January 14, 2019
The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State was recently awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Military Suicide Research Consortium (MSRC) to enhance suicide prevention efforts in the U.S. Air Force. The two-year grant will enable the Clearinghouse to bolster the pilot implementation of the Zero Suicide Systems Approach (ZSSA) at five Air Force bases. ZSSA is an evidence-informed, framework designed to assist healthcare organizations implement, improve, and sustain system-wide suicide prevention efforts. Components of ZSSA include: universal screening for suicide risk, full suicide risk assessments for those who screen positive, providing a clear pathway to the most appropriate and least restrictive care, safety planning, and counseling on how to prevent access to lethal means such as firearms and medications. Within civilian settings, ZSSA has had promising results in reducing suicides in several large healthcare systems.
January 14, 2019
To help community leaders, municipal officials and others who work in the public and nonprofit sectors, Penn State Extension is offering a video series titled, "Community Conflict: Finding Middle Ground." The free series offers practical strategies to facilitate and build trust in a community. The short videos are designed to be watched individually or as a series. Each video focuses on an individual topic important in productive community conversations. It is important for community leaders to create a civil environment to explore the issues at the heart of polarizing conversations, whether those difficult discussions focus on community planning, resource development or other "hot button" topics, according to Walt Whitmer, senior extension educator with Penn State's Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education. He and other Penn State Extension educators are sensitive to the importance of effective engagement and earning the trust of stakeholders for optimal open conversation.
December 19, 2018
Faculty in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are spearheading an initiative that will provide selected doctoral students with the opportunity for extensive study on gender and its relationship to agricultural production.
December 13, 2018
"CED 309 students Alec Bottari, Catherine Martinez, and Sasha Pershanina won first place in the Poster Competition at the 2018 Fall Campus & Community Expo. Their poster was entitled "Preservation of Spring Creek Watershed Trails." In the poster, the students argue that by making hiking trails more widely known and accessible, people will visit them more often and develop an appreciation for the benefits they bring to communities and families by being a low-cost form of enjoyment. Some representative trails were mapped and analyzed. The poster and related GIS story map were part of the Engaged Scholarship component of CED 309 and will be published on the Spring Creek Watershed Atlas."
December 13, 2018
Stephan Goetz, professor of agricultural and regional economics in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, recently was appointed president-elect of the North American Regional Science Council (NARSC).
December 12, 2018
Juliet Lana Mejias, a Community, Environment, and Development Major (CED)/(INTED) student was selected to receive a $1,000 award from our College of Agricultural Sciences Alumni Society in recognition of her internship experience.
December 7, 2018
Preservice teacher candidates and current teachers from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan learned about agriculture and agricultural education in July as part of the AgEd2Malaysia Human Development Project, a collaborative effort among Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and the Global Agriculture Learning Center at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa.
December 4, 2018
To comply with nutrient-reduction goals in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Pennsylvania may want to consider the establishment of animal agriculture operations in the western part of the state, according to a team of Penn State researchers.
November 28, 2018
November ushers in the holiday season, a time for making lists and checking them twice. Cathy Bowen is preparing too, but the season she is planning for does not evoke visions of sugar plum fairies, eggnog by the fire, or sleigh rides. Quite the opposite, in fact. "Tax season is a time nearly everyone dreads," said the professor of agricultural and extension education and consumer issues in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. "But, it is especially worrisome for those who don't have the resources to seek professional guidance." To help those individuals and families, Bowen established Penn State's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, an Internal Revenue Service-sponsored initiative. Approaching its 15th year, the initiative, which is currently housed in the college's Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education at the University Park campus, provides free tax preparation and electronic filing services to income-eligible taxpayers, including Penn State students, staff and retirees.
November 28, 2018
Describing himself as a “Virginia Tech duck in a lion country pond,” William “Bill” Achor, vice president of York Ag Products in York, Pennsylvania, said creating a scholarship at Penn State was an easy decision. York Ag Products has a history of being generous to Penn State, and Achor wanted to honor a past president —and Penn State alumnus — who was instrumental in his career.
November 26, 2018
\Tony Rice, a senior in agribusiness management in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, was one of a select group of students who was given the opportunity to develop leadership skills and gain experience in the public-service sector as an intern at the White House and in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
November 26, 2018
'According to Penn State researcher Ann Tickamyer, professor of rural psychology, many rural families suffering from poverty have been left behind because of the focus shifting to urban poverty. “Contrary to popular belief, rural families are very diverse and experience extreme poverty. Currently, rural poverty has experienced some improvements on par with urban poverty, however many families are still experiencing joblessness," said Tickamyer.'
