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July 3, 1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY TO HOST SESSION FOR ADULT LEARNERS
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania will host an information session especially for
adult learners who are interested in attending college on Thursday, July 24, at the Girard
Township Municipal Building on West Ridge Road. Representatives from the University will be
on hand to discuss learning tips, employment trends and the needs of the adult learner.
Displays, demonstrations, class schedules and curriculum information for both the graduate and
undergraduate levels will be presented.
For more information, contact Todd V. Jay, at Edinboro’s enrollment management and
retention office at (814) 732--2213.
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EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 10, 1997
NEWS ADVISORY:
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY TO HOLD SUMMER RETREAT
As part of its planning process for the 1997-98 academic year, Edinboro University of
Pennsylvania will hold its 1997 Edinboro Family Summer Retreat tomorrow, July 11, from 8
a.m. until 5 p.m. on the Centennial Hall lawn. With President Frank G. Pogue presiding, the
morning sessions will focus on specific University goals and priorities including the strategic
plann&g, budgeting and continuous improvement process. The event will also include a
progress report from the University’s 21st Century planning group.
The afternoon sessions will focus on 21st Century priorities which include enrollment
management, student success, technology and community outreach.
President Pogue said the retreat will allow for a year-end review of success and failures,
and for plaiming for a successful fall at the University.
Several invited alumni will speak during the luncheon on how college prepared them for
success.
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A member of the State System ofHi^ier Education
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 10,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
HAROLD SHIELDS APPOINTED TRUSTEE AT EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
Harold C. Shields of Allison Park, Pa., has been appointed by Governor Tom Ridge to the
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Council of Trustees. His appointment was effective on
May 13,1997.
Shields, a native of Creighton, Pa., brings a rich and diverse background to Edinboro’s
Council. He is currently the manager of employment strategies, university relations and diversity
at Alcoa in Pittsburgh, where he has been employed in various management and administrative
positions since 1981.
Prior to Alcoa, Shields was employed by the Bucyrus-Erie Co. in both Glassport, Pa. and
Erie. From 1971 to 1981, he was a news and sportscaster with Erie’s WICU-TV12, as well as an
assistant to Erie’s then-mayor, the late Louis Tuilio.
From 1968 to 1975, Shields worked for the Opportunities Industrialization Center, a
community-based training program serving adult and underrepresented populations in Erie.
Shields holds a bachelor of science in education degree with a biology certification, and a
master of education degree in guidance and counseling, both from Edinboro University, as well
as training at the Advanced Human Resource Institute, Cornell University School of Industrial
Relations.
His professional career began as a teacher at Erie’s McKinley Elementary School and
Academy High School. He also served as alDoard member and past president of the Erie City
School Board, and as a member of the board of the United Way of Erie County.
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A member of the State System of Hitter Education
--
HAROLD SHIELDS APPOINTED TRUSTEE AT EDINBORO, Continued
Page 2
Active in community affairs, Shields is currently affiliated with Three Rivers Youth, Inc.,
where he is board president, and is also a board member and diimer chairman of the North Hills
Branch, NAACP. He was also elected recently to the Board of Directors for the Edinboro
University Alumni Association.
He is also a board member and treasurer for the National Association of Minority
Engineering Program Administrators, and treasurer for the 1997 National Conference of the
Women’s Engineering Program Administrators Network.
Shields, his wife Stephanie and their four children live in McCandless Township in
Pittsburgh’s North Hills.
“I’m looking forward to working with Harold Shields in the interests of Edinboro
University across all of western Pennsylvania,” said Edinboro University President Dr. Frank G.
Pogue. “He is a two-time Edinboro graduate and has a variety of professional and volunteer
experiences, not only in the greater Erie area, but across the region and the entire
Commonwealth. I am certain that he will be a most valuable addition to our impressive team of
trustees.”
R. Benjamin Wiley, chairman of Edinboro University’s Council of Trustees and vice
chair of the Board of Governors for the State System of Higher Education, said, “I’ve known
Harold Shields for many years and know that he will be an outstanding trustee. In addition to
being an Edinboro graduate, his prior experience in the field of education, along with his
community-minded service activities in and around Pittsburgh, will bring additional perspective
and proportion to the work of the Council.”
Trustees at Edinboro University and the 13 other institutions in the Pennsylvania State
System of Higher Education are nominated and appointed to six-year terms' of office by the
governor of the Commonwealth with the advice and consent of the state Senate.
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EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 10, 1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EDINBORO’S ON-TRACK PROGRAM TARGETS RURAL WOMEN STUDENTS
Fifty students from rural high schools in northwestern Pennsylvania will take part in a
program July 13-17 at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania which is designed to prepare and
motivate rural students for a college education.
According to Dr. Salene Cowher, chairperson of Edinboro’s counseling and human
development department, the On-Track program will help students - especially women - become
aware of dieir academic and career potentials, opportunities and resources. The students in this
year’s program are sophomores, juniors and seniors from high schools in Erie, Crawford,
Lawrence, Mercer and Warren counties.
Studies have shown that rural Pennsylvanians are far less likely to finish high school than
those from urban areas. Rural women are especially at risk for dropping out of high school and
not entering postsecondary education. They are four percent less likely than rural men to graduate
from high school, and seven percent less likely to graduate from high school than urban women.
Rural women are also 11 percent less likely than urban women to finish college.
Since On-Track began in 1992, every student who has participated in the program has
graduated from high school and 90 percent have gone on for postsecondary education. Not only
has it benefited students, some parents have enrolled at Edinboro University as a result of the
program. One such person is Conneaut Lake resident Bonnie McPherson, now a graduate student
in rehabilitation counseling, who is attending Edinboro at the same time as her daughter. Holly
Mears.
Cowher, who serves as the program’s project director, attributed much of its success to
the staff members - all of whom were bom and raised in rural northwestern Pennsylvania. She
also emphasized that faculty and students from the counseling and human services department
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ON-TRACK PROGRAM TARGETS RURAL WOMEN STUDENTS, Continued
Page 2
volunteered their time when no funds were available. Cowher said the entire effort by faculty,
staff, students and members of the conununity has been highly collaborative.
The goals of On-Track include preparing rural female students to meet admission
requirements for postsecondary education, thus enhancing their likelihood of attending a college,
university or other school. The five-day program will feature several daily seminars on topics
such as career assessment, financial aid, computers, multicultural awareness, and handling
conflict. The evenings will be spent in recreational activities.
Cowher said one of the aims of the program is to increase awareness of the importance of
skills in communications, math, reasoning and decision making. The students will also be
exposed to time and stress management, study skills, learning strategies and interpersonal
relationships.
Not only has On-Track served the rural populations of northwestern Pennsylvania, it has
also served as a model for other rural areas. It has been presented as a model program at two state
conferences and an international conference. Its high success rate has contributed to its
recognition by experts in the field of rural education, including nationally-known adthor and
researcher John Rubish.
Funding for the program was provided by a grant from the State System of Higher
Education’s Social Equity Office, which made it possible to operate On-Track as a residential
program on the Edinboro campus.
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EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 10,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EDINBORO PROFESSOR TO HAVE COMPUTER ARTICLE PUBLISHED
Dr. Patricia Prather Pineo, assistant professor in the mathematics and computer science
department at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, has had a paper accepted to the Journal of
Parallel Algorithms and Architectures for publication in the upcoming special issue on
optimization issues in parallelizing compilers.
The paper, ‘The Efficient Creation of Single Assignment Forms from Unstructured
Code,” describes techniques for transforming a normal computer program into an equivalent
single assignment form, which allows multiple segments of the program to run simultaneously on
multiple processors or on a computer with parallel processing capabilities. This in turn allows the
program to be executed more quickly. Dr. Pineo has published several articles in this area and
has presented this work at conferences worldwide.
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A member of the State System ofHi^er Education
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 16,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DOROTHY FEIDLER APPOINTED TO HARRISBURG INTERNSHIP
Dorothy Feidler of Erie has received The Harrisburg Internship Semester (THIS)
appointment for this fall. Feidler, a senior psychology major at Edinlwro University of
Pennsylvania, will work in the department of state’s legal eetmeil office for deputy legal council
John Henderson, Jr. THIS is a 15-week program sponsored by the State System of Higher
Education to enhance internship experiences in top policy-making state government offices.
Feidler is a non-traditional student who decided to earn a college degree after her four
children, Vickie, Kristie, Danielle and Jordan, were out of high school. In addition to majoring in
psychology, Feidler is minoring in sociology and also studying criminal justice and Black
studies.
Her interest in politics goes back to her experiences in Canada in the 1960s when her
husband attended dental school in Montreal. She said being able to look at the United States
during the Vietnam war from the outside gave her a much different perspective on America’s
foreign policy and its news media. “I became aware of things that I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t
lived outside the country,” she said. “That set something burning inside of me with an interest in
political affairs.”
Although her career plans following graduation are not definite, Feidler said she is
considering attending the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, to study for a doctorate in
parapsychology.
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A member of the State System of Higher Education
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY AGAIN NAMED AS TOP 100 SCHOOL
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania has once again been listed as one of the top 100
schools in the nation which offer their students the best opportunity to maximize their education.
The 1997 edition of Rugg’s Recommendations on the Colleges lists Edinboro as one of only nine
schools in Pennsylvania and the only university in the State System of Higher Education in its
“One Hundred Colleges... Just Dam Good Schools.”
Author Frederick E. Rugg, a former director of secondary college counseling programs
for 20 years, based his list on interviews with 900 secondary school counselors. They were
asked the question: “What colleges do you believe offer students the best opportunity to
maximize their education?”
Rugg said this list is the most valuable in the book. “This is probably the most used and
Xeroxed page in the U.S.A. on the colleges,” he said.
In addition to Edinboro, the other Pennsylvania schools listed were Allegheny College,
Haverford College, Juniata College, Moravian College, the University of Pennsylvania, the
University of Pittsburgh, Susquehana University, and Washington and Jefferson College.
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aH2Is)O0I^1660^'M2ld0S)
NAOMI JOHNSON NAMED EDINBORO VICE PRESIDENT
Dr. Naomi T. Johnson has been named \^ce President for Student Affairs and Student
Success at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Before accepting her new position, she was
associate dean of students at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Johnson earned her undergraduate degree in sociology from Moorhead State University
and her master’s degree in college student personnel from Ohio’s Bowling Green State
University. In 1985 she earned a Ph.D. in higher education from Arizona State University.
While at UC-Santa Barbara, Johnson also served as a lecturer in the Graduate School of
Education. She began her career at Bowling Green in 1976 as an assistant residence hall director.
Since then, she has held such positions as student resources coordinator, peer counseling
coordinator, assistant to the vice president for student affairs, director of the campus activities
center and assistant dean of students.
Johnson sees her role as helping to bring to life President Frank Pogue’s vision of
community that centers around student learning and student success. “We’re preparing them to
be leaders of tomorrow,” said Johnson.
She said she will be looking at ways of using all of the staff of her division to be active
participants in student retention. Also among her priorities at Edinboro will be working as part
of a team effort to address enrollment issues. She said she will work to create a student affairs
team and to serve as a facilitator of creativity, new ideas and innovation.
Johnson said she is looking forward to her new challenge. “Every day I wake up and am
excited about coming to work. There is so much energy and enthusiasm to move forward.”
She also noted that she and her husband Earl Jacobs have been ^impressed by the
friendliness and openness of the Edinboro community.
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aHZTS)O0I’SI,660^'^STd0S)
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 21,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY RECOGNIZES DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania recently named eight graduates as distinguished
alunmi at its annual Alumni Reunion weekend.
The eight honored were Charles Agnew, vice chancellor for development of the State
System of Higher Education and president of the Fund for the Advancement of the State
System; Karl Boyes, Pennsylvania state representative; David Mikolajczyk, vice chairman of
Country Pure Foods; Judge Richard Payne, circuit court judge in Florida; Patricia (Knezevich)
Sennett, art instructor at the State University of New York, Potsdam; Richard Siegel, former
president of the Art Administrators of New Jersey; Bill Waldman, key animator for Walt
Disney; and Umaru Wurie, ambassador for Sierra Leone.
CHARLES AGNEW, class of 1977, received his award in the category of business and
industry. He began his career as director of development at Edinboro before moving to Gannon
University as vice president for external affairs. He later accepted an appointment to Quinnipiac
College where he directed successful multi-million dollar campaigns. He then served as
executive director of the Foundation for Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and interim vice
president for institutional advancement. In his current position he is the chief policy and
oversight officer for development within the State System. Agnew is a member of the Council
for the Advancement and Support of Education, the National Society of Fundraising Executives,
and the Center for the Study of the Presidency.
KARL BOYES, class of 1959, received his award in the category of public service.
Boyes taught at McDowell High School for six years before entering government as a Millcreek
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EDINBORO RECOGNIZES DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI, Continued
Page 2
Township supervisor. He was soon recognized as “Young Man of the Year” by the Erie Jaycees
and received an outstanding citizenship award from the Boy Scouts. After four years in
Millcreek, Boyes went to Harrisburg as a deputy director of the Governor’s Justice
Commission. He returned to Erie as a county commissioner and in 1981 was elected to the
Pennsylvania General Assembly serving the third legislative district. Since that time he has been
the prime sponsor of numerous legislative proposals and has served on many committees. He
currently is the majority chairman of the house finance committee.
DAVE) MIKOLAJCZYK, a 1964 graduate of Edinboro, received his award in the
business and industry category. Although his career began as a teacher in the Wattsburg School
District, within three years he was an industrial engineer for Westinghouse. He moved rapidly
through a series of progressively more responsible positions for such companies as Welch
Foods, Stouffer Hotels and Resorts, and Nestle. He earned an MBA degree from Northwestern
University and in October of 1987 became chairman of the Nestle North American Purchasing
Council. He left Nestle to form and serve as president and CEO of Hadd Holdings, Inc., which
later purchased Ohio Pure Foods. Three years later the company merged with another company
to become Country Pure Foods, Inc. Mikolajczyk served as its vice chairman and CEO for
nearly two years. Since January of this year, he has served as vice chairman, committee
chairman, and board member for the company. As an active member of the community,
Mikolajczyk has been a volunteer board member for Parmadale, a residential treatment center
for children in Cleveland.
JUDGE RICHARD PAYNE, the distinguished alumni recipient in natural or social
sciences, graduated from Edinboro in 1966 and obtained his law degree from Florida State
University in 1971. He served in private practice in Florida for nine years, was a criminal court
prosecutor and an assistant county attorney. He has been a trial judge since 1980 - serving first
as a Monroe County judge for nine years before being elected to a six-year term as circuit court
judge. In 1995 his fellow judges elected him to the position of chief circuit judge, which carries
the duties of overseeing the administration of all court matters in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit.
PATRICIA (KNEZEVICH) SENNETT, class of 1956, is one of two recipients in the art
education category. After retiring in 1996 with 35 years of teaching art at all levels from
elementary through college, Sennett is once again teaching at SUNY-Potsdam, and also at the
local museum this summer. Early in her career she was instrumental in vitalizing the Northern
Zone Art Teachers Association. Throughout her career she has been a parent and a homemaker
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EDINBORO RECOGNIZES DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI, Continued
Page 3
while continuing to produce her own work and exhibiting extensively in local, regional, and
national forums. She and her husband. Art, also a 1956 Edinboro graduate, have had two of
their children go on to earn doctorates, and another become an attorney.
RICHARD SIEGEL, class of 1957, is the other recipient in the art education category.
He earned a master’s degree from Penn State, and both a master’s and doctorate from Columbia
University Teachers College. During his distinguished career he has filled the varied roles of
artist, teacher, administrator, supervisor, and leader - roles he continues to serve today. In
everything he has done there has been a common thread - to promote and advance art
education. Over the years he has shared two beliefs with his students: “Learning never ends,”
and “To teach, one must never cease to learn.”
