EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Office of Public Information and Publications Edinboro, PA 16444 (814) 732-2745 or 2929 Fax (814) 732-2621 February 27,1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: EDINBORO UNIVERSITY TO HOST WOMEN’S PANEL On Wednesday, March 1, Edinboro University’s Students for Women’s Equality will present a panel discussion in recognition of Women’s History Month. Seven professional women will share information about their work and their accomplishments in a discussion at 7:00 p.m. in Doucette Hall room 119. Scheduled to participate are: Carolyn Rhodes, deputy mayor of Edinboro; Dr. Dale Hunter, professor of biology at Edinboro University; Deputy V. L. Kormanic of the Cambridge Springs Correctional Institute; Suzanne W^nterberger, professor of art at Edinboro; Dr. Mary Louise Keller, chairperson of Edinboro’s department of nursing; Brenda Franklin, vice president at PNC bank; and Dr. Joyce Berry, professor of physics and volunteer firefighter. The public is invited to attend. For additional information, contact Dr. Kathy Sotol at 732-2887 or Ann Coleman, 734-5421. -30- psl A member of the State System of Higher Education £RIE DAILY TIMES ERIE, PA <0,412 daily TUESDAY F£B 28 1995 117 • cec« Womei plans discussion ^Sfents for^ Womens'EqMity at IMinboro University will hold a panel di^cuSSlhu WtJUnwsd^riii recogni­ tion of Women’s History Month. Seven professional women will share iiiformation about their work and accomplishments at the event, to begin at 7 p.m. in Room 119 of Doucette Hall. Carolyn Rhodes, deputy mayor of Edinboip; Dr. Dale Hunter, profes­ sor of biology at Edinboro Universi­ ty; Deputy V.L. Kormanic of the Cambridge Springs Correctional In­ stitute; Suzanne Winterberger, prol fessor of art at Edinboro; Dr. Mary Louise Keller, chairman of Edinboro’s department of nursing; Bren­ da Franklin, a vice president of PNC Bank; and Dr. Joyce Berry, profes­ sor of physics and a volunteer fire­ fighter, are scheduled to participate. Organizers invite the public to at­ tend and said more information is available by contacting Dr. Kathy Sotol at 732-2887, or Ann Coleman at 734-5421. EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Office of Public Information and Publications Edinboro, PA 16444 (814) 732-2745 or 2929 Fax (814) 732-2621 February 27, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEW EDINBORO GRADUATE PROGRAM WILL PREPARE FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONERS A new academic offering at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania will prepare students in the Master of Science in Nursing (M.S.N.) degree program as family nurse practitioners, according to an announcement by University President Foster F. Diebold. Edinboro University has offered a Master of Science in Nursing degree for nearly 20 years, Diebold said, but began revising the program several years ago in recognition of the increasing need for primary care providers in Pennsylvania’s rural communities. The State System of Higher Education Board of Governors approved the program revision in January for Edinboro to prepare students as family nurse practitioners. Edinboro is the first to offer the M.S.N. degree for family nurse practitioners at any of the 14 State System universities. Edinboro University’s M.S.N. - Family Nurse Practitioner program has also been approved by the State Board of Nursing, the State Board of Medicine, and all appropriate University groups, including its Council of Trustees. “We in the nursing profession recognized five years ago that this was the direction the national health care debate was taking, and we initiated efforts then to prepare nurses to meet the impending changes,” said Dr. Harriet Phillips, recently retired chairperson of Edinboro’s nursing department. “The need for nurse practitioners is reflective of the changes that have occurred and are still occurring in the health care delivery system,” said Phillips, “and the emphasis in graduate nursing is now on the practitioner role.” -moreA member of the State System of Higher Education EDINBORO GRADUATE PROGRAM, Continued Page 2 According to Dr. Mary Louise Keller, the current chairperson of Edinboro University’s nursing department, the new program will address the problems of the medically underserved population in the predominantly rural areas of northwestern Pennsylvania. An earlier study by the U.S. Census Bureau and quoted in Edinboro’s needs assessment reported that Pennsylvania has the largest rural population in the nation. Forty-two of its 67 counties have more than half of the population living in a rural area, defined in the report as a borough or township with less than 2,500 people. Erie County, although classified as a Metropolitan Statistical Area, has many rural boroughs and townships, and is bordered by two other primarily rural counties, Crawford and Warren. The communities surrounding Edinboro University are for the most part rural, Keller said, and have vulnerable populations with primary and preventive health care needs that can be remedied efficiently and cost-effectively by family nurse practitioners functioning autonomously in most situations. “The family nurse practitioner in the rural health care setting can offer a broad range of services, treating both common chronic illnesses and acute illnesses among the most vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and the very young,” Keller said. “Family nurse practitioners can provide up to 80 percent of the care normally administered by a medical doctor,” said Dr. Judith Schilling, of Edinboro's family nurse practitioner faculty and, along with Keller, one of the two doctorally-prepared University nursing faculty who will operate the program. She added that many physicians in the northwestern Pennsylvania area are receptive and supportive of Edinboro University’s M.S.N. Family Nurse Practitioner program. Schilling said that the new program revision requires 48 credit hours with coursework options in either a full-time or part-time curriculum sequence. A post-master’s certificate may also be conferred to students who already possess a master’s degree in nursing. Full-time students can complete the 48-hour program over a two-year period. Nurses already possessing an M.S.N. degree can earn a nurse practitioner certificate by completing 33 credits. “Evening classes will also be offered to accommodate the working registered nurse,” said Schilling. -more- EDINBORO GRADUATE PROGRAM, Continued Page 3 “Our feasibility study showed that there is a student population for the program and support from the health care community,” Schilling said. “Seventeen are already enrolled in the program and another 150 have expressed interest through inquiries.” Schilling said also that students seeking to enter the program must have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, and that the eventual class size would probably number approximately 20. Nurse practitioners are classified by the federal government as advanced practice nurses, meaning they can practice in an expanded and often independent role that enables them to meet the primary and preventive health care needs of patients. Legal permission for a nurse to function in this capacity in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania may be granted to a registered nurse who has completed a state-approved graduate nursing program, such as Edinboro’s. Program graduates who successfully complete all graduate-level courses with a B average, a comprehensive examination and a thesis can then be licensed to practice as certified registered nurse practitioners in Pennsylvania. Graduates will also be able to sit for the national certification examination administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. While the focus of Edinboro’s program is the provision of personal health care services for persons of all ages within the context of the rural family and community, graduates may practice in other health care settings as well. Schilling said. “Certified registered nurse practitioners can also find career opportunities in hospital outpatient clinics, HMOs, public health facilities, emergency rooms, schools, and occupational health settings, such as factories.” Edinboro’s program will operate as a pilot project for the State System of Higher Education’s new Health Care Education initiative and will serve as a model for other State System universities. As part of the State System’s 1995-96 appropriations request to the Governor and General Assembly, the Board of Governors approved a Health Care Enhancement special purpose appropriations request for $1 million for the first year of a five-year, $5 million program. The System’s program is designed to assemble regional consortia to provide more training and education to health care providers across Pennsylvania, with special emphasis on rural areas. Regional nurse practitioner programs will be given priority as new University programs are developed and offered to students. -more- EDINBORO GRADUATE PROGRAM, Continued Page 4 Collaboration on a consortia basis among Edinboro, Clarion and Slippery Rock universities has been built into Edinboro’s program through development of compatible curricula, officials said. Clarion and Slippery Rock are in the process of developing family nurse practitioner programs. -30WARicah EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Office of Public Information and Publications Edinboro, PA 16444 (814) 732-2745 or 2929 Fax (814) 732-2621 February 27, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: EDINBORO ALUMNUS, STUDENT HONORED AT ERIE ENGINEERS’ WEEK Since the mid-1960s, the Erie Engineering Societies Council (EESC) - an affiliation of 18 member societies dedicated to furthering technical education and strengthening the engineering, scientific and technical professions - has sponsored an annual Erie Engineers’ Week and Industrial Exposition. EESC societies are encouraged each year to recognize individual members for outstanding achievement. Robert J. Lowther Jr., president and owner of Great Lakes Case & Cabinet Co., Inc., was named the EESC Entrepreneur of the Year at the Council’s 32nd Annual Erie Engineers Week Industrial Expo held Feb. 21-23 at the Erie Civic Center. Lowther, a 1977 Edinboro University graduate, was also a finalist for the 1994 Entrepreneur of the Year awards sponsored by the Pittsburgh Business Times Journal. Lowther founded Great Lakes Case & Cabinet in 1985 to manufacture enclosures for housing communications equipment. The Edinboro-based company has since become an industry leader, experiencing a 20 percent growth rate in each of the last five years. Also honored at Erie Engineers’ Week was Jonathan Nichols, an Edinboro University sophomore enrolled in the University’s cooperative engineering program and one of six Erie area students to receive an EESC Louis W. Balmer Scholarship. Nichols, a Girard native and 1993 graduate of General McLane High School, transferred to Edinboro University after attending Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania. He has been a dean’s list student at both State System of Higher Education universities. The scholarship grants, named in Baimer’s honor to recognize his more than 30 years of service to the community and the EESC, are awarded to students recognized and nominated by their schools for their achievements in science, mathematics or engineering curricula. - more A member of the State System of Higher Education EDINBORO ALUMNUS, STUDENT HONORED, continued page 2 Proceeds from the annual Engineers’ Week, an event which each year draws some 7,000 people and 100 exhibitors to the Erie Civic Center, make the scholarship awards possible. -30- WAR:psl EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Office of Public Information and Publications Edinboro, PA 16444 (814) 732-2745 or 2929 Fax (814) 732-2621 February 21, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: EDINBORO GRAD CREATES SUCCESSFUL RESEARCH LABORATORY When Elizabeth “Libby” Kraftician set foot on the campus of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in the fall of 1966, she was determined to leave with an education that would prepare herself for success, not just a Job. “I’ve always felt that the purpose of an education is to prepare yourself for the world,” said Kraftician. “I believe that you’re destined for unhappiness, unemployment and possibly economic ruin if you see education as merely preparation for a job.” Kraftician must have prepared herself well. Graduating from Edinboro in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in studio arts, Kraftician went on to teach art in elementary schools in Pittsburgh and Wheeling, West Virginia, and then to graduate school to study microbiology and epidemiology. While in graduate school, she turned down a job to join a large research organization and opted to create her own research company in 1980. Since that time, Kraftician’s company. Touchstone Research Laboratory, Ltd., has been recognized nationally as one of the most successful and innovative companies in America. She explains her success as the logical consequence of a sound education. “A good education should teach you to be flexible,” she said. “A good education should enable you to step from one paradigm to another, for example, from art to science to business. The key to life is the ability to meld together all of those seemingly diverse facets in order to construct something new, practical and meaningful.” Kraftician’s education evidently enabled her to recognize opportunities and how to overcome adversity. -moreA member of the State System of Higher Education EDINBORO GRAD CREATES RESEARCH LABORATORY, Continued Page 2 The late 1970s found Kraftician at Ohio State University. She and a fellow graduate student, Brian E. Joseph, recognized a disturbing national trend as manufacturers throughout America were decimating their research and development staffs. The two science students believed that investment in technology was critical to the nation’s economic survival. They started their lab to fill the void left by private industry. “Americans are so inventive, but we often don’t believe it. The people in other countries know it and want our technology,” she said. “From the moment we met we started talking about the idea for a laboratory.” That day came serendipitously in 1980. They went to the warehouse of a research facility in Columbus, Ohio, looking for a certain piece of equipment to aid in Joseph’s graduate research. Instead, they came across an electron microscope that had been dismantled, stripped of its wiring and left for scrap. The refrigerator-sized microscope was essentially a piece of junk. They bought it on the spot for $101. Without a clear idea of what they were going to do with it, they rebuilt and rewired the instrument without the help of a schematic diagram. The microscope was the first piece of equipment for their new company which they founded in 1980 in the unheated basement of a Carmelite monastery in Wheeling. The early years were tough. For much of the 1980s she and Joseph, whom she married in 1985, lived in near poverty while trying to create an industrial research laboratory from their investment of $101. They took on odd jobs, sold real estate, and renovated old buildings - anything to keep some money coming in. The low point came one day when she had to choose between feeding herself or her dog. “I couldn’t tell Moxie why I couldn’t feed her, so I fed her,” Kraftician said. “I could find other ways of fending for myself.” Moxie had