The Penn Stater Magazine

The Penn Stater Daily — Oct. 18, 2013

October 18, 2013 at 1:41 pm Ryan Jones 1 comment

From news to features, your daily dose of everything Penn State.

A “legend” passes: Larry Foster ’48, a giant of the public relations industry and one of Penn State’s most prominent and dedicated alumni, died Thursday. He was 88. Foster’s great impact on the PR world came in the early 1980s, when he guided Johnson & Johnson’s response to the infamous and still-unsolved Tylenol poisoning of 1982. It remains a case study in the right way to handle a corporate PR crisis. His impact on his alma mater has been similarly profound. Along with his wife, Ellen Miller ’49, Foster was a generous and far-sighted donor to Penn State, and particularly to the College of Communications, where they endowed faculty positions and scholarships and supported renovations to the Carnegie Building. A three-term member of the Board of Trustees, Foster also served as president of the Alumni Association, and was instrumental in creating the Alumni Fellows program.

Courting success: The men’s basketball team held its preseason media day Thursday, and while third-year coach Patrick Chambers wouldn’t be specific about how many wins he’s aiming for, or whether this squad has NCAA tournament potential, he made one thing clear: He likes this team. “We’ve got great kids, and they like each other.” Chambers said Thursday. “I know this sounds funny, but saying they genuinely care about each other, you’re gonna win some games you’re not supposed to when you have that.” Talent matters too, of course, and Chambers is right to be excited about the backcourt pairing of Tim Frazier (more on him in our Nov./Dec. issue) and DJ Newbill, who carried the scoring load in Frazier’s absence last year. For quotes and video from media day, gopsusports.com has you covered.

Smells like a good idea: Chemical engineering professor Costas Maranas is among a group of researchers who received a $3.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation to understand how blue-green algae converts nitrogen into oxygen. The goal of the research is to figure out how to alter crops in a way that reduces dependence on nitrogen-based artificial fertilizers.

Weekend sports: The football team has another bye, but there’s still lots of great buzz around the Nittany Lions following last weekend’s unforgettable win over Michigan. Informed fans know the atmosphere at Saturday’s game seems to already be paying dividends with some top recruits; then there’s the array of mid-season award lists, on which the names of a number of Penn State players appear. Among them is Christian Hackenberg, the freshman QB who is the consensus choice for Big Ten freshman of the year and a contender for freshman All-American honors. My friend Jeff Rice ’03 of Lions 24/7 has a column today that puts Hackenberg’s early success into perspective.

Speaking of impressive newcomers: The women’s hockey team will suit up for its home opener tonight when it faces Union College at Pegula Ice Arena. And speaking of just plain impressive: The Nittany Lion wrestling team will enter the 2013–14 season ranked No. 1, with nine wrestlers ranked in individual weight classes. The three-time national champions will open their season next month.

Ryan Jones, senior editor

Entry filed under: Alumni Association, Board of Trustees, From the Magazine, The Penn Stater Magazine. Tags: Alumni Fellows, Carnegie Building, Christian Hackenberg, Costas Maranas, DJ Newbill, Foster Conference of Distinguished Writers, Jeff Rice, Larry Foster, Patrick Chambers, Tim Frazier.