AMERICAN FORK -- Much has been said in the past few decades about women entering "man's fields" -- the business world, politics, legal and medical professions just to name a few. Not nearly as much has been mentioned about men who perform roles traditionally done by women.

Dennis Moss is one such man. He's the PTA president for Barratt Elementary School in American Fork. And he's enjoyed the experience so much he has agreed to run again next year. No one has signed up to oppose him for the post.

He's not the first at Barratt. Last year the PTA president was also a male.

"We were very pleased when Dennis agreed to be PTA president for this year," Principal Brent Palmer said. "We have a unique situation in that the president he replaced was also a male. This has been two in a row.

"Both have done an outstanding job. Both bring a different perspective to the position. Dennis has really pushed fathers' involvement in school and his All-Pro Dad program has been a wonderful addition to the culture of Barratt Elementary."

The school has one of six chapters in Utah of All-Pro Dad, Moss said. NFL coach Tony Dungy is the national spokesman for the group.

The program offers a chance for dads and their children to better their communications and set family-oriented goals. All Pro-Dad features almost 60 NFL players, coaches and alumni who encourage men to be good fathers.

That's not all that Moss would like to see for dads.

"Along with more male volunteers in the classroom and dads coming to lunch with the kids and playing with them on the playground, I believe parents and teachers want to see the school create more of a technology-infused classroom," he said. He and Palmer are working toward that and anticipate seeing some great strides in the near future, he said.

"With technology, teachers are able to differentiate their instruction better and really help the students prepare better for their future success," he said.

Read the original here:
Father, PTA president encourages father involvement in schools

By ROCHELLE A. SHENK Correspondent

Six Manheim/Manheim Central alumni will be inducted into the Manheim Central Hall of Fame during the 11th Annual Hall of Fame banquet at 4 p.m. March 31 at the Manheim Central High School.

The banquet begins with a social hour followed by dinner at 5 p.m. and induction ceremony presentations.

Board member Mike Clair said the Hall of Fame honors accomplishments of individuals who have brought recognition, honor, distinction and excellence to the Manheim Central school community. Nominees are alumni of Manheim Central or those who have made significant contributions to the Manheim Central school community over the course of at least 10 years. Names of those inducted into the Hall of Fame are on plaques that are displayed in two places in Manheim Central High School.

The cost of the Hall of Fame banquet is $30 per person. For information or reservations, call Mike Clair at 665-3232.

Inductees for 2012 are Henry "Hen" Bell, John Brubaker, Kurt Gibble, Richard Hammer, Carolyn Knight Peters and Hilary Waltman.

Henry "Hen" Bell is being honored as a Manheim Central teacher and basketball and baseball coach. A 1954 graduate of Columbia High School and a 1958 graduate of Millersville State Teachers College (now Millersville University), he was a four-year starter at second base at Columbia. From 1961 to 1971 he played fast pitch softball in the Lancaster Rec League and PA Major Softball League. His teaching career began at Hempfield High School in 1958, and he started his coaching career as an assistant basketball coach and head baseball coach in Columbia. In 1966 Bell moved to Manheim Central as a teacher and assistant basketball coach. He coached basketball on all levels, from junior high and junior varsity to high school head coach. Bell made his mark as coach at Central as the head baseball coach. During his 28-year career, his teams won eight section titles and four league championships. He was a two-time L-L League Coach of the Year and produced 27 consecutive winning seasons. Four of Bell's players signed professional contracts. Honors include the Lancaster County Sports Hall of Fame and the J. Freeland Chryst Sports Achievement Award by the Lancaster County Old Timers Athletic Association.

John Brubaker is being honored as an outstanding athlete and coach. A 1983 graduate of Manheim Central and a 1987 graduate of Millersville University with a bachelor's degree in Industrial Arts, Brubaker earned six varsity letters three each in football and track during his athletics career at Manheim Central. He was a three-year starter at running back and holds the career rushing record with 2,919 yards. As a sophomore, Brubaker was a member of Manheim Central's first-ever 10-0 team. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in both his junior (1,071) and senior (1,284) seasons and set school records with Most Carries in a Game (37) and in a Season (258). Brubaker was voted to the 1982 Big 33 All-Star team as a running back. In track, he set school records in the triple jump at 44 feet 1 inch and the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.1. At Millersville, Brubaker played varsity football three years and earned letters as a junior and senior. After graduation he returned to Manheim Central as an Industrial Arts teacher and continues in that position today. He began coaching football as an assistant in 1987 and served as junior varsity head coach from 1988 to 1991. Since 1992, Brubaker has been the Barons defensive coordinator. Brubaker also served as boy's track head coach from 1988 to 2002. During his tenure the Barons won two section tiles and had nine winning seasons. His track-and-field teams set 15 MC school records.