dinner; Kraftician got by on popcorn. Still, Kraftician’s confidence never wavered. “I never thought we were going to fail,” she explained. “You can’t second guess your decisions. Don’t look back and think how you are going to bail out - or else you will bail out.” As business slowly picked up, they bought a 100-year-old Victorian house with a flooded basement. They remodeled the house themselves, putting their lab in the basement, offices on the first floor and renting out the second and third floors as apartments. Kraftician and Joseph started Touchstone with one overriding mission: to inject technology into the nation’s manufacturing base to boost global competitiveness, quality and new product development. -more- EDINBORO GRAD CREATES RESEARCH LABORATORY, Continued Page 3 “Libby runs the company like a hospital for sick companies that turns no one away,” said marketing director John Mackay, a former newspaper reporter who came to work with the company in 1989. “Its niche is helping manufacturers who only have $1,000 to spend and need a solution in five working days.” “The typical return on investment for our clients is approximately 10 or 15 to one,” said Mackay. “A metal-plating manufacturer had a problem that Touchstone solved for $900. It saved the company over $600,000. Kraftician and Joseph had a second dream when they started the company - they also wanted to create their own research park. In 1987 they spotted a piece of property along Interstate 70, the busiest east-west interstate in the nation. “We knew there were a lot of people like ourselves who had cottage industries working out of basements who needed a modern facility,” said Kraftician. “We optioned the site and contacted Governor Arch Moore. He became interested in the project, because he could see what we were trying to do. He called the local development people and got them involved. All it took was a little bit of money and a lot of faith.” Touchstone moved into a 15,000-square-foot facility in the new Millennium Centre in Triadelphia in December of 1989. For her efforts, she became the first person to be honored by the West Virginia Senate for her contributions to technology. In 1992 she was nominated to receive a national Women of Enterprise award from the U. S. Small Business Administration and Avon Products. That same year Touchstone was named one of the 500 fastest growing private companies in America by Inc. magazine. She and Joseph were featured in the October 1992 issue of Inc., and Touchstone was named to the list again in 1993. Last year she was featured in articles in Entrepreneur and Nation's Business magazines, and appeared on the USA Network’s “First Business” news program. The company received the Governor’s Cup Award from the Southern Growth Policies Board of the Southern Governor’s Association. The crowning moment came in February 1994 when Kraftician and her husband were flown to Washington, D.C., to accept the “National Blue Chip Enterprise” award - the top national business honor given by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In the 15 years since its founding. Touchstone has helped thousands of clients with projects ranging from garden tools and automotive parts to advanced composite materials for the aerospace industry and critical materials for the Space Shuttle. An average of two research projects a day are started and completed. -more- EDINBORO GRAD CREATES RESEARCH LABORATORY, Continued Page 4 So, how can a research company handle hundreds of projects a year with only 40 employees? Much of it has to do with the kind of people Touchstone hires. “We hired people like ourselves who are practical and mechanically-minded,” said Kraftician. “We wanted problem solvers.” Perhaps the most surprising thing about Touchstone’s staff is that there are no secretaries. A couple of the technicians answer the telephone, and, since most of the calls concern technology, they are routed directly to one of the scientists or engineers. Kraftician said her Job is to keep the place interesting. “Many of our people work here weekends and evenings, because they enjoy working here. It’s like an extended family. Someone in industry asked me, ‘How do you get your people to come in on evenings and weekends?’ I asked, ‘How do you keep your people out?”’ In two years Kraftician expects to have 100 employees. The lab is becoming more involved in international marketing and ventures. The Swiss government is in the process of buying a piece of equipment for which Touchstone will handle the installation and training. Mackay also sees a bright future for the company. “When John F. Kennedy announced in the early 1960s that the United States would go to the moon, he wasn’t sure how we were going to get there. He just knew we were going, and he had the confidence in the people around him and his skills as a leader to get us there,” said Mackay. “Libby is the same way. She exudes confidence, and her confidence is contagious.” -30BKP:bja SATURDAY SEFTSMEER 8, 1590 Touchstone Awarded 4 NASA Subcontracts Touchstone Research Laboratory in Wheeling has been awarded four Natioia] Aeronautics and Space Administoation subcontracts totaling more ttian 5100,(X30, said Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. He said the subcontracts are addi­ tions to a 5134,300 NASA subcontract awarded" to the company earlier thf?; year for research on piatorfa?,? used in the space shuttle. ‘"These subcontracts, which were awarded through USB I, a division of United Technologies Corp,, add up to fihuost a quarter of a million dollars and represent important research on materials used in NASA's space shut­ tle,” Byrd said on Friday. ‘"Diese awards demonstrate the confidence that NASA and its prime contractors have in West Virginia's high-tech community,” he said. “This is one more example of how taien^ West Virginia companies are contributing to the research and development of some of our most importot federal initiatives.” Touchstone officials said the com­ pany win penorm research on var­ ious materials, including paints, plas­ tics, heat shield material, nylon fasteners and lubricants to determine their suitability in the space shuttle program. “We are proud that Touchstone is performing research on something so important to the American scientific efiort as the NASA space shuttle,” said Touchstone president and co- founder Elizabeth Elraftidan. As part of another NASA initiative, Byrd last month- dedicated the new NASA Teacher Resource Center at Wheeling Jesuit College. Byrd^and Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., added 51.4 minion to a federal appropria­ tions bill to establish the‘center. Nation’s Business_^i4>rQ 1994 48 ENTERPRISE pHOTQe McorrmoMnH projections and budgets. Based on the financial information it put together, the agency negotiated the buyback of Stein^s stock firom the $1.6 million figure down to $600,000. Annual gross billings have increased fi:t}m $11 million at Steiner's death to $19 million. Zimmerman, happily remarried, says he has learned firom adversity: “When you feel like you can’t handle another thing, teU your sta£ Let them get involved wi^ helping you. Don’t hold on so tight to all your problems that you i^bink you’re the only one who can solve them.” Nurturing R&D At Lower Cost When they started their research com­ pany 14 years ago in the basement of a former monastery in Wheeling, WVa., with one piece of used scientific equip­ ment, Eli^eth “Libby” Kraftidan and Brian E. Joseph had a definite mission in mind. They wanted to create a national company that provided cost-efiective researdi and development services to American manufacturers. By hewing to that mission, this husband-and-wife tpam has built Touchstone Research Laboratory, Inc., to more than 35 employees and annual sales of $2.9 million. And they have done so despite a battle with cancen “We started Touchstone because we felt that American industry was losing sight of the importance of developing new technology and applying it... to improve products, develop new ones, and maintain a competitive edge,” says Kraftidan, Touchstone’s president The founders ofTouchsUme Research Laboratory, near Wheeling, W. Va., Libby Kraftidan and Brian Joseph coped vhtk cancer while building their business. Federal and university laboratories, she and Joseph felt, were not concerned with research that would help American manufacturers solve problems quickly and at affordable cost but instead fhvored expensive, long-term projects. “It’s not that we don’t spend enough money,” says Joseph, who points out tlmt the United States has plowed more than $1 trillion into research since World War II. But he contends that many basic industries—especially small and medium­ sized companies—^“haven’t been touched substantially by this major investment” Kraftidan and Joseph, Touchstone’s laboratory director, are proud that for as little as a few hundred or a few thousand dollars, they can help companies over­ come difficult technical problems, often in a matter of days. For example. Touchstone recently solved a costly metal-plating problem for one client for $900. And a home-appliance manufacturer paid Touchstone $^,000 to correct a paint defect and saved more than $300,000 over six months as a result “That bottom line for the manufacturer, his return on that investment, is ex­ tremely important for a small company,” Kraftidan says. Having been through some lean years, Kraftidan and Joseph know firsthand the importance of keeping costs down. Most of their $10 million worth of scientific equipment was purchased used, and much of it has been rebuilt by their employees. For more than five years of Tbuchstone’s early life, the couple say, they were so poor they would have qualified for food stamps. But the toughest time came five years ago, when Kraftidan underwent surgery for advanced ovarian cancer. EVom her hospital bed, she dictated parts of a National Aeronautics and Space Admini­ stration proposal to Joseph as he sat by her side with a computer on his lap. (They won the $128,000 contract and have con­ tinued to do work for NASA.) Today, Kraftidan’s health is excellent. But while she was in that hospital bed, she also laid final plans for West Ifirgiziia’s first advanced-technobgy park. Now a reality, the park, called The hfiUenninm Centre, is locat^ on Interstate 70 in Triadelphia and houses Touchstone and three other hig^-technology companies, with more to come. Kraftidan and Joseph optioned the ste and persuaded the Ohb Valley Indust^ and Business Development Corp. to im­ plement the project It opened in Decem­ ber 1989, and the couple says it rep^ sents exdting new career opportunities for their state’s “sons and dau^ters.” The center’s dedication plaque reads: “Dedicated to the children of West Vir­ ginia, whose world is shaped by the entrepreneurs of today.” Two of those entrepreneurs are Libby Kraftidan and Brian Joseph. * The State Of Entrepreneurship BY LEAH INGRAM Jonwory 1994 From Ute Baaemciaf Up EKzabeth <0. and Brian Joseph, 37, wre Idds, they used to spend hours m their basements workuig on ^ence projects. Perhaps it's fitting. Aen. that they started Touch­ stone Research laboratory Ltd. in the unheated basement of a former Carmelite monastery. fc v heated up quite a bit m the 13 years since. Today, and Joseph (president and laboratory du-ector, respecthreiy) ^nd thw time worktog out sdenResearch and sales of $2.9 mi^on in 1993.estimated Joseph's entrepreneurial spirit first surfaced ^riien he was an under^uate studying biology and physICS. *TiVhen I got to college, I was amazed by how much knowledge was out there, but how little influ­ ence it had on goverrjnent r"'T everydaysp^s Bves.* he says. "Our Huge amounts of money on exotic programs like space stations, but at most totally ignores the everyday practical problems that can maiyg or break small businesses.” Whra J(»eph met Kraftician in a cofcge chemistry class, the two realthey shared the same vision, llii our hometownsl, we were both seeing company after company go out of buOTess." says Joseph. ”We realized that research labs, the very places that could help keep these l^u&cturers] open, were being closed themselves, TTiat's whatdrove ns to start our lab.” In 1980, after finishing their graduate studies, the two started fteir research lab on a shoestring. To suiqiort the business, they got real estate licenses and earned inoney managing properties part tune. They lived with Joseph’s parrate to save enough money to buy their first piece of equipment—a beatup electron microscope, the size of three refiigerators, that cost $101. Whsn companiM eioaad down In to JoMph's and Ubby KraWefan's homatowns. thay (fld mora than just watch. Thay ataitad a troubla•hootfiifl lab to aid buahwaaaa. It wasn’t easy convincing cfients that two people fresh out of college wth no real-world experience could hradle a manufecturing plant’s techmcal problems. The two would go to tectoriM, convince the guards to let them in, and try to meet with the rampany’s top technical person, ^me were polite, others weren’t* says Joseph. One of the first places they con^nwtod was a local steel foundry that had a casting defect it couldn’t fix. But Touchstone could. “I think we charged them a few hundred dol­ lars,” says Joseph, “but what we saved them was 100 times more valu­ able than the cost of our services. “We buflt our business on wordof-mouth. When we’d solve a prob­ lem, the company would usually in­ troduce us to someone else who needed a problem solved.” As the business grew, the pair realized fli^ needed a better loca­ tion fer their office and bought an aoanooneo, mu-yew-oio victonan buflding in downtown Wheeling Lo­ cating the lab in the basement, they decided to convert die two upper fioors mto apartments—apartments they convinced the local bank would W for their mortgage. Never mind that Joseph and Kraftician had never renovated a building b^re: Their plan worked. By 1983, Touchstone was big raough to hire two employees, but the partners weren't able to devote themselves to the lab fiiO time until 1986. After that. Touchstone took off like a rocket, and in 1989, the busi­ ness finally moved out of the base­ ment Into a 15,000-square-foot site in an advanced technology park. Every day holds something new for die 40^ierson Touchstone team. In the pa^ projects have ranged from determining why a homeowner’s swimming-pool liner was bulging, to figuring out why a manufacturer's computer bolts kept breaking, to testing critical materi­ als used in solid ro^et boosters for NASA. Joseph recently testified be­ fore a Senate Committee meeting on Commerce, Science and Transporta­ tion as an expert on research and development And die SBA named Joseph and Kraftician West Virginia’s “Entrepreneurs of the Year” in 1992. Yes, they’ve come a long way from that unheated basement The Times Leader Tho Voice of Eastern ONo Vol. 102 • No. 310 • 35 cents Touchstone a ‘Blue Chip’ firm • Research facility is recognized nationally By SANDY DICLEMENTE Tlnn LcMkt Sufi Wrim TOUCHSTONE RESEARCH Uboralory. which began 14 years ago in Ihe basement of a former Carmelite moneslary in downtown Wheeling, hat grown over Ihe years to become one of Ihe lop four small businesses in Ihe United Slates. Touchstone, which is now located in the Millenium Centre in Triadelphla, will be named Monday u one of four of “America’s Blue Chip Enterprises” at Ihe U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting in ' . . Washington D.C The laboraiory wu select from more than 700 small businesses nationwide to compete for Blue Chip Enterprise Initiative Awards, which are presented by Ihe U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Connecticut Mutuai Life Insurance. . The national award nemes the lop small butinesses In the country, according to oflkials, and la known informally as “the Malcolm Baldridge award for small business,” according to company President Elizabeth “Libby” Kraftician. , . > .. Knfticiu owns Touchstone with her huiband, Bri* * * in Joseph, who leives u laboratory director for the research and development facility. “We're enormously delighted with ounelves and our company’s employees,^' said Kraftician of the award, ‘mils Is the first time that any company In West Virginia has won the National Blue Chip award. This has been very eliciting, and we have had a series ^ delegations coming in here to congratulate us." Touchstone, in recent years, hu won several bust* ness awards. However, Kraftician said Ihe Blue Chip award is Ihe biggest award Ihe company has received. This even goes beyond being named to Ihe Inc. 300,” Kraftician said, in 1992 and 1993, the compa* ny wu named to Ihe Inc, Magazine list of the 300 fastest-growing private companies in the United Suucs. I Compantes winning Blue Chip awards are selected from nominalioos received from throughout Ihe country. _____________ I dldn’l‘even know we had been nominated until ' we got a letter from the who nominated us. Dr. < mjel Crosner and Marvin :ldon,” wid Kraftician. “Just being nominated itself wu enough of a vole of confidence.” The company wu choun u Wul Virginia's lop T4. nioMtoeM sreveNSON designee, over companies in Clarksburg and Morgan­ ONE OF Touchetono Research Laboratory’s employoos chocks Ms rosoan^. Such l»lrata^ • town. attention to delaH load tho company to its latest honor, as one of lour national wkmora of the Blue Son, TOUCHSTONE. Page 6A Chip Enterprise Award,, vrhich to given only to the lop small businasses In Ihe courtlry. * Continued from Page 1A The 31 stale nominees then com­ peted for the lop four spots. The other designees were from MusachuKtta. Iowa and Alabama. Kraftician said the honor rcflecu the uemendous support given to the busineu by the slate and communi­ ty“West Virginia is our home,” said Kraftician. “Most of the peo­ ple who go to achool here have to leave. We give them a chance to stay here and work at a Job that very few people will ever have a chance to do.'* 'f:'' Touchstone Is also a subcontractor for NASA and completes research projects on several componenu of the space shuttle. Joseph said the company’s major cuneni contract is through NASA and Involves researching metal matrix composhes. "They are trying to make a high temperature, stiff, high-strength material that will enable planes to withstand high beat," said Joseph. “With this, they will be able to make planes that can leave an air­ port and fly to outer space." Joseph said there Is an Interna­ Joseph said the company's busi­ tional race to make the composites. ness clientele list keeps growing. “Whichever country wins the “There’s an African saying that says It takes a village to raise a race will dominate the air.” he uld. child," said Joseph. “It lakes a rha current work Is a far cry community to raise a successful from Touchstone's early days. At business.” that lime, Kraftician and Joseph, Joseph allrlbuied the award to who had Just graduated from gradu­ ate Khooi, opened their own bus!The 33 employees at Touchstone. “We have the most remarkable neo with a rebuilt electron micro­ scope, costings 101. staff.” he uld.. , Sales last'year for Ihe business Touchstone'completes research and developmem for small compa­ were S2.9 million, a growth of 439 nies and large corporations from percent in three years and 1,093 ihrmichnui the I'niied States. percent In five years & IR MORE THAN A CENTURY s Mipnia’s oldest oewspapes older dun the itseluTbe Intelligencer has stood giurd for #ears agunst predataiy interests which would te dvil iights.Tbe Int^igencer was founded ugust24,1852. UJME CXLll NO. 310 n » WHEELING, W.VA.. TUESDAY. AUGUST 23 J994 18 PAGES 2 SECTIONS PRICE: 35 CEN Wheeling ^ews-Register Volume CIV, No. 283 Wheeling. W.VI, Monday Evening, August 22,1994 18 Pages<2 Sections The Valley's Leading Newspaper ★ ★ ★★ 35 Cents Touchstone Wins Governor’ s Cup Award West Virginia Gov. Gaston Caperton today announced Touchstone Research Laboratory Ltd. of Triadelphia lias won one of three 1994 Governor's Cup awards for innovation and successful efforts to promote the regional economy. The award is presented by the Southern Growth Policies Board. Caperton made the announcement during a celebration at West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling today. "The Governor's Cup Award is a prestigious honor recog­ nizing a company's innovations and contributions to the com­ munity." Caperton said. "Throughout its 14-year history. Touchstone has demonstrated initiative and an undying com­ mitment to our nation, the state of West Virginia and the area ill which it operates." Members of West Virginia's congressional delegation Joined in lauding Touchstone, sending letters of congratulation to Caperton. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.. wrote, "Touchstone, a word defined as,a test for determining.genulness or value, is an appropriate name for this award-winning business. "lested many times. Touchstone has over and over again proved to be a valuable asset to West Virginia and to the entire nation. The literal rise of Touchstone from the basement to the frontlines of natioruil high-technology competition is a 'rags to riches' story, from which ail West Virginians can draw inspira­ tion," Byru stated. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., stated. "This prestigious award recognizes innovative business practices that not only affect local communities but also tlie nation. The foresight and wisdom of co-founders Elizabeth Kraftician and Brian Joseph are testimony to their resourcefulness and fierce determination to make a simple dream come true." Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., stated. "This is certainly a great honor for Touchstone, which is righthiliy recognized as one of our state's most innovative technology companies. Touchstone has quickly become a leader in the challenging field of manufacturing technology services, and 1 offer my heart-felt congratulations to ail res^nsibli for this success — to company founders Libby Kraftician and Brian Joseph, who stand out as two of West Virginia's finest entrepreneurs, and to Touchstone's outstanding employees." ^ Touchstone won the Governor's Cup Award in the category for companies with between 21 and 100 employees. Control on Environment Inc. of Bedford, Va., won the award for comanies with 20 or fewer employees. Tupperware U.S. Inc. of lemingway, S.C., won among companies with more than 100 employees. Contestants are Judged on innovative business practices, the economic environment within which they operate, employee and community involvement in company gptivUies. and their effect on local communities. r The three winners will be honored at the annual meeting of the Southern Growth Policies Board in Nashville on Aug. 30. Touchstone was nominated by Dyan Brasington, executive director of the West Virginia Development Office. "Touchstone Is a wonderful example of a very successtul* business that embodies the 'caring corporation' philosuphy.i' Brasington said. "Touchstone's founders. Libby Kraftician and Brian Joseph, have succeeded by working to create an environ­ ment in which others succeed." Touchstone has helped American manufacturers save mil­ lions of dollars each year through applied research and has spearheaded the drive to establish the Millennium Centre, an advanced technology park in Triadelphia. The Millennium Centre's three tenants generate more than $6 million in annual revenue and employ more than 60 scientists and engineers. "Touchstone is helping to lead the charge In our state's eco­ nomic revolution as nign-tech companies throughout West Virginia continue to grow, expand and. most important, gener­ ate exciting career opportunities for our West Virginia resi­ dents," Caperton said. Founded in a Wheeling basement in 1989, Touchstone has become one of the nation*s leading independent manufacturing technology facilities. The firm now has about $ i 0 million worth of scientiilc equipment and employs more than 40 peo­ ple, mostly engineers and scientists. , MONDAY DECEMBER By DEBBINEER The Intelligencer Staff The space shuttle is making a new home right here “in West Virginijav Part of it at least. And a simulated launching, splashdown and even a mi^-; Atlantic Ocean are all part of making pieces from the shuttle feel more >t home. •. " T"”'■' Touchstone Research Laboratory, Ltd. has recently been awarded four more subcontracts to test matermls used or being considered for the space shuttle. * . . L The additional four subcontracts came after the completion of the nrd! subcontract in February 1990 that also dealt with testing for the shuttle. That document, when complete, weighed more than 30 pouijds. • ;)•». Everett Baker, the senior scientist at Touchstone, said," “These, subcontracts are given out by U.S. Boosters Inc., who are contracted directly; by NASA. They are given out on a competitive-bid basis. ‘ “But there’s more to bidding ‘ than just writing up a :propos5di. Sometimes just getting the bid together takes several months.^’ • 'The bids consist^ of many hours of research. Baker said, because of the materials being tested. ^ $ “All of these materials are unique. There are books where you find testing method and then additional government documents concerning testing,” Baker said. “Then we had to decide what equipment was need^ to meet all the stan^rds and determine how many man-hours the project§^ would take. Then we would know how to bid.” • » After the subcontracts were given to Touchstone the real work began.^ J The most recent contracts involve temperature tests and environment tests. These tests must simulate conditions which materials on the shuttle would experience on earth, after launch and once in space. Certain testing devices had to be designed by Touchstone so that the most accurate results could be found. ’ i \ Some tests include high temperature tests and tension strength tests. • .f “We are working on different tests for different materials,” Baker saidf “We must perform tests that meet the characteristics and'^needs of eacq' item. Many of the t^ts do not fully explain particular usage. Modification must be made to perform these tests to see now the materials will react id each situation they may encounter.” ;•: ‘ 1 Items being tested include paints, plastics, heat shield mateini* fasteners and lubricants. ^ ‘ The facility, which also is involve with problem solving and reseamj for numerous other companies, had its beginninjg in 1980. E^lier this yea^ • the company expanded to the N^erinium Centre in Triadelphia. . • Baker, whose last job was as the director of research for^'Picbma. in Texas, came but of retirement to take the job at 'Touchstone hnd call4 himself a “regular old Mountaineer.” He said that in high school he was nq| the typical science student. • • . ' ' VV" „, “I wasn’t what you would call typecast—I was sort of in between, jhe said. “There was only one student who was like that in my classjamd j^y he is an astronomer.” •. v. ‘ ^ Baker and his co-workers are not what the average^^rson’ ttdnks; c« when they hear the word scientist. \ ' i. J “We’re not eggheads. We’re just regular guys ^th families,” he saim “We enjoy what we’re doing. 'S ' “My wife Norma is glad to have me out of her hair.'This jbb is something that I rwlly enjoy,” he said. “I can’t see me just^ting imij fishing all day. I enjoy this more. It really fits the bill.” ” t Baker added that Touchstone has much to offer the area. • • “We’re making contributions to the local effort by providing hew jobs,’? he said. “We are also helping to get West Virginia known in the technology area. Before our state wasn’t getting too much advertising as a leader in that field. But the subcontracts with NASA and other contracters shows that we have people with knowledge in many different areas working right h^.” i Baker add^ that no longer will students interested in science, math of ' engineering have to leave the state to work for a high-tech company. . “We are working with Wheeling Jesuit College and.their NASA Teacher Resource Center^ There they .qre encouraging students to get involved with math, science and engineering. They, are teaching them to dream al»ut future,” he said. “Here we are making their dreams come true.”; >-->' '* TUESDAY €^arl0Ston 0atli|iflail NOVEMBER 24, 19^ TOM HINOMAN/OAILY MAIL NICTALS TESTING: Tim Channel and Jeff Moninger ^rform tests on strands of metal at Touchstone Rc- search Laboratory Ltd.’s facility in Triadelphia. The tests measure the strengths of a certain kinds of metal. Firm, co-founder find healthy track By PHIUP NUS5EL DAILY MAIL BUSINESS EDITOR — About four years ago Libby Eraftidan was fighting cancer while her com­ pany was struggling from the basement of a dreary 100-year-old former monastery in East Wheel­ riadelphia T ing. Both now have a clean bill of health. Touchstone Research Laboratory Ltd., co-founded in 1980 by Kraftician and her future husband, Brian Jo> s^h, was ranked among the nation's 500 fastest-grow­ ing private companies in the October issue of Inc. magazine. After landing several lucratiye research contracts, Toodistone's 859 percent growth rate over the last five years has ofrered hope to the state's primitive hi^i-teeh segment The cmnpany employs 33 professionals and staff members, u cdfers res^rch and development pro­ grams to both government agencies and private companies. “Our mission is to do quality turnaround and to solve problems,’* Kraftician said. “We bring things in at budget or under budget” With 82J million in annual revenues, the company smtinues to grow in its modernistic headquarters ofr frteistate 70 outside of Wheeling. John Mackay, Touchstone's head of marketing, said it opiates like an industrial emergency room with as many as 40 projects going on in various stages. Profit TURNT0nRM/4O HIGH-TECH JOBS: Alan Seid analyzes hairtike ceramic fibers at Touchstone’s lab. He and about 33 others work at the company, which was ranked among the nation’s 500 fastest-growing pri­ vate fimris in a recent issue of Inc. magazine. CONTINUED FROM ID____________ margins continue to be tight, somewhere between 1 perc^t and 5 percent in 1991, according to Inc/s listing. Kraftician said the company continues to plow all profits back into the business to buy more equipment About $10 million in equipment is already on*site. *^e goal of the company from the start was to put together all the necessary people and equip­ ment to solve virtually any manu­ facturing problem anywhere in America,” Mackay said. “We're doing pretty well. If we can’t solve the problem, we find the solution or equipment else­ where.” The laboratory is packed with modern electron microscopes, metals testing equipment, corro­ sion simulators, chemical analysis materials and other sophisticated devices. A common project at the facili­ ty involves testing the strength of metals and fibers by putting the materials in devices that s^tch them until they break. The work is particularly valuable to steel companies. K^tician, 46, and Joseph, 35, married about five years after they founded the company with nearly all of theiri life^ savings. The two wanted to fill in gaps l^t behind by corporate cutbacks in research and development “We needed to survive some tough