ROAD WARRIORS: A battalion run— complete with sung cadences—gives new and returning Penn State Army ROTC cadets at University Park the chance to build stamina and espirit de corps.
Everyday People: Allen Nunes
Mechanical engineering undergraduate Allen Nunes aims to revolutionize the aerospace industry. Read the full profile by Amy Strauss Downey '04 Lib.
Club Hopping
Star Wars Club
Founded: 2012
Current membership: 20
Mission: To create an environment for all students at Penn State to connect, have fun, and share their love of Star Wars.
The Star Wars Club meets twice per week, alternating between recreational activities—including bowling nights, Star Wars–themed Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune games, and scavenger hunts on Tuesdays—and detailed talks about the nine primary Star Wars movies and spinoff TV shows on Wednesdays. Some members are more interested in the comics and books based on the franchise, and that knowledge can help them during trivia nights, but even those with a basic knowledge of George Lucas’ world enjoy the discussions, club president Jacob Lahetta says, as well as the camaraderie. “It allows you to talk about things in a different way, because Star Wars is more than just a fictional universe—it’s a lens through which you can see the real world,” Lahetta says. And yes, there were some lightsaber duels on Old Main lawn in the early years of the club, but none recently, he says. “We don’t really do that anymore, but it might be revived someday.”
What's Up With That?
Q: How did the Arboretum come to be?
A: One of the university’s most beloved destinations was dedicated in 2010, but it was more than three decades in the making by that point. When Kim Steiner, the Arboretum’s founding director, came to Penn State in 1974, there was already a committee discussing what an arboretum might look like and where it might go; the committee’s recommendation was that the university acquire the Mitchell Tract, a 370-acre area adjacent to the north end of University Park. That acquisition, however, didn’t take place until 1989, and the land wasn’t specifically earmarked for an arboretum at the time. In 1999, as the university was approving its latest master plan, the board of trustees approved a plan for an arboretum proposed by another committee with a price tag of $40 million. University administrators told Steiner the project could move forward if development could land an initial $10 million investment, which proved difficult to obtain. “There was a lot of enthusiasm for the project,” Steiner says. “It was just a matter of doing things to keep that enthusiasm up to the level that a donor would come forward.” Steiner used numerous efforts to keep the potential arboretum in the news, including hosting a ceremony to plant the giant Hosler oak—the first official tree in the Arboretum, named for longtime Earth and Mineral Sciences dean Charles Hosler ’47, ’48 MS, ’51 PhD EMS—in 2005. About two years later, Charles “Skip” Smith ’48 Eng made a gift of $10 million that allowed the Arboretum to finally come to fruition. More than $40 million had been raised by the time Steiner retired in 2021, and that figure is over $60 million—including an additional $25 million from Smith—today. “To me, it was inspiring to see what private philanthropy can do for a university,” Steiner says.
Reminiscing
Who was your first college friend?
“It was 1983, and I was a transfer student to University Park. I was in the HUB asking for directions and the person behind the counter said, ‘Follow that girl. I just gave her the same directions.’ That girl was Jennifer Schlarp ’85 Lib. We ended up becoming Alpha Xi Delta sorority sisters. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding, and we still get together several times a year.”
Maureen (Secoda) Luce ’85 Bus
“I met my best friend, Mercedes A. Manieri ’79 Lib, on Dec. 1, 1975, at Penn State Berks. Both of us came to Penn State as strangers and left as best friends and remain that to this day without a single disagreement.”
Kevin Landon ’79 Lib
“The (in)famous David E. Wilson, figurehead of the Dave Wilson Fan Club at McKeesport, circa 1984. The fan club started as a bit of a joke but grew to over a hundred members and still gets together to this day.”
Ken Swanwick ’87 Eng
“Rob Marchalonis ’83 Eng and I were the last two to join the 1979 Blue Band. It was an instant friendship. I haven’t seen Rob since the late ’80s at the Farm Show. But I can still hear Dr. [Ned] Deihl on the megaphone: ‘Etter, Marchalonis, run it back, let’s boogie!’”
Emery Etter ’84 Agr
“As I was getting ready for my first term at Penn State Schuylkill, I volunteered to assist out-of-towners in learning the area. I picked up Matt Chrobocinski ’73 EMS in Cressona and also met Darrell Moresi ’75 Bus. Since those first days of Penn State life, the three of us have remained friends. We’ve seen each other’s families grow into adults, with many of those children attending Penn State.”
Steve Rogowski ’77 Eng
Then & Now
Penn State Nursing
Penn State’s nursing program began in the College of Health and Physical Education in 1964 and awarded its first degrees in 1968. In 1989, the Board of Trustees approved the creation of the School of Nursing, and in 2013, it was elevated to a college. Today, the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs to nearly 2,000 students annually, as well as online training and certification.
Common Wealth
Highlights from four Commonwealth campuses.
BEHREND
Melanie Ford, the director of K-12 Youth Education Outreach (YEO) at Penn State Behrend, was honored in March with a “Women Making History” Award from the Mercy Center for Women. Ford, who is also associate teaching professor of computer science and software engineering, said the recognition reflects the work of colleagues, teachers, parents, and volunteers who helped build a handful of classroom visits into a coordinated K-12 effort that has reached more than 30,000 students across the Erie region.
DUBOIS
The campus’s Practical Nursing Program has been approved as an eligible program for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs education benefits. This approval allows eligible veterans to use GI Bill funding to help cover the costs associated with the program. The new designation expands access to the program and provides an additional pathway for veterans interested in pursuing a career in healthcare. The 18-month certification program includes instruction provided by experienced professionals from a variety of nursing disciplines.
ALTOONA
English professor Erin Murphy has been named the 2026-27 Penn State Laureate. In April, Murphy received first place in the Pennsylvania Press Club’s 2026 annual communications contest for her latest book of poems, Human Resources. Published in 2025, the book is a collection of documentary poetry about labor and employment. A review of the work in Plume magazine writes that the book “engages with work performed in fields, in ramshackle warehouses, and on assembly lines, spoken in the voices of the workers themselves in many cases,” adding that the poems “are thoughtful, layered, and, for the right reasons, heartbreaking.”
HERSHEY
Penn State Health is now offering focused ultrasound, an advanced, incisionless treatment option for patients with essential tremor or tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease whose symptoms have not improved with medication. The treatment uses sound waves guided by MRI to precisely target a small area deep in the brain responsible for tremor. Because the procedure does not require surgical incisions or permanent implants, most patients experience a lower risk of infection and bleeding and can return home the same day. Focused ultrasound is offered through the Movement Disorders program, part of the Penn State Neuroscience Institute.
The Big 3
Jeffrey Field Sports Bubble
The sports bubble near Jeffrey Field opened last fall to give Nittany Lion teams an indoor space to practice during the winter. Here are some quick facts about the inflatable structure, which will be removed during the warmer months:
$9.8 MILLION
Cost of project
80 FEET HIGH
Uses continuously operating blowers to maintain the shape
116,230 SQUARE FEET
Area of artificial turf surface
