The former Office of Public Safety and University Police has officially changed its name to the California University Police Department.

“The name change is designed to clarify our role and eliminate any possible confusion,” said police Chief Robert Downey. “If somebody wants to report a crime, or needs police assistance, we want them to know exactly who to call.”

As the primary law enforcement agency for the University, the Cal U Police Department offers 24-hour protection every day of the year.

In addition to Downey, the department includes 18 fully certified, professional police officers and five additional security staff, including dispatchers and parking enforcement officers.

The department is housed in the Pollack Building, near the Hamer railroad crossing.

Cal U police officers patrol both the main campus and the south campus — Vulcan Village, Roadman Park and SAI Farm. The department also cooperates with California Borough Police and other law enforcement agencies as needed.

“Although our name has changed, we remain committed to providing the safest and most secure campus environment for every member of the Cal U community,” Downey said. “This is the primary focus of our mission to serve the Cal U campus community.”

Read safety tips from the Cal U Police Department.

Read Cal U’s public safety policies.

To reach the Cal U Police Department, call 724-938-4299; or dial H-E-L-P or *1 from any on-campus phone.

Statement on Gov. Corbett’s 2012-13 proposed budget
Proposed spending plan would reduce funding to PASSHE universities by 20 percent

Harrisburg – The following is a joint statement from Guido Pichini, chair of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors, and PASSHE Chancellor John C. Cavanaugh in response to Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed 2012-13 state budget:
 
“The number one priority of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the success of our students. We agree with Governor Corbett that the needs of our students come first.

“We also agree with the governor that every family in Pennsylvania should be able to afford higher education. That is why we have been very vigilant, not only in keeping our tuition the lowest in the Commonwealth, but also in maintaining the cost of attendance below the average in the mid-Atlantic region.  

“We fully recognize the financial challenges facing the Commonwealth. Governor Corbett was right in saying that education is a key to the state’s financial recovery. That is especially true of our graduates, over 80 percent of whom stay in Pennsylvania for their careers and as community and civic leaders. However, our joint goals are at risk as a result of the budget blueprint for the Commonwealth presented today, which provides only $2 million more than the system received 24 years ago in 1988-89. During that period we have added 23,000 students.   

“The proposed budget represents the latest in a cascade of reductions to the State System in the past 18 months.  If this proposal stands, we will have lost more than $170 million in state and federal education and general funding, compounded by a 50 percent reduction in our capital allocation and the loss of Key ‘93 funding dedicated to deferred maintenance.  Taken together, these reductions now mean that we must increasingly decide whether to renovate and maintain our existing physical plant or provide students the courses and programs they require to graduate.

“We do our part. We have reduced our operating costs by more than $230 million during the past decade and will continue to seek additional efficiencies through collaboration.  Since 2010, we have over 900 current vacancies and/or eliminated positions throughout the System. We continue to review our academic offerings; we have eliminated or put into moratorium hundreds of programs.

“We respond to the Commonwealth’s needs. Our new programs have focused on meeting the needs of the shale industry, filling workforce training gaps in the Northern Tier of the Commonwealth, and responding to the growing need for well-prepared allied health professionals, especially nurses and physician assistants. It will be challenging to continue to devote funds to these efforts without stable funding.

“We will continue to look for ways to reduce our costs. Through the cooperation of two of our unions, AFSCME and SPFPA, we have achieved cost savings in our new agreements through the adoption of more flexible work rules and health and benefit savings.  We hope to achieve similar cost savings in our ongoing negotiations with our faculty and coaches union, APSCUF, and our SCUPA employees. We need flexibility in what, where, and how we deliver programs and services. It is important to recognize that about 75 percent of our operating budget is personnel costs.

“We appreciate the support of and look forward to working with the General Assembly and the governor during the upcoming budget process. Our budget hearings will provide the opportunity to discuss the successes we have had in cost control and reduction, as well as the impact of the proposed cuts.

“We are also very pleased to participate in the Governor’s Higher Education Advisory Panel. The need for a true comprehensive strategic plan for higher education in the Commonwealth is great. We look forward to that conversation, and to charting PASSHE’s future.”

— 

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with nearly 120,000 students. The 14 PASSHE universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study.  About 500,000 PASSHE alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.
 
