Penn State

An original musical opens Wednesday night at Penn State’s Downtown Theatre in State College.

"The Last Day" is the story of a college musical theatre student tormented by a secret he has never shared, until he’s dropped from the program and turns to his fellow students for help. 

Penn State’s musical theatre department commissioned Altoona native and Penn State football star Mike Reid and Sarah Schlesinger to write the play.  

Rick Lombardo is the new is the Director of the School of Theatre at Penn State, hired last summer.

WPSU’s Kristine Allen spoke with Lombardo about bringing back the professional summer season of Penn State Centre Stage  in the summer of 2019 and about how his college pre-med plans were thwarted by theatre.  (Listen to the interview at the link above.)

You'll find more information on the Penn State Centre Stage summer season here.

I believe in bravery, not perfection.

When I was growing up, I learned how to be brave at the lake in New Hampshire my family visited every summer. I would jump off swings, rocks and boats, soaking myself in the murky water. My siblings would watch in awe. I was the daredevil, the center of attention—and I loved it. At the lake, I possessed a kingdom of my own, and I determined that I would conquer the world.

One of the best-known stories in the Judeo-Christian tradition is that of Noah, father of nations, who built the ark, saved the animals and repopulated the world. Little is said of his wife Naamah, and it is to this forgotten figure that Penn State MFA alumna Sarah Blake turns. She imagines her way into Naamah’s life—the constant care, cleaning and feeding of the animals; the coordination of packing and meals; and the emotional and mental labor that figures into so many women’s daily lives. All of this is magnified by 11 months on an ark inhabited only by family and hungry animals.

Fearing the spread of the spotted lanternfly, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is requiring a permit for businesses transporting goods through a quarantine zone. 

The quarantine zone for the insect includes 14 counties in southeastern Pennsylvania and four counties in New Jersey and Virginia. 

Penn State Spotted Lanternfly Extension Associate Heather Leach says Extension partnered with the Department of Agriculture to create a course for those looking to obtain a permit.

I believe in storytelling and bringing attention to those who live outside the limelight.

In the summer of 2017, I collaborated with my great-aunt and godmother, Marie-Edith Douillard, who has lived in Paris for 40 years and works for a human rights organization called Amnesty International. She introduced me to two refugees and helped me create a short documentary that has since been successful at various international film festivals.

A new Penn State study shows that the number of ticks that can carry Lyme disease is increasing in the state. Since 2000, Pennsylvania has had the highest number of Lyme disease cases in the country.

The study suggests that number might increase. Researchers found that the blacklegged tick, the most common carrier of Lyme disease, is now the dominant species of tick in the state.

Visitors to the Aboretum at Penn State will soon notice an addition to the area. Penn State is working with an architect on plans for the new University Art Museum, set to be built at the Aboretum’s entrance. The new museum will replace the current Palmer Museum of Art. 

Palmer Museum Director Erin Coe said that this move will allow for more space.  

Sixty-five years ago, the Brown v. Board of Education supreme court decision found that separate was not equal. We’ll talk with the organizers of a Penn State conference on the historic case, about school segregation then… and now. 

Crystal Sanders is an associate professor of history and director of the Africana Research Center at Penn State. Erica Frankenberg is associate professor of education and demography and director of the Center for Education and Civil Rights at Penn State.   

Paul Perreault, the CEO of one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies visited Penn State University Park recently. He talked with WPSU’s Carolyn Donaldson about the work of his company, CSL Behring. The company focuses on developing drugs to treat rare diseases, improving existing drugs and advancing the field of gene therapy.   

In 2008, Kenton Iwaniec was driving home from his job as a state police trooper in Chester County when an impaired driver’s vehicle crashed into his. The driver had a blood alcohol level more than four times the legal limit and had taken Oxycodone illegally. Penn State University Police & Public Safety is sponsoring a talk by the Iwaniec family, “An Empty Seat at the Table,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, in the HUB-Robeson Center at University Park. WPSU’s Anne Danahy talked with Kenton’s parents, Ken and Debby Iwaniec.

A Cornell study published this month found the causes to dying apple trees across the country are still unknown.

“It’s a lot more complicated than picking one pathogen or one climactic condition. I think it’s a multitude of factors," Penn State tree fruit pathologist Kari Peter said. "It’s very, very challenging.”

Peter has been searching for answers since she first noticed dying trees in her research plot in 2013. It’s called Rapid Apple Decline, or in more severe cases, Sudden Apple Decline.

At Tuesday night's vigil, Yousef Hussain read a passage from the opening chapter of the Koran.

He’s a Penn State junior, a member of the Muslim Student Association, and one of several speakers at last night’s candlelight vigil for the 50 victims of the New Zealand Mosque shootings.

“We should pray and act to change hateful rhetoric and the ensuing hateful violence, and above all, resist the temptation to lose hope," Hussain said.

I believe we all have a story.

I grew up in a small town about 30 miles outside of Harrisburg. When I say small town, I mean we only had one high school with about 60 kids in each graduating class. We had one red light, one Sheetz, one grocery store and a few banks.

We're just a few weeks away from the deadline for the UK to reach an agreement on its plan to leave the European Union. Nearly three years after the infamous Brexit vote, things appear to be as murky as ever.

Rather than trying to predict the future, we invited Penn State's Sons Golder to join us for a conversation about how Brexit originated, and the pros and cons of putting the decision directly in the people's hands. Sona is a comparative politics scholar and co-editor of the British Journal on Political Science.

I believe in traveling alone at least once in your life.

I’ll always remember how I felt the morning of December 27, 2014. There were butterflies of excitement in my stomach as I found a window seat near the back of the German train car. I settled in and double-checked that my written itinerary was still in my pocket. The train began to leave the station. Once the pure rush of adrenaline wore off, a feeling of complete shock hit me.

What in the world was I doing? 

Was I prepared to travel through Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and England on my own for two weeks?

Thursday night at Penn State, University Park, the Baroque orchestra, Tafelmusik, teams up with Trio Arabica for a concert called "Tales of Two Cities: The Leipzig-Damascus Coffee House." WPSU's Kristine Allen reports on the show's blend of European and Arabic music, images, and narration.