TakeCharge of

Lives, MLKSpeaker

UrgesStudents

Faculty Convocation Examines‘Challenges and Opportunities’

VOLUME 14, NUMBER 3 FEB. 6 , 2012

California University

READ THE JOURNAL ONLINE: www.calu.edu/news/the-journal

Cal U students must take charge oftheir lives and keep moving forwardif they hope to keep Dr. Martin

Luther King Jr.’s dream of equality alive,said the guest speaker at the second annualMartin Luther King Jr. Day Luncheon.

The invitation-only event, hosted by theOffice of Multicultural Student Programs,was held Jan. 24 in the Performance Center.

“The Martin Luther King celebration isdesigned for us to recount the life of Dr.King,” said the Rev. Herman “Skip” MasonJr. “In order for us to move forward, notonly must we look back at the past, but wealso must plot our course for the future. Wemust continue to move.”

Mason has served as pastor of the St.James C.M.E. Church and the GreaterHopewell C.M.E. Church in Atlanta.Currently, he is an archivist at MorehouseCollege in Atlanta, where he also holds anendowed chair as the Edward and HermeseDirector of Morehouse College’s LearningResource Center.

Mason is the national president of AlphaPhi Alpha Fraternity Inc., founded atCornell University in 1906 as the nation’sfirst inter-collegiate black Greek letterfraternity. He also serves on the board of theMartin Luther King Memorial Foundation.

Mason described King as theorganization’s most famous member and theworld’s most iconic civil rights activist.

— Continued on page 2

Sudden and drastic reductions in state funding have cre-ated unprecedented challenges for Cal U, says PresidentAngelo Armenti, Jr., but the university continues to

offer high-quality education, and it remains a good value forstudents and their families.

Speaking at the spring 2012 Faculty Convocation,President Armenti bluntly outlined the financial challengesfacing the University:

• Deep cuts in state appropriations to the PennsylvaniaState System of Higher Education (PASSHE), coupled witha state-proposed “freeze” that would take an additional 5 per-cent of the University budget off the table;

• $19 million in “budget items beyond our control” sincefiscal year 2010, including significant increases in health carebenefits and retirement costs;

• Policy changes enacted by the Board of Governors thataffect performance funding and spending;

• And lagging student enrollment for the first time in well

over a decade, with a first-day spring semester headcount thatdeclined by 2 percent compared to spring 2011.

The privatization of public higher education is no longera gradual process, and the current business model governingPASSHE universities is financially unsustainable, PresidentArmenti said.

“Change has happened so abruptly that we now face acrisis. We must pursue a survival strategy that preserves ourmission of providing high quality education at the lowestpossible cost to students — while at the same time achievinga balanced budget.”

It will take drastic action to achieve that dual goal, hesaid. To reduce recurring expenditures in this and future fis-cal years, the University will furlough a number of non-unionemployees under the “Nonrepresented Employee SeveranceProgram” enacted last fall by the PASSHE Board ofGovernors.

— Continued on page 3

President Angelo Armenti, Jr. addresses the faculty during spring Faculty Convocation in Morgan Hall.

Cal U never wants to lose anotherstudent to alcohol poisoning.

That’s why the University hasinstituted the Red Watch Band program,which teaches students to recognize thesymptoms of an alcohol overdose and takeimmediate life-saving measures.

Lori and Tony Bobbitt don’t want otherfamilies to feel the pain they’ve endured sincetheir son Kiel, a Cal U freshman, died onMay 1, 2008, after a night of heavy drinking.

That’s why they spoke — occasionallythrough tears — at the initial Red WatchBand training session on Jan. 19.

“The hardest part about dealing withalcohol poisoning is making the decision tohelp,” said Tony Bobbitt, of Greencastle, Pa.“Friends don’t let friends die of alcoholpoisoning. A little bit of knowledge aboutalcohol and its effects could have changedeverything that night.”