The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. PASSHE also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Freeport, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg.

Cal U again will participate in one of the American Cancer Society’s oldest and most beloved fundraising programs, Daffodil Days.

As the first flower of spring, the daffodil represents hope and renewal. To the American Cancer Society, the daffodil symbolizes the hope for a rapid cure.

Last year, Washington County raised $108,000 through the Daffodil Days campaign. This year’s goal is $112,500.

American Cancer Society supporters can order a bunch of 10 cut daffodils for $10; a pot of mini-daffodils for $12; a vase with daffodils for $15; or the “Shar N. Hope” collectible Boyd’s Bear with daffodils for $25. Daffodil yellow or chocolate lollipops are available for $1 each.

In addition, donors can make anonymous gifts through two initiatives: for $25, Project Care will send a bear with daffodils to a child; or for $10, Gift of Hope will send a bunch of daffodils to a treatment facility. The American Cancer Society also accepts general contributions to support its mission.

Order forms were distributed on campus Feb. 8. Additional copies are available at University Printing Services in Azorsky Hall, Room 103.

Checks should be made payable to the American Cancer Society. Orders are due by Feb. 24; send them to campus coordinator Julie Kingsley, of Printing Services, at Box 111.

Flowers will be ready for pickup after noon on March 21 in the Azorsky Hall lunchroom, or you can ask to have them delivered to an office.

On March 22, the student group STAND (Students Taking a New Direction) will be selling individual daffodils during the common hour at the Natali Student Center. STAND also will help to deliver flowers on March 21.

An Employee Dress Down Day will take place on March 23 for faculty and staff members who make a $5 donation to Daffodil Days.

In the past 14 years, Daffodil Days has raised more than $240 million in gross revenue to support the work of the American Cancer Society.

For more information, e-mail kinglsey@calu.edu or call 724-938-5518.

When the spring semester begins next week, California University of Pennsylvania students will return to a fully “wireless” campus.

Cal U, in collaboration with AT&T, has completed a six-month project that provides high-speed Wi-Fi throughout its campus community. 

Students, faculty, staff and Cal U visitors with Wi-Fi enabled devices will have easy access to the Wi-Fi network throughout the University’s main and south campuses in California, Pa. Service also is available at Cal U’s Southpointe Center in Canonsburg, Pa.

The $2.1 million project added more than 900 Wi-Fi access points to Cal U’s previous wireless network, giving users increased capacity, broader coverage and faster service both indoors and outdoors.

Wireless is available in all Cal U academic buildings and residence halls, as well as in the Natali Student Union, Manderino Library, Convocation Center and all other facilities. Coverage extends to outdoor areas including the Quad, Roadman Park, Adamson football stadium, the Phillipsburg soccer complex and even the campus parking lots.

“The Wi-Fi project was driven by customer demand,” says Dr. Charles Mance, vice president for University Technology Services. Through a series of customer satisfaction surveys conducted by his office, students, faculty and staff expressed a need for enhanced connectivity.

The wireless network now has the capacity to serve Cal U’s 9,500 students and more than 900 employees, along with hundreds of campus visitors.

“More robust Wi-Fi provides easier access to information, both inside and outside the classroom,” Mance says. “Already we are seeing an increase in usage, with our client count rising from month to month. And our research tells us that the demand for wireless access will continue to rise.”

Members of the campus community will continue to use their Cal U username and password to gain easy access to broadband via the CalNet network. Visitors can join the “attwifi” network with a guest account.

University Technology Services will supply ongoing management and support for any troubleshooting and access assistance to the wireless networks on campus.

Prospective students and their families, vendors, Vulcan sports fans and University Conference Services clients are among those expected to utilize the guest network.

“Through the Cal U Fusion initiative, our University is emerging as a leader in the use of technology for teaching and learning,” said Cal U President Angelo Armenti, Jr. “Accessible Wi-Fi is an essential element of this effort to prepare our students to live and work in the digital age.”

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To alleviate the unpleasant and unsanitary conditions created by large flocks of roosting crows, Cal U is taking humane measures to move the birds from its campus.

The crow dispersal program mirrors efforts that were successful in relocating the birds last winter.

