| SPRING 2003... |
Dear Alumni & Friends
 I never tire of talking about the amazing people who individually and collectively make this campus such a wonderful place. In this issue you will meet Ralph and Helen Force, two people who are making the success of Penn State Altoona a personal priority. I know you will enjoy meeting these two remarkable individuals who are quietly and with great dedication helping Penn State Altoona to be among the finest institutions of undergraduate learning in the country. You will also enjoy a few minutes with Professor Jerry Zolten, a real life music man of the scholarly sort. Jerry's teaching and his prolific writing, including a new book on the Dixie Hummingbirds, bring a musical perspective that is original and uplifting. And we also want you to learn a bit more about one of the ways our faculty elevate our College above the ordinary by engaging our students in their own scholarship. This is learning by doing at the very highest level!
There are so many others about whom I want you to know. I hope that by sharing a few of the highlights from this past year that I will give you a sense of the pride we are all feeling about Penn State Altoona. Dr. Lori Bechtel, professor of biobehavioral health and head of our Division of Education, Human Development, and Social Sciences, was recognized this year as the outstanding female faculty member within the entire 24-campus Penn State system. This recognition places Dr. Bechtel among a very small group of extraordinarily high achieving faculty. Dr. Lee Ann De Reus, assistant professor of human development and family studies, received the Atherton Award for Teaching, the highest honor that Penn State bestows for excellence in instruction. Dr. Athleen Stere, associate professor of biology and a distinguished person in so many ways, was recognized by the Altoona YWCA as the Woman Educator of the Year. Professors Sandra Petrulionis, Steven Sherrill, and Joanna Goodman all are receiving National Endowment Awards in support of their scholarship. Professor Jim Winsor has been awarded nearly half a million dollars from the National Science Foundation to pursue his work on desert ecosystems. And among our students, Ms. Juhanna Rogers, an integrative arts major, was named NAACP Woman of the Year by the Altoona Chapter. As we completed the hiring of 16 new tenure-track faculty members this year, I can assure you that the strength of our faculty continues to grow.
 I look to next year with great optimism. Our enrollments remain very strong as interest in attending our College and majoring in our new degree programs continues to increase. We are preparing to update our campus master plan to guide us through our next phase of building on the campus. Recent property acquisitions have opened new possibilities for us to strengthen the curriculum and student life. Of course there are challenges that we anticipate. The fiscal health of Pennsylvania has a direct impact on Penn State, and we are keenly sensitive to rising tuition costs. We are completely committed to quality in all that we do, and all of us are mindful that however wonderful our growth has been, it must never overtake our ability to deliver the best undergraduate educational experience possible. I think you will agree with me that our faculty, staff, and community supporters will always make sure our students come first.
 William G. Cale, Jr., CEO and Dean
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