Donna George, Cal U’s alcohol and otherdrug prevention specialist, organized the RedWatch Band training as a collaborative effortwith Residence Life and Vulcan Village.Fifty-five students who work as communityassistants in Vulcan Village or Cal U

— Continued on page 3

Red Watch Band BattlesAlcohol Poisoning

Tony and Lori Bobbitt described the night of their son’s death and urged students tobe knowledgeable about alcohol and its effects during the initial Red Watch Bandtraining session on Jan. 19.

TakeCharge of

Lives, MLKSpeaker

UrgesStudents

Faculty Convocation Examines‘Challenges and Opportunities’

VOLUME 14, NUMBER 3 FEB. 6 , 2012

California University

READ THE JOURNAL ONLINE: www.calu.edu/news/the-journal

Cal U students must take charge oftheir lives and keep moving forwardif they hope to keep Dr. Martin

Luther King Jr.’s dream of equality alive,said the guest speaker at the second annualMartin Luther King Jr. Day Luncheon.

The invitation-only event, hosted by theOffice of Multicultural Student Programs,was held Jan. 24 in the Performance Center.

“The Martin Luther King celebration isdesigned for us to recount the life of Dr.King,” said the Rev. Herman “Skip” MasonJr. “In order for us to move forward, notonly must we look back at the past, but wealso must plot our course for the future. Wemust continue to move.”

Mason has served as pastor of the St.James C.M.E. Church and the GreaterHopewell C.M.E. Church in Atlanta.Currently, he is an archivist at MorehouseCollege in Atlanta, where he also holds anendowed chair as the Edward and HermeseDirector of Morehouse College’s LearningResource Center.

Mason is the national president of AlphaPhi Alpha Fraternity Inc., founded atCornell University in 1906 as the nation’sfirst inter-collegiate black Greek letterfraternity. He also serves on the board of theMartin Luther King Memorial Foundation.

Mason described King as theorganization’s most famous member and theworld’s most iconic civil rights activist.

— Continued on page 2

Sudden and drastic reductions in state funding have cre-ated unprecedented challenges for Cal U, says PresidentAngelo Armenti, Jr., but the university continues to

offer high-quality education, and it remains a good value forstudents and their families.

Speaking at the spring 2012 Faculty Convocation,President Armenti bluntly outlined the financial challengesfacing the University:

• Deep cuts in state appropriations to the PennsylvaniaState System of Higher Education (PASSHE), coupled witha state-proposed “freeze” that would take an additional 5 per-cent of the University budget off the table;

• $19 million in “budget items beyond our control” sincefiscal year 2010, including significant increases in health carebenefits and retirement costs;

• Policy changes enacted by the Board of Governors thataffect performance funding and spending;

• And lagging student enrollment for the first time in well

over a decade, with a first-day spring semester headcount thatdeclined by 2 percent compared to spring 2011.

The privatization of public higher education is no longera gradual process, and the current business model governingPASSHE universities is financially unsustainable, PresidentArmenti said.

“Change has happened so abruptly that we now face acrisis. We must pursue a survival strategy that preserves ourmission of providing high quality education at the lowestpossible cost to students — while at the same time achievinga balanced budget.”

It will take drastic action to achieve that dual goal, hesaid. To reduce recurring expenditures in this and future fis-cal years, the University will furlough a number of non-unionemployees under the “Nonrepresented Employee SeveranceProgram” enacted last fall by the PASSHE Board ofGovernors.

— Continued on page 3

President Angelo Armenti, Jr. addresses the faculty during spring Faculty Convocation in Morgan Hall.

Cal U never wants to lose anotherstudent to alcohol poisoning.

That’s why the University hasinstituted the Red Watch Band program,which teaches students to recognize thesymptoms of an alcohol overdose and takeimmediate life-saving measures.

Lori and Tony Bobbitt don’t want otherfamilies to feel the pain they’ve endured sincetheir son Kiel, a Cal U freshman, died onMay 1, 2008, after a night of heavy drinking.

