn State Behrend’s athletics program won the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Institutional Peak Performer Award. Four teams also received individual Peak Performer Awards: baseball, women’s basketball, men’s basketball, and women’s swimming and diving.

FORMER ATHLETES EARN PLACES IN HALL OF FAME Seven former student-athletes—all members of the Class of 2010—have been named to the Penn State Behrend Athletics Hall of Fame. They will be inducted in a ceremony this summer that also will honor the college’s 2010 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship teams.

Alumni in the Hall of Fame Class of 2020 are: Kayla Frost, women’s soccer; Brooke Gallentine, women’s volleyball; Kevin Gorny, men’s cross country and track and field; Andy Iams, men’s cross country and track and field; Joe Nelson; men’s golf; and Sheila Ogden, women’s volleyball.

The induction ceremony also will honor longtime Behrend employee Robert Wittman, the former intramural and recreational programs coordinator and facilities coordinator at Junker Center. Wittman organized all aspects of the college’s intramural, fitness and club sport programs and managed the day-to-day operations of Junker Center. He also served as an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team for nine years.

“Rob touched the lives of many individuals over his twenty-eight years of service to the college,” said Brian Streeter, senior director of athletics. “His service and knowledge will surely be missed.”

To learn more about the Penn State Behrend Athletics Hall of Fame, visit psblions.com.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Alumnus Honored J eremy O’Mard ’13 is a lot of things. He’s a managing consultant and systems engineer for IBM. He’s a volunteer member of the Maryland Defense Force, a uniformed state military agency. He’s a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association. He’s treasurer of the Behrend Black Leadership Alumni Coalition (BBLAC) affiliation programming group. He’s a champion for diversity, inclusion, and equality.

But dig a little deeper and you’ll find the Why (see sidebar), the internal motivation that drives him to do what he does. O’Mard is a helper. He has a strong desire to give back, to use what he has to make life better for others.

“What really excites me is being able to make a difference in someone’s life, gaining new experiences, and solving problems,” O’Mard said. “I have learned over the years that I don’t like working on things that have little significance to me or benefit to others.”

He can trace his penchant for service to a day that changed many of us: September 11, 2001. O’Mard was an elementary school student in New York City on that fateful day. Bearing witness to the devastation of the terrorist attack— teachers crying, classmates being called to the office and told their parents had been killed, ash in his hair as he walked home—was beyond comprehension but made one thing very clear for O’Mard: “I wanted to do whatever I could to make the world a safer and better place.”

He’s found many ways to do that in his volunteer work and in his chosen field of managementinformation systems (MIS).

“MIS marries computer science with business and those are two fields that I was extremely interested in,” O’Mard said. “The quality of education at Behrend was a huge selling point to me.

I’m an avid learner who likes to tinker with the latest and greatest gadgets and learn new skills.”

“One of the main reasons I enjoy being a technical consultant at IBM is

“What really excites me is being able to make a difference in someone’s life.”

—JEREMY O’MARD ‘13

because I’m able to help my clients achieve their goals using technology, innovation, collaboration, and research,” he said. “Every engagement is different even if the work we do for them is similar.”

O’Mard has traveled to the Philippines as a volunteer with IBM’s corporate Service Corps, a program designed to assist communities by providing IBM skills and citizen diplomacy. And, last year, he worked with nonprofit organizations in Pittsburgh to roll out a collaborative outreach program—IBM Reignite—that aims to stimulate the local workforces and economy through the deployment of IBM talent and skill platforms.

In addition to serving as treasurer of BBLAC, O’Mard is president of the University’s African American Alumni Organization of D.C. Alumni Interest Group, served as the programming committee chair for the Black Alumni Reunion in 2018, and is the current Black Alumni Reunion co-chair. This year, he was honored with a Penn State Alumni Achievement Award, which recognizes alumni 35 years of age and younger for outstanding professional accomplishments.

THE IMPORTANCE OF WHY Start with Why by Simon Sinek is a book that Jeremy O’Mard recommends for those in any type of leadership position.

“Most people can tell you what they do, how they do it, or how it works, but how many can truly articulate why they do it?” O’Mard said.

“The ‘Why’ is important because it can change the What and How.” An example O’Mard offers is this: If an employee returns from vacation and is told he needs to complete a task by 10 a.m. (the What), he may be irritated and rush through it without verifying results or give his manager old data (the How), or waste time complaining about it. But if the manager gives the employee the Why—the reason for the fast turnaround—and tells him that if he completes the task by 10 a.m., he can take Friday off, the results are likely to be better.

“It’s easy to skip the Why in a world that wants instantaneous results, but the Why is what makes leaders and organizations great,” O’Mard said. “It shapes an organization’s mission and generates customer loyalty. The Why is motivation, and it matters.”

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Meet Robert Betts ONE OF BEHREND’S FIRST STUDENTS

Betts describes his life as the “embodiment of the American Dream.”

T

oday’s college students might not think they would have anything in common with a 90-year-old man, a member of the first class to study at Penn State Behrend in 1948, but here’s something many young people in their first years at college might relate to: By his own recollection, he “had a little too much fun at first.”

First, some history: When Robert Betts ’57 attended college, The Behrend Center, as it was known then, did not offer four-year degrees. Every student who attended Behrend went to University Park for their second two years to complete their bachelor’s degree. It was there that Betts, an engineering major, found himself fully involved in college life but, as he acknowledged, not so immersed in his schoolwork.

“A new world opened up to me, different lifestyles, people, scenery, intensity,” he said. “I joined the Blue Band, the orchestra, the chapel choir, and a fraternity—Phi Kappa Sigma—and I was an honorary Phi Mu Alpha. It was a lot of fun.”

With all the distractions, Betts’ grades slipped and he was “discredited,” the term then used for his failing to meet the standards for engineering students.

“All the music rehearsals and fraternity social life activities diluted my attention to the rigors of study,” Betts said.

He dropped out, which turned out to be a helpful decision as his father, the family breadwinner, contracted polio that same summer. Betts went to work at GE Refrigeration to help support the family and entered an apprentice training program for 24

locomotive and powerline component metal casting.

After nearly four years, he completed the program with top honors. By then, his father had recovered enough to return to work, so Betts decided to go back to school. He used the high marks earned in his apprenticeship to appeal to Penn State and was reinstated as a Metallurgy major in the School of Mineral Industries. He graduated in 1957, almost ten years after he had started his college career at Behrend.

He then embarked on a long career, beginning in 1957 with GE’s Jet Engine Division in Cincinnati, Ohio. There he met his wife, Alene. Married for more than sixty years, they have four children, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Betts describes his life as the “embodiment of the American Dream,” from his early years living in the newly built Franklin Terrace housing development of Erie and his childhood spent splashing in Wintergreen Gorge’s Fourmile Creek to his enrollment at Behrend and his golden years running a tech consulting company and traveling the world with his wife.

Behrend Magazine recently chatted with Betts, by email, from his home in Bentonville, Arkansas, to learn more about one of the college’s native sons. He is a member of the Silent Generation by virtue of his age only: He was more than happy to talk. (By the way, he’d love to talk to you, too. See the note at the top of the next page.)

Born in desperate times: I was born in February 1931 and lived through the Great Depression with an extended maternal

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Are you one of Behrend’s earliest alums? We (and Robert Betts) would love to hear from you. Send an email to Behrend at hjc13@psu.edu and/or Robert at rkbetts231@gmail.com.

Robert Betts ‘57 and his wife Alene on their wedding day and now

family group in a modest home in downtown Erie. There were twelve of us, including seven adults, in the house.

An early start: I started kindergarten a year early because my Aunt Kate, who was a teacher, thought I was ready. I think it was due to our family’s focus on books and games. We played a lot of anagrams, dominos, and Monopoly, and as gifts I usually received things like blocks, model airplanes, and chemistry sets.

A new home and school, times two: In 1940, my parents moved our family, which now included my baby sister, to the brand-new Franklin Terrace housing development to be close to my dad’s work at GE in Lawrence Park. I used to walk to East High School, about a mile and a quarter each way, every day, until 1945 when my father built a house in Harborcreek. I grew up playing in Wintergreen Gorge and graduated from Harbor Creek High School in 1948.

Family matters: My family decided that I would be the first to go to college, and it just so happened that Behrend Center was opening that year, so the proximity and timing was right.

Aptitude tests revealed I had a predisposition for engineering, so that’s what I was enrolled in.

Glenhill “resort”: Glenhill Farm was beautiful. It was imposing with all the estate attributes, including an in-ground pool, golf practice range, and gorgeous Wintergreen Gorge. It felt more like a resort than a campus!

The first class was diverse: In 1948, many of the men at Behrend were World War II veterans and the women were

much more socially mature than I was. The women pretty much owned the place as they lived on campus in the farmhouse.

None of the guys complained!

Behrend fun: Men lived off campus, so we didn’t have much opportunity to hang out on campus, except for a couple of formal dances every year. I remember swimming in the Glenhill pool and skiing when they put a tow rope up on the big hill behind the farmhouse.

Culture shock: Campus life in State College was a bigger explosion of activity and quality than this kid from the country had ever experienced. As I said early, I got a little too involved in a lot of extracurricular activities.

Life after college: I spent most of my career at GE Jet Engine’s Materials Development Laboratory. I have several patent awards for my work with protective coatings, some of which are still flying around fifty years later. I received several engineering awards from GE before I left in 1988 to work for Cincinnati Thermal Spray Inc., where I stayed until my retirement in 2015.

Post-retirement gig: After my retirement, I formed a tech consulting company: The Very Idea. I named it after a phrase my mother often said to me as a young man, rebuking what she thought was questionable behavior. Today, I live in Arkansas with my wife where we enjoy living near our daughter and youngest granddaughter when we’re not traveling. I continue to be a peer reviewer for the American Society of Metals’ Journal of Engineering Materials and Processes.

SUMMER 2021

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Alumni NEWS

Meet the Alumni Penn State Behrend alumni are making their mark on the world in a variety of ways. We caught up with several of them to learn what they’ve been up to since graduation.

ALUMNA JOINS THE NEW YORK URBAN LEAGUE Jacqueline Jackson ’02, who earned concurrent degrees in Marketing and International Business, is the new chief operating officer of the New York Urban League (NYUL), which serves New York’s African-American and underserved communities. In her new role, Jackson, who founded her own nonprofit youth mentoring program (The Royalty Project), has the charge of leading the organization to improve business processes and drive operational efficiency Jacqueline Jackson ‘02 in all initiatives and partnerships.

Before joining NYUL, Jackson worked in corporate retail management for Ralph Lauren, Coach Inc., Gap Inc., and Kate Spade NY. “I am truly inspired by the New York Urban League’s legacy of civil rights service and community advocacy and I’m excited to be joining the team,” said Jackson, who is a native New Yorker and volunteered with NYUL for two years before being hired to lead the organization.

CARTOONIST WINS SECOND NATIONAL AWARD

MaryGrace Everett ‘19

BIOLOGY GRAD PUBLISHES TWO CHILDREN’S BOOKS MaryGrace (Myers) Everett, a 2019 Biology graduate, recently published her second children’s book, The Good Bugs. She wrote and illustrated the book that introduces kids to the “good” bugs that protect people, clean up waste, pollinate flowers, and more.

Everett said her appreciation for insects grew in entomology classes at Behrend taught by Dr. Matthew Gruwell, associate professor of biology.

By day, Everett works with a different kind of “bug.” As a clinical lab assistant near Washington, D.C., she has spent the past year testing hundreds of patient samples for COVID-19 every day.

Everett published her first children’s book, Suited to Survive: The Theory of Evolution

by Natural Selection for Kids and Some Adults, in 2020. Both are available from Lilley Library or purchase on Amazon.

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For the second year in a row, artist and humorist Dave Blazek has won the prestigious National Cartoonists Society (NCS) Reuben Award for Best Newspaper Panel Cartoon.

Blazek ’79 (1975-77) was honored for his cartoon, Loose Parts, which is nationally syndicated by The Washington Post. The Reuben is the “Oscar’s award of cartooning” and Blazek’s work was recognized by hundreds of the Dave Blazek ’79 world’s best cartoonists, illustrators, graphic novelists, and Hollywood animators.

“I’m not sure words, or pictures, can adequately express how simultaneously gratifying and humbling this award is,” Blazek said. “As someone who only began cartooning in middle age, I’m in awe of the giants and other pros who wander around the NCS. To be recognized by them leaves me flabbergasted.” Loose Parts celebrated its twentieth year in 2020. Blazek, an Erie native, and his wife, Eileen ’79, live in Valley Forge, Pa.

ECET GRAD RECOGNIZED AS YOUNG LEADER Kevin Josue, a 2018 Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology (ECET) graduate, was chosen by Control Engineering magazine as one of their 2020 Engineering Leaders Under 40. Josue, 25, is a field services engineer for Control Station, Inc. In Manchester, Connecticut.

“I can comfortably say now that the ECET program has taught me all the practical skills I needed to succeed, and it gave me the purpose in life I was looking for,” Josue wrote Kevin Josue ‘18 in an email to one of his favorite professors, David Loker, associate professor of engineering in the ECET program.

Josue is still a Penn State student. He’s enrolled in the Master of Engineering Management program offered online through World Campus.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

GRAD COMES “HOME” FOR MCC GALA

Gibbs, center, posed with Educational Equity and Diversity Programs director Andy Herrera, right, and assistant director Walaa Ahmad, left, at the Multi-Cultural Council’s Spring 2021 Gala event in McGarvey Commons.

Jotham Austin II ‘96

ALUMNUS PUBLISHES PSYCHOLOGICAL TECHNO-THRILLER What if you had the memories of 110 people stuffed into your brain? How would you know who you really are? Those are the central questions in a new fiction novel, Will You Still Love Me If I Become Someone Else?, by Jotham Austin II, a 1996 Biology graduate.

The premise: The passengers of Flight 2164 all lose their memories—all of them except for Brian, who not only retains his own conscious past but gains the memories of everyone else who was on the plane. As Brian begins recalling the past histories of the other passengers, he soon finds himself unable to separate his memories from theirs.

The roster of characters, their intertwined relationships, and scientific discoveries in Austin’s novel will throw you for a loop more than once.

As a student at Behrend, Austin was named the undergraduate researcher of the year for work he did with Dr. Michael Campbell, distinguished professor of biology. He subsequently went on to earn a Ph.D. and is now a research assistant professor at the University of Chicago, where he directs the Advanced Electron Microscopy Facility.

Do you have news to share in the next Behrend Magazine?

Email hjc13@psu.edu.

Behrend alumna Dr. Pamela (Sumah) Gibbs was the guest speaker at the college’s Multi-Cultural Council Gala in April. Gibbs holds three degrees from the Black School of Business: Marketing ’05, International Business ’06, and an M.B.A. ’07 and earned a Ph.D. in Information and Interaction Design from the University of Baltimore.

Gibbs is a researcher with Google, having held positions previously with Walmart, Northrop Grumman, and Bank of America. Of her time at Behrend, particularly her experiences with MCC, she said, “In these walls, I learned to cultivate my voice, honed my leadership skills, and made lifelong connections. I’m able to speak up and advocate for others today because of the things I learned in MCC and at Behrend.”

SUMMER 2021

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Living Memorials Beautify Campus

T

he beautiful wooded property on which Penn State Behrend sits was gifted to the University in 1948 by Mary Behrend in tribute to her late husband, Ernst, who owned Erie’s Hammermill Paper Company.

Before his death, Ernst and Mary traveled the world, often bringing back trees as living mementos of their trips.

While that likely would not happen today, as importing non-native species can have disastrous consequences (see the American Chestnut story on page 18), it was not uncommon then—and it’s because of the Behrends’ journeys that the campus is now home to more than 200 species of notable trees and is recognized as an arboretum by the American Public Gardens Association.

Among the specimens are those made in memory or honor of family, friends, or associates by alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the college.

“My mom loved trees, so I thought it would be a good way to remember her,” said Lauren Piera-Jowell ’04, who donated a Wildfire Black Gum tree in honor of her mother, Andrea Piera. It’s planted near a main walkway on campus between Niagara Hall and Kochel Center.