BILL WALDMAN, a 1986 graduate of Edinboro, received the alumni award in the fine
arts category. Since graduating from Edinboro, the Williamsport native has moved quickly
through the animation ranks. While working for the Don Bluth studio he was a key animator for
Thumbelina and A Troll in Central Park. At Warner Bros, he worked on many projects,
including the animation of the Warner Bros, logo and Carrotblanca. In his current job at Disney
he was the key animator on the John Smith character in Pocahontas, the Esmeralda character in
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and most recently, the Hercules character in Hercules. As a
student at Edinboro, Waldman helped to found the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and design two
homecoming floats - Aice in Wonderland, and The Wonderful World of Disney, which won
first prize for his fraternity. He resides in California, but returns to campus often to lecture and
screen his films.
Ambassador UMARU WURIE received a special recognition award for his work to his
native country of Sierra Leone. After graduating from Edinboro in 1976 with a degree in
geology, Umaru earned a diploma in mining exploitation at the International Institute for Aerial
Survey and Earth Sciences, located in the Netherlands. He also studied in Wisconsin, Kenya,
and in England at the University of Bradford and the University of Manchester. He worked for
16 years as a government geologist before joining the Sierra Leone diplomatic service and
being appointed High Commissioner to Nigeria and Ghana. Since then he has been accredited
as ambassador to Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of Benin, Togo and Zaire. He was
later appointed ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and high commissioner to India and Pakistan. Most
recently he has been appointed the new ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, as
well as Austria, Italy and Switzerland. He and his family now reside in Germany.
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July 21, 1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NEW PARTNERSfflP PROMOTES LEGAL EDUCATION FOR STATE SYSTEM
STUDENTS AT WIDENER UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW AT HARRISBURG
Students at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and 13 other universities in the State
System of Higher Education will have a head start on legal careers thanks to a new partnership
program between the State System and Widener University.
Representatives of the State System and Widener University recently signed an
innovative partnership agreement which provides special admission opportunities and
scholarships for State System students who want to attend the Harrisburg Campus of the
Widener University School of Law.
The new agreement assures admission to Widener University School of Law for
qualified graduates of State System universities. It allows exceptional State System smdents to
earn their bachelor’s and law degrees in six years, rather than seven. Additionally, eligible
students will receive approximately $300,000 in renewable scholarships to assist with tuition
costs.
“This partnership is an excellent example of collaboration between a private university
and a public university system,” said F. Eugene Dixon, Jr., chairman of the State System’s
Board of Governors, who also serves as chairman of the Widener University Board of Trustees.
“Some of the System’s best and brightest scholars now have the exciting opportunity of earning
a fine legal education to complement their strong undergraduate training.”
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STATE SYSTEM, WIDENER UNIVERSITY PARTNERSfflP, Continued
Page 2
Through the Express Admission Program, System graduates who have earned a
bachelor’s degree from a System university will be assured admission to the Widener University
School of Law-Harrisburg Campus if they meet the appropriate requirements.
State System students will be able to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a Juris Doctor
degree in six years, rather than the usual seven years, through the 3 + 3 Early Admission
Program. Students admitted to the early enrollment program must meet the same criteria as the
Express Admission enrollees and also are required to complete a pre-law sununer program at
the Widener University School of Law.
Students admitted to either program are eligible for the renewable scholarships. Titled
“Dixon Scholars” in recognition of the contributions made to Pennsylvania higher education by
Mr. Dixon, these scholarships will offset 30 percent of the annual tuition fee for selected
students. Up to 56 Dixon Scholars may be selected each year. Dixon Scholars may retain their
scholarship each year, so long as they maintain a B-cumulative grade point average.
“This partnership between the private and public sectors of higher education steps
beyond historical precedent in Pennsylvania,” said Widener University President Robert J.
Bruce. “It is an initiative for the future, and for the common good not only of the two partners
and of the students who will benefit directly, but for the citizens of the Commonwealth. We
look forward to welcoming the State System’s students to the Harrisburg Campus of the
Widener University School of Law, and to graduating those students into positions of civic
leadership in the years to come.”
State System Chancellor James H. McCormick said, “This partnership is tangible
evidence of the System’s commitment to increase access through collaboration, rather than
expansion. With this joint endeavor. System students are better served with greater opportunities
for advancement.”
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July 25,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE;
NEWS ADVISORY
Travel buffs who want up-to-date reports from Scotland will be able to find out
the latest this summer on the World Wide Web page of Edinboro University of
Pennsylvania. Music professor Tim Cordell will be leading a group of 22 Edinboro area
residents on a two-week trip to the British Isles starting this Saturday, July 26.
Cordell will make daily postings to Edinboro’s Web page at:
www.edinboro.edu/CWIS/music/ssa-Scotland.html He will report on Scottish castles,
museums, cuisine, music, entertainment, and of course, the University of Edinburgh. By
using the Internet, Cordell said family, friends and armchair travelers back home will be
able to follow the group’s adventures in Edinboro’s namesake.
The trip is part of Edinboro’s Summer Study Abroad Program in Scotland and
Ireland. The group will spend 10 days in Edinburgh and three in Dublin.
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EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 7il-27^S or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 28, 1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE;
DR. THOMAS HARTIG NAMED EDINBORO ADVANCEMENT VP
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania President Dr. Frank G. Pogue has announced the
appointment of Thomas H. Hartig, Ph.D., to the post of vice president for institutional
advancement and public relations at the University. His appointment, which will become
effective on August 16, 1997, comes at the conclusion of a national search that began nearly a
year ago.
‘Tom Hartig brings to Edinboro University’s advancement enterprise more than two
decades of experience in the fund-raising discipline, and his expertise touches each of the
important areas of major and planned gifts, capital campaigns, grants writing, public and alumni
relations, annual funds, corporate and foundation giving, and donor stewardship,” Pogue said,
“and he combines these talents with an impressive academic and administrative background in
both the public and private sectors. One of the priorities I established upon becoming
Edinboro’s president last year was to establish a collaborative administrative team of individuals
who appreciate and are sensitive to my goal of creating a student-centered, citizen-friendly
environment. Tom is the newest member of that team and we welcome him and his family to
the Edinboro University Family,” said Pogue.
Hartig is the former vice president for institutional advancement at Albany Law School
(Union University) in Albany, N.Y., where he managed an institutional advancement division
operating comprehensive programs in fund raising, public relations, alumni affairs,
governmental relations and donor stewardship. During his five years there, he increased private
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A member of the State System of Higher Education
HARTIG named advancement VP, Continued
Page 2
gift support by 74 percent and raised the funding to establish the first endowed professorship in
that school’s 148-year history.
Prior to Albany Law School, Hartig served as senior development director at Kent State
University, as director of development at Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., as associate
director of development for the Iowa State University Foundation, and as both director of
grants, sponsored programs and advancement services, and director of corporate and foundation
support at Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa.
Hartig began his professional career in 1975 as editor of Ohio History, a scholarly
journal of midwestem history, and later became the curator of history for the state of Ohio at
The Ohio Historical Society in Columbus. In 1979, he became executive director of the
Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation in Staunton, Va., a presidential birthplace museum
accredited by the American Association of Museums, and in 1981, moved to Iowa City where
he served as executive director of the Iowa Humanities Board, an independent grant-making
organization affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Hartig earned his baccalaureate degree at Alma College, Alma, Mich. He holds a
doctorate from The Ohio State University - his major field of smdy was the history of
American foreign policy - and attended the Universite de Paris, La Sorbonne.^
His wife of 24 years, Jeannie, is a native of Pittsburgh and a graduate of Allegheny
College. She has an M.B.A. from The Ohio State University and is currently assistant vice
president and director of communication at The Sage Colleges in upstate New York.
“I have enjoyed a great deal of professional satisfaction and success in building and
creating for institutions an internal and external community culture that is conducive to fund
raising and I look forward to working with President Pogue and the Edinboro University Family
in accomplishing our advancement goals,” said Hartig.