Kurt Gibble is being honored for his career in physics. An experimental and theoretical physicist, he graduated from Manheim Central in 1982, graduated with highest honors from Lehigh University with a degree in Engineering Physics in 1986, and earned a Ph.D. at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1990. He was a post-doctoral researcher at Stanford University with Steven Chu, Nobel Prize winner and current Secretary of Energy. In 1993, Gibble joined the physics faculty at Yale University and moved to Penn State in 2001. His research has advanced the accuracy of the world's best atomic clocks and has contributed to studies of the scattering of atoms at ultralow energies. He is an avid cyclist, qualifying for the U. S. Nationals on the track and road and finishing in the top 25 at the 1985 National Criterium Championship.

Richard Hammer is being honored for his career as a sportscaster. A 1952 graduate of Manheim Central High School, he attended Franklin & Marshall College from 1952 to 1954 and graduated from Temple University with a bachelor's degree in Communications in 1957. Hammer was the play-by-play announcer for basketball and football for Easton, Nazareth and Wilson high schools in Pennsylvania and Phillipsburg and Phillipsburg Catholic high schools in New Jersey as well as Lafayette College in Easton. He did the play-by-play announcing for Lafayette College in the NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Neb. From 1967 to 1975 Hammer was a member of the NBC News Bureau in Cleveland, Ohio, serving as a sports reporter and weekend sports anchor on WKYC-TV and providing film reports on sporting events for NBC affiliates across the country including the Today Show. Some of his highlights include interviewing Cleveland Indians manager Frank Robinson on the Today Show and announcing a Cleveland Browns-San Diego preseason game and a Cleveland Indians-Kansas City baseball game. He called Gordie Howe's 700th goal, did baseball All-Star Game previews, Ohio State Rose Bowl specials and baseball spring training previews in Arizona and Florida. He also announced the Detroit Tigers pennant-clinching baseball game. Other coverage included U.S. Open Golf at Oakmont and Firestone Golf tournaments. He continues freelancing as a reporter covering Lafayette College football and basketball. Honors include the Lafayette College Sports Hall of Fame, PA District 11 Wrestling Hall of Fame, McDonald's All-Star High School Football game Hall of Fame, Easton's Schoolmen's Association Man of the Year and the Lifetime Service Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Link:
Banquet to honor Manheim and Manheim Central standouts

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

From medical treatments to alternative energy solutions, innovation has been top of mind in our nations capital this week. Honoring high school seniors with exceptional promise in math and science, Intel Corporation and Society for Science & the Public (SSP) recognized the winners of the nations most elite and demanding high school research competition, the Intel Science Talent Search.

Nithin Tumma, 17, of Fort Gratiot, Mich., won the top award of $100,000 from the Intel Foundation for his research, which could lead to more direct, targeted, effective and less toxic breast cancer treatments. He analyzed the molecular mechanisms in cancer cells and found that by inhibiting certain proteins, we may be able to slow the growth of cancer cells and decrease their malignancy. Nithin is first in his class of 332, a varsity tennis player and a volunteer for the Port Huron Museum, where he started a restoration effort for historical and cultural landmarks.

Second place honors and $75,000 went to Andrey Sushko, 17, of Richland, Wash., for his development of a tiny motor, only 7 mm (almost 1/4 inch) in diameter, which uses the surface tension of water to turn its shaft. Born in Russia, Andrey worked from home to create his miniature motor, which could pave the way for other micro-robotic devices. Andrey, a long-time builder of small boats, recently filed for a Guinness World Record for the smallest radio-controlled sailing yacht.

