Aug. 3, 2018
Sitzabee's Soundbite
Hello,

And just like that, summer is almost over. We have less than one month until our students will be back on campus, football season will be underway, and we'll be well on our way into work under the new Capital Plan.

I'd like to draw your attention to a couple things. First, for the past several months members of the Senior Leadership Team partnered with a member of the OPP Diversity & Inclusion Team to explore and learn more about basic Diversity & Inclusion topics. Now we're expanding the opportunity to explore these topics to all of OPP with monthly Lunch & Learn sessions. The first one is Aug. 3. Stay tuned for announcements for each monthly session. I hope you'll take advantage of these sessions to explore topics that will help us all effectively navigate our workplace and communities.

I also want to remind you of the upcoming Office 365 transition coming in late August. We have a great team here in OPP preparing our organization for this transition. Please stay on top of the communications coming out via email, here in News & Views and more so you are prepared when the time comes. There are a lot of tools that will aid you in moving to Office 365 so I urge you to take some time to take advantage of those to help make this move as smooth as possible.

Finally, on Monday July 30 we honored those individuals who have reached the 30- and 35-year milestones in their employment at Penn State. It was a privilege to be a part of the reception and acknowledge their time and dedicated service through the years. I'd like to again extend my thanks for all their hard work. You can find a complete list of honorees in this edition of News & Views.
 
This first full summer in State College has been fantastic! I hope you all have had or will have a chance to spend some quality time with your families before the fall semester begins. I am looking forward to the return of the energy the student population brings to the campus and our town. We have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks and months.


Best,
Bill
Provide Excellent Facilities Services for Penn State
OPP Mission
Integrity | Respect | Responsibility | Discovery |
Excellence | Community
OPP Values
Welcomes
Charles Tracy Irvin accepted a position as an assistant director of real estate. His first day was July 2 .
Hometown: State College
Hobbies: Football, family
Adam Hicks accepted a position as a groundskeeper. His first day was July 2.
Hometown: State College
Hobbies: Football, hockey
Dennis Frantz accepted a position as a groundskeeper. His first day was July 2.
Hometown: Bellefonte
Hunter Johnstonbaugh accepted a position as a groundskeeper. His first day was July 2.
Hometown: Bellefonte
Hobbies: Fishing, hunting
Sean LeConte accepted a position as a maintenance worker. His first day was July 2.
Hometown: State College
Hobbies: Golfing, hiking, Penn State football
Richard Sclesky accepted a position as a maintenance worker. His first day was July 2.
Hometown: Carroltown
Hobbies: Dual sport riding
James Driskel accepted a position as a maintenance worker. His first day was July 2 .
Hometown: Loretto
Hobbies: Hunting, fishing
Evan Cleary accepted a position as a facilities designer. His first day was July 7.
Hometown: State College
Hobbies: Penn State football, tailgating
Justin Ripka accepted a position as a waste collector. His first day was July 2.
Hometown: Bellefonte
Hobbies: Spending time with family, working on his Harley
Kurtis Davidson accepted a position as a maintenance worker. His first day was July 9.
Hometown: State College
Hobbies: Hunting, bicycling
Quintina Martin accepted a position as a custodial worker. Her first day was July 9.
Hometown: Pleasant Gab
Hobbies: Exercise, spending time with grand kids
Anissa Wiley accepted a position as an occupational safety/environmental health specialist. Her first day was July 9.
Hometown: State College
Hobbies: Reading, traveling
Mark Parseghian accepted a position as a real estate specialist. His first day was July 23.
Hometown: Johnstown
Hobbies: Soccer official, gardening, grandkids
Thayne Russel l accepted a position as a custodial worker. His first day was July 23.
Hometown: Hollidaysburg
Hobbies: Sports, family, church
John Maines accepted a position as a custodial worker. His first day was July 30.
Hometown: Morrisdale
Hobbies: Hunting
  • Ronald Kerr accepted a position as a maintenance worker. His first day was July 16.
Farewells


  • Aaron Furgiuele, custodial worker, announced his departure. His last day is August 3.

