07-08SwimMG:2005 Olympic Yearbook Template 1/28/08 10:46 AM Page 169 ABOUT STATE COLLEGE ABOUT STATE COLLEGE... • State College is the hub of the Centre Region, which is the geographic center of Pennsylvania. • The population of the Centre Region, including students is more than 120,000. • State College was selected the nation’s “Best College Football Town” in voting by readers of sportingnews.com in 2000. • Expanding University Park Airport has regular daily flights to Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. There are more than 67,000 commercial and charter operations annually at the nearby facility. • State College was ranked the No. 8 safest city in the nation among 254 metropolitan areas in a 2002 survey. • State College was ranked No. 9 on Forbes Magazine’s list of “Best Smaller Metros for Business” in a 2004 survey. • State College was ranked No. 19 in Kiplinger’s “50 Smart Places to Live,” in 2006. The list took into account factors such as the housing market, access to health care, a strong economy, and quality of life factors such as cultural and recreational activities. • In 2006, State College ranked No. 7 among college towns in The Sporting News ’ Top 99 Best Sports Cities and No. 56 overall. State College was the highest rated college town in the Big Ten. • Centre County consistently ranks first or second in the state with the lowest unemployment rate. • The annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts draws more than 100,000 visitors to State College each July. W W W . G O P S U S P O R T S . C O M BIG TEN MEN’S CHAMPIONS - 1999 • BIG TEN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS - 2002, 2005, 2006 • PENN STATE SWIMMING & DIVING 169 37 BIG TEN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS • 16 BIG TEN MEN’S CHAMPIONS • 145 INDIVIDUAL NCAA QUALIFIERS IN THE LAST 10 YEARS 07-08SwimMG:2005 Olympic Yearbook Template 1/28/08 10:46 AM Page 170 Nestled in the Nittany Valley , the Penn State campus has a charm that easily is identified. The CBS Television show "60 Minutes" once described Penn State as the ideal setting for any Hollywood direc - tor doing a film on college life. Penn State was chartered in 1855 when a faculty of four taught its first students, 11 of whom graduated on 1861. Classes were held in Old Main, which also served as a dormitory. A rebuilt Old Main now is the site of the offices of the University administration, including Dr. Graham Spanier, who became Penn State's 16th president in 1995. While Old Main once was all that existed of Penn State, today it sits in the middle of 15,984 acres that make up the University Park campus. Five-hundred-and-forty acres, which includes more than 12,000 trees, are devoted to classrooms and office buildings, residence halls and lab - oratories, with more than 750 buildings comprising the main campus. From Old Main to Mount Nittany...from Pattee Library to the Creamery...from the new Business and Information Sciences and Technology buildings, the Palmer Museum of Art or the Bryce Jordan Center, Penn State's campus has a picture postcard look . 07-08SwimMG:2005 Olympic Yearbook Template 1/28/08 10:46 AM Page 171 Penn State is situated in the middle of State College...the clas - sic "college town." Located in the Nittany Valley in the center of Pennsylvania, State College is renowned for its beauty, charm and youthful lifestyle. Trees and greenery envelope the stately fraternity houses along "Fraternity Row" and the surrounding residential areas. Quaint shops and popular restaurants and taverns share the cozy downtown area with students' favorite fast food shops, contemporary clothing stores and gathering spots. And it all lies in the shadow of the legendary Mt. Nittany in what is affectionately known as "Happy Valley." State College is conveniently located in the heart of the nation's mid-Atlantic region. It is but a few hours drive to New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Washington D.C. However, State College provides a great variety of entertainment itself with rock concerts at the Bryce Jordan Center, skiing, fishing, The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, numerous student organized events and much more. With a total full-time work force of more than 11,000 faculty, staff, and support personnel, Penn State is Centre County's largest employ - er. The Centre Region – State College and adjacent townships – has approximately 120,000 inhabitants, including Penn State students. 