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EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENN S Y L V A N I A
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 30,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EDINBORO’S SHAWN AHEARN IN LEADERSHIP ROLE
AT SPORTS INFORMATION NATIONAL CONVENTION
Shawn Aheam, the coordinator of sports information and promotions at Edinboro University
of Pennsylvania, played a leadership role at the national meeting of the College Sports Information
Directors of America (CoSIDA) held recently in New Orleans.
Aheam, who has been at Edinboro since 1995, coordinated the general session for Division
n schools, served as a panelist for the session, and led the discussion on Division II All-American
teams. He said the general session covered many critical issues that affect only D-II SIDs, notably
the need to have its own officers.
One of the most informative parts of the CoSIDA convention is a series of informal “table
talks” where each table chooses a topic of interest to discuss with other directors. Aheam co-hosted
a discussion on working with external constituents. “We stressed the need to educate the public
about the importance of college athletics as a way to involve the community in the university. It’s a
way of building a stronger relationship with the community.”
Aheam said athletics is like the front porch of a house - it’s not the most important part of
the house, but it’s often the part the public sees first.
Next year’s CoSIDA annual meeting will take place in Spokane, Washington, and Aheam
has been appointed to its program coimnittee to develop topics for the 1998 event. Aheam expects
that meeting will see for the first time the election of a slate of officers exclusively for D-II to deal
with such issues as corporate sponsorship of All-America teams, liaison with the NCAA and
coaches associations, and oversight of the division’s home page on the World Wide Web.
In a related development, CoSIDA judged an Edinboro football program as second best in
the nation in its division. The award was presented at the convention in New Orleans.
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A member of the State System of Higher Education
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 31,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
ARTISTIC CAREER INSPIRED BY FAMILY AND TRAVEL
When Erie Daily Tunes managing editor Tony Pasquale wanted a courtroom artist to add
to his paper’s coverage of the highly-charged murder trial of Jennifer Lynn Shaffer, he turned to
one of northwestern Pennsylvania’s most experienced artists - Susan Joyce Weimer.
Because the Shaffer trial was likely to be Erie’s most emotional in years - Shaffer was
subsequently convicted in the brutal death of her 3-month-old son - Pasquale wanted to add a
visual element to his paper’s trial coverage in a state that does not permit courtroom cameras.
Weimer had just completed an assignment as a courtroom artist for the Reading Eagle on a case
that was tried in Erie.
“It added a nice dimension,” said Pasquale. “We were glad to have it.”
Weimer has been an art professor at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania since 1969.
Her artistic roots go back at least to her paternal grandfather Charles X. Harris, an artist who
traveled extensively through Europe and later married his costume model.
“I was raised an artist, period,” Weimer said emphatically. “I didn’t know my father but
he was an artist. My parents met at the National Academy of Art in New York City. I just knew
I wanted to paint. Both my grandfathers and father are now listed in Who’s Who in Art -1 have
always wanted to paint.”
Other early influences while growing up in New York were her mother’s best friend who
was an illustrator for Collier’s magazine, and a well-known illustrator for the Saturday Evening
Post.
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A member of the State System of Higher Education
ARTISTIC CAREER INSPIRED BY FAMILY AND TRAVEL, Continued
Page 2
She learned about cruelty and death as an aerial gunnery instructor in the U. S. Navy
Airforce. After serving in the Navy, Weimer’s formal artistic training began at the College of
Wooster in Ohio. She completed her BFA degree in painting from Ohio University where she
graduated summa cum laude. She continued her education over a number of years at the
Cleveland Institute of Art where she studied painting, drawing, printmaking and design. She has
earned a master’s degree from Case Western University and the Cleveland Institute of Art.
Weimer was awarded a graduate teaching fellowship to study painting and printmaking at Kent
State University. During that time she was an art director at Karamu House in Cleveland.
From the earliest times of her career, Weimer has been inspired by artists such as
Toulousse LaTrec, Rembrandt and Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch. She has studied the
works of Munch, Cezanne and Robert Rauschenberg. Her philosophy of art is deeply rooted in
humanism.
‘There are few artists who truly do expressive work with a humanistic bent in the
contemporary conceptual art milieu,” said Weimer.
Much of her work has focused on the complexities of modem women. In the past ten
years she has produced several series of artworks based on women including “Women Under
Stress,” “Women Against Themselves,” “Women at Work,” and “Womeft in Anger.” She won the
juror’s award for “Women Against Herself No. 1” at the 1990 Spring Art Show at the Erie Art
Museum from Judith Stein, curator for the Museum of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
The inspiration for the series came from a graduate student of Weimer’s who also posed
for her. When Weimer learned that this young woman was experiencing stress in her life,
Weimer wanted to find out more about this phenomena among other women. Taking the advice
of friends who were doctors in the facility, Weimer went to the Clements Center, a medical care
facility in inner-city Cleveland, where she drew women from the neighborhoods, by choice,
mostly women and children. That led to the “Women at Work” series - an exhibition of
photographs and paintings of women in working situations also exhibited at the AfricanAmerican Art Museum in Cleveland.
It was critic Tony Bannon from the University of Buffalo, Charles Burchfield Center
who said to Weimer, “You should do anger.” From that came “Women in Anger.”
Her works have won numerous national awards and have been featured in several oneperson shows across the United States. Twice she has won honorable mention at the
Chautauqua National Painting Exhibition, and she won the juror’s award at the prestigious Hoyt
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ARTISTIC CAREER INSPIRED BY FAMILY AND TRAVEL, Continued
Page 3
Institute of Art in New Castle. Her juried exhibitions have included the National Watercolor
Competition in San Diego, the Pensacola National Portrait Exhibition, and the Butler National
Painting Exhibition. Her solo exhibitions have been shown in Santa Fe and in England, as well
as locally and regionally.
What sets her apart from other artists is her extensive travels - a practice she inherited
from her family, the men and the women. Weimer went to Norway to study Edvard Munch,
visiting his house in Bergen and viewing his murals in Oslo. She has been to Paris to study the
great French painter Cezanne. Weimer and fellow Edinboro art professor George Pitluga
escorted Edinboro students on numerous trips to Europe visiting Amsterdam, Munich, Vienna,
Florence, Rome and Venice and recently in London, a Medieval Manuscripts Exhibition at the
Royal Academy of Art. She has painted and photographed in the countries of Bahrain and
Niger. She studied in Scotland on the Island of Mull, and at the Vermont Studio Center. During
one trip to Africa she filled a sketchbook with drawings, painted 40 watercolors, took about 200
slides, and made a movie.
Twice she has been awarded Fulbright Teacher Fellowships, and has received three
faculty research grants from Edinboro University to support her work in painting, drawing and
photogfhphy.
Equally important to Weimer’s life as an artist and her travels has been her career as an
educator. Her career began in Cleveland as a specialist artist in the public schools. She then
became art director at Cleveland’s Karamu House. She continued with her graduate smdies at
Kent State University as a teaching assistant and ultimately joined the faculty at Edinboro
University.
What does the future hold for Weimer? With retirement in the near fumre a possibility,
Weimer continues to teach at the University. Currently she is showing “New Images,” an
exhibition of paintings including “Courtroom Scenes” at the Hoyt Institute of Art. She is
considering renewing a gallery search in New York City, Santa Fe, and again, Paris and London
researching the significance of form and content in the humanistic vain.
Two sons and her daughter have carried her spirit through their own adventures. Dale,
her daughter, first served in the Peace Corps, in Niger, West Africa, then in Nigeria with
C.A.R.E., where she met her English husband. They currently live in Bahrain, where he is an
engineer with Balexco and she is in the conunercial section for the U. S. Embassy in Bahrain.
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ARTISTIC CAREER INSPIRED BY FAMILY AND TRAVEL, Continued
Page 4
Her son, Don, is institutional research director for Cardinal Stiitch University in
Mil^vaukee, Wisconsin. His wife, Christine, is a lawyer for the Social Security Agency.
