Ken Womack, professor of English and Integrative Arts at Penn State Altoona, was the guest speaker at the March 6 Penn State Forum Speaker Series event held at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. Womack, the 2013-14 Penn State Laureate, is an expert of popular culture, most notably of The Beatles.
Penn State Altoona held its spring 2014 commencement ceremony Saturday, May 10 at the Jaffa Shrine in Altoona. 234 of the 280 graduates participated in the ceremony. Darrin Miller, open water swimmer and co-founder of the Forever Fund at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, was the speaker.
Kenneth Womack has earned first place honors in the contemporary fiction category from the Texas Association of Authors for his novel "Playing the Angel," which was published by Stephen F. Austin State University Press in August. Womack will receive the award in October during the Texas Book Festival.
Lynette Kvasny, associate professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology; Laura Rotunno, associate professor of English at Penn State Altoona, and Jennifer Wood, associate professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State New Kensington, have received the Alumni/Student Award for Excellence in Teaching and have been named 2014 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.
