Pennsylvania State University

What legal changes, reforms are needed in response to the Pennsylvania State University scandal?

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - An 18-year-old student on Pennsylvania State University's main campus has been diagnosed with tuberculosis. Penn State said Friday that the student, a woman, did not receive medical care for the condition at University Health Services. The school said it confirmed the case by contacting the state Health Department. University and state health officials said they were contacting people who had been in close contact with the student. The school did not identify the student or release any other details.

Five young lives came together in the peaceful mountain setting of Pennsylvania State University yesterday in a tragedy of chance. One died, one was wounded, one had a narrow escape. One was a killer, one a hero. Police said a 19-year-old woman with a Mohawk haircut and a reputation as an oddball spread a tarp in the center of the campus at 9:34 yesterday morning while students were on their way to classes, and opened fire with a high-powered rifle. She killed a female student from Altoona and wounded a male student from Philadelphia before she was disarmed by another student skilled in kung fu. The killer accidentally stabbed herself in the thigh in the struggle, police said.

Getting accustomed to classes at the Pennsylvania State University campus in Delaware County was tough for Walid Dimacukie, a Lebanese student who felt a little awkward when he entered the school in the fall of 1997. But then he met Scott Latimer, "one of the few people who gave the time to know me," Dimacukie said yesterday, eulogizing the classmate who accompanied him through a difficult physics course and two math courses. Dimacukie, several times holding back tears, was one of many friends and classmates who attended a memorial service at the school to remember Latimer, who died Dec. 20, the day after the car he was driving was struck by a motorist who has since been charged with involuntary manslaughter and drunken driving.

Norbert C. Soldon, 79, a longtime West Chester University professor, died Wednesday, Dec. 14, at Chester County Hospital of complications from a fall. For 34 years, Dr. Soldon taught courses in modern British history, European history, and teaching methods at West Chester University. When he retired in 1999, he was named professor emeritus. "He was passionate about making a difference in the lives of his students," said a daughter, Sherry L. Soldon. Born in Nanticoke, Pa., Dr. Soldon graduated from Greater Nanticoke Area High School in 1950.

Pennsylvania State University had the nation's fourth-fastest-growing endowment from 2009 through 2012, according to a ranking from Bloomberg News. The value of Penn State's endowment climbed to $1.78 billion, from $1.23 billion, for a three-year annual average growth rate of 14.46 percent. The University of Pittsburgh ranked fifth. Its endowment averaged 13.66 percent annual growth to reach a value of $2.62 billion. Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania were also on the list, which included endowments worth at least $1 billion last year.

Lionel "Bud" Shaffer, 84, of Blue Bell, who after a career practicing family medicine exchanged his stethoscope for a saxophone, died Tuesday of a heart attack at his home. For more than 30 years, Dr. Shaffer maintained a busy practice in Maple Glen. "He would see patients in the office, then make house calls and then visit patients in the hospital," said his daughter, Nancy Esgrow. "He would come home for dinner for a half an hour and then go back to the office until 11 or 12 at night.

Lewis B. Ober, 66, of Somerdale, died Tuesday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Mr. Ober was a Somerdale resident for 27 years and a retired employee of Maislin Transport Co. in Philadelphia. After his retirement, he was a volunteer for a Meals-on-Wheels program and helped pattern a child with cerebral palsy. A member of the First Presbyterian Church in the borough, Mr. Ober also served on the church's board of trustees and as a deacon. Born in Lock Haven, Pa., he was a 1943 graduate of Pennsylvania State University and a member of Chi Phi fraternity.

A 33-year-old Boothwyn man was shot in the right shoulder while playing tennis Wednesday night at the Pennsylvania State University campus in Middletown, Delaware County, police said yesterday. Phillip Ford, an insurance company analyst, was listed as "stable and alert" in the intensive-care unit at Riddle Memorial Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said. State Trooper Edward Kazlo said police had no suspects and were trying to interview people who were playing tennis at the time of the shooting.