Her youngest son, Christopher, is director of the Employee Assistance Program for
Denver, Colorado. His wife Connie is a specialist in teaching emotionally, mentally, and
physically handicapped children.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY TO HOST SESSION FOR ADULT LEARNERS
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania will host an information session especially for
adult learners who are interested in attending college on Thursday, July 24, at the Girard
Township Municipal Building on West Ridge Road. Representatives from the University will be
on hand to discuss learning tips, employment trends and the needs of the adult learner.
Displays, demonstrations, class schedules and curriculum information for both the graduate and
undergraduate levels will be presented.
For more information, contact Todd V. Jay, at Edinboro’s enrollment management and
retention office at (814) 732--2213.
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EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 10, 1997
NEWS ADVISORY:
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY TO HOLD SUMMER RETREAT
As part of its planning process for the 1997-98 academic year, Edinboro University of
Pennsylvania will hold its 1997 Edinboro Family Summer Retreat tomorrow, July 11, from 8
a.m. until 5 p.m. on the Centennial Hall lawn. With President Frank G. Pogue presiding, the
morning sessions will focus on specific University goals and priorities including the strategic
plann&g, budgeting and continuous improvement process. The event will also include a
progress report from the University’s 21st Century planning group.
The afternoon sessions will focus on 21st Century priorities which include enrollment
management, student success, technology and community outreach.
President Pogue said the retreat will allow for a year-end review of success and failures,
and for plaiming for a successful fall at the University.
Several invited alumni will speak during the luncheon on how college prepared them for
success.
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A member of the State System ofHi^ier Education
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 10,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
HAROLD SHIELDS APPOINTED TRUSTEE AT EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
Harold C. Shields of Allison Park, Pa., has been appointed by Governor Tom Ridge to the
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Council of Trustees. His appointment was effective on
May 13,1997.
Shields, a native of Creighton, Pa., brings a rich and diverse background to Edinboro’s
Council. He is currently the manager of employment strategies, university relations and diversity
at Alcoa in Pittsburgh, where he has been employed in various management and administrative
positions since 1981.
Prior to Alcoa, Shields was employed by the Bucyrus-Erie Co. in both Glassport, Pa. and
Erie. From 1971 to 1981, he was a news and sportscaster with Erie’s WICU-TV12, as well as an
assistant to Erie’s then-mayor, the late Louis Tuilio.
From 1968 to 1975, Shields worked for the Opportunities Industrialization Center, a
community-based training program serving adult and underrepresented populations in Erie.
Shields holds a bachelor of science in education degree with a biology certification, and a
master of education degree in guidance and counseling, both from Edinboro University, as well
as training at the Advanced Human Resource Institute, Cornell University School of Industrial
Relations.
His professional career began as a teacher at Erie’s McKinley Elementary School and
Academy High School. He also served as alDoard member and past president of the Erie City
School Board, and as a member of the board of the United Way of Erie County.
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A member of the State System of Hitter Education
--
HAROLD SHIELDS APPOINTED TRUSTEE AT EDINBORO, Continued
Page 2
Active in community affairs, Shields is currently affiliated with Three Rivers Youth, Inc.,
where he is board president, and is also a board member and diimer chairman of the North Hills
Branch, NAACP. He was also elected recently to the Board of Directors for the Edinboro
University Alumni Association.
He is also a board member and treasurer for the National Association of Minority
Engineering Program Administrators, and treasurer for the 1997 National Conference of the
Women’s Engineering Program Administrators Network.
Shields, his wife Stephanie and their four children live in McCandless Township in
Pittsburgh’s North Hills.
“I’m looking forward to working with Harold Shields in the interests of Edinboro
University across all of western Pennsylvania,” said Edinboro University President Dr. Frank G.
Pogue. “He is a two-time Edinboro graduate and has a variety of professional and volunteer
experiences, not only in the greater Erie area, but across the region and the entire
Commonwealth. I am certain that he will be a most valuable addition to our impressive team of
trustees.”
R. Benjamin Wiley, chairman of Edinboro University’s Council of Trustees and vice
chair of the Board of Governors for the State System of Higher Education, said, “I’ve known
Harold Shields for many years and know that he will be an outstanding trustee. In addition to
being an Edinboro graduate, his prior experience in the field of education, along with his
community-minded service activities in and around Pittsburgh, will bring additional perspective
and proportion to the work of the Council.”
Trustees at Edinboro University and the 13 other institutions in the Pennsylvania State
System of Higher Education are nominated and appointed to six-year terms' of office by the
governor of the Commonwealth with the advice and consent of the state Senate.
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EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 10, 1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EDINBORO’S ON-TRACK PROGRAM TARGETS RURAL WOMEN STUDENTS
Fifty students from rural high schools in northwestern Pennsylvania will take part in a
program July 13-17 at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania which is designed to prepare and
motivate rural students for a college education.
According to Dr. Salene Cowher, chairperson of Edinboro’s counseling and human
development department, the On-Track program will help students - especially women - become
aware of dieir academic and career potentials, opportunities and resources. The students in this
year’s program are sophomores, juniors and seniors from high schools in Erie, Crawford,
Lawrence, Mercer and Warren counties.
Studies have shown that rural Pennsylvanians are far less likely to finish high school than
those from urban areas. Rural women are especially at risk for dropping out of high school and
not entering postsecondary education. They are four percent less likely than rural men to graduate
from high school, and seven percent less likely to graduate from high school than urban women.
Rural women are also 11 percent less likely than urban women to finish college.
Since On-Track began in 1992, every student who has participated in the program has
graduated from high school and 90 percent have gone on for postsecondary education. Not only
has it benefited students, some parents have enrolled at Edinboro University as a result of the
program. One such person is Conneaut Lake resident Bonnie McPherson, now a graduate student
in rehabilitation counseling, who is attending Edinboro at the same time as her daughter. Holly
Mears.
Cowher, who serves as the program’s project director, attributed much of its success to
the staff members - all of whom were bom and raised in rural northwestern Pennsylvania. She
also emphasized that faculty and students from the counseling and human services department
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ON-TRACK PROGRAM TARGETS RURAL WOMEN STUDENTS, Continued
Page 2
volunteered their time when no funds were available. Cowher said the entire effort by faculty,
staff, students and members of the conununity has been highly collaborative.
The goals of On-Track include preparing rural female students to meet admission
requirements for postsecondary education, thus enhancing their likelihood of attending a college,
university or other school. The five-day program will feature several daily seminars on topics
such as career assessment, financial aid, computers, multicultural awareness, and handling
conflict. The evenings will be spent in recreational activities.
Cowher said one of the aims of the program is to increase awareness of the importance of
skills in communications, math, reasoning and decision making. The students will also be
exposed to time and stress management, study skills, learning strategies and interpersonal
relationships.
Not only has On-Track served the rural populations of northwestern Pennsylvania, it has
also served as a model for other rural areas. It has been presented as a model program at two state
conferences and an international conference. Its high success rate has contributed to its
recognition by experts in the field of rural education, including nationally-known adthor and
researcher John Rubish.
Funding for the program was provided by a grant from the State System of Higher
Education’s Social Equity Office, which made it possible to operate On-Track as a residential
program on the Edinboro campus.
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EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 10,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EDINBORO PROFESSOR TO HAVE COMPUTER ARTICLE PUBLISHED
Dr. Patricia Prather Pineo, assistant professor in the mathematics and computer science
department at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, has had a paper accepted to the Journal of
Parallel Algorithms and Architectures for publication in the upcoming special issue on
optimization issues in parallelizing compilers.
The paper, ‘The Efficient Creation of Single Assignment Forms from Unstructured
Code,” describes techniques for transforming a normal computer program into an equivalent
single assignment form, which allows multiple segments of the program to run simultaneously on
multiple processors or on a computer with parallel processing capabilities. This in turn allows the
program to be executed more quickly. Dr. Pineo has published several articles in this area and
has presented this work at conferences worldwide.
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A member of the State System ofHi^er Education
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 16,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DOROTHY FEIDLER APPOINTED TO HARRISBURG INTERNSHIP
Dorothy Feidler of Erie has received The Harrisburg Internship Semester (THIS)
appointment for this fall. Feidler, a senior psychology major at Edinlwro University of
Pennsylvania, will work in the department of state’s legal eetmeil office for deputy legal council
John Henderson, Jr. THIS is a 15-week program sponsored by the State System of Higher
Education to enhance internship experiences in top policy-making state government offices.
