Posts tagged ‘Barack Obama’
Working for Auto Workers
Here’s a Penn Stater with a tough job.
Labor economist Edward Montgomery ’76 Bus was appointed last week to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, a cabinet-level group. His title: director of recovery for auto communities and workers. He’ll focus on helping displaced workers with issues such as finding extended health benefits and re-training for new jobs.
This is the second stint in government for Montgomery, dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland; his background is detailed here. He previously worked as a deputy labor secretary under Bill Clinton.
At a press conference last week after meeting with Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, Montgomery said, “My job is to cut the red tape.” You can find out specifics here.
Lori Shontz, senior editor
A Nittany Lion in the Senate
The newest United States Senator? Well, it’s not yet official, but J. Bonnie Newman is poised to replace Judd Gregg — President Obama’s choice for Commerce Secretary—as senator from New Hampshire. Newman’s got an awfully impressive resume, but for us, one entry stood out: She’s a Penn Stater.
Newman left Penn State in 1969 with a master’s in higher education administration, a degree she put to good use as a dean at both Harvard and the University of New Hampshire, and later as interim president at UNH. She knows her way around Washington, having worked in the first Bush administration. And she’s been a successful businesswoman. Sounds like folks in New Hampshire could do much, much worse.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
A Cool PSU Addition to the Inauguration
My computer tells me it’s currently 12 degrees and plummeting in State College — very much NOT ice cream weather, even for a Creamery fiend like me. But, if any event is big enough to justify an exception, the inauguration of a new president would seem to be it.
A spoonful of BaRocky Road. Mmmmm...
It’s not clear who actually came up with the idea, but Penn State is supplying 40 tubs (that’s 120 gallons) of ice cream for consumption at next week’s inaugural ball. The folks in Ag Sciences even came up with three new flavors: BaRocky Road (essentially Rocky Road with a whole bunch of extra gooey goodness mixed in), Obama White House (vanilla with cherries), and BidenBerry (vanilla with raspberry variegate).
Hopefully, this is one aspect of the inauguration that Penn Staters of all political stripes can be proud of. The only downside (for me, anyway): A call to the Berkey Creamery this afternoon confirms that these one-time-only batches will be enjoyed only by folks in D.C. next week. Don’t think I wouldn’t have walked across campus tomorrow in the single-digit weather for a scoop.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
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