In the Region DEP radiation study detailed The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Wednesday released detailed plans for its comprehensive radiation study of oil and gas development and said it intends to begin sampling this month. The agency plans to analyze radioactivity levels of flowback waters, treatment solids, drill cuttings, and drilling equipment, along with the transportation, storage, and disposal of drilling wastes. DEP says current data do not indicate any health risks, but activists have raised concerns about naturally occurring radioactivity in materials extracted from the mile-deep wells.

Pennsylvania State University had the nation's fourth-fastest-growing endowment from 2009 through 2012, according to a ranking from Bloomberg News. The value of Penn State's endowment climbed to $1.78 billion, from $1.23 billion, for a three-year annual average growth rate of 14.46 percent. The University of Pittsburgh ranked fifth. Its endowment averaged 13.66 percent annual growth to reach a value of $2.62 billion. Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania were also on the list, which included endowments worth at least $1 billion last year.

The call came in to Gabriel Gates early Thursday from one of Pennsylvania State University's branch campuses: A wallet with $10 was missing from a common area in one of the buildings. Did the school have to issue a "timely warning" to students and staff about the apparent theft, the employee wanted to know. Timely warnings are required by a 1990 federal law known as the Clery Act in cases where there is an ongoing threat to the campus community. Gates, Penn State's official in charge of monitoring compliance with the law, said a warning was not necessary.

Attorneys for two former Pennsylvania State University administrators charged in the Jerry Sandusky child-sex scandal on Friday accused a key witness of violating her professional ethics when she testified before a grand jury against their clients. Signaling a potential defense strategy, lawyers Caroline Roberto and Thomas J. Farrell said former university general counsel Cynthia Baldwin violated attorney-client privilege when she helped prosecutors build the case against suspended Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and former university vice president Gary Schultz.

At a time of life normally suffused with hope and energy, 22-year-old Evelyn De Jesus has little to be optimistic about. The 2008 graduate of Mastbaum Vocational/Technical School did a year at Pennsylvania State University but could not afford it and dropped out. Once dreaming of becoming a lawyer, De Jesus - who lives in North Philadelphia with her unemployed boyfriend and 2-year-old son - now earns poverty wages of $10 an hour at a...

Pennsylvania State University has incurred nearly $3.2 million in legal, consultant, and public relations fees as a result of the case against its former assistant football coach charged with molesting boys, the university said Monday. A small portion of the cost is expected to be recovered through insurance policies, the university said. The rest will be covered with money other than tuition, taxpayer money, or alumni donations, the school said. The university said the fees would be covered by interest on a repaid loan and an athletic project that it maintains is not taxpayer money.

Hello there In 1997, Audrie was a fifth-grader at Our Lady of Fatima with a big crush on classmate Paul. There was only one thing the 10-year-old could do: "I had a girlfriend of mine ask him if he'd be my boyfriend," Audrie said. "He said no. " Paul was busy with other things: Baseball. Basketball. Video games. "I was too busy with my friends," he said. "I don't know if I was even into girls yet. " The next day, Audrie's mother had just pulled into the school parking lot when Audrie saw a girl running toward the car - a girl who walked to and from school in the same group as Paul.

Norbert C. Soldon, 79, a longtime West Chester University professor, died Wednesday, Dec. 14, at Chester County Hospital of complications from a fall. For 34 years, Dr. Soldon taught courses in modern British history, European history, and teaching methods at West Chester University. When he retired in 1999, he was named professor emeritus. "He was passionate about making a difference in the lives of his students," said a daughter, Sherry L. Soldon. Born in Nanticoke, Pa., Dr. Soldon graduated from Greater Nanticoke Area High School in 1950.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - An 18-year-old student on Pennsylvania State University's main campus has been diagnosed with tuberculosis. Penn State said Friday that the student, a woman, did not receive medical care for the condition at University Health Services. The school said it confirmed the case by contacting the state Health Department. University and state health officials said they were contacting people who had been in close contact with the student. The school did not identify the student or release any other details.

How should Harrisburg lawmakers respond to the child-sex-abuse scandal at Pennsylvania State University?