Keith Boykin, editor of The Daily Voice and television pundit has been chosen to replace Soledad O'Brien as the keynote speaker for Wednesday's Martin Luther King Jr. Evening Celebration. O'Brien, a correspondent for CNN, has been deployed to Haiti to cover the developing situation in the wake of last week's earthquake.
Boykin has been active in politics for over 20 years, participating in six political campaigns, including President Clinton's successful run in 1992. He later served as a White House aide for Clinton. He is also a frequent television contributor on CNBC and co-hosts My Two Cents on BET J. In addition, he has also written three New York Times best-selling books on the African-American Gay community.
Penn State President Graham Spanier hasn't been here for as long as JoePa has, but he's become such a recognizable part of the University that I have a hard time envisioning Old State without him. Spanier has been University President since 1995 and was a member of the faculty from 1973-1982 before leaving for several administrator positions at other universities across the country.
Yesterday though, the Associated Press ran a story discussing who will succeed Myles Brand as NCAA President. Brand died of pancreatic cancer on September 16. The report names Dr. Spanier as a potential candidate for the NCAA Presidency. One of the main reasons is based on the fact that Dr. Brand had served as a University president before taking over the NCAA (University of Oregon [1989-1994] and Indiana University [1994-2002]). Brand's tenure was marked by a commitment to improving the student-athlete experience by focusing more on academics and education (something Penn State has never had a problem with). Oregon State University President Ed Ray, who is in charge of finding a replacement for Brand, has hinted that his committee is leaning towards a University President.
The report names University of Hartford president Walter Harrison, Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman, NCAA executive Bernard Franklin, and Graham Spanier as possible candidates. Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman (a contemporary of Spanier's), Hampton University president William Harvey, Molloy College president Drew Bogner, Widener University president James Harris and Weber State president Ann Millner make ou the rest of the committee in charge of selecting the new president, and are not considered viable candidates themselves.
What do Ball State University, Thomas Edison State College, Rosemont College and City University of New York have in common (besides being inferior to Penn State)? These four schools are teaming up with the New York Times to offer distance learning courses for credit which will award certificates to students for completion of this course. The certificate will bear the seal of both The New York Times and the university offering the course.
Roughly two years ago, The New York Times decided to enter the distance education market in order to increase their revenue by cashing in on their name. Felice Nudelman, the director of education for the Times, thinks that a certificate bearing the name of the educational institution and the Times will "absolutely" make a résumé look more impressive. Nudelman also said that the content of the Times will probably "have as much depth and breadth as a good liberal arts curriculum." It must be noted that professors from the partnering institutions will be teaching the courses. The Times will advertise the programs online and in print, as well as supplying the professors and the students with resources incorporated in its New York Times Knowledge Network.
Penn State, on the other hand, actually has a good liberal arts curriculum. Even though we may not be partnered with the Times or any other outside institution, we still have a fantastic distance-ed program that many people choose. The World Campus and Career Services are partnered together to develop a series of online, self-guided career workshops which are available at no cost to students with active Penn State Access Accounts. Graduates from the Penn State World Campus are working for such companies as JPMorgan Chase, Boeing, and AT&T.
Do you think programs like Penn State's will suffer as a result of this? Read on to find out
Last night I took the opportunity to ride the White Loop during its new hours, and UPUA, color me impressed. The new hours served the purpose they were intended to and did so with few complications.
On the particular bus I rode, I had a chance to talk to UPUA Chief of Staff Matt Smith and Greek Life Director Chris Caswell, who were serving as that night's ambassadors. I give props to them for spending two hours of their Friday Night/Saturday Morning making sure things run smoothly.
While the majority of the riders were at various states of inebriation, everyone seemed relatively docile. Perhaps the late hour took the edge off. Talking to Matt, he said there had only been one incident where students started to get out of hand, and that quickly subsided without the need to kick anyone off the bus. This anecdotal evidence is by no means proof this will be the trend, though, and it will be interesting to see how things play out over the next few months.
Not that surprisingly, almost every rider was a freshman (or at least got off at East). On my trip, nearly 40 students got on downtown and only six were left after passing the East Halls bus stop.
In the end, I'd say UPUA can definitely chalk this one up as a success. Who else plans on taking advantage of these extra weekend hours?
Last night was the first night of RAWR, the first annual Penn State Improv Festival. We snapped some pictures of the exciting night. Be sure to show up tonight at 8 at the Pavilion Theatre to see Penn State's Full Ammo Improv, headliners Baby Wants Candy, and more!
Two All-American Penn State student-athletes were selected in the Women's Professional Soccer league draft on Friday. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naher was selected 11th overall by Boston and Forward Katie Schoepfer was taken by Sky Blue FC of New Jersey at 26. The two will play a role in shaping the new league, which plays games from March through August.