Volume 30, No. 11
October 30, 1998
Scott A. Miller
Contact: Scott A. Miller 662-4844
NEWS
Gov. Ridge releases $6.6 million for MU infrastructure improvements
Mansfield University officials learned Tuesday that Gov. Tom Ridge has released $6.6 million for improvements to campus infrastructure to begin this spring.
Mansfield topped a list of four State System of Higher Education universities for whom Ridge freed funds on Tuesday. Next in line was Shippensburg ($5 million) followed by Lock Haven ($3.3 million) and Cheyney ($1 million).
"The release of this money allows us to redirect other deferred maintenance funds directly into buildings," MU President John R. Halstead said. "It also lays the groundwork for nearly $15 million in academic facilities improvements and renovation of Alumni Hall into a new student union -- important capital projects for the university in the next few years."
The $6.6 million will pay for electrical system improvements, boiler upgrades, steam line replacements and storm run-off improvements.
"Every building and person on campus will benefit from improvements brought by the release of these funds," said William Yost, vice president for administration and finance.
The work will begin in the spring. The majority of the construction will be performed during the summer 1999 and summer 2000 so work will have a minimal impact on the university's spring and fall semesters.
The state Department of General Services will oversee bidding and construction.
The funds are part of a 1994 allocation of $7.95 million to Mansfield for capital improvement projects. In 1995, Gov. Ridge released approximately $1.35 million for project design, which has been completed.
The university already had approximately $300,000 budgeted for deferred maintenance projects this year. "Thanks to the release of the $6.6 million, that $300,000 can now go directly into buildings," Yost said.
Some of the maintenance projects that will benefit or already have benefitted include refurbishing the floor of Decker Gymnasium, replacing lights in the main gym, rehabilitating the roof structure of Elliott Hall, repairing the university's track, and replacing the wooden exterior doors of Straughn Hall.
Specter garners $500,000 federal appropriation for tech center
Teachers, students, business and industry moved a step closer to improved technology training in the region when MU learned $500,000 was appropriated to its proposed information technology center.
The money was included in the $520 billion omnibus federal budget bill made official on Wednesday. The university has been working with U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter and Specter's Northern Tier Director Tom Bowman since January to secure the funds that will aid in renovating Memorial Hall, which currently houses the university's student activities offices. In his Aug. 14 visit to Wellsboro, Specter gave his public support for the technology center initiative.
"We're extremely pleased that Sen. Specter was instrumental in our receiving this funding. This is a significant first step toward providing a valuable new resource for our region," President John R. Halstead said. "When I met privately with Sen. Specter in August he acknowledged the need for technology training opportunities in the Northern Tier. His stewardship of the request for funds has given us a solid foundation to build toward that goal."
Leslie Folmer, vice president for development, initiated talks with Bowman about including the appropriation in the current budget. Bowman took the initiative to Specter, who chairs the Senate Appropriation Committee's subcommittee on labor, health and human services and education. Specter included a request "to provide $2 million to conduct a demonstration project that provides students and community members with the opportunity to enhance learning through state-of-the-art information technology systems."
Recent budget negotiations pared the appropriation down to $500,000, but Folmer says the university will work to have the project included in future federal budgets.
"This is a $3 million project that will use public, private and university funding sources," Folmer said. "The $500,000 will help directly with actual renovations to the building."
Memorial Hall will become vacant when the university's student activities and student union operations move to a newly renovated Alumni Hall in the fall of 1999. The university has proposed expanding the advanced information technology capabilities of North Hall Library into Memorial Hall so regional employers, employees, residents and K-12 teachers and students can learn new software applications, network with colleagues around the globe, and have access to new learning technologies before making their own purchase decisions.
The Memorial Hall Information Technology Center will comprise three high-technology instructional labs including comprehensive, networked computer workstations, overhead projections systems, video and audio links to other sites throughout the state and the world, and other useful, technical equipment like scanners and plotters.
"This information technology center will enhance economic and educational productivity in our region," Halstead said. "This proposed new resource and outreach to the Northern Tier is part of our special mission."
It's no trick, Library's "PILOT" is a treat
North Hall Library will provide a special Halloween treat for library patrons when it unveils the all-new on-line catalog "PILOT" (Pennsylvania Inter-Library Online Technology) Friday, Oct. 30.
A sophisticated version of the library's current on-line catalog, MATLOC (Mansfield's Alternative to Lots of Cards), PILOT offers an upgraded Web interface, easier off-campus access, and eventually, interconnectivity with the other 13 universities in Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education, increasing student access to holdings from MU's approximately 250,000 to the more than 5 million statewide.
PILOT eventually will allow, with just a few keystrokes, direct borrowing of holdings from other libraries.
The library's current catalog, MATLOC, replaced the card catalog in 1990. Students can expect to see both MATLOC and PILOT available for a while, library officials say.
To trumpet the arrival of PILOT, the library has planned a special event for Friday, Oct. 30, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. North Hall patrons will be greeted by a costumed individual who will present them with a candy treat and a brochure explaining how to use PILOT. One of the most famous pilots in history, the Red Barron (a.k.a. Larry Nesbit) will present students with a ticket that will gain them entry to a PILOT demonstration. Students who attend the demonstration may then enter their tickets into a drawing for a $25 gift certificate to the bookstore to be given away at the end of the day.
PILOT is made possible through the efforts of the Keystone Library Network (KLN) -- a virtual library system that provides access to library holdings, databases, and electronic resources among the 14 State System libraries. Other services provided by KLN include SearchBank, Electronic Resources Locator, and Virtual Information Desk. SearchBank provides three journal indexes with full text to over 1000 journals. ERL, Electronic Resources Locator, allows libraries to share online periodical indexes and students to have remote access. By working together, the system has saved over $1 million on the price of indexes. The savings have meant new indexes can be added, meaning MU students now have access to dozens of indexes including Art Abstracts, Sociofile, BIOSIS, Mental Measurements Yearbook, AP PhotoArchive, and GeoRef.
The Virtual Information Desk is located at Mansfield. State System students can call or e-mail the VID after their library has closed for the evening. VID hours are Sunday-Thursday 9 p.m.-1 a.m. and Friday 4-8 p.m. You can all the VID at 4699 on campus or toll free at 1-888-761-9401, or visit the web page at http://vid.sshe.edu to e-mail questions.
Have an Updater announcement? Send it to Scott A. Miller
Brianne Liddick finished 37th out of 237 runners to lead the women's cross-country team to a 12th place finish at the Gettysburg Invitational Saturday. Thirty-two teams competed in the event. On the men's side, Hornell grad Todd Stewart, who has not had a finish below fifth place all season, was forced to withdraw because of an injury after leading in the early stages of the race. Gary Keirn was the top MU finisher. The Mountaineers next compete in the PSAC Championship at Clarion University.
The field hockey team dropped a 3-1 decision to PSAC foe Millersville on Saturday during homecoming festivities at Millersville. Forward Kristen Dunton scored the lone goal for the Mountaineers in the second half after Millersville had jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first half. Mansfield goaltender Jen Manton made seven saves in the losing effort.
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