DEVELOPMENT NEWS

GRADUATE STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM NEW FELLOWSHIP ENDOWMENT

Maggie Crispell

Drs. Albert and Lorraine Kligman are, by most measures, distinguished individuals. Their own lives demonstrate the highest levels of achievement in scholarship, research and education, with major discoveries and accomplishments impacting science, gerontology, and medical care. And they continue to serve, inspire and motivate others.

Talented graduate students in the College of Health and Human Development will be afforded the opportunity to pursue their education and research goals thanks to a gift from the Kligmans. The Philadelphia residents recently announced a gift to Penn State creating the Albert M. Kligman Graduate Fellowship Endowment, with a value of $2,022,703, in the College.

This new fellowship endowment is a perfect showcase for the Kligmans. Their own lives demonstrate the value of and absolute necessity for scholarship, research and advanced studies.

"There are many bright people who never get that one important break in life," says Albert. Through this endowment, the Kligmans are helping to ensure that generations of students will have the opportunity to pursue a graduate education.

Albert's Penn State roots are deep, having begun his educational career at the Mont Alto Campus where he enrolled in the Forestry Program. After his years at Mont Alto, he went on to University Park where he received a bachelor's degree in Botany from the College of Science in 1939.

"I was from a poor family and we were in the middle of the Great Depression when I was of college age. There was no money for tuition, even though it was only $100 a year," says Albert. "I wrote to the Forestry School at Mont Alto and asked for a job, since that was the only way I could earn the money I needed. They gave me the job. Without that start, I might be out on the street today. I'm just paying off an old debt."

Albert and Lorraine have indeed begun to repay and reinvest in areas that hold lifelong interest for them. Their creation of this fund in the college--as well as a major endowed scholarship fund named in Lorraine's honor for returning adult students at the Mont Alto Campus--reflects their keen appreciation for the challenges students face in higher education.

While a Penn State student, Albert was an accomplished varsity gymnast and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He earned a doctor of philosophy in botany in 1942 and a doctor of medicine in 1947, both from the University of Pennsylvania. Albert is professor emeritus of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Lorraine is professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania.

Albert and Lorraine have been responsible for unlocking many of the mysteries of skin physiology and aging, including the development of Retin A. The recipients of numerous professional awards and citations, they are both eminent scholars and articulate spokespersons for the scientific process, always adding their own enormous amounts of organization, energy, tenacity, and commitment. Their desire and dedication to improve the quality of life for others makes them special friends of the college.

"How perfect it is that this fellowship has been created by these particular individuals. We cannot think of two more appropriate role models to champion the need for support in the area of graduate education," says Dr. Lynne Vernon-Feagans, interim dean of the College of Health and Human Development. "Albert and Lorraine understand the challenges and rigors of graduate activities, and the necessity to continue to promote and support it. They have provided an enormously important legacy for countless numbers of future graduate students and researchers."

A member of the College of Health and Human Development Grand Destiny Campaign Committee, Albert received the University's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1998 and was honored as the college's Alumni Fellow in 1999. Life members of the Alumni Association, members of the President's Club, Friends of the Palmer Museum of Art and members of the Laurel Circle of the Mount Nittany Society, Drs. Albert and Lorraine Kligman are truly distinguished and special friends of Penn State.

NUTRITION DEPARTMENT RECEIVES
$500,000 BRISTOL-MEYERS SQUIBB UNRESTRICTED GRANT

Anne Danahy

The college's Department of Nutrition and graduate program in nutrition have received a $500,000 research grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb, a worldwide health and personal care company, in recognition of the University's leadership in nutrition research and teaching, and in the training of health care professionals.

The five-year, unrestricted grant will support research into how nutrition and genetics impact growth, development, behavior and disease resistance. Expanding upon recent laboratory and epidemiological findings, the Department of Nutrition and the graduate program in nutrition will continue with biomolecular research in areas such as how nutrients behave, the roles of antioxidants, how the body regulates nutrients and how they in turn can regulate the body.

"This award will enable us to continue promoting a stimulating environment for faculty, staff and students to excel, learn and transfer knowledge," said John Milner, head of the Department of Nutrition, director of the graduate program, and principal investigator for the research grant.

Milner noted plans to use the Bristol-Myers Squibb grant include: sponsoring a yearly nutrition and medicine workshop; expanding learning opportunities through distance education; promoting studies dealing with human nutrition such as infant feeding practices, diet as a modifier of cancer risk and heart-health diets; broadening knowledge about molecular targets where bioactive components in foods may improve health; supporting academic links by sponsoring "noontime think tanks"-- gatherings of faculty and students in nutrition and related fields.

"The graduate program in nutrition at Penn State has had a strong voice in helping to shape public health policy and has been a leader in linking food, nutrition and health in academic research and teaching," said David A. Cook, Vice President, Global Scientific Affairs, Mead Johnson Nutritional Group of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

"We admire the excellence and scope of the program and are proud to welcome Dr. Milner to the international group of nutrition world leaders working with support from our Unrestricted Nutrition Grants Program."

