2007-2008 Annual Report of Service - Shippensburg University

6 Shippensburg University
Geography Earth Science
Department
Dr. Claire Jantz, in conjunction with the
Center for Land Use, is working with county
planners in Pike and Wayne counties and the
National Park Service to develop forecasts of
future land use change in the Upper Delaware
Watershed. Pike and Wayne are among the
fastest growing counties in Pennsylvania,
and many of the new residents are attracted
to the area because of the scenic, natural, and
recreational resources, including the Upper
Delaware National Scenic River and the
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation
Area. Using a computer model, maps of future
development have been created, which
allow county planners to be pro-active in addressing
growth management and resource
conservation.
The bridge at Burd Run on campus was used as
an example for an Innovative Bridge Design for
Pennsylvania Communities workshop.
Dr. George Pomeroy continues to
serve as the university representative to the
Cumberland County Municipal Advisory
Board, as a member of the Pennsylvania
Planning Association Legislative Committee,
as an alternate member of the Southampton
Township (Franklin Co.) Zoning Hearing
Board, and as a member of the South Mountain
Conservation Landscape Initiative (SMCLI)
Working Group. He also chairs that group’s
Land Use subcommittee. Dr. Pomeroy also
serves as the director of the university’s Center
for Land Use, and has organized, coordinated,
or otherwise worked to provide the following
workshops for local planning stakeholders at
Shippensburg University:
❚ Innovative Bridge Design for
Pennsylvania Communities ( July 29,
2008)
❚ How to Select a Consultant (April 22,
2008)
❚ What’s the Big Deal About Zoning
(April 3, 2008)
❚ Planning Duties of the Newly Elected
Official (March 19, 2008)
❚ Tax Increment Financing (February 25,
2008)
❚ The Municipalities Planning Code
Made Easy ( January 15, 2008)
❚ What’s the Big Deal About Zoning
(September 25, 2007)
Dr. Pomeroy also published two guest essays
in Chambersburg’s Public Opinion newspaper
entitled “Protect the Scenic Landscape
that is South Mountain,” and “More Growth
Is Coming, So Let’s Grow Smart.”
Dr. Christopher Woltemade continues
to serve as a member of the Shippensburg
Borough Water Authority and volunteer organizer
for Ship Shape Day stream clean-up, and
volunteer organizer for the South Mountain
Velo Club annual bike race, which this year
raised over $750 for charity.
Dr. Tom Feeney is vice-chair of the
Shippensburg Borough Authority. The
Authority’s primary responsibility is to provide
public water for approximately 16,000
residents in Shippensburg Borough and five
surrounding townships. This service area includes
Shippensburg University. The authority
operates and maintains one reservoir and
three water supply wells, over 100 miles of
water line, and five storage facilities on a $2
million dollar annual operating budget. Major
system improvements are continually made to
the system through loans and/or municipal
bonds in excess of $10 million. In the absence
of the chair, the vice-chair runs monthly meetings
that are open to the general public.
Dr. Feeney is also the assistant National
Weather Service (NWS) observer for the
Shippensburg Weather Station. With Dr.
Tim Hawkins, weather observations are made
daily and sent to the NWS office in State
College, PA. The station has been in service
since November 1932. Finally, Dr. Feeney
is an American Youth Soccer Organization
(AYSO) soccer coach.
Drs. Paul Marr, Scott Drzyzga, and
George Pomeroy recently completed their
Geographic and Economic Assessment
of Trucking and Warehousing for Rural
Pennsylvania, a research effort supported by
more than $47,000 in grants from the Center
for Rural Pennsylvania and Center for Land
Use at Shippensburg University. The authors
found that Pennsylvania is well situated relative
to large population centers in the United
States and Canada, and the Commonwealth
employs large shares of its total workforce in
three transportation-related service industries.
For example, in terms of employment concentration,
Pennsylvania ranks first for warehousing,
twentieth for long-distance trucking, and
ninth for logistics services. Drs. Drzyzga and
Marr presented these findings, among others,
at the latest annual meeting of the Association
of American Geographers and the Center for
Rural Pennsylvania summer 2008 board meeting.
The project was an outgrowth of a 2005
report published by Dr. Marr and Dr. Kurt
Fuellhart.
Dr. Fuellhart also served as the meeting
facilitator for the Franklin County Area
Development Corporation’s recent Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis
workshop.
In addition, Dr. Paul Marr was instrumental
in winning a small research grant to
excavate the Fort Morris archeological site
in Shippensburg Borough over the summer.
The study may have produced some of the
first clear archeological evidence for the actual
position of the fort, long a subject of debate
among historians.
Drs. Alison Feeney and Jan Smith recently
contracted with the Pennsylvania Department
of Conservation and Natural Resources to
produce interactive maps for camping sites
at Pennsylvania State Parks. With the help of
approximately 20 geography-earth science undergraduate
students, they used GIS technology
to produce over 200 interactive maps for
reserving camp sites on the DCNR web site.
Dr. Smith also presented a talk on issues
in geography education to a local rotary
group in August. She also serves as the national
president of the National Council for
Geographic Education, which is involved in
establishing and strengthening geography
curricula throughout the nation, including
Pennsylvania.
Dr. William Blewett continues to provide
training and interpretative materials for staff
members of the National Park Service. His
latest contribution is a Resource Report on
understanding and interpreting ancient shoreline
features in National Parks along the Great
Lakes.
History & Philosophy
Department
In April 2008, the History faculty once
again co-sponsored Regional History Day
with Messiah College. Over 400 middle
school and high school students from twentytwo
regional school districts participated.
Individual faculty participated in a number
of other service activities. Drs. Allen
Dieterich-Ward and Christine Senecal were
part of a global warming panel during the
January 31st teach-in. Drs. Douglas Birsch and
Robert Shaffer serve on the Chambersburg
Hospital Ethics Committee and committees
for the national Peace History Society and
Society for Historians of American Foreign