The Penn State Blue Band, “green” report cards and Shields Building are all part of the 2010 edition of the annual Penn State holiday quiz. See if you can measure up to the trivia experts in the Office of University Relations who developed this year’s tester by taking this 12-question challenge. A tie-breaker is included. True blue-and-white Penn Staters use brains, not search engines, to arrive at the correct answers.
1. Penn State alumnus Leidy D. Zern (class of 1927) discovered and patented a successful process that made possible
a. the commercial manufacture of chocolate milk.
b. an effective treatment for poison ivy.
c. the first practical dentures for cats.
d. gathering temperature and wind-speed data from weather balloons.
2. In a recent survey, Penn State ranked with Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, and the University of California Santa Cruz as the nation’s top four schools as measured by the impact of its published research in which of these fields?
a. recreation and leisure studies
b. plastics engineering
c. school and educational psychology
d. astrophysics
3. In addition to their Penn State baccalaureate degrees, what do alumni Mark Parker, John Surma, and Patricia Woertz have in common?
a. They are members or former members of the University’s Board of Trustees.
b. Each has endowed a professorship or faculty chair at the University.
c. They are CEO’s of Standard & Poor 500 companies.
d. The University has recognized each by naming a room, plaza or other facility in their honor.
4. What is a Penn State Cwen?
a. a hierarchical system for web mining developed by the College of Information Sciences and Technology
b. a member of a Penn State intramural bowling team
c. an object in the Celtic garden at the Arboretum at Penn State
d. a member of a national honorary society for sophomore women
5. The year 1972 was memorable for the Penn State Blue Band because it
a. played Broadway show tunes for the first time at a home football game.
b. added majorettes for the first time.
c. appeared twice on national television following the regular football season.
d. played part of a concert under guest conductor Mickey Mouse.
6. When Penn State early in 2010 launched the public phase of its capital campaign, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, it became one of how many universities nationally (public and private) to be engaged in capital campaigns with goals of $2 billion or more?
a. 3
b. 7
c. 13
d. 22
7. Eric Walker, an internationally distinguished scientist and engineer who served as Penn State’s president from 1956 to 1970, after his retirement acknowledged his involvement in which of the following activities:
a. investigating UFO’s on behalf of the federal government
b. analyzing aerial photographs of Cuba prior to the Bay of Pigs invasion
c. making clandestine visits to Moscow during the Cold War
d. enrolling in a beginners’ violin class at age 73
8. Penn State Berks alumna Allison Baver achieved fame in 2010 when she
a. won an Olympic bronze medal in the 3,000 meter speed-skating relay.
b. was recognized by the Country Music Association as a member of the Vocal Group of the Year.
c. won election to Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives.
d. became president of cable television’s Food Network.
9. One of these is located near the West Campus Steam Plant, one near Shields Building, and one on Old Main lawn. What are they?
a. markers of the iHear Penn State campus cell phone tour
b. descendants of the original Old Willow tree planted by William G. Waring in the 1860s
c. solar panels that help the campus make use of the sun’s energy
d. senior class gifts
10. Penn State’s December 2009 commencement ceremonies included the awarding of eight degrees that were the first conferred by the University in what field?
a. International Affairs
b. Bioinformatics
c. Alternative Energy Technology
d. Homeland Security
11. Cumberland Posey was Penn State’s first African American student to participate in varsity athletics (basketball, 1910-11). He later earned what distinction?
a. Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences named a variety of geranium in his honor.
b. He was the first African American to play in what later would become the National Basketball Association.
c. He was a member of the first American squadron to fly around the world.
d. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
12. In 2006 Penn State instituted a master plan for energy efficiency and conservation that in a recent national “report card” earned it an A in recycling. How many tons of waste products of all types did the University recycle last year:
a. 950 tons
b. 1200 tons
c. 7500 tons
d. 14,000 tons
In case you need a tie-breaker:
In fall 2010, Penn State’s total enrollment stood at 87,309 (all degrees-level, all campuses.) What was total enrollment in the fall of 1950, when Joe Paterno first arrived at the University as assistant football coach? Whoever comes closest without going over, WINS!
Correct answers, along with a repeat of the questions, can be found at http://live.psu.edu/story/50457.
Michael Bezilla, Penn State University