Third place honors and $50,000 went to Mimi Yen, 17, of Brooklyn, N.Y., for her study of evolution and genetics, which focuses on microscopic worms, specifically looking at their sex habits and hermaphrodite tendencies. Mimi believes that through research such as hers, we may better understand the genes that contribute to behavioral variations in humans. Mimi was born in Honduras and is fluent in Cantonese. She plays French horn and volunteers to prepare and deliver meals to people with serious illnesses.

These finalists join the ranks of other notable Science Talent Search alumni who over the past 70 years have gone on to win seven Nobel Prizes, two Fields Medals, four National Medals of Science, 11 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships and even an Academy Award for Best Actress.

We invest in Americas future when we recognize the innovative achievements of our nations brightest young minds, said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. Hands-on experience with math and science, such as that required of Intel Science Talent Search finalists, encourages young people to think critically, solve problems and understand the world around them. Rather than simply memorizing facts and formulas, or repeating experiments with known outcomes, this competition engages students in an exciting way and provides a deeper level of understanding in such important but challenging subjects.

Other top honors from the competition include:

Fourth Place: Fengning (David) Ding of Albany, Calif. received a $40,000 award for his work on representation theory of Cherednik algebras, a topic in theoretical mathematics that sheds light on deformations of important symmetries, which are related to conservation laws.

Fifth Place: Benjamin van Doren of White Plains, N.Y. received a $30,000 award for investigating a poorly understood behavior of nocturnal migratory birds, called morning flight, which has potential implications for the growing wind power industry.

See the article here:
Teenager Unlocks Potential Pathways for Breast Cancer Treatments, Wins Intel Science Talent Search

Wake Forest University was recognized as having some of the best graduate programs in the country in a recent ranking by U.S. News & World Report.

The magazine annually ranks graduate school programs. Its undergraduate rankings, which are typically announced with much more fanfare, don't come out until the fall.

Wake Forest was the only school in the Triad recognized by the magazine.

Wake Forest School of Medicine placed 19th among the nation's top medical schools in primary care and 42nd among research programs in the annual list of the country's best graduate schools.

Edward Abraham, the medical school's dean, called the ranking an honor.

"We are committed to our academic and clinical mission to provide quality patient care through medical innovation and education," Abraham said.

The latest edition of Best Graduate Schools surveyed 149 accredited medical schools and programs across the country last fall.

Wake Forest's Schools of Business full-time MBA program was ranked 44th out of 441 programs, a three-spot improvement over last year.

"Our students, faculty, staff and alumni should be commended for continuing to make the Wake Forest MBA a great investment," said Steve Reinemund, dean of the Schools of Business.

In addition, Wake Forest's MBA program for working professionals was ranked 32nd.

Read the original here:
Wake Forest gains high spot in U.S. News rankings

Peter Colombo remembers playing baseball with John Waldron during the long days of summer at James Edgar Playground in the 1960s.

Then 8, both boys would go on to play football together at Brockton High School, on the first Super Bowl teams to square off statewide at the high school level in the 1970s.

Waldron played center; Colombo was quarterback. Both graduated from Brockton High in 1975.

We were tandem that way, Colombo, 55, now coach of the Brockton High football team, said Sunday.

He said he last saw Waldron recently over a pizza at Tin Rays Cafe in the Village. Colombo offered to buy him a beer, but he said Waldron had given up beer for Lent.

John was always there. He believed in helping kids and everything that was good for our city, Colombo said. It goes back to football for us.

John A. Waldron, a lifelong Brockton resident known for his constant support of the city, died early Saturday at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton. He was 54.

Waldron was a former member of the citys Planning Board, on the executive committee of the Brockton Democratic City Committee, and was a longtime booster of Brockton High sports and clubs.

To me, he was family and community, said former Mayor John T. Yunits Jr., 60, a friend of Waldron for two decades. He didnt talk the talk, he lived it. He didnt look for anything in return.

His wife, Mary (Przybylowicz) Waldron, is the executive director of the Brockton 21st Century Economic Development Corp. and former chief of staff for Yunits. In October, Mary chronicled her battle with breast cancer for The Enterprise. She credited her husband with helping her through the ordeal.

Read the original post:
Friends: Brockton booster Johm Waldron ‘was always there’

WASHINGTON -- For Monica DiLeo, a senior at Cheshire High School, the highlight of her week in Washington was meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House.