Feidler is a non-traditional student who decided to earn a college degree after her four
children, Vickie, Kristie, Danielle and Jordan, were out of high school. In addition to majoring in
psychology, Feidler is minoring in sociology and also studying criminal justice and Black
studies.
Her interest in politics goes back to her experiences in Canada in the 1960s when her
husband attended dental school in Montreal. She said being able to look at the United States
during the Vietnam war from the outside gave her a much different perspective on America’s
foreign policy and its news media. “I became aware of things that I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t
lived outside the country,” she said. “That set something burning inside of me with an interest in
political affairs.”
Although her career plans following graduation are not definite, Feidler said she is
considering attending the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, to study for a doctorate in
parapsychology.
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A member of the State System of Higher Education
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY AGAIN NAMED AS TOP 100 SCHOOL
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania has once again been listed as one of the top 100
schools in the nation which offer their students the best opportunity to maximize their education.
The 1997 edition of Rugg’s Recommendations on the Colleges lists Edinboro as one of only nine
schools in Pennsylvania and the only university in the State System of Higher Education in its
“One Hundred Colleges... Just Dam Good Schools.”
Author Frederick E. Rugg, a former director of secondary college counseling programs
for 20 years, based his list on interviews with 900 secondary school counselors. They were
asked the question: “What colleges do you believe offer students the best opportunity to
maximize their education?”
Rugg said this list is the most valuable in the book. “This is probably the most used and
Xeroxed page in the U.S.A. on the colleges,” he said.
In addition to Edinboro, the other Pennsylvania schools listed were Allegheny College,
Haverford College, Juniata College, Moravian College, the University of Pennsylvania, the
University of Pittsburgh, Susquehana University, and Washington and Jefferson College.
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aH2Is)O0I^1660^'M2ld0S)
NAOMI JOHNSON NAMED EDINBORO VICE PRESIDENT
Dr. Naomi T. Johnson has been named \^ce President for Student Affairs and Student
Success at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Before accepting her new position, she was
associate dean of students at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Johnson earned her undergraduate degree in sociology from Moorhead State University
and her master’s degree in college student personnel from Ohio’s Bowling Green State
University. In 1985 she earned a Ph.D. in higher education from Arizona State University.
While at UC-Santa Barbara, Johnson also served as a lecturer in the Graduate School of
Education. She began her career at Bowling Green in 1976 as an assistant residence hall director.
Since then, she has held such positions as student resources coordinator, peer counseling
coordinator, assistant to the vice president for student affairs, director of the campus activities
center and assistant dean of students.
Johnson sees her role as helping to bring to life President Frank Pogue’s vision of
community that centers around student learning and student success. “We’re preparing them to
be leaders of tomorrow,” said Johnson.
She said she will be looking at ways of using all of the staff of her division to be active
participants in student retention. Also among her priorities at Edinboro will be working as part
of a team effort to address enrollment issues. She said she will work to create a student affairs
team and to serve as a facilitator of creativity, new ideas and innovation.
Johnson said she is looking forward to her new challenge. “Every day I wake up and am
excited about coming to work. There is so much energy and enthusiasm to move forward.”
She also noted that she and her husband Earl Jacobs have been ^impressed by the
friendliness and openness of the Edinboro community.
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aHZTS)O0I’SI,660^'^STd0S)
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 21,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY RECOGNIZES DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania recently named eight graduates as distinguished
alunmi at its annual Alumni Reunion weekend.
The eight honored were Charles Agnew, vice chancellor for development of the State
System of Higher Education and president of the Fund for the Advancement of the State
System; Karl Boyes, Pennsylvania state representative; David Mikolajczyk, vice chairman of
Country Pure Foods; Judge Richard Payne, circuit court judge in Florida; Patricia (Knezevich)
Sennett, art instructor at the State University of New York, Potsdam; Richard Siegel, former
president of the Art Administrators of New Jersey; Bill Waldman, key animator for Walt
Disney; and Umaru Wurie, ambassador for Sierra Leone.
CHARLES AGNEW, class of 1977, received his award in the category of business and
industry. He began his career as director of development at Edinboro before moving to Gannon
University as vice president for external affairs. He later accepted an appointment to Quinnipiac
College where he directed successful multi-million dollar campaigns. He then served as
executive director of the Foundation for Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and interim vice
president for institutional advancement. In his current position he is the chief policy and
oversight officer for development within the State System. Agnew is a member of the Council
for the Advancement and Support of Education, the National Society of Fundraising Executives,
and the Center for the Study of the Presidency.
KARL BOYES, class of 1959, received his award in the category of public service.
Boyes taught at McDowell High School for six years before entering government as a Millcreek
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EDINBORO RECOGNIZES DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI, Continued
Page 2
Township supervisor. He was soon recognized as “Young Man of the Year” by the Erie Jaycees
and received an outstanding citizenship award from the Boy Scouts. After four years in
Millcreek, Boyes went to Harrisburg as a deputy director of the Governor’s Justice
Commission. He returned to Erie as a county commissioner and in 1981 was elected to the
Pennsylvania General Assembly serving the third legislative district. Since that time he has been
the prime sponsor of numerous legislative proposals and has served on many committees. He
currently is the majority chairman of the house finance committee.
DAVE) MIKOLAJCZYK, a 1964 graduate of Edinboro, received his award in the
business and industry category. Although his career began as a teacher in the Wattsburg School
District, within three years he was an industrial engineer for Westinghouse. He moved rapidly
through a series of progressively more responsible positions for such companies as Welch
Foods, Stouffer Hotels and Resorts, and Nestle. He earned an MBA degree from Northwestern
University and in October of 1987 became chairman of the Nestle North American Purchasing
Council. He left Nestle to form and serve as president and CEO of Hadd Holdings, Inc., which
later purchased Ohio Pure Foods. Three years later the company merged with another company
to become Country Pure Foods, Inc. Mikolajczyk served as its vice chairman and CEO for
nearly two years. Since January of this year, he has served as vice chairman, committee
chairman, and board member for the company. As an active member of the community,
Mikolajczyk has been a volunteer board member for Parmadale, a residential treatment center
for children in Cleveland.
JUDGE RICHARD PAYNE, the distinguished alumni recipient in natural or social
sciences, graduated from Edinboro in 1966 and obtained his law degree from Florida State
University in 1971. He served in private practice in Florida for nine years, was a criminal court
prosecutor and an assistant county attorney. He has been a trial judge since 1980 - serving first
as a Monroe County judge for nine years before being elected to a six-year term as circuit court
judge. In 1995 his fellow judges elected him to the position of chief circuit judge, which carries
the duties of overseeing the administration of all court matters in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit.
PATRICIA (KNEZEVICH) SENNETT, class of 1956, is one of two recipients in the art
education category. After retiring in 1996 with 35 years of teaching art at all levels from
elementary through college, Sennett is once again teaching at SUNY-Potsdam, and also at the
local museum this summer. Early in her career she was instrumental in vitalizing the Northern
Zone Art Teachers Association. Throughout her career she has been a parent and a homemaker
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EDINBORO RECOGNIZES DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI, Continued
Page 3
while continuing to produce her own work and exhibiting extensively in local, regional, and
national forums. She and her husband. Art, also a 1956 Edinboro graduate, have had two of
their children go on to earn doctorates, and another become an attorney.
RICHARD SIEGEL, class of 1957, is the other recipient in the art education category.
He earned a master’s degree from Penn State, and both a master’s and doctorate from Columbia
University Teachers College. During his distinguished career he has filled the varied roles of
artist, teacher, administrator, supervisor, and leader - roles he continues to serve today. In
everything he has done there has been a common thread - to promote and advance art
education. Over the years he has shared two beliefs with his students: “Learning never ends,”
and “To teach, one must never cease to learn.”