Behrend’s natural environment is stunning—the gardens and flower beds, the variety of habitats from wetlands to forests to grasslands to the gorge—but it’s the trees that knit it all together. In the spring, the flowering varieties steal the show, and in autumn, the brilliant fall colors are a sight to behold.

It’s fitting that those who want to commemorate a loved one or, sometimes, a life event of their own would choose to plant a tree on campus, where it can be a living monument for decades.

Recent campus tree gifts include: • A Fort McNair Chestnut tree near the wooden footbridge beside Turnbull Hall, donated by Tod and Helen Martin and Roman and Kathleen Bielski in memory of Helen’s and Kathleen’s father, John Lewandowski. “Dad loved gardening, trees, and Penn State,” 28

said Helen Martin. “What a fitting memorial for a life well lived.”

• Four Flower of Kent apple trees— donated by Roger Knacke, professor emeritus of physics and astronomy and former director of the School of Science, with additional funds from Larson Texts—planted near the Otto Behrend Science Building. Flower of Kent trees are often referred to as “Newton” trees; physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton is said to have been lounging under a tree of this variety when he was struck by an apple, which legend holds inspired his theory of gravity.

• A Japanese maple, which was installed behind Senat Hall by members of the college’s Maintenance and Operations staff in memory of staff member Mike Devine, who died last year. “He was a great employee and friend,” said Kevin Engle, grounds foreman at Behrend. “He once found a large wild Japanese maple in that area, so we thought it would be fitting to add another down the wood line from the tree he found.”

• An Appalachian Red Eastern Redbud tree planted on the east side of the Health and Wellness Center by

This Chestnut tree was placed near Turnbull Hall in memory of Joseph Lewandowski

members of the center staff in memory of Kelley Wilke, a staff member who died in 2019. The tree will bloom for decades near the place where Wilke helped care for Behrend students.

If you’d like to purchase a tree in memory or recognition of someone who has made your world a more beautiful place, e-mail the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at aeg128@psu.edu or call 814-898-6345.

Leave your mark at Behrend Celebrate your connection to Penn State Behrend with an inscribed paver at the Mary Behrend Monument Walk.

The Mary Behrend Monument Walk honors Mary Behrend’s gift of her family’s Glenhill Farm estate to Penn State. The monument is a nine-foot granite obelisk surrounded by benches, trees, gardens, and a paver walkway.

Installed on campus in fall 2015, it’s located next to what was once Mary’s painting studio, now the college’s Studio Theatre.

Pavers can be inscribed with up to three lines for $150.

You can find full details and order your paver at behrend.psu.edu/monument.

With resilience and creativity, grit and grace …

WE DID IT.

As one Penn State Behrend community, working together—advancing our mission of teaching, research, and service.

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Behrend Theatre P-E-R-S-E-V-E-R-E-S How do you put on a musical during a pandemic when you can’t have a show indoors and audience (and cast) members can’t be within six feet of one another? You put up tents in the Wilson Parking Lot on campus and hope for decent weather. In April. In Erie.

It probably goes without saying that Emily Cassano, assistant teaching professor of music, theatre, and visual arts, was more stressed than usual trying to pick and pull off a spring musical.

Cassano needed a show with a small cast that would have limited physical interaction with one another. She chose “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” by Rachel Sheinkin and William Finn. The musical is a celebration of twitchy middle-school awkwardness: One contestant, beset with allergies, traces the letters with his foot as he spells each word. Another speaks six languages and can say “hello” in seven more but can’t manage even a basic conversation with a boy.

The show, which is typically set in a middle-school gymnasium, required minimal staging. Cassano made one adjustment to maintain physical distancing: Rather than sit the “contestants” on bleachers, where they would wait their turn to spell, she positioned them in chairs, spaced nine feet apart. The audience members sat seated socially distanced in a second tent.

The show was a hit with all but one performance sold out, from the first one when it snowed to the last one, three days later, when it was 60 degrees. That’s just April in E-R-I-E. 30

Emily Cassano, assistant teaching professor of music, theatre, and visual arts, needed a show with a small cast that would have limited physical interaction with one another. She chose “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”