Penn State Abington is going Hollywood -- it's all about the movies this month at the suburban wooded campus. Join Moylan C. Mills as he moderates the Friday Night Film Series opening at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 11, with "Me and Orson Welles." Then at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 25, take a stroll down the red carpet at "The Oscars at Abington" and find out from Abington's movie guru (Mills) just who he believes will take home Hollywood's most coveted golden statues.
At Penn State Abington, personal safety is number one -- number 4-1-1 that is. Recognizing the growing need for personal safety and awareness training, Penn State Abington's continuing education department is offering a four-part series on the in-the-news topic beginning at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16. Personal Safety 4-1-1 will be taught by Victor Cooper, former director of facility and stadium security with the Philadelphia Eagles football team.
Penn State Abington's Opera Lecture Series kicks off February -- the month dedicated to lovers -- with the passionate and universal story of Romeo and Juliet. Moylan C. Mills, professor emeritus of integrative arts, will moderate the screening of the film "Romeo et Juliette" on Sunday, Feb. 6. This acclaimed 2008 Salzburg Festival production of Gounod's sweeping and supreme opera will begin at 2:30 p.m. in 112 Woodland Building. Admission is $10, payable at the door. Light refreshments will be served at intermission.
On Tuesday, Jan. 18, professional speaker Matt Glowacki came to campus to show those in attendance how to find and practice happiness. Glowacki isn't your typical 'be positive' speaker, darting around the stage spewing run-of-the-mill how-to-be-happy jargon. Although he moved quickly from one end of the platform to the other, he did it in a wheelchair. Born without legs, Glowacki, 37, had plenty of advice to offer the audience about identifying happiness and sharing it with others.
Take refuge from the wintry weather on Friday, Jan. 28, at Penn State Abington with "Celebrate Schumann: Song of Love," marking two centuries since the birth of the German composer Robert Schumann. Beginning at 7:30 p.m., Moylan C. Mills, professor emeritus of integrative arts, will moderate the screening of the 1947 film "Song of Love." Starring Katharine Hepburn and Paul Henreid, it explores the relationship between Schumann, his wife Clara, and Johannes Brahms. The program will be held in 112 Woodland Building. Admission is $5, payable at the door. This program is free to faculty, staff and students with a current Penn State ID.
Joseph Oakes, senior lecturer of information sciences and technology (IST) at Penn State Abington, likes to encourage his students to work on constructive technological projects, especially those providing a positive impact on society. True to his reputation, Oakes issued this challenge to students during a recent introduction to an IST class: Come up with creative ways to use global positioning system (GPS) technology to simplify peoples' traveling experiences.
Edward J. Fitzpatrick, who spent two years at Penn State Abington and graduated from the University in 1988, recently received Penn State's most prestigious alumni award, the Alumni Fellow Award. Fitzpatrick, one of 23 recipients of the award in 2010, was honored for his outstanding professional accomplishments.
Penn State Abington's Dec. 17 fall commencement, featuring Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams as the keynote speaker, was recently reported on by USA Today. Williams, a Penn State alumnus himself, inspired the graduates with his "It's the struggle that makes us strong," speech. To read the full story, visit http://usat.ly/gXLWQY online.
Angel Bernardy -- one of the many proud graduates to walk in Penn State Abington's fall 2010 commencement -- traveled a road of perseverance and hard work on his way to earning a business degree. After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1995, Bernardy attended Penn State Abington for one year; he then joined the Air Force. Following his four-year stint in the military, Bernardy worked for Philadelphia Park Race Track. During his six years with Philadelphia Park, he worked his way up into management before returning to Penn State Abington nearly 10 years later in the fall of 2004.
Chancellor Karen Wiley Sandler will engage in one of her favorite duties as head of the scenic, suburban Penn State Abington campus -- congratulating nearly 250 students as she shakes hands and bestows upon them their hard-earned degrees. The ceremony takes place at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 17, in the Athletic Building. Seth Williams, Philadelphia's District Attorney and a Penn State alumnus himself, will be the keynote speaker.