BILL WALDMAN, a 1986 graduate of Edinboro, received the alumni award in the fine
arts category. Since graduating from Edinboro, the Williamsport native has moved quickly
through the animation ranks. While working for the Don Bluth studio he was a key animator for
Thumbelina and A Troll in Central Park. At Warner Bros, he worked on many projects,
including the animation of the Warner Bros, logo and Carrotblanca. In his current job at Disney
he was the key animator on the John Smith character in Pocahontas, the Esmeralda character in
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and most recently, the Hercules character in Hercules. As a
student at Edinboro, Waldman helped to found the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and design two
homecoming floats - Aice in Wonderland, and The Wonderful World of Disney, which won
first prize for his fraternity. He resides in California, but returns to campus often to lecture and
screen his films.
Ambassador UMARU WURIE received a special recognition award for his work to his
native country of Sierra Leone. After graduating from Edinboro in 1976 with a degree in
geology, Umaru earned a diploma in mining exploitation at the International Institute for Aerial
Survey and Earth Sciences, located in the Netherlands. He also studied in Wisconsin, Kenya,
and in England at the University of Bradford and the University of Manchester. He worked for
16 years as a government geologist before joining the Sierra Leone diplomatic service and
being appointed High Commissioner to Nigeria and Ghana. Since then he has been accredited
as ambassador to Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of Benin, Togo and Zaire. He was
later appointed ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and high commissioner to India and Pakistan. Most
recently he has been appointed the new ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, as
well as Austria, Italy and Switzerland. He and his family now reside in Germany.
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July 21, 1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NEW PARTNERSfflP PROMOTES LEGAL EDUCATION FOR STATE SYSTEM
STUDENTS AT WIDENER UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW AT HARRISBURG
Students at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and 13 other universities in the State
System of Higher Education will have a head start on legal careers thanks to a new partnership
program between the State System and Widener University.
Representatives of the State System and Widener University recently signed an
innovative partnership agreement which provides special admission opportunities and
scholarships for State System students who want to attend the Harrisburg Campus of the
Widener University School of Law.
The new agreement assures admission to Widener University School of Law for
qualified graduates of State System universities. It allows exceptional State System smdents to
earn their bachelor’s and law degrees in six years, rather than seven. Additionally, eligible
students will receive approximately $300,000 in renewable scholarships to assist with tuition
costs.
“This partnership is an excellent example of collaboration between a private university
and a public university system,” said F. Eugene Dixon, Jr., chairman of the State System’s
Board of Governors, who also serves as chairman of the Widener University Board of Trustees.
“Some of the System’s best and brightest scholars now have the exciting opportunity of earning
a fine legal education to complement their strong undergraduate training.”
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STATE SYSTEM, WIDENER UNIVERSITY PARTNERSfflP, Continued
Page 2
Through the Express Admission Program, System graduates who have earned a
bachelor’s degree from a System university will be assured admission to the Widener University
School of Law-Harrisburg Campus if they meet the appropriate requirements.
State System students will be able to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a Juris Doctor
degree in six years, rather than the usual seven years, through the 3 + 3 Early Admission
Program. Students admitted to the early enrollment program must meet the same criteria as the
Express Admission enrollees and also are required to complete a pre-law sununer program at
the Widener University School of Law.
Students admitted to either program are eligible for the renewable scholarships. Titled
“Dixon Scholars” in recognition of the contributions made to Pennsylvania higher education by
Mr. Dixon, these scholarships will offset 30 percent of the annual tuition fee for selected
students. Up to 56 Dixon Scholars may be selected each year. Dixon Scholars may retain their
scholarship each year, so long as they maintain a B-cumulative grade point average.
“This partnership between the private and public sectors of higher education steps
beyond historical precedent in Pennsylvania,” said Widener University President Robert J.
Bruce. “It is an initiative for the future, and for the common good not only of the two partners
and of the students who will benefit directly, but for the citizens of the Commonwealth. We
look forward to welcoming the State System’s students to the Harrisburg Campus of the
Widener University School of Law, and to graduating those students into positions of civic
leadership in the years to come.”
State System Chancellor James H. McCormick said, “This partnership is tangible
evidence of the System’s commitment to increase access through collaboration, rather than
expansion. With this joint endeavor. System students are better served with greater opportunities
for advancement.”
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July 25,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE;
NEWS ADVISORY
Travel buffs who want up-to-date reports from Scotland will be able to find out
the latest this summer on the World Wide Web page of Edinboro University of
Pennsylvania. Music professor Tim Cordell will be leading a group of 22 Edinboro area
residents on a two-week trip to the British Isles starting this Saturday, July 26.
Cordell will make daily postings to Edinboro’s Web page at:
www.edinboro.edu/CWIS/music/ssa-Scotland.html He will report on Scottish castles,
museums, cuisine, music, entertainment, and of course, the University of Edinburgh. By
using the Internet, Cordell said family, friends and armchair travelers back home will be
able to follow the group’s adventures in Edinboro’s namesake.
The trip is part of Edinboro’s Summer Study Abroad Program in Scotland and
Ireland. The group will spend 10 days in Edinburgh and three in Dublin.
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EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 7il-27^S or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 28, 1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE;
DR. THOMAS HARTIG NAMED EDINBORO ADVANCEMENT VP
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania President Dr. Frank G. Pogue has announced the
appointment of Thomas H. Hartig, Ph.D., to the post of vice president for institutional
advancement and public relations at the University. His appointment, which will become
effective on August 16, 1997, comes at the conclusion of a national search that began nearly a
year ago.
‘Tom Hartig brings to Edinboro University’s advancement enterprise more than two
decades of experience in the fund-raising discipline, and his expertise touches each of the
important areas of major and planned gifts, capital campaigns, grants writing, public and alumni
relations, annual funds, corporate and foundation giving, and donor stewardship,” Pogue said,
“and he combines these talents with an impressive academic and administrative background in
both the public and private sectors. One of the priorities I established upon becoming
Edinboro’s president last year was to establish a collaborative administrative team of individuals
who appreciate and are sensitive to my goal of creating a student-centered, citizen-friendly
environment. Tom is the newest member of that team and we welcome him and his family to
the Edinboro University Family,” said Pogue.
Hartig is the former vice president for institutional advancement at Albany Law School
(Union University) in Albany, N.Y., where he managed an institutional advancement division
operating comprehensive programs in fund raising, public relations, alumni affairs,
governmental relations and donor stewardship. During his five years there, he increased private
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A member of the State System of Higher Education
HARTIG named advancement VP, Continued
Page 2
gift support by 74 percent and raised the funding to establish the first endowed professorship in
that school’s 148-year history.
Prior to Albany Law School, Hartig served as senior development director at Kent State
University, as director of development at Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., as associate
director of development for the Iowa State University Foundation, and as both director of
grants, sponsored programs and advancement services, and director of corporate and foundation
support at Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa.
Hartig began his professional career in 1975 as editor of Ohio History, a scholarly
journal of midwestem history, and later became the curator of history for the state of Ohio at
The Ohio Historical Society in Columbus. In 1979, he became executive director of the
Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation in Staunton, Va., a presidential birthplace museum
accredited by the American Association of Museums, and in 1981, moved to Iowa City where
he served as executive director of the Iowa Humanities Board, an independent grant-making
organization affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Hartig earned his baccalaureate degree at Alma College, Alma, Mich. He holds a
doctorate from The Ohio State University - his major field of smdy was the history of
American foreign policy - and attended the Universite de Paris, La Sorbonne.^
His wife of 24 years, Jeannie, is a native of Pittsburgh and a graduate of Allegheny
College. She has an M.B.A. from The Ohio State University and is currently assistant vice
president and director of communication at The Sage Colleges in upstate New York.
“I have enjoyed a great deal of professional satisfaction and success in building and
creating for institutions an internal and external community culture that is conducive to fund
raising and I look forward to working with President Pogue and the Edinboro University Family
in accomplishing our advancement goals,” said Hartig.
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EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENN S Y L V A N I A
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 30,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EDINBORO’S SHAWN AHEARN IN LEADERSHIP ROLE
AT SPORTS INFORMATION NATIONAL CONVENTION
Shawn Aheam, the coordinator of sports information and promotions at Edinboro University
of Pennsylvania, played a leadership role at the national meeting of the College Sports Information
Directors of America (CoSIDA) held recently in New Orleans.