That’s why they spoke — occasionallythrough tears — at the initial Red WatchBand training session on Jan. 19.

“The hardest part about dealing withalcohol poisoning is making the decision tohelp,” said Tony Bobbitt, of Greencastle, Pa.“Friends don’t let friends die of alcoholpoisoning. A little bit of knowledge aboutalcohol and its effects could have changedeverything that night.”

Donna George, Cal U’s alcohol and otherdrug prevention specialist, organized the RedWatch Band training as a collaborative effortwith Residence Life and Vulcan Village.Fifty-five students who work as communityassistants in Vulcan Village or Cal U

— Continued on page 3

Red Watch Band BattlesAlcohol Poisoning

Tony and Lori Bobbitt described the night of their son’s death and urged students tobe knowledgeable about alcohol and its effects during the initial Red Watch Bandtraining session on Jan. 19.

Students Re-create da Vinci’s DevicesThe technological genius of Leonardo da Vinci continues to educate.

Dr. Mark Nowak, a professor in the Department of Applied Engineering and Technology, is basing a project for his course in Engineering Materials and Product Design on some of the 40 machines included in Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion.

The exhibition is on display through May 6 in the south conference wing of the Convocation Center.

Each year, students in Nowak’s introductory course are required to complete a project that uses a variety of machines and tools found in the classroom. The course improves students’ design skills, teaches the safe use and proper maintenance of equipment, and emphasizes the appropriate selection of materials.

Nowak toured Machines in Motion during the semester break. An idea emerged as he listened to Tim Buchanan, executive director of special initiatives, and Walt Czekaj, director of University exhibitions, discuss the

design of the replicas, which are based on da Vinci’s own models and sketches.

“I saw the exhibit and heard about the craftsmen who made the machines for the exhibition from da Vinci’s drawings,” Nowak said. “I thought, ‘My students could definitely do that,’ so I made a list of the ones that would be most appropriate.”

His class of 17 students visited the exhibition this semester, taking all the necessary measurements and hand-drawing the designs.

“We had to modify some of the dimensions to fit the supplies we have on hand,” Nowak explained. “But once we got beyond that, these are full scale.”

The sketches on paper had to be turned into computer-aided drafting designs before the students, working in teams, could proceed.

“It’s challenging,” said John Leasure, a freshman majoring in technology education. “No one else has ever done this, so it’s neat that we’re getting the opportunity. There are a lot of mechanical parts involved. Some (machines) have bearings, and ours has a pulley system.”

As he began the construction phase of his project, freshman Collin Beattie, another technology education major, said even the preliminary steps were educational.

Geoffrey Wysocki takes measurements to build his replica Leonardo da Vinci machine in an Engineering Materials and Product Design class at Cal U.

“When we toured the exhibit, we got to see all the different machines and what they were utilized for. And it was a good experience to have to tweak certain parts that we couldn’t really measure because they were hard to access.”

Information presented at the Machines in Motion exhibition has taught students about the practical uses of the devices they are building. “A lot of our classes have practical applications,” Nowak said, citing courses that have incorporated visits to construction sites and projects with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

“We try to learn about tasks in meaningful ways; we don’t ‘just do them.’”

He also was encouraged to see those with slightly more experience helping their classmates.

“Many of these students will be teachers one day,” Nowak said as saws whirred in Helsel Hall. “They aren’t just current students; they’re future professionals. So it’s good to see them teaching each other.”

—“Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion” continues in the south conference wing of the Convocation Center through May 6. Hours are noon-8 p.m. each day. Admission is free. Visitor parking is available in the Vulcan Garage, off Third Street near the campus entrance. For more information about the exhibit, visit www.calu.edu.

Dr. Mark Nowak (center) observes as students Evan Havics (left) and Colling Beattie measure the thickness of a piece of wood for their Leonardo da Vinci replica project.