  • Robert Blazina, preventive maintenance worker, announced his retirement after 22 years. His last day is August 5.

  • Huoy-Jii Khoo, former IT manager, accepted a position in Boston. His last day was July 27.

  • Debra Reeder, custodial worker, announced her departure to transfer to A&BS. Her last day was July 23.

  • Stephen Oskin, operations engineer, announced his departure to take a position outside of Penn State. His last day was July 9.

  • Mark Woodring, waste water treatment plant operator, announced his retirement after 35 years. His day was June 20.

  • David Breon, facilities management, announced his retirement after 27 years. His last day was June 29.

  • John Stitzer maintenance worker utility, announced his departure was June 15.

  • Lee Washesky, architect, announced his departure. His last day was July 1.

  • Justin Wisor, custodial supervisor, announced his departure. His last day was July 20.
OPP 30- and 35-Year Service Award Recipients

Congratulations to the individuals who have worked for OPP for 30-35 years! Those who were able to attend were honored on Monday, July 30 at a reception in the Founders Lounge of the Bryce Jordan Center. A few pictures are below. View the rest on Flickr.
Lee Palmer, who has reached 31 years of service, was joined by his two daughters at the 30- and 35-year reception.
Bill Markley, who has reached 31 years of service, was joined by colleagues at the 30- and 35-year reception.
Cheers
Making Moving Easier
Ruth Weber, executive director of OVPR Operations, wrote to OPP to thank a crew for their help moving to the Navy Yard. "I just wanted to send a note of recognition and appreciation for Nadine Davitt , Tim Smeltzer , Scott Shoemaker , Bryan Packer , Ron Petrosky and John Boatman for organizing a very large move and set up of work spaces at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for me. They were willing to take an entire floor of cubilces apart, sort, store, transports and reassemble the pieces from University Park to Philadelphia, saving my unit tens of thousands in new furniture purchases. They also let me take 4 days for the installation out of their usual schedule. They all went above and beyond my expectations, and are currently working on a similar arrangement to Behrend for another one of my groups."

Compliments
The OPP Blood Drive collected 36 units yesterday, the highest since 2010! The American Red Cross said, "I t couldn’t of happen at a better time with the need so great. Thank you to all that made the time to make this happen!"

Water Leak Help
Heide Port wrote to OPP to say, "A special thanks to Hilary Stewart and Tyler Kibe for stepping up and helping during a water leak in the Director’s office at the Palmer Museum of Art on July 13th. They realized the urgency of the situation and helped provide the necessary equipment for the OPP staff who arrived to locate the issue and stood by throughout the day to help with the clean-up, brought fans to help with the drying process and helped dry books. Thank you for your help. It was much appreciated."

So Pleased
Kathy Swearingen wrote to OPP regarding Lois DeLosa. "I just wanted to let you know that we are extremely pleased in Lois’ work and how she is always willing to go out of her way to help us out. You have a great team!"

Keeping Things Cool
Beth Clark, budget analyst, wrote to OPP Area 1 Supervisor Ron Nagle to say, "Just a quick note of kudos and, more importantly, THANKS to Jeremy Lingle for helping to restore cooling to my office this week. The fan motor in my office unit fried during the hottest stretch of the year so far, as well as the busiest stretch of the year (fiscal year-end)...so I was sweating for multiple reasons that week! Jeremy got a new one ordered right away and installed. When I got in the next morning, it was a very comfortable, dry 71 degrees in my office (down from a humid high of 81). He was very pleasant and professional and I am eternally grateful!"

Superior Performance Awards
Tim Pryor nominated Matt Grieco for providing leadership to his team during a difficult time of transition and loss. "Matt provided leadership through a difficult year. 2017 was a year of new leadership and the loss of a close colleague. During this time Matt served as an anchor for the team and helped them get through this difficult time. Thank you for you support and sacrifice for your fellow team members!"

Pat Kasper nominated Lee Shreckengast for a job well done on the Summer 2018 Warnock, Runkle and Leete projects. "Area 5 was given a big job to do and we only had 5 days to do the work. We had a punch list to fix units behind a contractor that had performed work on all the fan coil units in each dorm room in Leete and Runkle Halls. The punch list was incomplete and missing details. Lee organized his fellow employees with a game plan, went from room to room testing each unit and completing the work. The housing manager was short on labor and didn't have the resources to complete all the work that was involved, she was thrilled with the work Lee had done and in the time he did it."
Kara Ballenger - Author of graphic novel Fire Sphere

Kara Ballenger , author of the recently-published graphic novel Fire Sphere , came up with the idea 15 years ago as a middle school student. After she graduated from South Hills School of Business & Technology with an associate degree in graphic design, she became dedicated to the novel while also working at OPP. At OPP Kara works in the print room as a facilities specialist helping to print out walk-in work for architects and clients that want blue prints printed for buildings, which she then files onto the server, Docfinity. Outside of OPP, Kara owns a small business selling her homemade spray paint art. In this interview Kara discusses her novel and how she balances multiple jobs and passions on a daily basis.

Q: What is Fire Sphere about?
Kara: It's about a girl name Gabrielle who finds herself waking up in a dark room. She ends up in what's basically like limbo where she sees a series of elevators and a Grim Reaper. He's an Australian surfer Grim Reaper who is quite hilarious. He has no idea who she is, so he takes her to Abaddon, which is the town where they meet this mad scientist who is half of Jekyll and Hyde. Hyde is the head person that will eventually take everyone to all the different realms, so she is super smart and knows everything. The cool thing about her is she literally jumped out of Jekyll's head and became her own person. Gabrielle meets all different kinds of gods and goddesses, befriends them and then they go on adventures. They try to help people out.

Q: What inspired you to write this story?
Kara: My family did. I've always been really good at drawing and my mom, dad, and stepfather have always been really encouraging. They wanted to help me get better at it and they were really supportive. I also didn't want to quit. I wanted to use my art somewhere.
This is a story that includes a lot of diverse cultures and people in it. A lot of comics now just focus on superheroes. These are characters people can relate to. You can have a character that's kind of made for you, you don't have to have supernatural powers. I wanted to do something completely different. There were a lot of people that were saying, “Oh, you're just going to try to do what Marvel is doing with the Avengers.” We're trying to do the actual history behind it, but also have fun with it.

Q: What did you do in preparation for writing Fire Sphere ?
Kara: Growing up I did a lot of figure drawing. I actually took summer art classes at Penn State when I was little. I'm really self-taught. I did a lot of hand-drawn stuff and expanded on those skills with the classes. I always took art classes in high school, no matter what they were. I was also the vice president of the art club. I couldn't really focus on that as my main source of a career, so I chose graphic design. I took graphic design courses, learned Photoshop, transferred all of my hand-drawn stuff into digital so it could be printed and distributed. I learned all of the basic layouts and how to do different things in Adobe Software. 

Q: Did you do any research before writing the novel?
Kara: Yes! We have a bunch of history books. We have ones dealing with all of the different mythologies. We have Egyptian, Celtic, Norse, Native American, Chinese, Japanese, and we have each individual book so we can select different themes and Gods that will be good to represent in the story. We have urban legends too.

Q: Did anyone help you along the way with your novel?
Kara: My friend/co-author and I, Mads Cherluck, have done research and talked to different people from different countries to make sure we get the legends and stories correct. Mads knows a lot of different types of mythology as well. I actually met her online and at a convention. We talked and talked and thought we should try to see how this works. It didn't work from far away, so we thought it would be easier if one of us moved. She moved down here to work on it.

Q: How long did it take you to write this novel?
Kara: I asked my co-author two years ago to help me because I couldn't do it by myself. I needed that extra push. I knew I wanted to do it, but I didn't know where to start. She moved here from Michigan so that we could room together and make the story. We work on it every day. I work at OPP full time and then this is my second job. We go to comic conventions to promote it. It took 2 years to write and edit the story before drawing the pages out. Then, it took about 5 months to sketch, layout and color the pages before sending it to the printers.

