Help spread the word

As students, who can better communicate the virtues of our graduate programs here at Penn State Great Valley. We are asking you, our valued students, to help spread the word about our upcoming information night. And in doing so, you can be eligible to receive a $25 gift card (Limit 1 gift card per student) if your referral shows up the night of the event. Here’s all you have to do:
1. Refer a friend, colleague, or family member to attend our graduate school information night on Tuesday, March 19.
2. Pick up or contact pas50@psu.edu to forward a student ambassador card for them to complete. The cards are also available in the main building lobby. You’ll see a picture of the Nittany Lion pointing to you on the card.
3. Give the bottom portion of this card to the referral to bring the night of the event.

Penn State Student Ambassadors strive to foster the idea of involvement and lifelong commitment. Thank you for whatever support you can provide in strengthening our university traditions and instilling Penn State pride in the next generation of students.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year and welcome back to a new semester! I hope you enjoyed the winter break and I am excited to represent and work with the campus students this semester. I am going to highlight a few positive developments discussed in the December’s Senate meeting (http://www.senate.psu.edu/record/12-13/120412/120412record.pdf).

• The accreditation warning from Middle States Commission on Higher Education was removed.
• Senate Chair Larry Backer congratulated Coach Bill O’Brien on being named Big Ten Coach of the Year, “Through his words and actions, Coach O’Brien, his coaching staff, and the 2012 football team have contributed greatly to our collective efforts to restore confidence in this University”.
• A self-assessment lead by the Senate Chair Backer confirmed the relevancy of the Senate as an active and respected member of the University’s governance community, playing an important role in the development of the curriculum, and helping the University work through issues of productivity. 

It has been a wonderful experience to serve as the campus representative and I am looking forward to the Spring elections when my successor will be elected. If you are interested please do not hesitate to contact me.

All the best,
Carlos F. Gonzalez

‘Tis the season

With the holidays right around the corner, everyone is in a celebratory mode. Last night our campus held its holiday party as students finished the final classes for the fall session. We hope everyone had a good term and look forward to seeing you all in 2013.

Free career event

Bart Ruff, a Penn State undergrad and MBA grad from our campus, helped establish My Career Transitions, a monthly opportunity to learn new skills from guest speakers and network with other members. The culture is friendly and welcoming, and it is free thanks to our volunteers and the Penn State Great Valley Alumni Society, who is sposnoring the next scheduled meeting on Sat., January 12, 9:45 to 11:45am in Room 130/131, Main Building, Penn State’s School of Graduate Professional Studies in Malvern. The topic is “News You Can Use: Job Seeking” presented by Brian Wiggins of the Philadelphia Business Journal. Register online at http://mycareertransitions.com/new/

Networking Tips

Read this post about network tips which offered some insights and not-so-obvious strategies. http://bit.ly/12Qi4N

Finance Students Visit New York

Seventeen master of finance students travelled to NY City with PennState Great Valley faculty to visit the New York Stock Exchange and get behind-the-scenes insights from its staff. The tour began with an overview by a staff member and a visit to the exchange floor where the group meet with dedicated market makers (DMMs) who provided some fascinating insights into their role on the exchange and differentiated the from those markets with 100% electronic trading. The DDMs take an active role at the open and close, set prices at those times, as well as have the ability to intervene anytime during the trading day when necessary. One DDM made the analogy to flying a plane, where the pilots take control at take-off and landing then rely on automatic pilot except when there are unusual situations. DDMs are also responsible for handling especially large orders, which must be broken down into smaller trading blocks to prevent such a large order driving down the price. Other sights of interest on the floor of the exchange included the CNBC broadcast center.

After the visit to the exchange, the group enjoyed a lunch at the Millennium Hilton Hotel in a dining room overlooking the World Trade Center site. In the afternoon, the group proceeded to the Federal Reserve of New York for a self-guided tour of the museum, which included a number of interesting exhibits related to federal functions, such as the design of currency to prevent counterfeiting and supervision of the banking system.

The trip provided an excellent opportunity for the students, particularly the international students, to observe firsthand how some of the financial institutions in the United States function. In addition, it allowed for networking among the students, faculty and staff, further strengthening a sense of community and support for this growing program.

— Story courtesy of Karen Duhala, Ph.D., accounting and finance
— Photos courtesy of Bo Ouyang, Ph.D., accounting

Welcome to the Penn State Great Valley’s Student Blog

Welcome to the first post of the Great Valley campus student blog. We are striving to create a forum for an exchange of ideas and to keep you updated on important developments of student life.

PSU Senate update:  On October 16, 2012, I attended another exciting gathering at State College. During the Planning Committee session we had an extensive conversation with James Broadhusrt, member of the Board of Trustees,  on the next round of the 5 Year Strategic Plan. In the Senate floor the main discussion was focused on whether or not to support the statement by a group of past chairs of the University Faculty Senate regarding the Freeh Report, NCAA Consent Decree, and their academic Implications. After a vote, the decision is to not endorse these statements. A link to the recorded session is a follows: http://live.libraries.psu.edu/Mediasite/Play/3dc8643ced314eae8f2d3b9ae21498bb1d?catalog=9516b47f-3e5d-447d-930c-dddf2820410f

I am glad to inform you that after voicing our concern of not consistently have the syllabus ahead of the course commencement; the faculty was very receptive to change. The issue was also raised at the Senate Caucus meeting and we are going to discuss a formal recommendation to change the University syllabus policy.

All the best, Carlos F. Gonzalez