moments,** she said. The two went several years without drawing salaries from the company, Kraftician said. They performed a variety of outside work, such as renovating houses, selling real estate and doing odd jobs, to make ends meet In 1989, Krafician underwent surgery for ovarian cancer and doctors gave her a 50-50 chance of surviving. While still recover­ ing in the hospital, Kraftician help^ Joseph write a proposal for a key NASA subcontract Tending the work proved to be breakthrough in the company’s history. Touchstone has now won work on sis projects for NASA and the U.S. Air Force. It tested materials used in the space shuttle program and performed corroaon testing on a new paint-stripping process for aircraft Company officials credited Sen. Robert Byrd’s efforts to get more West Virginia companies involved with government contracting and subcontracting. Byrd is obviously well regarded at Touchstone — his picture is on walls all over the place. The company seems to be weathering toe recession because it is not dependent on one client Its business is a near-even mb: of government and private work, but that ratio can change overnight Kraftician said. “We can compete successfully in the commercial market and government market” she added By operating from Wheeling, the company can tap private sec­ tor business throughout the corri­ dor between Pittsburgh and Co­ lumbus, officials said Kraftician said the company improves West Virginia’s image. “We look out the window here and see deer,” she said “It’s a nice place to work.” Wiiccling, W.Va., Tuesday Evening, Oclober 6, 1992 -------- ----------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------—................................................................................................................. . M , ■ ■■■ , , ,|».l Local Businesses on Prestigious Inc. 500 List By MARTELLA WALSH News-Register Staff Writer I Two local companies have made the prestigious Inc. 500 list of America's fastest-growing pri­ vate companies. Touchstone Research Labora­ tory Ltd. of Triadelphia and PosiClean Corp. of Wheeling made the list which is based on sales growth over the past five years and published by Inc. magazine. On the 1992 list. Touchstone ranked 347th on the list, and increased sales by 859 percent over the previous five years. Last year, the company achieved sales of $2.3 million, said John Mackay, Touchstone sTOkesman. John Winter, Posi-Clean spokesman, said Posi-Clean, which ranked 470lh on the list, achieved a Five-year mwth rate of 659 percent and recorded $2.02 million in sales last year. Wiater and Mackay addressed a news conference today at the ofFices of the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce. More than 35 civic leaders and elected officials were on hand for the announcement, including Ohio County Commission President Samuel Anthony, Wheeling Mayor Jack Lipphardt and Del. Gil White, R-Ohio. The annual Inc. list has been published since 1982 and the 1992 list hit newsstands Monday, Mackay said. Libby Kraftician, co-founder of Touchstone Research, said the achievements of Uie higli-tech style high-tech and service sector enterprise are due in large mea­ jobs to Uie region while preservsure to a wide array of people and ing tradiUonal manufacturing. organizations. She cited Uie Ohio Valley Industrial and Business Development . Corp., Software Valley and the chamber of com­ merce among the consortiums which fostered the business. Kraftician, who founded the company with her husband, Brian Joseph in' 1980, likened the Touchstone story to the determi­ nation of Prerident John F. Ken­ nedy in Uie project of sending then to Uie moon. Wiater said Bill and Marianne Blair, co-founders of Posi-Clean, divided responsibiliUes with Bill Blair Uie classic inventor and hands-on person, and Marianne Blair accountable for the administraUve success. "We've come a long way from tesUng coolants in Marianne's oven,^' Bill Blair said. "This proves Uiere's a future in manu­ facturing if you're willing to pursue it." Congratulatory letters to each of the enterprises were sent by Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Robert Byrd, ,boUi D-W.Va. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W Va., sent a videotape message. Gov. Gaston Caperton sent spokesman Steven Weir who read congratulatory messages from the governor. Weir said the recogniUons, one to a high-tech business and one to a manufacturing concern, underscored the success­ ful strategy of attracting new- , ^ he companies will bo recogt^i^xd at tiie annual Inc. 500 conference slated for Pittsburgh ’ Businesses co-founded by two Wheeling coupies are the only enterprises in the state to make the 1992 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies In America. From left are Touch- beginning May 6, according to a* letter sent to Blair by George | Gendron, editor-in-chief of Inc. N-R PlHito/Scott McCloskcy stones Research Laboratory founders Brian Joseph and Elizabeth **Libby*VKraftician and* Posi-Clean co-founders Bill and Marlannie Blair. (Conlinued From Page One) __ ^___________________________ Wheeling, W.Va., Friday Evening, Oct. 1,1993. Ohio County Firm Captures National Honor For the second consecutive year, an Ohio County firm has captured a national honor which those involved say is "indicative of the transfor­ mation of West Virginia into a hotbed of hightech activity." Touchstone Research Laboratory Ltd., located at The Millennium Centre in Tnadelphia, has again made the Inc. magazine list of the 500 fasting-growing private companies in Ameriesu. Coinciding with that accomplishment, com­ pany president and co-founder Elizabeth "Libby!* N. Kraftician was named this week as the West Virginia Economic Development Council’s Vol­ unteer of the Year for 1993. The award especially recognizes Kraftician for her efforts to help West Viiginia create the economic climate in which it was feasible to have a place like The Millennium Centre developed, officials said. This year. Touchstone is ranked 238th in the "Inc. 500," based on sales of $2.9 million and a sales growth rate of a whopping 1,093 percent over the past five years. In 1992, Touchstone was ranked 347th, with a five-year growth rale of 859 percent Since Touchstone is the only West Virginia firm in the "Inc. 500" this year and the only Mountain State company ever to make the list two years in a row. Gov. Gaston Caperton planned to visit The Millennium Center this afternoon to help announce the dual accomplishments for the business and its president. Fresh out of graduate school, Kraftician and her husband and business partner, Brian E. Joseph, founded Touchstone in 1980 in the basement of Wheeling’s former Carmelite monas­ tery with only one piece of scientific equipment, a cannibalized electron microscrope they purchased for $101. Today, Touchstone has $10 million of scientific equipment and a staff of 40 who are mostly engineers and scientists and is considered one of the leading applied research laboratories in the United States. "The company serves as the R&D (research and development) department, chief technology agent and technology ‘SWAT’ team for hundred Please See Honor, Page 5 Libby Kraftician of U.S. manufacturers, whose prod­ ucts range Crom surgical equipment and automotive parts to Space Shuttle materials and advanced com­ posite materials," a Touchstone spokesman said. "Since the days when we worked out of an unheated basement room j 13 years ago, Touchstone’s corpo-1 rate mission has been to provide! American manufacturers with the i appropriate technology to help them I develop new products and compete t in the international marketplace," : Kraftician said. . "Touchstone was founded as a | strategy to redefine how our nation’s ! techn^al expertise is harnessed to! bolster the strength of our manufac-, turing base. We felt this relationship, i this process by which new technol­ ogy Is injected into the manufactur. ing environment to solve indusuial; problems, was key to increasing our . nation’s competitiveness in the ' global market,’' she said. Joseph, Touchstone’s laboratory director, said the company’s fast growth "is indicative ot our ability to provide very crucial technology services to a broad spectrum of U.S. manufacturers. It is also indicative of the tremendous demand through­ out our nation for cost-effective, customer-responsible, manufacturing technology services," Joseph said. To be eligible for the 1993 "Inc. 500," a company must be independ­ ent and privately held. The rankings are based on the percentage increase in sales from 1988 through 1992. Companies also had to show at least $100,000 in sales for 1988 and had to register a sales increase between 1991 and 1992. The annual "Inc. 5(X)" list is featured in the October issue of Inc. magazine. Slate officials said Kraftician’s selection by the economic develop­ ment council as its 1993 Volunteer of the Year was based on several factors: her activities working with state, local and federal leaders to create The Millennium Centre; her efforts to create a positive image and environment for West Virginia and its high-tech industry; and her efforts to inspire West Virginia’s school children to pursue science, math and engineering careers. In a typical year, Kraftician and her staff are in contact with more than 2,000 West Virginia school children via talks about careers in the sciences, science demonstrations and science fair judging. . ^ The Millennium Centre is located at a siiethat five years ago was merely a weed-strewn field. The research park now is home to three, fast growing, high-tech companies: Touchstone Research Laboratory Ltd; Professional Computer Sys­ tems; and American Heunstics Corp. The three companies located at The Millennium Centre have a combined employment of more than 60 people and combined annual revenue of atout $6.4 million. Touchstone has quadrupled its staff from 10 to 40 employees since moving to The Millennium Centre in January 1990. ■ Caperton said he believes Touch­ stone’s “amazing growth rate” of more than 1,000 percent is an example of the state's, expansion of high-tech industry. “The rapid I expansion of our state’s high-tech I companies is a significant developjment because it emphasizes the importance of preparing West Vir1 ginia’s sons and daughters for these i high-tech jobs of the future,’’ Caperion said. “Since I took office, our state has installed more than 8,500 computers in West Virginia classrooms. Fast­ growing, high-tech companies like Touchstone have demonsb-ated the wisdom of these educational invest­ ments. Our educational focus of producing a highly-technical work force, combined with the rapid . ^owth of our state’s high-tech sector, represents the critical supplyand-demand relationshipoo which will strengthen our state for years to come,’’ Caperton said in preparation for today's announcements. I Software ‘VaCCey Update *Ifie mzusUttzr ofJ^ppaCacfiia's UcknoCogy community 7dcrdw'Sipn£l89l 9/oCuiru 4, 7(iLm6er 2 Kraftician Honored for High-Tech Contributions to West Virginia Elizabeth "Libby" Kraftician, president and co­ founder of Touchstone Research Laboratory Ltd., was recognized by the West Virginia Senate for her contribu­ tions in technology. The proclamation, approved at the end of the 1990 legislative session, was inspired by Kraftician’s role in building Touchstone and in developing The Millennium Centre, West Virginia’s first advanced technology research park. Photo courtesy of Touchstone Research Laboratory W. Va . Senator Thais Blatnik, D-Ohio, (right) presents an award to Elizabeth Kraftician, president and co-founder of Touchstone Research Laboratory, in recognition for her contributions to the state's high-tech industry. The 20-acre research park, located along Interstate 70 in Triadelphia, W.Va., and less than an hour from downtown Pittsburgh, is expected to serve as a magnet for high-tech companies interested in relocating or expanding to the Wheeling area. Touchstone is the anchor tenant of the Centre's first building, a 15,000-square-foot state-ofthe-art research facility. The 270,000-square-foot park is expected to accommodate 350 people at full capacity. "Companies like Touchstone Research Laboratory are breathing new life and a new spirit in the West Virginia economy and this resolution recognizes Libby's contribution to this new spirit," said Sen. Thais Blamik, D-Ohio County, who delivered the proclamation. Kraftician said that she and co-founder Brian Joseph decided in 1980 to create Touchstone in response to the growing need to provide cost-effective research and development to American companies. 7 NEWS-REGISTER—Whecling.W.Va.—Sunday, July 12,1992 Dianna Green Libby Kraftidan Dan Peterson Three Named as Members Of WJC Board of Directors A Wheeling woman is among three new members recently named to the Wheeling Jesuit College Board of Directors. The three are Elizabeth “Libby” Kraftician, president and co-founder of Touchstone Research Laboratory Ltd. of Triadelphia; Dianna Green, vice president-administrative ser­ vices for Duquesne Light Co. of Pittsburgh; and Dan Peterson, senior vice president of Martin Marietta Corp.^s Washington, D.C., opera­ tions. Kraftician graduated from Edinboro University and has done gradu^ work at The Ohio Slate Univer­ sity and the State University of New York. As president of Touchstone Research Laboratory, she is involved in a range of activities including quality control, project management, development or test methods and personnel management and stgrategic planning, a college spokesman said. Recognized in West Virginia and throughout the United States, Kraftician’s honors include a 1992 nomi­ nation to receive one of five national Women of Enterprise Awards from the U.S. Small Business Administra­ tion and Avon Products; member­ ship on‘ President Reagan’s Presiden­ tial Task Force for Innovation and Research; and membership on the Small Business Advisory Council of the SBA. In June, Kraftician and her hus­ band and business partner, Brian Joseph, were selected as West Virginia’s Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year. The honor qualifies them for one of five national awards and the National Entrepreneur of the Year Award. At Duquesne Light, Green is responsible for human resources, purchasing, public affairs and real estate management the Wheeling Jesuit official .said. She joined Duquesne Light in 1988 as general manager of human resources and previously was vice president of personnel for the information prod­ ucts division of Xerox Coip. of Fremont, Calif. Green was selected by Business Week magazine as one of “50 women to watch” in corporate America and both Dollars & Sense and Ebony named as one of the country’s top 100 black business and professional women. She also is the recipient of the NAACP's outstand­ ing service award. A graduate of Golden Gate Col­ lege, Green also holds a master’s in business administration from Golden Gate University. In addition to the Wheeling Jesuit board, she serves on the boards of Point Park College, WQED, The Whale’s Tale and the Urban League of Pittsburgh. Peterson joined Martin Marietta in 1968 at ns Orlando Aerospace operation as marketing director. He moved to aerospace headquarters in Washington, D.C., in 1971 as direc­ tor of marketing and in 1972 was named vice president of aerospace marketing. He has also served as president of Aerospace International, corporate vice president and senior vice prMident and president for information systems. He was named to his present post in 1989 and is responsible for coordination of con­ gressional liaison