DiLeo, one of 104 students selected for the United States Senate Youth Program, met with the president on Wednesday and had her photo taken with him and the other student delegates in the East Room of the White House.

"I worked in his 2008 presidential campaign and was among the thousands who saw him speak in Hartford,'' DiLeo said in an interview. "But I freaked out to see him in the White House. It was incredible.''

DiLeo has been active in various high school Democratic Party groups in Connecticut. She said she plans on majoring in chemistry in college, then attending medical school.

The 104 high school students -- two from each state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense schools -- visited Washington for a weeklong intensive study of their government.

The other Connecticut delegate, Abdul-Razak Mohammed Zachariah, a junior at West Haven High School, said he was impressed by the other delegates. "All of them are so different -- a lot of states are very different than Connecticut -- but we all worked great together,'' Zachariah said.

His career goal is electrical engineering.

The delegates also met with Chief Justice John Roberts, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, British Ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott, NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr., senators and House members and Brian Lamb, CEO of C-SPAN.

This week marked the program's 50th anniversary. Just as DiLeo, Zachariah and the other delegates met with Obama, the first class of delegates in 1962 met with President John F. Kennedy at the White House.

The United States Senate Youth Program is funded and administered by the Hearst Foundation. The program's more than 5,000 alumni include Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., state legislators, judges, soldiers, and ambassadors.

See the rest here:
Ct. students savor week in nation's capital

WASHINGTON -- For Monica DiLeo, a senior at Cheshire High School, the highlight of her week in Washington was meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House.

DiLeo, one of 104 students selected for the U.S. Senate Youth Program, met with the president Wednesday and had her photo taken with him and the other student delegates in the East Room of the White House.

"I worked in his 2008 presidential campaign and was among the thousands who saw him speak in Hartford," DiLeo said. "But I freaked out to see him in the White House. It was incredible."

DiLeo has been active in various high school Democratic Party groups in Connecticut. She said she plans to major in chemistry in college and then attend medical school.

The 104 high school students -- two from each state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense schools -- visited Washington for a weeklong intensive study of their government.

The other Connecticut delegate, Abdul-Razak Mohammed Zachariah, a junior at West Haven High School, said he was impressed by the other delegates.

"All of them are so different -- a lot of states are very different than Connecticut -- but we all worked great together," Zachariah said.

His career goal is electrical engineering.

The delegates also met with John Roberts, chief justice of the United States; Defense Secretary Leon Panetta; British Ambassador Peter Westmacott; NASA administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr.; Brian Lamb, CEO of C-SPAN; and members of Congress.

This week marked the program's 50th anniversary. Just as DiLeo, Zachariah and the other delegates met with Obama, the first class of delegates in 1962 met with President John F. Kennedy at the White House.

View post:
Conn. students savor week in nation's capital

Justices Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor sit behind Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy at the State of the Union in 2010.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Editor's note: Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a CNN.com contributor and a nationally syndicated columnist.

San Diego (CNN) -- Now that we have Sonia Sotomayor, a Latina, on the Supreme Court, the esteemed body will soon find itself in the middle of a telenovela.

The storyline involves the contentious issue of affirmative action, which is central to Fisher vs. University of Texas, a case that is scheduled to come before the court this fall. It will cast a spotlight on two of the court's justices: Sonia Sotomayor and Samuel Alito. Affirmative action seems to be intensely personal to both of them, though for very different reasons.

First, let's take a minute to note just how similar Alito and Sotomayor are in terms of their background. Both are baby boomers, born just a few years apart. Alito is 61 years old and Sotomayor is 57. They grew up in neighboring states. Alito is from New Jersey and Sotomayor is from New York. Both came from ethnic, working-class families. Alito's parents were teachers, Sotomayor's father was a tool-and-die worker and her mother was a telephone operator. Finally, both went to Princeton University and Yale Law School, where both served as editors of the Yale Law Journal.

Ruben Navarrette Jr.

Given all those similarities, what could these two Supreme Court justices possibly have to argue about? Affirmative action. That's what.

Will the Supreme Court strike down affirmative action?

Alito has highlighted in a 1985 job application for promotion to officials in the Justice Department of the Reagan administration that he belonged to a group called Concerned Alumni of Princeton. And what were the Princeton alumni so concerned about? Why, that there were supposedly too many women and minorities being admitted to the prestigious but predominantly white institution.