Formed in 1983, the graduate program in nutrition draws on four different colleges in the University: Health and Human Development, Agricultural Sciences, the Eberly College of Science, and the College of Medicine. "Nutrition builds on the principles of a variety of disciplines including biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology, endocrinology, genetics, education, epidemiology, psychology and sociology," said Milner, who is well known in the nutrition community for integrating basic research findings into recommendations and national public health policy.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb nutrition program is one of seven biomedical research grants programs funded by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation. More than $87 million has been committed to these programs to date. New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb is a worldwide health and personal care company whose principal businesses are pharmaceuticals, consumer products, nutritionals and medical devices. It is a leading maker of innovative therapies for cardiovascular, metabolic and infectious diseases, central nervous system and dermatological disorders and cancer. The company is a leader in consumer medicines, orthopaedic devices, ostomy care, wound management, nutritional supplements, infant formulas and hair and skin products.

GIFTS BRING LATEST INDUSTRY SOFTWARE TO HRRM

Steve Infanti

Students in the School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Recreation Management will soon enjoy access to some of the latest computer software and services that are shaping the future of the hotel, restaurant and institutional management industry. It's being made possible by generous gifts to the school from three software providers to the food services industry.

The CBORD Group, Inc., Sybase, Inc., and Snow Software teamed together and made donations of their computer software and services to the school. The gift of software and services--valued at $183,603--brings the latest technology used in the food services industries to students enrolled in the school's Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management program.

"This unprecedented gift from these three business partners and industry leaders will provide the nearly 600 undergraduate students in our Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management program with hands-on experience using many of the computer software utilized in the hospitality industry," says Robert D. Lee, Jr., interim director of the School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Recreation Management.

"These software packages offer our students the analytical tools necessary to make effective decisions related to profit and loss, specifically in the areas of purchasing, inventory, food production, menu engineering, and the national Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points system," says Lee. "As profit margins decrease and customers demand higher levels of service, these tools will allow managers to have more time to address customer service issues."

The software will be used in the school's Food Service Management Laboratory and Advanced Food Service Management Laboratory, and by students enrolled in the "Introduction to Food Services" class.

The CBORD Group, Inc. is a worldwide provider of food and nutrition services software and systems for campus-wide ID card programs, housing management, and cashless dining. The Ithaca, New York-based company is contributing software and services valued at $116,650 to the School.

The corporation is generously donating an upgrade from the DOS-based version of its Menu Management, Inventory Management, and Nutritional Accounting Systems to its new version for the Windows operating system. CBORDTM is also providing 25 concurrent users access to the CBORD software within the Mateer Building at the University Park campus. In addition, CBORD is contributing a multi-user version of its new EventMaster PLUS! software program, and five days of on-site service to the school. "It's exciting to us that our products are an integral part of the course curriculum at Penn State," says John Alexander, president of the CBORD Group, Inc. "We're delighted to provide Penn State students with access to some of the most powerful management tools available to the hospitality industry today."

In addition to CBORD's gifts, two of its premier business partners, Sybase, Inc.'s Mobile and Embedded Computing Division and Snow Software, are making donations of their products to the school.

"These three companies have recognized the importance of assisting Penn State in furthering the educational opportunities afforded the students and faculty through the use of their respective products. We're grateful and are proud to be associated with such fine organizations," says Dr. Lynne Vernon-Feagans, interim dean of the college.

Sybase, Inc., one of the largest global independent software companies, is contributing its SQL Anywhere Studio client and server software to Penn State. SQL Anywhere Studio will provide the data management and enterprise synchronization capabilities to power CBORD's Windows applications.

"We are very excited to offer Penn State's students the opportunity to experience first hand the technology shaping the future of the hospitality industry," said Brian Vink, vice president of marketing, Sybase's Mobile and Embedded Computing Division. "In this era of 'service anywhere,' mobile and remote systems play an increasingly important role. Using SQL Anywhere to capture and access enterprise data at the point of transaction means that businesses, including those in the hospitality industry, always have an accurate snapshot of the market, their performance and customer requirements."

The other CBORD business partner making a gift is Snow Software, based in Clearwater, Florida. Snow Software has developed a report writer that is imbedded within CBORD's EventMaster PLUS! catering software. Snow has graciously donated a license for 25 concurrent users for their product--valued at $62,375--to the School.

"To stay competitive in the hotel, restaurant and institutional management business, it is important to be able to be able to look at your information and analyze it in many different ways. This is exactly what the Snow Report Writer allows users to do," says Scott Snow, CEO of Snow Software. CBORD's EventMaster PLUS! software includes many predefined reports using the Snow Report Writer, and it is possible for users to make up their own as well.