School of Forest Vol. 7 No. 1 Winter 2007 RF OREST SCIENCEesources • WOOD PRODUCTS • WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES SCIENCE • WATER RESOURCES Scholarships and Awards to be repaid, scholarships are outright gifts that reduce the cost of earning a college degree. Scholarships can tip the scales for cademic scholarships serve varied purposes in the lives of students who might otherwise not be able to afford to attend the recipients, the donors, and the institutions to which Penn State. Atheir stewardship is entrusted. The value of academic The University is embarking on another capital campaign scholarships cannot be measured simply in dollar figures, but with a focus of raising more scholarship funds. The last numbers provide an easy starting point. campaign, which ended in 2003, helped increase the number of Thanks to generous individual and corporate donors, the Penn State students receiving scholarships from fewer than 5,600 School of Forest Resources has seen significant scholarship to more than 12,000. It is hoped that the past success can be growth in the past decade, with available scholarship funds more repeated and that the number of students receiving scholarships than doubling from nearly $74,000 in 1996-97 to more than will again double. $160,000 in 2006-07. The College of Agricultural Sciences’ Scholarships are also a recruitment tool. The School of scholarship totals, which include the School’s sums, also more Forest Resources is often in direct competition with other institutions for the best and the brightest students. The availability of scholarship funds helps us recruit students who are receiving admission and financial aid offers elsewhere as well. Scholarships provide a means by which we can reward students for their academic successes. Though we do offer scholarships to incoming freshmen and transfer students, we use the bulk of the School’s scholarship funds to reward students who have a proven track record in our degree programs. We try to award a scholarship to all of our students who have earned a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale), and typically give the highest awards to those whose GPA is 3.5 or higher. We renew or increase scholarship awards in subsequent yeas for students who maintain or improve upon their level of academic excellence. Scholarships can enable students to achieve their full Jamie Murphy, School of Forest Resources undergraduate program potential. By eliminating or reducing the need to hold a job coordinator, leads a tour of our new building for College of Agricultural during the school year, scholarships allow students to focus more Sciences scholarship donors. The tour was part of a breakfast program time and energy on academic studies and extracurricular pursuits for donors, offered the morning after the college’s 2006 scholarship such as clubs and study abroad experiences. Scholarships can banquet. also be a great motivator. Scholarship recipients are buoyed by the awareness that individuals outside their families are investing than doubled in the same time period, from just under $800,000 in their education. to more than $1.8 million. Donors often regard scholarships as a means by which they But costs of a Penn State education are rising as well. The can “give back” to the university—to perhaps return the favor of a Penn State Faculty Senate’s Committee on Admissions, Records, scholarship they received as a student, or to say thank you for Scheduling, and Student Aid released a report in October 2006 what their Penn State education means to them. Donors often say showing that Penn State tuition for an academic year more than continued on page 5 doubled over a ten-year period, from $5,308 for Pennsylvania residents at University Park in 1995-96 to $11,508 in 2005-06. Penn State now has the dubious distinction of being the most SFR Centennial Celebration expensive public institution in the United States. April 27 - 29, 2007 Though we offer excellent academic programs, prospective students, and especially their parents, usually need to consider the Registration Materials Inside “bottom line”—the cost of attendance. Unlike loans, which need A newsletter for our alumni and friends Donor Honor Roll Correction New Building is Environmentally Friendly roof deck demonstrates the use of new and innovative structural WPC profiles developed under sponsored research from the The green roof on top of our recently opened Forest Resources Office for Naval Research and the Wood Materials and Building is considered a “showcase,” and it contributed to the Engineering Laboratory at Washington State University, Penn building recently receiving a LEED (Leadership in Energy and State’s School of Forest Resources, and Strandex Corporation, Environmental Design) Silver Certification by the U.S. Green Inc. of Madison, Wisconsin. Additional funding for the deck was Building Council. provided by the USDA Forest Service. Two deck profiles were That’s a designation that shows that Penn State is serious used for the School’s project, with the material formulated with about developing sustainable buildings that are more energy 30% high-density polyethylene, 56% wood flour, and 14% efficient, water efficient, and ecologically sound. “Since our additives. academic unit is based upon the principles of sustaining natural What will make the 4,700-square-foot green roof “green” is resources, we are aptly proud of the LEED Silver Certification the dense covering of plants and groundcover-like vegetation earned by our new home,” says Chuck Strauss, director of the placed on top of the building, explains Dr. Rob Berghage, School of Forest Resources. associate professor of horticulture. “Typically a flat roof works A focal part of the green roof, according to Strauss, is a large best; though, it’s not exclusive to that,” he says. “To construct a viewing deck for students, faculty, and staff built with a wood- green roof, it is necessary for a building to be designed to support plastic composite developed through research within the School. extra weight on the roof and to lay between 2 and 12 inches of Wood -plastic composites (WPCs) combine natural fibers with planting medium on top of a roof membrane and a drainage layer thermoplastic polymers to create a renewable material based on before planting any vegetation.” performance, process, and product design innovation. The green continued RESOURCES is published for faculty, In This Issue staff, students, alumni, and friends of the School of Forest Resources. Scholarships and Awards ................................................................................ 1 Editor: Ellen Manno New Building is Environmentally Friendly .................................................... 2 Contributing Authors: Nicole Brown Message from the Director ............................................................................. 3 Jeffrey Catchmark Our “Moose” Tree .......................................................................................... 4 Rachel Cleaver Ellen Manno Faculty and Staff RESOURCES .................................................................... 7 Jeff Mulhollem Michael Powell Student RESOURCES ................................................................................... 9 Kim Steiner School Notes................................................................................................. 12 Charles Strauss Thomas Yorke Alumni RESOURCES and President’s Message ......................................... 14 Contributing Photographers: Alumni Notes ................................................................................................ 14 Kristen Black Gene Miller Stacie Bird John Mood SFR Centennial Celebration Registration ................................................... 24 Nicole Brown Michael Powell Newsletter Response Form........................................................................... 27 Rachel Cleaver Paul Shogren Bob Kintigh Charles Strauss Calendar of Events ........................................................................................28 Director: Charles Strauss This publication is available in alternative media on request. School of Forest Resources The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, 117 Forest Resources Building admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities. It is the policy of the University to maintain an University Park, PA 16802 academic and work environment free of discrimination, including harassment. The Pennsylvania State University prohibits (814) 865-7541 discrimination and harassment against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, http://www.sfr.cas.psu.edu race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Discrimination or harassment against faculty, staff, or students will not be tolerated at The Pennsylvania State University. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination We welcome news and comments. Please policy to the Affirmative Action Director, The Pennsylvania State University, 328 Boucke Building, University Park, PA 16802-2801, Tel 814-865-4700/V, 814-863-1150/TTY. send to the above address or by e-mail to Ellen Manno at [email protected]. © The Pennsylvania State University 2007 Printed on recycled paper. 2 MESSAGE FROM THE