Read the rest here:
Personal take on affirmative action

Derry Area School Board began its March 1 meeting with a moment of silence to remember slain middle school teacher Rebecca Stahl and to offer thoughts of support for her family. The body of the popular sixth-grade math instructor, who was on medical leave, was found Feb. 24 in shrubbery off a Unity Township road three days after the 37-year-old Hempfield Township woman was reported missing by her father. Authorities have said she was strangled and have arrested her husband, David Frank Stahl, 41, for criminal homicide in her death.

At last week's meeting, Derry Area Superintendent Roberta McCahan remembered Rebecca Stahl as a "consummate professional" who "always had a smile on her face and was that haven in the storm for any student who needed academic or emotional support." McCahan also recalled Stahl's "compassion for children, her enthusiasm and amazing work ethic" and noted she remained at Derry Area after serving as a student teacher.

"She loved to teach math, and her enthusiasm for her content area was contagious. Many of her more reluctant learners were successful under her care," McCahan said, adding, "Rest in peace, Becky."

The superintendent also thanked Derry Area staff as well as others from Greater Latrobe and Ligonier Valley districts and Westmoreland Intermediate Unit who helped provide guidance and counseling as Derry Area students and faculty coped with Stahl's death. Last week, Derry Area middle school students organized a "Mrs. Stahl Spirit Week," wearing a different color to school each day to remember their late teacher.

Money matters

In other business, the school board approved a 2012-13 Westmoreland Intermediate Unit budget of $4.8 million, representing an increase of $434,486 from the current school year.

Derry Area administrator Cheryl Walters reported that the district has made the cut in a pre-application phase and has been invited to submit a follow-up application for a federal Keystones to Opportunity grant of up to $1 million; the application is due by March 16. If the funding is approved, Walters said, it would support literacy programs for district youngsters from birth to grade 12.

The school board withdrew its offer to Bob Slezak to continue as head coach of the varsity baseball program and authorized administrators to declare the position open for applications for the 2012 season. soon to get under way. Board member Ralph Neiman -- who cast the sole vote opposing the coaching move -- declined to comment, noting it was a personnel matter. School board President Dave Krinock, who is a volunteer baseball coach, abstained.

At the August board meeting, when a number of 2011-12 coaching slots were filled, several parents expressed concern about Slezak continuing as head baseball coach.

After that session, one of the parents, Marsha Reitz, indicated several players were discontent under Slezak's leadership and might not return for their senior year with the team this spring.

More here:
Derry Area board remembers teacher, OKs Westmoreland IU budget

As tuition costs continue to mount at universities across the nation, some colleges are sitting on mountains of cash.

And while some of that cash goes to regular campus operations or scholarships for students with financial need, many schools dont really use it at all, investing the money to fund big future projects. And sometimes, when the economy tanks, the money simply gets lost in the market.

Private schools rely on alumni and corporate sponsors to raise funds for the schools endowment fund, and while some endowments are quite restricted (as in they can only be spent after a certain amount of time, or can only be invested so as to use the profits), many leading universities have taken criticism for collecting the money and sitting on it while raising costs for students.

The most recent comprehensive endowment study from the National Association of College and University Business Owners, which evaluated the 2011 endowment funds for 839 institutions in the U.S., found 75 with more than $1 billion in the bank.

[Related: Best College Degrees For In-Demand Careers]

Here are the 10 richest universities in the U.S. If any of the results surprise you, let us know in the comments section below!

Photo: ThinkstockThe Richest College: Harvard University

2011 endowment funds: $31,728,080,000 Change from previous year: 15.1% Students, Fall 2011: 21,000 Undergraduate tuition: $52,652 for tuition, room and board for the 2011-2012 school year

Topping the list for the richest university in the U.S. is Harvard, a school used to appearing at the top of most college rankings of distinction. The schools more than $30 billion eclipses the other schools endowments on this list, so even though the fund saw the least year-on-year growth of any other on the list, it doesnt seem to be in much danger of slipping down in the ranking. In any case, the recent success of a certain Asian-American Harvard alumnus in the NBA will surely open many alumni wallets for next year.

2nd-Richest: Yale University

Go here to read the rest:
The 10 Richest Colleges in America