A productive summer comes to a close

A new academic year kicks off Monday, Aug. 30, with the start of classes for the fall 2010 semester. This weekend caps one of BU’s busiest and most productive summers, which featured students studying abroad and others completing prestigious internships along with the campus staying active with numerous summer camps and guest speakers.

Fulbright scholar studies art of play

Michael Patte, associate professor of education, spent the summer teaching and researching playwork at Leeds Metropolitan University, U.K., on a Fulbright fellowship. Since April, Patte has made presentations at various play conferences throughout Europe, taught a variety of course sessions and visited a variety of venues where playworkers practice their crafts.

Retirees served BU for more than 500 years

Twenty-two BU staff members and managers with more than 500 years of service retired this summer under the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program. The program, approved by the PASSHE Board of Governors as part of the workforce planning effort, was offered to employees who are at least 60 or have 35 years of service.

Getting a taste of the Mallorca Islands

Luis Medina, a recent anthropology graduate, spent part of the summer studying at a field school in the Mallorca Islands, Spain, where he learned the history and prehistory of the island through lectures and direct contact with villagers.

 
Medina also planned projects, visited markets and other villages, toured archaeological and tourism sites, as well as integrated himself into the local life. Photo gallery

Student leaders lend hand to neighbors

Nearly 150 BU students and their staff trainers volunteered recently to perform various community service activities across Bloomsburg and its neighboring communities, including a Rails-to-Trails clean-up at Fisher Creek and painting the Berwick McBride Library.

Students also helped with the YMCA summer program, landscaped the Children’s Museum and painted the Bloomsburg Theatre entrance. Residence Life organized the training program with SOLVE to help prepare CAs to plan service projects with their hall residents this academic year.

Math Camp adds fun to summer

Nearly 200 local elementary students recently spent a week exploring math in various ways from group activities to one-on-one mentoring at BU’s annual Math Camp, sponsored by the Department of Exceptionalities. More than 30 BU education students participated as teachers for campers ranging from pre-k to eighth grade.

Among the activities included applying geometry to measuring baked brownies, using statistics in a game of tag on the Academic Quad and basic math of measurements to create snacks for a picnic. BU has hosted the summer math camp in cooperation with the local community since 1997.

Camp HERO makes lasting impression

 
BU’s Education of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Program recently wrapped up its ninth year of Camp HERO, an annual week-long summer experience at Camp Victory, Millville, for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Campers, who range in age between 6 to 17 years, spent the Olympics-themed week learning about different foreign countries and practicing communication skills through a series of activities, crafts and group challenges. Camp HERO in action

U.S. News' ranking lists BU among the best

Bloomsburg University is once again listed as one of the best universities in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report's annual ranking of U.S. colleges and universities. BU is listed as No. 88 of the Best Regional Universities for the northern region.
 

Anthropology student digs into mall

Victoria Schlieder, a senior anthropology and geography major, recently took a different approach to anthropology by researching the behavior and concerns of shoppers as opposed to researching culture or evolution. Her work will be featured this fall at a national conference.
 

Having the courage to try something new

Katrina Bradley, a junior Spanish and secondary education major, spent the summer in Xalapa, Mexico, comparing how language professors at BU and Universidad Veracruzana assess language learning in the classroom and address multiple learning styles. Bradley reflects on her experience and reveals how it will impact her future.

Faculty attends Princeton seminar

Kurt Smith, associate professor of philosophy, recently returned from a four week summer seminar at Princeton University conducted by the National Endowment for the Humanities. He was one of only 15 early modern scholars selected to participate in the seminar, which focused on philosophical topics in the 17th and 18th centuries.
 
Smith is pictured in a doorway of Princeton's famous 1879 Hall, which houses the university's philosophy department.

Discovering a new creative spirit to writing

Hannah Jones, a creative writing and history major, and Siobhan Lyons, an English and creative writing graduate, participated in the Juniper Summer Writing Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst this summer, an annual writing institute featuring workshops in poetry, fiction and memoir with faculty and authors.

Cyber crime internship done remotely

The profusion of computers in the business world allows employees to complete assignments without traveling to the office. The next logical step in today’s technology is enabling a BU junior to complete a computer forensics internship with a branch of the federal government ...

Honors student explores ancient ruins

Meghan Duell, an honors student, visited the Akropolis ruins of ancient Pergamon (Bergama, Turkey), where she is conducting her honors thesis research while studying in a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. Her research is also supported by BU's Honors Program.

Wrapping up a successful summer

BU’s Act 101/EOP program recently celebrated another successful summer program with a picnic at Bloomsburg’s Town Park, where nearly 200 students shared their celebration with Bloomsburg Chief of Police Leo Sokoloski, Bloomsburg Mayor Dan Knorr and BU President David Soltz.