November 20, 2018
With a total economic impact of nearly $136 billion annually, the agricultural industry is essential to Pennsylvania's future. Yet, the farming population is aging, and with 16,000 Pennsylvania farmers projected to retire in the next 10 years, many are wondering who will fill their shoes. Those concerns prompted the creation of a Penn State Extension project aimed at supporting the next generation of farmers -- "Supporting Pennsylvania Farmers in the Start-Up, Re-strategizing and Establishing Years" -- an initiative that recently received an award for excellence from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents during its annual conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
November 5, 2018
Will customers of lawn-mowing services accept robotic, autonomous lawnmowers cutting the lawns at their homes with no human operator nearby? Eichenlaub Inc., an upscale landscape firm in Pittsburgh, is counting on agribusiness management students in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences to find out.
November 5, 2018
To comply with nutrient-reduction goals in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Pennsylvania may want to consider the establishment of animal agriculture operations in the western part of the state, according to a team of Penn State researchers.
November 1, 2018
Tony Rice, a senior in agribusiness management in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, was one of a select group of students who was given the opportunity to develop leadership skills and gain experience in the public-service sector as an intern at the White House and in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
October 31, 2018
Stephan Goetz, Professor of Agricultural and Regional Economics and Director of The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, convened a special session on Rural Areas in Pennsylvania for the PA Chapter of the American Planning Association 2018 Annual Conference, Erie, PA, October 15.
October 26, 2018
Three students from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences traveled to Hartford, Connecticut, in September for the annual meeting of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.
October 24, 2018
Ann Tickamyer, professor of sociology at Penn State, was one of the presenters at the 26th National Symposium on Family Issues.
October 22, 2018
October 18, 2018
After seven years of analyzing a number of consumption, distribution, production, and other aspects of the Northeast U.S. food system, researchers from Penn State and 10 other universities and organizations have made significant gains in understanding the extent to which the region can increase production of certain foods, and potentially better meet the food needs of low-income populations in the locations they studied.
October 17, 2018
"...CSA Director Guangqing Chi, associate professor of rural sociology and demography and public health sciences, says that Twitter data has potential for expanding social science research because it includes a large amount of individual information that is longitudinal and georeferenced...)
October 15, 2018
The Engagement Tool project held a workshop on September 12 about teaching public engagement in research at Penn State. Frans Padt explained the showcases they are developing this semester. Speakers included: Mike Zeman (Student Engagement Network), Michele Halsell (The Sustainability Institute),Walt Whitmer (Penn State Extension), Tom Hogan (School of Labor and Employment Relations), and Mallika Bose (Landscape Architecture.)
October 9, 2018
A summer internship at Bates White Economic Consulting opens opportunities for Gregory Mitchell. Mitchell is a Community, Environment and Development major also co-enrolled in the Energy, Environmental, and Food Economics master’s program; both programs are within the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education.
October 9, 2018
Providing students with a glimpse into the world of business and professional development is the main goal of the Agribusiness Management Club in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. "Our purpose is to help our members excel in their professional and academic lives," said club president Tess McNamara, a junior agricultural science major from Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
October 8, 2018
The National Association of Agricultural Educators has recognized four alumnae of Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences for their contributions to agricultural education.
October 1, 2018
Economists have long studied the economic benefits that result when businesses locate near one another, or agglomerate, and these agglomerations can fall into two different categories, according to Stephan Goetz, professor of agricultural and regional economics, Penn State, and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development
September 25, 2018
Global Teach Ag has been nominated and chosen to receive the Penn State Ag Council Leadership in Action Award for 2018. This award was created to recognize an organization, group, event, program, activity, strategy, advocacy, etc. that successfully advances leadership in agriculture and/or the future of agriculture in Pennsylvania. The Award will be presented at the Penn State Ag Council Fall Delegate Meeting on October 25, 2018. The mission of the PSU Global Teach Ag! Initiative is to develop capacity in agriscience teachers and agriscience education programs for global impact in food, fiber, and natural resources through youth development and education programming. aese.psu.edu/teachag/global facebook.com/TeachAgPSU
September 24, 2018
Featured research by Stephan Goetz, professor of agricultural and regional economics, Penn State, and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development.
September 21, 2018
Katherine Zipp, Assistant Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics, was part of a team that received a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for $800,000 to understand and prevent the spread of invasive species in Pennsylvania and support the efforts of Pennsylvania’s Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Management Plan.