Aheam, who has been at Edinboro since 1995, coordinated the general session for Division
n schools, served as a panelist for the session, and led the discussion on Division II All-American
teams. He said the general session covered many critical issues that affect only D-II SIDs, notably
the need to have its own officers.
One of the most informative parts of the CoSIDA convention is a series of informal “table
talks” where each table chooses a topic of interest to discuss with other directors. Aheam co-hosted
a discussion on working with external constituents. “We stressed the need to educate the public
about the importance of college athletics as a way to involve the community in the university. It’s a
way of building a stronger relationship with the community.”
Aheam said athletics is like the front porch of a house - it’s not the most important part of
the house, but it’s often the part the public sees first.
Next year’s CoSIDA annual meeting will take place in Spokane, Washington, and Aheam
has been appointed to its program coimnittee to develop topics for the 1998 event. Aheam expects
that meeting will see for the first time the election of a slate of officers exclusively for D-II to deal
with such issues as corporate sponsorship of All-America teams, liaison with the NCAA and
coaches associations, and oversight of the division’s home page on the World Wide Web.
In a related development, CoSIDA judged an Edinboro football program as second best in
the nation in its division. The award was presented at the convention in New Orleans.
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A member of the State System of Higher Education
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Public Relations and Publications
Edinboro, PA 16444
(814) 732-2745 or 2929
Fax (814) 732-2621
July 31,1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
ARTISTIC CAREER INSPIRED BY FAMILY AND TRAVEL
When Erie Daily Tunes managing editor Tony Pasquale wanted a courtroom artist to add
to his paper’s coverage of the highly-charged murder trial of Jennifer Lynn Shaffer, he turned to
one of northwestern Pennsylvania’s most experienced artists - Susan Joyce Weimer.
Because the Shaffer trial was likely to be Erie’s most emotional in years - Shaffer was
subsequently convicted in the brutal death of her 3-month-old son - Pasquale wanted to add a
visual element to his paper’s trial coverage in a state that does not permit courtroom cameras.
Weimer had just completed an assignment as a courtroom artist for the Reading Eagle on a case
that was tried in Erie.
“It added a nice dimension,” said Pasquale. “We were glad to have it.”
Weimer has been an art professor at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania since 1969.
Her artistic roots go back at least to her paternal grandfather Charles X. Harris, an artist who
traveled extensively through Europe and later married his costume model.
“I was raised an artist, period,” Weimer said emphatically. “I didn’t know my father but
he was an artist. My parents met at the National Academy of Art in New York City. I just knew
I wanted to paint. Both my grandfathers and father are now listed in Who’s Who in Art -1 have
always wanted to paint.”
Other early influences while growing up in New York were her mother’s best friend who
was an illustrator for Collier’s magazine, and a well-known illustrator for the Saturday Evening
Post.
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A member of the State System of Higher Education
ARTISTIC CAREER INSPIRED BY FAMILY AND TRAVEL, Continued
Page 2
She learned about cruelty and death as an aerial gunnery instructor in the U. S. Navy
Airforce. After serving in the Navy, Weimer’s formal artistic training began at the College of
Wooster in Ohio. She completed her BFA degree in painting from Ohio University where she
graduated summa cum laude. She continued her education over a number of years at the
Cleveland Institute of Art where she studied painting, drawing, printmaking and design. She has
earned a master’s degree from Case Western University and the Cleveland Institute of Art.
Weimer was awarded a graduate teaching fellowship to study painting and printmaking at Kent
State University. During that time she was an art director at Karamu House in Cleveland.
From the earliest times of her career, Weimer has been inspired by artists such as
Toulousse LaTrec, Rembrandt and Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch. She has studied the
works of Munch, Cezanne and Robert Rauschenberg. Her philosophy of art is deeply rooted in
humanism.
‘There are few artists who truly do expressive work with a humanistic bent in the
contemporary conceptual art milieu,” said Weimer.
Much of her work has focused on the complexities of modem women. In the past ten
years she has produced several series of artworks based on women including “Women Under
Stress,” “Women Against Themselves,” “Women at Work,” and “Womeft in Anger.” She won the
juror’s award for “Women Against Herself No. 1” at the 1990 Spring Art Show at the Erie Art
Museum from Judith Stein, curator for the Museum of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
The inspiration for the series came from a graduate student of Weimer’s who also posed
for her. When Weimer learned that this young woman was experiencing stress in her life,
Weimer wanted to find out more about this phenomena among other women. Taking the advice
of friends who were doctors in the facility, Weimer went to the Clements Center, a medical care
facility in inner-city Cleveland, where she drew women from the neighborhoods, by choice,
mostly women and children. That led to the “Women at Work” series - an exhibition of
photographs and paintings of women in working situations also exhibited at the AfricanAmerican Art Museum in Cleveland.
It was critic Tony Bannon from the University of Buffalo, Charles Burchfield Center
who said to Weimer, “You should do anger.” From that came “Women in Anger.”
Her works have won numerous national awards and have been featured in several oneperson shows across the United States. Twice she has won honorable mention at the
Chautauqua National Painting Exhibition, and she won the juror’s award at the prestigious Hoyt
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ARTISTIC CAREER INSPIRED BY FAMILY AND TRAVEL, Continued
Page 3
Institute of Art in New Castle. Her juried exhibitions have included the National Watercolor
Competition in San Diego, the Pensacola National Portrait Exhibition, and the Butler National
Painting Exhibition. Her solo exhibitions have been shown in Santa Fe and in England, as well
as locally and regionally.
What sets her apart from other artists is her extensive travels - a practice she inherited
from her family, the men and the women. Weimer went to Norway to study Edvard Munch,
visiting his house in Bergen and viewing his murals in Oslo. She has been to Paris to study the
great French painter Cezanne. Weimer and fellow Edinboro art professor George Pitluga
escorted Edinboro students on numerous trips to Europe visiting Amsterdam, Munich, Vienna,
Florence, Rome and Venice and recently in London, a Medieval Manuscripts Exhibition at the
Royal Academy of Art. She has painted and photographed in the countries of Bahrain and
Niger. She studied in Scotland on the Island of Mull, and at the Vermont Studio Center. During
one trip to Africa she filled a sketchbook with drawings, painted 40 watercolors, took about 200
slides, and made a movie.
Twice she has been awarded Fulbright Teacher Fellowships, and has received three
faculty research grants from Edinboro University to support her work in painting, drawing and
photogfhphy.
Equally important to Weimer’s life as an artist and her travels has been her career as an
educator. Her career began in Cleveland as a specialist artist in the public schools. She then
became art director at Cleveland’s Karamu House. She continued with her graduate smdies at
Kent State University as a teaching assistant and ultimately joined the faculty at Edinboro
University.
What does the future hold for Weimer? With retirement in the near fumre a possibility,
Weimer continues to teach at the University. Currently she is showing “New Images,” an
exhibition of paintings including “Courtroom Scenes” at the Hoyt Institute of Art. She is
considering renewing a gallery search in New York City, Santa Fe, and again, Paris and London
researching the significance of form and content in the humanistic vain.
Two sons and her daughter have carried her spirit through their own adventures. Dale,
her daughter, first served in the Peace Corps, in Niger, West Africa, then in Nigeria with
C.A.R.E., where she met her English husband. They currently live in Bahrain, where he is an
engineer with Balexco and she is in the conunercial section for the U. S. Embassy in Bahrain.
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ARTISTIC CAREER INSPIRED BY FAMILY AND TRAVEL, Continued
Page 4
Her son, Don, is institutional research director for Cardinal Stiitch University in
Mil^vaukee, Wisconsin. His wife, Christine, is a lawyer for the Social Security Agency.
Her youngest son, Christopher, is director of the Employee Assistance Program for
Denver, Colorado. His wife Connie is a specialist in teaching emotionally, mentally, and
physically handicapped children.
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Media of