A traveling experience like no other

Adam Wendoloski, a criminal justice major, is spending part of the summer studying Arabic at Qalam wa Lawh School for Arabic Language Studies in Rabat, Morocco. Adam describes his latest experiences navigating the Moroccan taxi system, riding camels in the Sahara and exploring Merzouga.

Faculty discuss oil spill on WKOK radio

Cindy Venn, associate professor of envionmental, geographical and geological sciences, and Tom Klinger, professor of biology and allied health sciences, were featured on WKOK’s (News Radio 1070) Roundtable discussion on Aug. 1, hosted by Mark Lawrence. Venn and Klinger, along with Julie Ambler, of Millersville University, discussed the environmental impact of the Gulf oil spill.

Graduate student researching in Greece

Jonathan E. Bobek, a graduate biology student, is conducting research with undergraduate students in a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. Bobek, whose research and travel is funded by a BU Margin of Excellence grant, is shown evaluating the invasive yellow star-thistle.

Nursing students study at Oxford University

A group of BU nursing students recently visited St. Edmund Hall courtyard, where they're studying family nursing. The students are sitting with St. Edmund of Abingdon, believed to have lived and taught there in the early 13th Century. The students also visited Oxford Brookes University, where they learned the British perspective of family nursing.

Exploring juchiteco baseball, Guiengola ruins

Liesl Driver, a senior Spanish and anthropology major, is spending the summer in Oaxaca, Mexico, studying the Zapotec language from a native Isthmus Zapotec speaker. Driver got a taste of juchiteco baseball, the Guiengola ruins, Zapotec pottery and a new dish, fish belly buttons.

Celebrity Artist Series gets $2,500 gift

 
PPL Corporation, a corporate sponsor of the Celebrity Artist Series, recently contributed $2,500 for the 2010-11 season that begins on Sept. 18 with the Jeanne Ruddy Dance Company, followed by the Boogie Wonder Band on Oct. 9 in Haas Center for the Arts.

The Celebrity Artist Series is celebrating its silver anniversary season with sounds of disco, rock and jazz, along with a Celtic Christmas and the brassy sounds of New Orleans. Accepting the gift from Teri MacBride, PPL regional community relations director, are David Soltz, BU president (left), and Jim Hollister, BU assistant vice president.

Alum’s artwork showcased in Harrisburg

Several paintings by BU alum Steve Wetzel, '78, are on exhibit at the Pennsylvania Governor's residence in Harrisburg through September. Wetzel will also be painting outside the home for Gallery Walk Day on Sept. 12, when the Governor's residence is open to the public.

An accomplished cartoonist whose work has been published in numerous newspapers, Wetzel paints with The Seven Lively Artists. He also has four works in the Cape Cod Museum of Art through Aug. 15.

Senior studies geological activity of the Moon

Katie Daud, a planetary studies and political science major, is interning at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., in the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, where she is helping to analyze and catalogue images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Senior relishes foreign learning experience

Jordan Weckerly, a senior psychology major, recently spent a month in Madrid, Spain, studying the culture and getting hands-on experience with the Spanish language. Weckerly also visited plazas, museums and parks, while enjoying the World Cup and local food. Jordan's perspective

Local teens get taste of college life

Nearly 50 high school students in Columbia, Northumberland and Schuylkill counties recently began their TRiO Upward Bound experience at BU, where they will spend six weeks taking classes, living in residence halls, learning time management and study skills, as well as visiting other universities.
 
This summer’s educational theme, “Invest U,” addresses financial literacy and will guide the group in the classroom, summer projects, community service initiatives and field trips. TRiO Upward Bound is a federally funded grant program through the U.S. Department of Education serving first generation college students.

Campus Alert Update

An update has been issued to the campus alert made in accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Police and Crime Statistics Act of 1990 for the robbery incident at the Hospital Lot on Sunday, Aug. 8.

Further investigation by BUPD officers found the robbery victims were specifically targeted due to an incident that occurred off campus and through a continuing course of conduct ended on campus. This was not a random act and the perceived threat to the campus community has diminished. The investigation will continue. Campus Alert Details

Alum reaches top of Mount Titlus

Felix Yerace, a BU alum ’05, recently took a group of his students to Europe, where they traveled 10,000 feet up the Swiss Alps to visit the top of Mount Titlus. Yerace is a social studies teacher at South Fayette High School in McDonald, Pa.

Andruss Library faculty collaborate

Kathryn Yelinek, Linda Neyer, Darla Bressler, Michael Coffta, and David Magolis, faculty in Andruss Library, have collaborated on an article in College & Research Library News titled, “Using LibGuides for an information literacy tutorial.” The article explains the importance of information literacy and the implementation process librarians at BU experienced to create a Web 2.0 tutorial for students.