and goverment requirements and supportmg analy­ sis. Bom in Golden, Kan., Peterson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Mexico. He is a member of the Association of the United States Army, the Air Force Association, the National Defense Preparedness Association and the National Secur­ ity Industrial Association. “We are pleased to welcome three highly talented and successful people to our board,” said the Rev. Thomas Acker, SJ., president of Wheeling Jesuit “These people are committed to a college that educates future leaders, serves the economi­ cally disadvantaged and integrates modem technologies in the Uberal arts tradition,” he said. Febraaxy 22,1991 the catholic spirit SE-iATi: AWABD FOR B^:SI^•ESS: St. Michaers, Wieelmg, pnunted award to WheeSng Simtor Thaa Bto,f%Z,va. rpird,” said SanaSatad 3-asiness Commtt. MM Software *l/a[Cey Update'* education - smaCC Oitsiness - industry - government 9^arcfi/t^priC 1992 Kraftician to Receive One of the "Women of Enterprise Awards" Elizabetli Kraftician, president and co-founder of TouchstoneResearch Laboratory,Ltd., in Wheeling, W.Va., has been nominated to receive one of five national “Women of Enterprise Awards” presented annually by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Avon. Tlic Women of Enterprise Awards recognizes out­ standing women enUepreneurs who have achieved success despite encountering significant persontil or economic hard­ ship. Kraftician has remained at the helm of the fast­ growing high-technology company despite overcoming lifetlireatening cancer in 1989. In fact, Kraftician, her husband, and her business partner, Brian Joseph, wrote a successful proposal to test materials for tlie NASA Space Shuttle while Kraftician was lying in her hospital bed recuperating from cancer surgery in May 1989. The successful completion of that original NASA testing program led to a string of projects involving the testing of materials for the Space Shuttle and other aerospace applications for Touchstone. Kraftician and Joseph founded Touchstone in 1980 in tlie basement of tlie former Carmelite Monastery in Wheeling with only one piece of scientific equipment. The company is now considered one of tlie fastest growing hightechnology companies in America. Touchstone provides industrial problem-solving and research and development services for hundreds of manufacturers tliroughout the U.S. ranging from steelmakers and automotive suppliers to food manufacturers. ' Kraftician was nominated for tlie award by the SBA in Clarksburg, W.Va. Marvin Shelton, West Virginia director of the U.S. SBA, said, “Libby Kraftician is a valuable member of the SBA’s Small Business Advisory Council. She is to be commended for her business acumen and tenacity. Libby has demonstrated to oUier women in business, or consider­ ing (to start) their own business, that perseverance is very rewarding.” Kraftician said her nomination translates to good news for West Virginia and the Wheeling area. “This nomination to a prestigious national award is an honor in which we can all take pride,” she said. “I hope this nomina­ tion will continue to add to the positive publicity bestowed on Uie business climate in the Wheeling area, to the liightcchnology movement in the Pittsburgh and Wheeling area, and to women in business throughout the nation.” Kraftician was previously honored for her achieve­ ments by tlie West Virginia Senate. In 1990, she became the first person in tlie history of the State to be recognized by the Stale Senate for her contributions in technology. InteUi^encec. FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1, 1992 CLASSIFIED 19-21 COMICS 18 FINANCIAL 14-15 SPORTS 16-19,22 THIR’IIEEN Touchstone Founder Aims High Libby’ Kraftician sJominated For J.S. Award By DEBBINEER The Intelligencer Staff All her life, Elizabeth “Libby” raftician has set goals. Even when xtors said there was only a 50 sicent chance that she would live, le never stopped reaching for her oaL Three years ago, Kraftician, the resident and co-founder of Touchone Research Laboratory Ltd., was I a Pittsburgh hospital bed after ndergoing an operation for ovarian incer. Present in the room was her usband, Brian Joseph, who sat by a bedside as she dictated parts of a ASA proposal—which was later ranted to the growing Touchstone smpany in Wheeling. Kraftician said that in all aspects f life, choices must be made and le chose to keep trying to obtain vgoaL “In life there are always decisions > be made and I believe that you ave to lay out all the options and loose one and give that your best ffort,” she said, “It’s the same ith facing a life-threatening disise. You make a choice and stick ith it “I made the decision to fight and made it long before 1 was iagnosed. I knew I was ill but 1 ^ted to fight it I made a decision > do that,” Kraftician, 44, said. “II ou do that, then at least you are aster of your own wilL” Her courage and perseverance ave earned Kraftician a national omination for the “Women ol nterprise” award. The award, given to five women ich year by the U.S. Small Bus!ess Administration and Avon Prod* cts, honors women in business whe re outstanding ' entrepreneurs and ave achieved success despite signifant hardship. The nomination, which in itsell lakes Kraftician “feel like a idnner,” came after the state SBA ent her story to the national level “Beyrad the initial excitement of mining that I had received a Debbi NMf/TlM InUmscDCtf Elizabeth “Libby” Kraftkian, co-founder and president of Touchstone Research Laboratory Ltd,, recently has been nominated for a national award nomination, I was just thrilled th^ the pei^le at the state SBA office in Qaiksburg had regard for my (and the company’s) efforts,” ste said “Businesswise, after (the diagnosis and operation) we pulled ourselves up and mov^ ourself along. We stuck to our mission and ran our that honors top business women who are outstand­ ing and successful despite hardships they’ve had to face. . been a goal for a long time. moth^, she said, stated that Krafti­ cian h^ always been working ot one project or another since she was 10 years old. Award winners will be announced in a few months. If she is selxt^ she will travel to New York City in with one piece of equipment in a Wheeling Yemeni But that “child” may soon have to m^e room for one more. Talk of adopting a child from the Middle East also is being discussed. And whatever goal Kraftician sets, she said that it must be one that ------------------------------- --------- 3 3--------------------------------------------- In life there are always decisions to be made and I beiieve that you have to lay out all the options and choose one and pive that your best effort, it s the same with facing a life-threatening disease. course. The lab today is a success with projects for NASA, and working with the nation’s new^t technology, the dreams of Kraftician and Joseph are coming true. Kraftician said starting a company that- concentrates on projects has June to receive the honor. The fiiture looks bright, she said. Fm* the last three years and six exams, Kraftician has had a “clean bill of health.” The comply is growing and is still like a child to the husband and wife team that began Touchstone is obtainable. “People outside of you will ^ways have their own agenda and you can’t accommodate all of them and shouldn’t try.” she said. “You know yourself besL I have tried to pick my course and wiU continue to at the ffoals I SCL” NBWS-RBGISTER—'Milling. W.V«.T-Hnind*y. Febniary 6.1992 i Kraftician Nominated for Award Elizabeth “LibbyV Kraftician, president and co-founder of Touch­ stone Research Laboratory Ltd., lias been nominated lo receive one of /five national Women of Enlcrprisc /Awards presented annually by Uie ' U.S. Small Business Administration and Avon Products. The Women of Enterprise Awards recognize outstanding women entre­ preneurs who have achieved success despite encountering significant per­ sonal or economic hardship. Kraftician has remained at the helm of tlie fast-growing high-tech . company while overcoming lifethreatenmg ovarian cancer in 1989. She and her husband and business partner, Brian Joseph, wrote a successful proposal to test materials for the NASA space shuttle while Kraftician lay in her hospital b^ recuperating from cancer surgery in May 1989. The successful completion of that . original NASA testing program led to a string of projects involving tlie testing of materials for the space shuttle and other aerospace applica­ tions for Touchstone. Kraftician and Joseph founded Touchstone in 1980 in tlie basement of Uie fonner Carmelite monastery in Wheeling with one piece of scientific equipment. The comply, now located at tlie Millennium Centre,: Triadelpiiia, is one of tlie fastest growing high-tech research, compand in America. Touchsume provides industrial problem-solving and research and development ser­ vices for manufacturers tluougliout the United States. Kraftician was nominated for the national award by Uie SBA in Clailcsburg. In 1990, she was Uie first person in the state to be rccomized by Uie West Virginia Senate lor her contri­ butions to technology. Sen. Thais Blatnik, D-Ohio, sponsored the Senate proclamaUon and endorsed her for Women of Enterprise Awards. Elizabeth KrafUcian NEWS-REGISTSl-Wheeling, W.Va.-Sunday, June 21,1992 BUSINESS/FINANGE Brian E. Joseph, left, and Elizabeth “Libby’*. Krafddan, co>founders of Touc^one Research Laboratory Ltd. of Triadelphia, are conmtnlated on their recent awards by Larry Travis, vice president of United National Bank-North in Wheeling. Business Efforts May Land Spot on Inc. Magazine Cover Two Ohio County business owners may end- up being featured on the cover of Inc. magazine as the result of a recent award. Elizabeth “Libby” Kraftician and Brian Joseph, co-founders of Touch­ stone Research I aboratory Ltd., were selected earlier this month as West Virginia’s “Emerging Entre­ preneur of the Year.” The honor qualifies the two local * business owners for one of five national awards and the National Entrepre­ neur of the Year Award, an honor which includes being featured on the cover of the national magazine. “I think this is exciting that two local business people are eligible for a national business award and might be featured on die cover of Inc. magazine,** said Larry Travis, vice president of United National Bank in Wheeling. “I think this honor, and the success of Touchstone Research Laboratory, is indicative of the strong bu^ess climate we have in the Wheeling area,” said Travis, who nominated Kraftician and Joseph fix' the Entrepreneur of the Year award. The awards progsani, founded by the-profe^ional services firm of Ernst & Young and sponsored by Inc. magazine, Merrill Lynch and The State Journal, was established to honor business people who are successful entrepreneurs and those who ^ve actively encouraged entre­ preneurs. The national awards ban­ quet will be held later this yer in Palm Sj^gsi Calif. Kraftician also was recently nomi­ nated to receive one of five national “Women of Entaprise Awards” presented annually by the U.S. Small Business Administration and Avon Products. Kraftician and Joseph founded Touchstone in 1980 at a time when many major UJS. manufacturers were making massive cutbacks in their research efforts. Touchstone is now considered one of the fastestgrowing high-tech research compa­ nies in America^ The company provides industrial problem solving services for hundreds of U.S. manufacturers, from Fortune 500 companies to small, start-up businesses. Along with its work in the private sector, the company has also been success­ ful in government coitracting and has tested critical materials used by NASA in the space shuttle. Touch­ stone, which was founded in Wheel­ ing, currently is located in The Kfillennium Centre, an advanced technology research park in Triadel­ phia. Sunday, March 22,1992 The Times Leader ★ ★ ★ __________________ JHE VOICE OF EASTERN OHIO Lab ELIZABETH KRAFJJCIAN, president md cofomder of Touchstones Resemcb LHxxatory m Trisdetidusi, oreiseescompatexiiedimsgemsJysis research beiag petfoaoed by Eba Grove reskkat Sleve^ ^yd, a NASA-trained metallogr^her. Kiaftkian is rate of live nathnal redpiettis of "Women ofEnteiprix Awards. ” Research lab co-owner in running for national award By SANDY DICLEMENTE Times Leader SUIT Writer WHEELING -In 1989, doctors at Magee Women's Hospital in Pittsburgh gave Elizabeth "Ubby" Kraftician a 50 peiceitt ctoice of surviving advanced ovarian cancer. However. Kialddan, coowner of Touchstone Research Laboratory in Triadelphia. not only re­ covered from the dtoae but is nominated to receive one of five national “Women of Enterprise Awards,” presented annually by the U.S. Busmess Administiatioa and Avon Products. awards recognize outstanding women en•rej^wtoin who have achieved success drepite en­ countering significant personal or economic hard­ ship. Touchstone, an independent research laboratory, researches a wide variety of products, including vital components of the space shuttle’s solid fuel biters and metals. The company has had a growth rate ol approximately 1,000 percent over the past five yens. However, things weren't always that good. Krafiidan and her husband, Brian Josqih, found­ ed the original Touchstone office in the basement of a former Carmelite monastery in downtown Wheel­ ing right after they finished graduate school at Ohio State University. The two only had one piece of scientific equip­ ment, Kraftician said, “a scanning electron micro­ scope that had been cannibalized and left for dead” in a Columbus warehouse. They bought it for $101. See, LAB, page 9A “My husband is from Wheeling Continued 6om page lA and 1 am from Pittsburgh. This is not She said she and Joseph had been a walk-in storefront operation, so it thinking about starting an indepen­ really doesn’t matter where we are dent research &cili^, but after find­ located. We just both had roots here ing the mkioscope, “We thought, in and we liked the lifestyle hoe,” she all of our youth arid arrogance, that said. we could run an organization that She attributes much of her per­ would have a highs level of creativi­ sonal and professional success to her ty and self-detenninatum thmi major smff. research laboratories.” “This kind of business attracts Since that time, the company has ‘eagjes.’ You can put any one of ^own to include a staff of 25 techni­ these people an a deserted island, and cians and several million doilan any one of them would overcome worth of scientific equipment their surroundings.” Kraftician said the major turn­ Kraftician believes research facili­ around in the company’s life, as well ties such as Touchstones can help as in her life, came when ^e con­ American businesses be more com­ tracted cancer. While she was recov­ petitive. However, she said, “One ering from cancs surgery, she dic­ problem with the United States is that tated parts of a research proixisal to there is very little venture captai NASA that resulted in the company’s Nobody will put money into receiving numerous contracts research.” through NASA and other federal pro­ She said in her experience, Amer­ jects. ican industry is moving away fom “While I was in the hospitaL my research and development efforts. husband came up every ±iy alter When she and her husband be^ working all day and brou^t his their business, she said, “U.S. Steel’s computer and sat there and wrote research facility in MonroevQle, Pa., while I dictated,” Kraftician said. “I had just cut back from 1,500 had tubes strapped everywhere and engineers (0150.” all 1 could use was my brain.” Kraftician is optimistic about the The proposal resulted in future of American businesses. Touchstone’s testing of 0-rings, “We created the mode of manadhesives and tiles used in the space shuttle. Kraftician said the NASA agemem and production part of in­ research began after the Challenger dustries. We wrote the book,” she said. “We may have laid it down for accident. “We do the work on the interfac­ a while, but we’re picking it back up. ing material and the metallic parts I don’t think it is too late. It’s going and on new technology.” she ex­ to be tough. There is no doubt dim we won’t get there and lead the market'* plained. If Kraftician wins the national Additionally, Touchstone is a sub­ award, it will not be her first major contractor in NASA’s Space Ex­ ploration Initiative to develop honor. She is the fint person in West technology needed to return to the Virginia to be personally honored by the West Virginia Legislature for bi^ moon and to land on Mars. Also while she was recovering contributions to technology, accor­ from surgery, Kraftician was finaliz­ ding to Touchstone’s Marketing ing plans for the Millenium Center, Diircuv John Mackay. She is also a where Touchstones is the first occu- member of the SBA’s Small Busi­ panL The Millenium Center, which ness Advisory Council However, while she is happy that opened in 1989, is West Virginia’s she is being recognized, Kt^tidan first advanced technology rKearch remains modest about all of the at­ park. tention. “I’m a project penon and a schol­ Kraftician said her business could be located anywhere in the country ar at heart,” she describes herself. “I am a nonstop student” and succeed. Software Valley Business Developments: Ki*aftician anil Joseph Win Awantl Elizabeth “Libby” Kraftician and Brian E. Joseph, co-founders of Touchstone Research Laboratory, Ltd. arc West Virginia’s “Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year” in the Entrepreneur Of llic Year program for 1992. They qualify to win one of five National awards and The National Entrepreneur of the Year Award, an honor which includes being on the cover of Inc. magazine. Kraftician also qualifies for one of five “Women of Enterprise” awards. Larry Travis, vice president of the United National Bank in Wheeling (on the right in photo), nominated the two business owners for the award which was presented to them June 4 in Charleston. “I think this honor, and the success of Touchstone Research Laboratory, is indicative of the strong business climate we have in the Wheeling area,” Travis said. The Entrepreneur Of The Year program was founded by Ernst & Young, a professional services firm, Inc. magazine, and West Virginia’s periodical The State Journal, to honor business people who are successful entrepreneurs and who have actively encouraged other entrepreneurs. Kraftician and Joseph founded Touchstone in 1980. Although many major U.S. manufacturers were cutting back m their research efforts at that time, 'rouchstone persevered and is now considered one of the fastest-growing high-tech research companies in the country. Ibc company provides industrial problem-solving services for hundreds of U.S. manufacturers and their clients include FORTUNE 500 companies as well as small busmesses and government agencies like NASA. NEWS-REGISTER-WhocIIng.W.Va.-Sunday, May 31,1992 It Art Bedway Kraftician and Joseph Business Founders Named For Entrepreneur Awards The founders of two Wheeling area businesses — Bedway Security Agency Inc. and Touchstone Research Laboratory Ltd. — have b(%n selected as finalists for West Virginia’s Enueiireneur of the Year awards, according to Larry Travis, vice president of United Nations Dunk in Whcciing. Art Bedway, founder of Bedway Security Agency Inc. of Wheeling, is a finalist in the Master Entrepre­ neur of the Year category, said Paul E. Arbogast, managing partner in the Charleston office of Ernst & Young. Elizabeth "Libby” ^ftician and Brian E. Joseph, co-founders of Touchstone Research Laboratory Ltd. of Triadelphia, are finalists in the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year category. "This IS truly an honor to have two local businesses as finalists in such a prestigious competition,” said Travis, who nominated the two local companies for die regional award. "I think this is indicative of tlie excellent business cUmate we have in the Wheeling area, "From the days tliat Wheeling was the terminus of Uie Nalionm Pike along tlie Ohio River to the 1990s, Wheeling has been an excel­ ‘ lent place for people to start and prow their businesses,” lYavis said. ‘The fact that two local businesses are finalists for this statewide com­ petition is one more example of Uie entrepreneurial spirit we have in Whcciing.” 1’he awards program, founded by the professional services firm of Ernst A Young, and sponsor^ by Inc. Magazine, Merill Lynch and ITie Stale Journal, was estaolished to honor business peqile who are successful entrepreneurs and those who have actively encouraged entre­ preneurs. From the finahsts, eight Entrepreneur of the Year recipients, will be announced at an awards banquet Thursday in Charleston. These regional award recipients will then be migible to receive a national award, including the National Entre­ preneur of the Year award. These national award recipients will be featured in Uie December 1992 issue of Inc. Magazine. Bedway founded his company in 1981 with the help of a $600 loan, Travis said. Since that Ume, Bedway Security Agency has grown to be one of the top 200 security compa­ nies in the country, wiUi 1992 projected sales of $13 million, he said. Kraftician A Joseph founded Touchstone in 1980 In the basement of the former Carmelite monastery ' in Wheeling wiUi one piece of scienUfic equipment, according to Travis, "liie company is now considered one of the fastest grow-, ing high-tech research companies in America and has tested criUcal materials used in in the NASA Space ShutUe. Touchstone provides industrial problem-solving and research ana development services for hundreds of manufacturers throughout Uic United Stales, rang­ ing from Sieeimakers and automoUve suppliers to food manufacturers,” he EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Office of Public Information and Publications Edinboro, PA 16444 (814) 732-2745 or 2929 Fax (814) 732-2621 February 16, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: EDINBORO HOSTS TEACHING WORKSHOP ON ISLAM AND THE MIDDLE EAST Educators and students will have an opportunity to learn about America’s fastest growing religion at a workshop on teaching about Islam and the Middle East, Wednesday, March 22, at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Geosciences professor Dr. Baher Ghosheh said the goal of the workshop is to provide an accurate view of mainstream Islam in the United States and the world. “Most Americans don’t realize what Islam is all about,” said Ghosheh. “The workshop will develop cross-cultural understanding and ease misconceptions about Muslims.” Conducting the day-long workshop will be Audrey Shabbas, from the Middle East Policy Council in Washington, D.C. Among the topics to be covered are the physical and cultural geography of the Middle East, Islamic beliefs and practices, Islam in American, the role of women in Islam, and the factors contributing to the rapid spread of Islam in the United States. Because the workshop is intended primarily for people involved in education, the extensive materials and handouts, which are being provided free for the participants, are designed to act as teaching aids for their students and groups within their communities. “Participants will develop a more accurate ‘sociotype’ of Muslims, Arabs and Middle Easterners to replace the commonly held misconceptions and stereotypes,” said Ghosheh. “It is our hope that they will lead the way to better communal - and eventually international relations.” The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Van Houten Dining Hall. Anyone wishing to register or obtain further information may call Edinboro University’s Institute for Research and Community Services at 814-732-2762 or Dr. Ghosheh at 814-732-2291. -30BKP:bja A member of the State System of Higher Education February 14, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: PRESIDENT DIEBOLD RECOGNIZED BY INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT COUNCIL Foster F Diebold, president of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, was recently recognized by the International Management Council (IMC) for his contributions to the organization. Diebold addressed the IMC’s 60th annual international conference, where he spoke about his mentoring program and the importance of mentoring in both higher education and corporate America. The IMC is an international management organization with more than 8,000 corporate members worldwide, including such giants such as PepsiCo, Philip Morris USA and FMC. IMC President David Neidert said President Diebold has set an example for other higher education institutions to follow in their fellowships with corporate America. Mary Lou Adonizio, who served as the conference chairperson, said President Diebold was the first university president ever to address this corporate audience. She said he exemplifies the type of cooperation and bond which should exist between higher education and our country’s business leaders. Adonizio currently serves as a member of the National Executive Board of Directors of the IMC. -30BKP:bja Edinboro University President Foster F. Diebold, right, receives a plaque from Mary Lou Adonizio, which recognizes the contributions of Diebold and the University to the International Management Council (IMC). Adonizio is the director of the University’s Institute for Research and Community Services and is a member of the National Executive Board of Directors of the IMC. Looking on is Edinboro Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. John Fleischauer. February 14, 1995 SPECIAL TO THE SPECTATOR: TRAFFIC PATTERNS TO CHANGE ON CAMPUS President Foster F. Diebold has accepted several recommendations from the University’s Parking and Traffic Control Committee to improve the flow of vehicle traffic in and out of two currently congested parking and roadway areas. Temporary barriers will be placed at the Scotland Road exits from Rose Hall and Cooper Science Hall. All entry and exit from those two lots will now be restricted to Harrow Road. Parking in the Rose Hall residence lot will be reserved for employees and Rose Hall dormitory residents. The Cooper Hall lot remains reserved for employees. The barriers will block all vehicle passage, but will allow pedestrian traffic to flow freely. The second change affects the parking area known as the Lakefront Lot. On a trial basis, the lot’s southernmost access point on Scotland Road will become an “entrance only,” while the northernmost access will become an “exit only.” Exits from the lot will be restricted to right turns only. New signage will be posted at both points to reflect the traffic pattern changes. Campus police and facilities officials say that the changes will be made, weather permitting, prior to spring break. -30WAR:bja EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Office of Public Information and Publications Edinboro, PA 16444 (814) 732-2745 or 2929 Fax (814) 732-2621 February 13, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: EDINBORO UNIVERSITY PRESENTS PIANIST JAMES TANNENBAUM The Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Concert and Lecture Series will present a piano recital by Cleveland pianist James Tannenbaum on Monday, February 20, at 8:00 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium on the campus of Edinboro University. This concert will be the first in a series of programs celebrating the University’s annual Academic Festival. Tannenbaum is a member of the piano faculty at the distinguished Cleveland Institute of Music and an artist in residence at the Willoughby School of Fine Arts. He has delighted audiences for more than 25 years with his concert performances and has appeared regularly with some of the finest musicians in the United States. His first prize awards include the Battle Creek International Competition, the Michigan State University Concerto Competition and the Cleveland Institute Solo Piano and Concerto Competitions. He has appeared with Eleanor Steber, Helen Vanni, Paul Sperry, Mo Sharp and Franklin Cohen and is a regular soloist on the Institute’s Wednesday Night Concert Series. He also performs regularly at the Blossom Music Festival. This concert is free and open to the public. For additional information, please call the Edinboro University Office of Cultural Affairs, 814-732-2518, weekdays. -30PSL:bja A member of the State System of Higher Education February 13, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: EDUCATION EVENTS HIGHLIGHT ACADEMIC FESTIVAL Among the many education topics to be presented at the 12th annual Academic Festival at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania will be those dealing with sexual harassment, teaching experiences in urban schools, and the difficulties faced by middle school students. Dr. Susan Criswell will present “Hostile Hallways: An Examination of Sexual Harassment in America’s Public Schools,” Tuesday, February 21, at 9:30 a.m. in 334 Butterfield Hall. “Sexual harassment is considered any unwanted and unwelcome attention,” said Criswell. “Most of it is verbal and can occur in almost any situation in school. It can occur between teacher and student, staff and student, or most commonly, student and student.” Criswell said sexual harassment can be devastating because the victim will try to avoid those situations where the harassment occurred. It can cause students to drop out of sports and extracurricular activities. Academic performance, especially in women, may also suffer. She will discuss the responsibilities of parents, teachers and administrators, and what they can do. Education professor Kathleen Benson will discuss the changes middle school children go through, February 21, at noon in 200 Butterfield Hall. “The age of the middle school child is very interesting,” said Benson. “So many things happen to them at that age. It is a period of brain growth and bone growth. It is an age when self-esteem and leadership abilities develop. But it is also the time when problems such as anorexia and drug abuse can occur.” Benson said the presentation is intended for anyone involved with middle school children, such as parents, teachers and other students. -more- EDUCATION EVENTS HIGHLIGHT FESTIVAL, Continued Page 2 Rural university students participating in a seminar in inner-city Philadelphia schools will be the topic of a presentation by Dr. Charles Gallagher, February 22, at 1 p.m. in 336 Butterfield Hall. In May, a dozen Edinboro education students will have the opportunity to participate in a two-week seminar where they will experience what it is like to teach in an urban setting. Gallagher said the event will help dispell misconceptions about urban life and break down the fear and intimidation rural students might have about even looking at urban schools as a place of employment. “Philadelphia is the fifth largest school district in the country, and more than 90 percent of its school population is considered minority,” said Gallagher. “Yet most teachers are white. They like their work and care about their students.” A slide presentation will show the reactions of students from other Pennsylvania universities who participated in the seminar last year. The Academic Festival is Edinboro University’s celebration of people, places and ideas. For more information on the Festival, call the Office of Public Information and Publications at (814) 732-2745. -30BKPibja February 7, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: EDINBORO’S ACADEMIC FESTIVAL HOSTS BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENTS As part of its observance of Black History Month, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania is offering several events on African-American issues during its Academic Festival, February 19-22. Lisa Brown, director of intercultural relations for the University, is leading two video presentations for educating black children, especially young black men. The first event. Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys, will be held Monday, February 20, at 2 p.m. in 207 University Center. Based on Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu’s workshop with teachers and educators, this event discusses methods and strategies for educating young black males in grades K-12. It will also speak to college-age black males. The second video presentation. Developing Positive Self-Esteem and Discipline in Black Children, will focus on understanding the cultural uniqueness and learning styles of black children. The session, which will be presented Tuesday, February 21, at noon in 207 University Center, will demonstrate methods and strategies for encouraging parents to serve as co­ educators with teachers. Brown said both events will be very useful for anyone who deals with children. The first program is especially helpful for recognizing stereotypes which are projected onto young black children. She is also hosting a third event, titled Am I Helping or Hindering the Minority Experience? on Wednesday, February 22, at noon in 207 University Center. This will be an informal, roundtable discussion about what it is like to be a minority student in a predominantly -more- ACADEMIC FESTIVAL HOSTS BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENTS Page 2 white institution. “Students will share the things they are encountering and suggest what to do to make things more positive,” said Brown. Another event that touches on African-American issues is Race, Writing and History: Africa and Representation. This symposium by three Edinboro professors will look at how Africa is represented in literature, specifically in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. African nationalism and its discourse in contemporary African literature will also be explored. The Academic Festival is Edinboro University’s annual celebration of people, places and ideas. All events are open to the public. For more information on the Festival, call the Office of Public Information and Publications at (814) 732-2745. -30BKP:bja EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Office of Public Information and Publications Edinboro, PA 16444 (814) 732-2745 or 2929 Fax (814) 732-2621 February 7, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JANE BRADY NAMED ASSISTANT TO THE VICE PRESIDENT AT EDINBORO Jane D. Brady has been named assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. A native of Lyons, New York, Brady earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at the University of Rochester and a master’s degree in higher education at Syracuse University. Prior to joining the staff at Edinboro, she served as an admissions/financial aid specialist at Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York. In that position, she received the 1994 Innovation of the Year award for her work on the student affairs staff development committee. She also participated in the National Institute for Leadership Development, a leadership training program for two-year college women administrators. In her new position, Brady will provide staff assistance to the Vice President for Student Affairs, maintain student affairs policies, coordinate organizational development within the division, and assist division directors. -30- psl A member of the State System of Higher Education EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Office of Public Information and Publications Edinboro, PA 16444 (814) 732-27A5 or 2929 Fax (814) 732-2621 February 3,1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUDGE RICHARD NYGAARD TO LECTURE AT EDINBORO UNIVERSITY On Thursday, February 16, Richard L. Nygaard, circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals, will present a lecture at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. His topic will be “The Myth of Punishment: Is Prison an Appropriate Response to Crime?” The presentation is scheduled at 2:15 p.m. in Butterfield Hall 137. A native of Thief River Falls, Minnesota, Nygaard received his bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California in 1969 and his doctorate from the University of Michigan in 1971. President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in May of 1988. He maintains chambers in Erie and Philadelphia. Prior to his appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals, he presided for more than seven years as a trial judge in Erie on the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. He was appointed to that position in December of 1980 by Governor Dick Thornburgh. Three years later he was elected to a ten-year term following nomination by both the Republican and Democratic parties. At the time of his appointment to the Court of Common Pleas, he was an Erie County Councilman for the Sixth District of Erie County. In May 1993, Nygaard was awarded an honorary doctorate from Edinboro University. Kappa Omega Rho, the Edinboro University chapter of the National Criminal Justice Honor Society, and the Society of Future Criminal Justice Professionals will participate in this event. -30- psl A member of the State System of Higher Education Honorary Doctorate The Honorable Richard L. Nygaard is a native of Thief River Falls, Min­ nesota. He received his B.S. degree in public administration from the University of Southern California in 1969 and his J.D. from the University of Michigan in 1971. President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in May of 1988. He maintains chambers in Erie and Philadelphia. Prior to his appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals he presided for more than seven years as a trial judge in Erie on the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. He was appointed to that position in December of 1980 by Gov­ ernor Dick Thornburgh. Three years later he was elected to a ten-year term fol­ lowing nomination by both the Republican and Democratic parties. At the time of his appointment to the Court of Common Pleas, he was an Erie County Councilman for the Sixth District of Erie County. Richard L. Nygaard In November 1982, upon U.S. Senator Arlen Specter's request. President Reagan appointed Nygaard as a U.S. delegate to the International Conference on Free Elections, which was co-sponsored by the United States State Department and the American Enterprise Institute. He addressed the conference on the necessity of a free and independent judiciary. The American Bar Association received a request in 1991 from Romania for assistance in preparing the country for a democracy by developing a consti­ tution and a Bill of Rights and restructuring the judiciary. The International Law Section of the ABA requested that Judge Nygaard act as an advisor to the Consti­ tutional Conferees of Romania and make comments on their constitution, judi­ ciary structure and Bill of Rights. Since then he has been a constitutional consultant for the countries of Albania, Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbiajan in the areas of judicial structure and individual rights. He also developed a "Charter of Rights and Responsibilities" now in use to varying extents in those countries. This Charter is molded from such existing documents as the U.S. Bill of Rights, the United Nations Charter of Human Rights, and the charter of the Organization of American States. Nygaard has advised each of these nations to establish a free and inde- pendent judiciary that will have real powers to enforce the laws and the consti­ tution. He believes it is necessary to create a rule of law that remains constant, regardless of individual political officeholders. While in Russia he met with members of the GPU, President Boris Yeltsin's party; the chairman of the Russian Supreme Court; and members of the Supreme Soviet. Nygaard was chosen to receive the degree of Legum Doctor, Honoris Causa: Doctor of Laws in recognition of his leadership and advocacy for the public weal, which have had positive and profound effects upon the lives of individuals, institutions, and governments; for his public service as a statesman and jurist; for his long and effective labor on behalf of democracy and a free, independent judiciary; for his many contributions to the development of consti­ tutional democracy in the newly independent nations of eastern Europe; and for his life-long commitment to the cause of justice in the United States and through­ out the world. 7 - - February 3, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: EDINBORO’S ACADEMIC FESTIVAL FEATURES WOMEN’S ISSUES Edinboro University of Pennsylvania’s Academic Festival, February 19-22, traditionally focuses several of its presentations on women’s issues. This year’s celebration of people, places and ideas features four programs dealing with the topic. History professor Terra Jenrette, along with Khalid Said, will present Whores, Warriors and Saints: A Comparative Look at Christian and Muslim Women in Their Holy Books” on Monday, February 20, at 3 p.m. in 100 Hendricks Hall. Jenrette and Said will examine the mythical and real images of women in the Koran and the Bible, focusing on women s participation in political-economic-social life. Also on Monday, interpretive readings from an international collection of women’s poetry will be performed at 7 p.m. in the University Center. Dr. Kathleen Golden, Cheryl Lossie and Kristen Smart will present “The Other Self: Poetry of Women Throughout the World.” These works were chosen because they convey women’s shared experiences, growth and understanding. Philosophy professor Dr. Karen Seubert will discuss “The Rights of Women and Children in a Democratic Society According to John Locke,” on Wednesday, February 22, at 11 a.m. in 329 Butterfield Hall. Seubert’s lecture will draw on Locke and Pope John Paul II for an examination of issues regarding the rights of women and children. It will look at what those rights are and how they are being addressed in today’s society. The final program on women’s issues will be “An Hour of Humor and Drama with Contemporary Women Playwrights: Marsha Norman, Beth Henley and Wendy Wasserstem.” -more- ACADEMIC FESTIVAL FEATURES WOMEN’S ISSUES, Continued Page 2 They are the authors of three Pulitzer Prize-winning plays - Crimes of the Heart, The Heidi Chronicles, and Night, Mother. Cuttings from those plays will be performed in oral interpretation by Golden, Smart, Dr. Heidi Harbers, and Cynthia Niemann on February 22 at 3:30 p.m. in 100 Compton Hall. These plays were chosen by Niemann because they take three very different approaches to portraying issues commonly faced by women. The Academic Festival covers a wide range of topics including travel, science, music, art, poetry, current events and history, as well as education and student issues. For more information on the Academic Festival, call the Office of Public Information and Publications at (814) 732-2745. -30BKPibja EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Office of Public Information and Publications Edinboro, PA 16444 (814) 732-2745 or 2929 Fax (814) 732-2621 February 2, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONWAY JOINS FACULTY AT EDINBORO UNIVERSITY Dr. Alice E. Conway, RN, recently joined the faculty at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. A native of Manasquan, New Jersey, Conway has been appointed as an associate professor of nursing in pediatrics at the University. Conway obtained her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Syracuse University and her master’s and doctorate in nursing care of children from the University of Pittsburgh. Conway is a certified CPR and first aid instructor for the American Red Cross. She is also a certified emergency responder for the American Red Cross. She is a member of the National Nursing Honorary Society and is a designated university scholar at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to accepting the position at Edinboro University, Conway served as the dean of nursing in the Intercollegiate Nursing Program at Samuel Merritt College and Saint Mary’s College in Oakland, California. She more recently served as the chairperson in the department of nursing at Gannon University. Another of Conway’s accomplishments is being chairperson and member of the research committee for the National Association of Neonatal Nurses. She was recently asked to serve on the Maternal-Child Advisory Council for the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Conway lives in Edinboro with her husband, James. -30JMC:bja A member of the State System of Higher Education EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Office of Public Information and Publications Edinboro, PA 16444 (814) 732-2745 or 2929 Fax (814) 732-2621 February 1, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEW ‘AFTER HOURS CLUB’ OPENS AT EDINBORO UNIVERSITY A new and welcome addition to the evening social scene on the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania campus made its debut in January when the new, alcohol-free “After Hours Club” opened in The Kilt, the snack bar area of Edinboro’s University Center student union. The student-run After Hours Club is open every Friday from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Admission is free to Edinboro University students and their guests, and non-alcoholic drinks and food are available at nominal prices. Start-up funding for the After Hours Club was made possible by Edinboro University’s ALADIN (Alcohol and Drug Information) Project. The ALADIN Project, subtitled “A Multidisciplinary Program to Reduce Alcohol and Other Drug Use,” was developed at Edinboro in 1993 under a major federal grant from the Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). ALADIN uses a systems approach to develop a university-wide, peer education program that offers students the opportunity to examine their attitudes about drinking, explore their drinking habits, and learn about alcohol’s physical, psychological, legal and social effects. Goals are to reduce alcohol and other drug use, as well as “binge” drinking. The ALADIN Project was recognized by the federal government in 1994 with an award from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Research and Development. Entertainment at Edinboro’s After Hours Club will vary from week to week, with guest bands and artists, comedy, open mike and karaoke nights, and DJ-run dances. -more- A member of the State System of Higher Education ‘AFTER HOURS CLUB’AT EDINBORO, Continued Page 2 The grand opening on January 27 was headlined by local rockers “Donna’s Private Doll Collection.” Rick and Brian Butler are scheduled to perform on February 10. “We’re very excited about this,” said Pam Magerle, ALADIN Project specialist, who coordinated the grand opening. “We’ve had a lot of input from students on what they want for atmosphere and entertainment, and we’re pleased to give them what