07-08SwimMG:2005 Olympic Yearbook Template 1/28/08 10:46 AM Page 172 To support its broad-based program , Penn State has athletic facilities the equal of any school in the country. On the east side of campus lies perhaps the most recognizable of the athletic venues – 107,282-seat Beaver Stadium and the 15,300- seat Bryce Jordan Center, which opened in 1996. The $55 million academic/athletic convocation and events center is the home for the Nittany Lion and Lady Lion basketball teams. Penn State's gymnastics, volleyball and wrestling teams compete in the newly refurbished, 6,846-seat Rec Hall. Other athletic facilities include Jeffrey Field, the home for soccer and lacrosse; baseball and softball fields; Nittany Lion Track; the $16 mil - lion Indoor Multi-Sport facility which houses a state of the art track and a turf practice field; the $2.1 million Sarni Tennis Center as well as an indoor tennis facility; the Bigler Athletic Complex and the Ernest B. McCoy Natatorium with an adjoining outdoor pool; and two University 18-hole golf courses. Penn State tagged $176 million for the construction and renovation of a number of facilities, many of which have recently been completed. Penn State recently refurbished Jeffrey Field, adding stadium seat - ing on each side of the playing field that seats 5,000 fans. The newest addition to the Nittany Lion facilities came in 2006 with the comple - tion of Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, a magnificent 5,400-seat base - ball facility located adjacent to Beaver Stadium. 07-08SwimMG:2005 Olympic Yearbook Template 1/28/08 10:47 AM Page 173 I A total of 245 Penn State stu - I For the third time in the past USA TODAY dent-athletes earned Academic five years, Penn State tied for RATES PENN STATE # All-Big Ten honors in 2006-07, the highest student-athlete grad - USA Today rated Penn Sttate tied for the second highest total uation rate among the nation’s as the BEST school in the in the 13 years of the program. I-A public institutions in 2006. 1 nation in the graduation of its Penn State’s 2,798 honorees Penn State’s 81 percent four- student-athletes. In the NCAA over the past 13 years lead all year graduation rate is well 2006 Graduation Rate Report, Penn State’s Big Ten schools. above the Division I-A national four-year graduation rate for student-athletes average of 63 percent for stu - was 81 percent, 18 points higher than I Penn State tied for first as the dent athletes. the national average. nation’s best public institution according to a U.S. News & I Penn State was one of only 10 I Penn State ranked 14th among pub - I Penn State tied for fourth nationally World Report survey of high NCAA Division I-A institutions to among public institutions and 11th school students (2004). be selected for U.S. News & lic universities for “America’s Best overall in a listing of the best universi - World Report’s 2002 College Colleges” according to U.S. News & I Penn State ranked among the ties in the nation according to a 2003 Sports Honor Roll for athletic World Report. Gallup poll. nation’s top 16 “Hot Schools,” and academic achievement. according to the Wall Street Journal. 07-08SwimMG:2005 Olympic Yearbook Template 1/28/08 10:47 AM Page 174 Russ Sue Jessica Dave Shawna Mark Sandy Sarah Jim Mushinsky Sherburne Montrella-Cronin Yukelson Bowyer Hinish Meyer Grotevant Weaver Director Life Skills Learning Sports Counselor Counselor Counselor Counselor Counselor Program Dir. Specialist Psychologist ACADEMIC COUNSELING Student-athletes are assigned individual counselors who provide MORGAN CENTER MISSION MORGAN CENTER them with advice on academics, academic planning, and career Central to the mission of Intercollegiate Athletics is the PROGRAMS AND FUNCTIONS: choices, as well as keeping them informed about NCAA, Big Ten opportunity for student-athletes to experience a well- and Penn State regulations that may affect them. rounded educational program at The Pennsylvania State CAREER DEVELOPMENT: University. The mission of the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes is to provide appropriate aca - PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY - This Program offers a variety of services to aid student-athletes demic support services and University Faculty Senate, GETTING FOCUSED in making decisions regarding their choice of major, resumé and A sport psychologist provides counseling and support to student- NCAA, and Big Ten Conference academic eligibility infor - cover letter writing, career planning, and gaining professional athletes in the areas of mental preparation strategies for training mation to all student-athletes. These services and infor - employment. and competition, motivation and meaningful goal setting, visuali - mation should assist student-athletes in achieving their zation and performance planning, concentration and mental academic goals while participating in a demanding NCAA STUDY ENHANCEMENT: focusing, coping skill strategies for dealing with adversity, and, in Division I intercollegiate athletic program. These services PREPARING FOR CLASS general, issues pertaining to self-esteem development and stu - should also ensure progress toward graduation through dent-athlete welfare. Study enhancement sessions are mandatory for all first-year stu - timely completion of degree requirements for baccalaure - dent-athletes and are available to upperclassmen as well.