Penn State

U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Bartos visited Penn State’s Berkey Creamery Monday as part of his 12-day tour around Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.

With a scoop of mint chocolate-chip ice cream in hand, Bartos took a moment to rest during his sixth pitstop of the day. He says that’s easy to do when you’re out in central Pennsylvania.

“What stands out more than anything is the beauty of the region, obviously the amazing history and the great people,” said Bartos, a Berks County native. “It’s kind of quintessentially ‘Pennsylvania.’”

The Penn State Board of Trustees approved a salary increase for university employees on Thursday. An increase in tuition rates for students will also take effect.

A 2% general salary increase will take effect for faculty and staff for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, retroactive to July 1, for a total of $23.7 million. $3.8 million will be used for contractual increases and promotions.

Last year there were no salary increases due to the pandemic.

Governor Tom Wolf visited Penn State Monday to celebrate Pennsylvania’s new law allowing college athletes to get paid for endorsements and sponsorships.

High up in Beaver Stadium’s club level, Wolf recognized legislation that lets student-athletes profit from the use of their name, image, and likeness – better known as NIL. Wolf said the new policy will help athletes finally earn their fair share.

A new report published Tuesday recommended significant changes to Centre County’s police departments.

The Task Force on Policing and Communities of Color spent eight months reviewing local police data and practices from six different departments, including State College, Bellefonte, and Penn State’s campus police.

Penn State students checking out the course catalog this fall may notice some changes meant to boost inclusivity on campus. 

The university's Faculty Senate voted 125-13 in late April to remove binary and gendered terms like “freshman” and “upperclassmen” and the pronouns “he” and “she” from Penn State's course and program descriptions. 

Faculty Senator Bonj Szczygiel said the new, more inclusive language aims to take one struggle off some students’ plates.

The pandemic stopped many live theater performances from taking the stage over the past year. But Penn State’s “No Refund Theatre” was adamant that the show must go on. The group spent the spring semester bringing a live show to life, while taking precautions to stay safe from COVID-19. 

No Refund Theatre started rehearsals over Zoom in January for the play “Gruesome Playground Injuries.” At the time, the two-person cast mostly just practiced running lines with the director and crew.

Dr. Michael E. Mann is distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Penn State and director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center. He is recognized around the world as a leading expert on climate change. His latest book is “The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet,” published by Hachette. WPSU’s Kristine Allen talked with Michael Mann about tactics used by climate change deniers, what needs to be done about the climate crisis, and why he's optimistic about tackling climate change.

Penn State faculty members are calling for more input from professors, students and staff in picking the next president of the university to replace Eric Barron, who is retiring in 2022. 

A recent surge in hate crimes and harassment against Asians and Asian Americans across the country due to COVID-19 has sparked conversation about anti-Asian racism. Members of the State College community shared their experiences of being Asian in Central Pennsylvania with WPSU intern Jade Campos. Some of them will be part of a panel discussion tonight on the topic.

A Penn State political science professor filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the university for racial discrimination. 

Errol Henderson is suing Penn State for $75,000 for race-based discrimination. The lawsuit said he has filed complaints with the university over the past 10 years for racism in the workplace.

Throughout the past decade, Henderson has reportedly issued complaints about the actions of colleagues in the political science department as well university administration like Vice President and Provost Nick Jones.

On this episode of Take Note, we talk with Ben Locke, the director of Penn State's Counseling and Psycological Services and the director of the Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State. He founded the Center in 2005 and began leading the process of conducting an annual reporter of mental health services for colleges across the U.S. in 2008.

Here is the interview:

Governor Tom Wolf, Penn State President Eric Barron and Nittany Lions football coach James Franklin spoke together at the Pegula Ice Arena Wednesday, encouraging students to get vaccinated for COVID-19 before they leave for the summer. 

“Right now I know that this is maybe not something that is top of mind. Finals coming up, moving back home, finding summer jobs,” Wolf said. “But now that college students are eligible to get vaccinated, it is really important to make this a priority.” 

As more and more of the country gets vaccinated against coronavirus, many Penn Staters are feeling hopeful about the upcoming in-person school year. Others point to the current upswing in COVID cases and say it’s too soon.

In a livestream Friday, leaders at Penn State and from the surrounding community voiced concerns about the recent uptick in coronavirus cases and a new, more infectious variant found in State College.

State College Mayor Ron Filippelli said police have been responding to more gatherings recently and he sees a relaxation of precautions across the board.

A team of Penn State researchers is using wastewater testing to track the rise and fall of the COVID-19 virus in the State College area. WPSU's Anne Danahy spoke with Andrew Read, director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, about the project. Here's their conversation. 

Anne Danahy 

Andrew Read, thank you for talking with us.

Andrew Read 

Sure.

Anne Danahy 

State College’s annual partying holiday, State Patty’s Day, took place this past weekend. Crime rates surrounding the event have dipped in recent years. That trend continued this year despite the creation of new COVID-19 citations.

This State Patty’s weekend saw the lowest crime statistics in the past 11 years.

State College and Penn State police focused enforcement on dorms and apartments close to campus. The borough encouraged rental owners to keep an eye out for large gatherings throughout the weekend as well.

Monday is the first day of in-person classes for Penn State students. To slow the spread of the virus, the university is requiring students to be re-tested after arriving back on campus for the semester. 

All students living on or off-campus who are registered for in-person classes are required to take the arrival test.

Students living in the State College area are also required to take the test even if their classes are fully remote.

To celebrate Frederick Douglass’s birthday, Penn State will host an online “transcribe-a-thon” event this weekend to preserve the papers of an important Black woman activist. 

Jim Casey is a Douglass Day co-director and an assistant professor of African American Studies at Penn State. He said Douglass Day has evolved in the five years since it began.