It has been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is being carried out by trained and licensed pest removal technicians.

The technicians are using bright lights and a natural, plant-based “fog” to disperse the flocks. They plan to employ these measures nightly for seven to 12 days, beginning at dusk and continuing for two or three hours as needed. 

Specific campus locations for the activities will be based on the birds’ roosting patterns.

The laser lights and natural grape-extract mist are not harmful to humans or other animals.

The anti-roosting measures do not harm the crows; they simply change their roosting habits and encourage them to relocate.

The crows have created a sanitation problem on campus since they arrived in large numbers earlier this month. Cal U experienced a similar situation last year, and University officials anticipated the crows’ return. 

Last year the birds arrived somewhat later in the season, and the relocation effort began in late December.

This year, the measures began while the University was closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. 

The USDA-approved crow dispersal program is used annually on the grounds of the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg. For answers to frequently asked questions, visit www.dgs.state.pa.us and click on “Property and Asset Management” in the lefthand column, then search for “Crow Dispersal Program.”

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Cal U’s most recent TV spot, a 30-second advertisement called “Built,” has won a 2012 Pixie Award from the American Pixel Academy for outstanding creativity in motion graphics, effects and animation.

“Built” is the second advertising spot created for Cal U by Little Fluffy Clouds, an award-winning animation studio in San Francisco. 

Like “Journey,” the first ad in the series, “Built” resembles a watercolor painting. It shows an architectural drawing coming to life as a student bicycles across the campus to the new Convocation Center.

Jan van de Beek and Betsy DeFries, a husband-and-wife-team from Little Fluffy Clouds, spent several days at Cal U so they could accurately render the campus on film.

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Cal U men’s and women’s hockey, plenty of on-ice entertainment and an open skate on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ home ice will be highlights of a student-focused Hockey Night in Pittsburgh on Dec. 6 at CONSOL Energy Center.

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Cal U will mark Veterans Day on Nov. 11 by participating in the Remembrance Day National Roll Call.

The names of the more than 6,200 military members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 10 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will be read outside the Natali Student Center and at schools nationwide starting at 8 a.m.

At 2 p.m., Cal U will join with these schools for a minute of silence to honor the fallen service members.

The Roll Call is expected conclude at approximately 4 p.m.

Names will be read in chronological order.

The Remembrance Day National Roll Call is sponsored nationally by the Veterans Knowledge Community of NASPA Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. NASPA is a 12,000-member association for the advancement, health and sustainability of student affairs professionals.

At Cal U, the event is being organized by the Veterans Club.

The University is inviting the relatives and friends of fallen service members to participate in the Roll Call by reading the name of their loved one.

“We want to rally our campus and local communities to send a powerful message to the troops currently serving that we have not forgotten their service and sacrifice, and we certainly have not forgotten the fallen,” said Robert Prah, a captain in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and director of Veterans Affairs at Cal U.

“The reading of each individual name is extremely powerful because it emphasizes the significance of each and every life lost in the last 10 years.”

The fall’s second presentation by the Department of Theatre and Dance showcases the talents of Cal U’s newest crop of aspiring actors and technicians.

First-year students will appear onstage and work behind the scenes to present “Saving the Greeks, One Tragedy at a Time,” a comedy by Jason Pizzarello.

Curtain time is 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3 and Friday, Nov. 4, and  2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5. All performances are in the Gerald and Carolyn Blaney Theatre in Steele Hall.

“Saving the Greeks” is a breezy comedy full of laugh-out-loud merriment that pays homage to the melodramatic absurdity that is Greek tragedy.

The audience follows the story of Dialysis and his downtrodden slave, Peon, as they try to right all the wrongs done to the pitiful citizens of Athens.

Their efforts lead them to create Betterland, a city where formerly doomed tragedians can start their lives over again, free from the misfortunes of their previous existence. Traveling from tragedy to tragedy, Dialysis and Peon gather inhabitants for their new utopia.

With a script filled with droll witticisms, amusing one-liners and groaning wordplay, this comedy is suitable for all ages. It turns the Greek tragedy genre on its ear, gleefully exploiting the farcical possibilities and mining its rich comedic potential

Cost is $12 for adults, seniors and children. Students with valid CalCards are admitted free; their $5 deposit will be returned when they attend the performance. 