they’ve asked for.” On many nights the After Hours Club will be sponsored by specific clubs and organizations recognized by the University. “We really stress that this club will be student run,” said Mary Anne Weiner, ALADIN Project coordinator. “The project will provide them with financial and moral support, but students will be the ones who make it work.” For more information, call Edinboro University’s ALADIN Project Office, 732-2949. -30WAR:bja EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Office of Public Information and Publications Edinboro, PA 16444 (814) 732-2745 or 2929 Fax (814) 732-2621 February 1, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: ACADEMIC FESTIVAL TO HIGHLIGHT PENNSYLVANIA AQUARIUM Dr. Jerry Covert, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania’s dean of Science, Management and Technologies, and director of the proposed Pennsylvania Aquarium, will make an informational presentation on the Aquarium, Tuesday, February 21, as part of the Academic Festival at the University. The Aquarium is one of many new facilities planned for Erie’s bayfront area. In his lecture, which will be held at 4 p.m. in the Porreco Center, classroom 8, and again at 7 p.m., in the University Center, Covert will discuss plans for the Aquarium and its mission. “The purpose of the Aquarium is threefold,” said Covert, “going beyond a narrowlyfocused tourist attraction to include educational and research components, with a vision of being a ‘life center,’ focusing many resources on the broader understanding of freshwater and coastal ecosystems.” Support for the Aquarium is coming from a consortium of educational institutions in western Pennsylvania that Covert is putting together. These include 12 colleges and eight school districts and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. His presentation will be of particular interest to teachers in northwestern Pennsylvania. One design feature of the Aquarium calls for building an artificial stream that would start high on the side of the Aquarium and meander downward around the building, allowing visitors to view stream conditions from different locations, including directly underneath. Water pumped directly from the bay would supply the stream and return to the bay after completing its course around the Aquarium. -moreA member of the State System of Higher Education ACADEMIC FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS AQUARIUM, Continued Page 2 The designers of the proposed Aquarium - Cambridge Seven Associates - are also the architects for the highly successful Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, as well as aquariums in Baltimore and Osaka, Japan. Covert’s role at present is to continue to add members to the consortium and build public support for the facility. He stresses the positive impact it will have on educational programs at all levels, from kindergarten through graduate school. “The Aquarium will have broad appeal, from the excitement of preschoolers as they are attracted to the bright colors and gliding movement, to grade school children whose interest and enthusiasm is unmatched at any other time of their life, to the high school or college student working on a science fair or research project, to adults looking for personal development, to the researcher striving to create a better understanding of how and why things occur.” Critical to making the Pennsylvania Aquarium a reality is securing funding from sources in business and industry. Covert hopes that funding will be available to begin the final design and construction stage later this year. In addition to a discussion of the Aquarium, Covert will show a videotape, distribute the Aquarium’s first newsletter, and announce a conference for colleges and schools which will be held October 7. For further information on the Academic Festival, call the Edinboro University office of public information and publications at (814) 732-2745. -30BKPibJa Pennsylvania Aquarium to Include Stream. Over the years, it has been observed that lake and bay fish are attracted to the mouths of nearly every stream, creek and rivulet that enters Erie Lake and the Bay. As the waters enter fix)m the smaller tributaries, fish swim against the current and attempt to swim up-stream to the source of the flowing water. This phenomenon has been observed in structures as small as 10 inch storm sewer pipes. The fish have been identified as Steelhead and Salmon. This concept has acted as a stimulus to the early planning of the construction of the Pennsylvania Aquarium. We are currently studying the feasibility of building an artificial stream that would act as a moat around the aquarium and would provide exciting opportunities to observe fish in their nearly natural environment (See diagram below) The course of the stream will be varied so that there will be ponds, rapids, deep pools, or shallow concourses. The bottoms can be varied from sand to gravel and rocks. There will be observation points along the course of the stream to include bridges and banks and there may be a possibility to have a view from beneath the stream bed!! The observations will provide excellent opportunities for learning more about the preferences and capabilities of the native fish. By building the Aquarium directly on the bay, there will be access to the fish and other aquatic organisms native to that region and if properly designed, it will provide the fish with an alternative that they can choose by swimming upstream to the Aquarium. Water would be pumped from the bay to spill directiy into the stream at the ‘high end*. As the water flows back to the bay, it provides the currents, and exchange of water throughout the entire length of the stream. Researchers are interested in being able to observe fish under various conditions. For example, they would like to study, in close proximity, the behavior and physiological changes fish and other aquatic animals experience during the winter, when the surface of the ponds are covered with ice, yet the rapids are still fi*ee flowing. The Pennsylvania Aquarium 12786 Forrest Drive Edinboro, PA 16412 (814) 734-5731 FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA AQUARIUM CONSORTIUM CLARION UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA GANNON UNIVERSITY INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA* LA ROCHE COLLEGE MERCYHURST COLLEGE PENN STATE UNIVERSITY/BEHREND CAMPUS SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY* UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH/TITUSVILLE CAMPUS* WESTMINSTER COLLEGE* AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY, PA CHAPTER ERIE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT FORT LEBOEUF SCHOOL DISTRICT GENERAL MC LANE SCHOOL DISTRICT HARBORCREEK SCHOOL DISTRICT MILLCREEK TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT PENN CREST SCHOOL DISTRICT UNION CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT WARREN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT *Currently in the process of signing agreements EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Office of Public Information and Publications Edinboro, PA 16444 (814) 732-2745 or 2929 Fax (814) 732-2621 February 1, 1995 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: EDINBORO RECEIVES $25,000 GRANT FOR LITERACY PROGRAM Edinboro University of Pennsylvania has received a $25,000 Pennsylvania Literacy Corps grant to fund CHANGES - the College and High School Alliance for New Growth in Elementary Students. The innovative program brings together college, high school and elementary students to improve literacy and promote community service. The program was the idea of Tacie Tonks, a 23-year-old graduate student who had been a tutor for Edinboro’s Student Literacy Corps. Her dream was to create a big-brother, big-sister type of program that would allow college students to act as mentors to high school students, who in turn would be role models and tutors for elementary students in need of help with reading. Tonks wanted the program not only to improve literacy, but also to show high school and elementary students a positive side of college students. Edinboro elementary education professor Dr. Janet Fleischauer said it allows students to become more aware of the outside world and realize they can make an impact on it. They will take field trips together and participate in art and drama activities. “An important part of the program is building selfconfidence in the students,” said Fleischauer. She is co-directing the program with Dr. Jean Faieta, associate professor in the department of special education and school psychology. CHANGES has been in existence for one year and has proved so successful that the University, with encouragement from PennSERVE, is making it into a three-credit service learning course. The grant money is being used this semester to purchase materials and produce the program handbook. Another grant is expected in the fall when the program’s tutoring begins. -moreA member of the State System of Higher Education EDINBORO RECEIVES LITERACY GRANT, Continued Page 2 That part of the program will likely involve 20 Edinboro University students with high school and high-risk second grade students in the General McLane and Northwestern school districts. They will form 20 “buddy groups,” made up of one student from each of the three groups. Fleischauer said college students will benefit by learning leadership skills in community service; high school students will develop supervisory, mentoring and tutoring skills; and elementary students will improve their literacy skills and develop an appreciation for volunteer community service. The program will provide an opportunity for the high school students to fulfill their community service requirements. Edinboro University Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. John Fleischauer said the grant is a significant endorsement of Edinboro’s continuing activity in service learning and in adult literacy enhancement. Its Student Literacy Corps program began in 1990 with $47,000 in federal grant funding. This year’s grant is part of $222,224 in Pennsylvania Literacy Corps grants announced by Pennsylvania’s former first lady Ellen Casey to nine university programs. The Pennsylvania Literacy Corps is a program of PennSERVE, the governor’s Office of Citizen Services. -30BKP:bja CHANGES_______ —From Page lA anywhere from 20 to 40 hours a pate in the program. CHANGES not only encour­ week. What awaits this busy ages literacy, it increases aware­ young woman after she graduates ness. Environmental, disability from the university next fall? Graduate school and marriage and discrimination awareness are are just two answers. She also just three topics the program has tackled. The time spent on dis­ hopes to get a job in an institu­ ability awareness involved a visit tion, where she can continue help­ from some of the disabled stu­ ing people. Tonks stresses that the program dents at EUP. “The kids leam^ not to be afraid of people in could not exist without the many wheelchairs,” Tonks said. “The people who have help^, includ­ kids found out that these people ing the college and high school volunteers, Fleischauer, Faieta, are just like everyone else. There was also a session on Rilling and Scaletta. In tliis world where too many drug and alcohol awareness, and recently, the group visited a re­ people look out for themselves and let everyone else stand alone, tirement home here in Edinboro. “It gives the kids an appreciation the person who takes the time for the older people in our soci­ from a busy schedule to help someone else is rare. Tacie Tonks ety,” Tonks explained. Time is also spent on other ac­ is one of those rare people. Because of her, a program like tivities, such as drawing posters and making other crafts. “The CHANGES can make a person’s Idds love the whole prograin and life a little brighter. come all the time,” Tonks said. Right now, Tonks wants to make more people aware of the program, although there has al­ ready b^n some help from the Edinboro community. For exam­ ple, Brink Ink Screenprinting has donated paints. “Whatever help we’ve received so far is greatly appreciated,” she said. These days, Tonks is working e| | I i \ i ji I t CHANGES; A labor of love about CHANGES stands for College High School Alliance for New Growth in Element^ Students. The program is designed to en­ courage literacy and to bring young people of various backgrou^ together to interact with By Jim Marasco Staff intern ■V- . - This is^ the time of year when people feel good about them­ selves and the world around them. But these feelings of well-being and goodwill aren*t meant to be experioiced only at Christmas time. They are meant to be felt all year ’round. Tliat’s what CHANGES is all - ,.■ • - r. ■ . . . — i . •: ^‘ . V' “ ^ , - ' ... ^^ ; • * ' , , i ^ . each oth^. It’s working very well. Just ask Tacie Tonks, a 23-year-old psy­ chology major at Edinboro Uni­ versity. She is also a moving force behind the program. “There are 30 people in the program,’’ she said. “Ten ele­ mentary students, 10 high school students and lOn college stu­ dents.’’ All of the participants are from this area, and they woik in “buddy groups’’ consisting of one student from each of the three age groups. The older students tu­ tor the younger students when it comes to academics, but everyone benefits from the interaction. —CHANGES took a long time to evolve. “When I first started here (at EUP), I saw a lot of negative things happening,’’ Tonks ex­ plained. “I saw people getting drunk; I saw people getting arrested. and mentioned her work to EUP professor Dr. Janet Fleischauer, who said she would soon receive a grant from the PLC to start a program encouraging literacy. " Though Tonks was interested in the literacy program, she hadn’t given up on the Big Broth­ er idea; she wanted to combine the two into one plan. Soon, school was over for the semester, and Tonks went to work at a summer camp. When she re­ turned, she found the grant had come in. That didn’t give her much time to get the program rolling, but she managed to do just that. “We put it all together in about three weeks,’’ she said. Fleischauer and Jean Faieta be­ came the advisors for the pro­ gram. The grant was for one year. Tonks had the money; now all she needed were participants. The high school and elementary, stur^ , dents chosen were ones that could benefit from this type of progfaml ! They came from Edinboro Ele- I mentary and General “McLane "7 High School, and were selected j with the help of Edinboro Ele- j mentary principal Annette Rilling and Rick Scaletta, assistant prin­ cipal at General McLane High School. Choosing the college students was a little different. “Basically, I just hung up signs around cam­ pus, hoping enough people would be interested,’’ Tonks said. She needn’t have worried. There was a turnout of 30 inter­ ested students. Out of those 30 people, 10 were chosen to particiSee CHANGES, Page 5 A ■ “But I also saw that many col­ lege students had a positive influence on the community.’’ gjjg wanted to begin a Big Brother, Big Sister-type program, but was told she probably couldn’t do it. That didn’t stop Tonks from wanting to work with and help others. For a time, she worked as a p^sonal care attendant on the Edinboro campus, assisting disabled students. Later, she became a tutor for the Painsylvania Liter­ acy Corps. She found she liked it CHANGES is about friendship as weii as iiteracy. Here, EUP voiunteer Biil Kendaii helps Edinboro Elementary student Matt McAddo with his homework.