Former President Bill Clinton visited Penn State Altoona on Thursday, April 3, 2008, in support of Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. President Clinton delivered an address to a capacity crowd of 1900 people in the gymnasium of the Steven A. Adler Athletic Complex. After his speech, the president signed autographs for fans and greeted a crowd of enthusiastic onlookers gathered outside his motorcade.
Penn State Altoona held its spring commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 10, in the Adler Athletic Complex. The commencement speaker was George F. Gardner. A Hollidaysburg native, Penn State graduate and Army veteran, Gardner formed the first products distribution company to sell all of the materials required to build and operate a cable television system. That company, TVC Communications LLC, is presently located in Annville.
Penn State Altoona held its fall commencement ceremonies Saturday, December 20, in the Adler Athletic Complex. The commencement speaker was Dr. Ronald L. Mallett, a celebrated author, professor, and Penn State Altoona alum.
Ivan A. Esparragoza, associate professor of engineering at Penn State Brandywine; Sherry Roush, associate professor of Italian in the College of the Liberal Arts, and Rebecca A. Strzelec, associate professor of visual arts at Penn State Altoona, have received the Alumni/Student Award for Excellence in Teaching and have been named 2009 Penn State Teaching Fellows. The Penn State Alumni Association, in conjunction with undergraduate and graduate governing bodies, established the award in 1985. It honors distinguished teaching and provides encouragement and incentive for excellence in teaching. Recipients are expected to share their talents and expertise with others throughout the University system during the year following the award presentation.
Penn State Altoona held its spring commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 9, 2009 at the Blair County Convention Center. The commencement speaker was Dr. John Romano, vice-president of Commonwealth Campuses at Penn State.
If every on-campus student at University Park reduced his or her time in the shower by just five minutes, Penn State would save 100,000 gallons of water each school year. That is enough to fill five swimming pools and lower the University's carbon footprint by 18,980 pounds every year.
Penn State Altoona communications faculty members Mary Lou and Doug Nemanic won first place in the feature-length documentary category during the Iris Film Festival held in Huntingdon, Pa., in September.
Move-In Day 2010 went off without a hitch as nearly 930 students arrived on campus to settle into their dorm rooms. About 690 of those students were first year students. A volunteer crew of faculty, staff, and students were on hand to help unload cars.
Penn State Altoona's new entrepreneurial center has an official name. Chosen by Steve and Nancy Sheetz, the building will now be known as the Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence.