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SCHOOL NOTES

Brian Swistock, senior extension associate in the School of Forest Resources, and William Sharpe, professor emeritus of forest hydrology, received the 2007 Education and Public Service Award from the Universities Council on Water Resources at the July 2007 national meeting in Boise, Idaho. They accepted the award on behalf of faculty, staff, and county educators delivering water resources extension education programs throughout Pennsylvania.

In September 2007 staff assistant Barbara Irwin was recognized for 25 years of service to Penn State.

Undergraduate student Amanda Horning, a senior in Wildlife and Fisheries Science, received a scholarship award from Shikar-Safari Club International, a private wildlife conservation group in September.

James Finley, professor of forest resources, received the 2007 Leadership Award at Penn State’s Cooperative Extension Annual Conference in October. This award honors an extension professional who has a strong history of outstanding leadership and contributions to Penn State Cooperative Extension and who has demonstrated the highest overall standards of performance.

Nicole Brown, assistant professor of wood products, was recently recognized for excellence in teaching. She was presented with the NACTA Teaching Award of Merit at our college’s Scholarships and Awards Banquet in October 2007. The college makes one award each year to a faculty member with less than five years of teaching experience at Penn State. The award is made available through the college’s institutional membership in NACTA—North American College and Teachers of Agriculture.

The Penn State SAF Student Chapter won third place in the SAF (Society of American Foresters) Outstanding Student Chapter Award competition for the 2006-2007 academic year. The award is based on many criteria including service to members, to the Society, to the forestry school, and to the community; involvement with other natural resource organizations; outside recognition; and chapter management. Seven chapters competed for the award.

The Penn State SAF Student Chapter won the student quiz bowl at the SAF National Convention in Portland, Oregon, in October. Team members were undergraduates Kim Linette, team captain and two-time national quiz bowl winner, Chris Layaou, SAF chapter president; and John Schwartzer; and graduate student Ben Gamble, past SAF and Xi Sigma Pi chapter president. Twenty-seven teams competed in the quiz bowl.

Ph.D. candidate Shibu Kar was invited this past fall to participate as a partner in the Poverty Environment Network, a part of the Center for International Forestry Research based in Bogor, Indonesia. As a partner, he is collaborating with graduate students in 26 countries around the work to develop similar data collection protocols. Kar is conducting a marketing analysis of natural products enterprises and is currently carrying out fieldwork in Bangladesh.

In November 2007, David DeWalle, professor emeritus of forest hydrology, and William Sharpe, professor emeritus of forest hydrology, received the 2007 ENRI Career Award. The Career Award recognizes College of Agricultural Sciences faculty, extension educators, and staff who have had a distinguished career in the environmental and natural resources field for a period of ten or more years.  ENRI, the Environment and Natural Resources Institute, is part of the College of Agricultural Sciences and the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment.

Penn State | College of Agricultural Sciences | School of Forest Resources