For ticket information, or to order tickets (with a credit card) by phone, call the Steele Box Office at 724-938-5943.

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Both art and science will be on display when Cal U hosts “Reflections: Homage to Dunkard Creek” from Nov. 10 through Dec. 8 in the lobby of Frich Hall.

The collaborative exhibition by 90 regional artists recalls a massive fish kill in the Pennsylvania-West Virginia waterway in 2009.

Each of the artists painted one species of aquatic life killed in the Dunkard Creek incident, which has been blamed on pollution and the release of toxins from golden algae, a non-native organism.

The artists’ subjects were drawn from West Virginia Department of Natural Resources lists of fish, crayfish and mussel species killed, as well as insect populations that dropped significantly after the algae bloom.

Cal U is one of nine sites in the Monongahela watershed that will host the traveling exhibition, which is sponsored by the Mountain Institute Appalachia Program. 

Cal U’s Office of Academic Affairs will host an opening reception from 5-8 p.m. Nov. 10 in Frich Hall. It will begin with a gallery talk by Ann Payne, of Morgantown, a member of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and the artist who conceived and organized the project. 

Curator for the exhibition is Maggy Aston, assistant professor of art and design at Cal U and one of Payne’s former students.

A work by Jordan Wong, a student of Aston’s, is included in the exhibition. His piece depicts the johnny darter, Etheostoma nigrum, a bottom-feeding freshwater fish.

A resident of Greensboro, Pa., just a mile from Dunkard Creek, Aston has enhanced the exhibition by collaborating with Cal U’s departments of Art and Design, Biological and Environmental Sciences, and Music.

The paintings will be viewed in an aquarium-like environment that includes glass display cases holding biological specimens and a sound track of bird, frog and cricket calls. A large, collaborative mural depicts water, nature and industry in the Mon Valley, and a video loop of underwater scenes shows streambeds before and after fish kills.

Aston praised Dr. David Argent, chair of the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, for collecting the specimens, providing display space and assembling additional glass cases for the exhibition.

Cal U students also contributed. Jessica Barton assisted Argent with identifying and locating the specimens; Valerie Herrera helped to research, complete and install the collaborative murals; Caitlin Sowers assisted with exhibition and mural installation; Wong designed and distributed posters and invitations; and Christopher Campus created the digital soundtrack.

“This exhibition is meant to raise awareness of what happened at Dunkard Creek,” said Aston. “It features many nationally recognized artists who all have a concrete tie to the Monongahela watershed, into which Dunkard Creek flows.”

Aston teaches a biological illustration class with Dr. Mark Tebbett, of the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences. The course will be offered again this spring, and she believes the exhibition will attract students and demonstrate that biological illustration is a viable career.

“This continues the collaboration between departments,” Aston said. “The (illustration) course and exhibition point to the idea that you can combine science and art as a career path.

“And with its live reptiles and greenhouse, Frich Hall has so many interesting things to draw. My students love it.”

Argent, whose research interests include water quality, said he is delighted for his department to be part of the exhibition.

“We welcome the opportunity to display biologically related art in our building,” he said. “Given the tragedy of Dunkard Creek, I could not pass up the opportunity to offer a venue in which patrons could see firsthand what species were lost, what the immediate ecological impact was, and what the long-term recovery will be for this stream.”

The opening reception is free to the University community and the general public. Complimentary exhibit brochures will be distributed at the reception. “Reflections: Homage to Dunkard Creek” will be on view from 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays until Dec. 8 in the lobby of Frich Hall.  For more information, contact Aston at Aston@calu.edu or 724-938-4563.

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Dr. LaDonna Harris will help Cal U celebrate its second annual Native American Day on Nov. 2. Harris, founder and president of the advocacy group Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO), will lead a discussion on “The Power of Indigenous Female Leadership” at 7 p.m. Steele Hall Mainstage Theatre.

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Just in time for Homecoming weekend, the Vulcan Flyer is offering weekend shuttle service from 7 a.m Saturday to 1 a.m. Sunday with service resuming Sunday from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Weekend shuttles will follow the same route as weekday service and will arrive at stops every 15 minutes.

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