Mansfield University Blog

Sarah, our resident ghost of North Hall, has been quiet the past few months, probably because of all the renovation work going on in the attics.  But in honor of her memory this Halloween season, I dug back into the archives for a podcast I did with area ghost hunter Steve Diasparra.  In “Searching for Sara,” Episode 1 and Episode  2, Steve talks about his experiences and the great lengths he goes to to ensure a scientific exploration into the world of spirits.  Transcripts of  Episode 1 and Episode 2 are also available.

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Environmental Health & Safety Specialist Jim Welch is featured in our continuing MU Sustainability series.

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Speaking of “green,” Mansfield University is highlighted in “Save cash by sending electronic holiday cards,” which appears in the November issue of  Student Affairs Today.

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Martha Campbell, art department, has produced a haunting and powerful video, “The Death of Allen Hall.”

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A Steinway grand piano has about 12,000 separate parts, and it takes 450  artisans to create one.  This and other fascinating facts from NPR librarian Kee Malesky’s new book All Facts Considered: The Essential Book of Inessential Knowledge.

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Gary Trudeau reflects on four decades of “Doonesbury” in this NPR article and audio interview.  What would pop culture and politics be without Trudeau to comment on them?

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Okay, for the next week I want you to pay attention to conversations everywhere and notice how many times “literally” is used.  It’s the most overused and misused word of the decade.  It has become a punch word, a filler so easy to use it’s the equivalent of verbal dandruff   I’m serious. Listen and see how many dozen times you hear it in a week –on campus, radio, TV, the Net.   Then join me to figuratively stomp out literally.

Really.

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From my office window #4. Quiet, beautiful and fleeting.

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“If everybody was satisfied with himself, there would be no heroes.”  Mark Twain

Evolution is a bumpy affair.  In an age when mobile devices are practically attached to young palms, a lot of college students still prefer textbooks to ebooks or the Web.  They like the permanency and stability.  What they don’t like is the expense.  Some students spend up to $1,000 a semester for print text books.  The dilemma and some solutions are here.  In  Digital Age, Students Still Cling to Paper Textbooks.

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In our series on MU’s sustainability efforts, we talk with Vincent Nykiel, manager of campus services on projects around the campus.  A lot is being done, both visible and not so visible.  And what about that hi-tech spray can he’s holding?

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20/20 devoted its whole hour last Friday to forensic psychologist Richard Walter solving a cold case.  We beat 20/20 by a month with a half hour interview with Walter and a two-part interview with The Murder Room author Michael Capuzzo, in which Walter is a lead figure.  The men were on campus as guests of CJA Prof Scott Thornsley.

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Monsters  need a little understanding, which is what English Prof John Ulrich is trying to share in his new course in Monster Lit. The Frankenstein creature, vampires, Grendel, zombies . . . why do we create them and what do they now say to us? John talks about this and more in our Conversations interview. It’s a bloody good time, and no, we didn’t plan on the matching outfits.

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Check out Huffington Post’s “They Cut That?  9 Strange Discontinued Majors.” We’re  #5 on the list.  I didn’t think our discontinued program was strange at all, but the photo they used sure was.  California and IUP also made the list.

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Being a day late with this week’s post gives me a chance to plug Terry’s Take, produced by our news director, Terry Day and is posted every Thursday.

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“All generalizations are false, including this one.” Mark Twain

Check out the Chronicle article  “As Textbooks Go Digital, Will Professors Build Their Own Books?“  Both the article and responses cover high cost of textbooks, saving students money, staying relevant, a professor’s responsibilities and the changing nature of technology and teaching.

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Students who drop out of college during their freshman year are costing state and federal governments billions of dollars.  In fact, between 2003 and 2008, freshmen dropouts cost $9 billion, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education article.  The American Institutes for Research conducted the study and created a website that lets users compare performances of more than 1,500 higher ed institutions.  And yes, Mansfield is one of the colleges you can check on the site.

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I thought these helmet-clad students riding down the steps by North Hall were a band of suicidal daredevils.   Turns out they were part of  English prof Jimmy Guignard’s noncredit Mountain Biking class testing their skills.  In a couple weeks they head for the mountains for the real ride.

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MU is now a recognized leader in the security world.  One Card Administrator Alex Miller was recently interviewed by Security Magazine which posted a brief article on our one-card system.  A more detailed piece is in the works. Alex and Chuck Colby, associate VP of Residence Life, were interviewed by Blackboard Transact for the video “Mansfield University Implements Integrated Campus Safety.”  Alex and Comptroller Curt Tofts gave a presentation last March at the BbWorldtransact conference on  Door Access Implementation.

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In a NY Times op-ed piece, former FBI agent Ali Soufan argues that the USS Cole case should be wrapped up and involved terrorists should be prosecuted in the name of justice and national security.  Soufan ’94 was one of the investigators in the bombing that killed 17 sailors 10 years ago.  He argues that if FBI investigators had not been so constrained “. . . we could have undermined Al Qaeda and perhaps even averted the 9/11 attack.”

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“A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.”

Mark Twain

Homecoming is this weekend.  Here’s some history.   The first homecoming was 1936. The first homecoming queen was actually called the Football Queen and was chosen by the football team in 1947.   Eleanor Jones Kodish had the honor of serving as the first Queen. Mrs. Kodish, who lives in Lock Haven, had a long career as a teacher and recently coauthored with Mary Eischeid the novel To Catch a Cagey Crook for young readers.

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Sophomore Rebecca Kratz has a great op-ed piece in the Williamsport Sun Gazette about teamwork, commitment and dreaming big.  She’s a member of  the women’s cross country team coached by Mike Rohl.  “. . .we tend to take our personal goals and transform them into our team goals,” she writes.   And their one big goal, shared by Coach Rohl?  Read this and find out.  The article is part of a project in Dan Mason’s Crisis News Analysis class.

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Mansfield is highlighted in Tuesday Tour Day on Next Step Magazine’s website.  The 60-second clip was produced by the MU PR Department.

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With the help of Scott Thornsley, CJA, I  interviewed forensic psychologist Richard Walter, considered the “modern day Sherlock Holmes.”  Walter is prominently featured in Michael Capuzzo’s best seller The Murder Room about the Vidoq Society, a collection of 82 of  the world’s greatest detectives.  Walter and Capuzzo spoke on campus recently as part of Thornsley’s guest speaker program.  Here’s the interview.

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The weather was perfect for this year’s Fabulous 1890s Weekend.  Terry Day shot and produced this video of Weekend highlights.

He also produced the first ever video of the re-creation of the world’s first night football game.  It’s worth the watch just to see Mike Rohl being unearthed from the human mountain.

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Morning mist and muted colors.  A shot from my 5th floor office window on Wednesday.  Want a totally different effect?    Simply wait three hours.

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“I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one.” Mark Twain