Q: Did you ever experience writer's block?
Kara: Oh, yes. The story was set around all of these characters who were in high school, and it grew from that. There are a lot of movies and TV shows it is centered around. I didn't want to do the same old thing everyone is used to. It was a challenge. It took 15 years because I couldn't come up with a beginning, middle, and an end. I knew I had the end and the beginning, but I didn't know all the way through. That's where I needed help.

Q: What was more difficult, writing the story or working on the imagery?
Kara: When I was in high school, I had each page written out like an actual story to help me visualize it. When we went to lay it out in a comic format, we had to make it like a movie script. You basically say what you're going to make your character do in Panel 1, for example. It was difficult because I couldn't really see it anymore in the novel format. We have a script we work off of and then I draw. I'll even draw a couple different sketches and decide which one we like best. We'll save the other sketch for somewhere else if we don't like how it ends up. We're always constantly doing something.

Q: What advice would you give a first-timer about publishing a book?
Kara: If you're doing it by yourself, make sure you have your story and all of your different characters. Make sure you have different expressions and different character designs because you don't want each person to look the same. You also want to have a character bio.

Basically, you have to do the planning first. I would suggest doing your characters, then do your story, then do your page layout, and if you want an extra person to help you, make sure they follow that. It's your idea and they're coming into it.

I would start with that and then write the whole volume out. From there, go page by page by page. Don't do it in a different order. We did that. Work from beginning to end of the volume and make sure you know the different programs really well. If you're hand drawing it, make sure you have everything inked well, and know what type of scanner you're going to use.

Q: Will there be more graphic novels to follow, possibly sequels to Fire Sphere or new stories?
Kara: We have estimated more than 60 volumes for it. It's a pretty long story. We don't want it to go super fast. This one is the first one, so it has 112 pages in it. Volume 2 will have a little bit more because this one is just introducing everything.

Q: How long do you think it will take you to write the next novel?
Kara: Well, we're trying to do two a year, which is a lot easier to do. It took us 5 months to make the first one. We released it in April and the next one is going to be in December for Christmas. What I'm learning now is spray paint, which I'm trying to incorporate into this. I've been doing spray paint art and having planets in it and it looks really, really cool. I really want to see if I can scan those in at some point and make it a background.

Q: You own a small business that includes spray paint art, graphic design and novel making - can you talk about how it started?
Kara: It's called Fire Sphere Designs and it's the name of the graphic novel because it's what we do the most. I decided to make the company because you have to have a tax ID number for conventions. We really wanted to sell it at conventions and you can't do that without one.

I started the business last year and we were able to do all types of conventions. We also do fan art. That brings in the people. If people already know something, like Superman, we draw that and that brings people over to your table. That's when we start talking to people about the novel. Both of us have a different style. I actually taught her how to do a lot of my characters. She wasn't used to drawing in that way yet. It took her a few months. We did this entire book and it doesn't look like one person did it, which is good. That's also how we have our digital art set up. Hers looks different than mine so people will ask who did what. That's when we tell them if they like both of our styles they should check out this book we both worked on.

Q: What inspired you to get into spray paint art?
Kara: I wanted to learn something different. I'm not very good at regular painting. Regular painting doesn't have an eraser. With digital art you have erasers and you can use Photoshop and make it look different. I can do that type of painting and spray paint, but for some reason I was never able to do acrylics. I always wanted to try doing spray paint because of all of those videos of people in New York City and it looked really, really interesting. The backgrounds kind of match what we're doing in Fire Sphere.

I actually started doing it a few weeks ago. It’s going pretty well because Culture Crawl, a mini art exhibit on Calder Way, asked if I could have some of my spray paint art there. I didn't know it was that good yet. A lot of people want to learn it, so I'm thinking about having a class on weekends for people who want to learn how to do it. It's a lot of fun.

Q: Is there anything particularly challenging about being an artist of many forms?
Kara: Not really! I actually think it's different and interesting. A lot of artists just focus on one style, and that's it. I like coming up with different styles. When I was making Fire Sphere, I used Anime and Asian Cartoons. I also liked 90s cartoons, so I pushed those two together to make my own type of characters. That goes with the different pastel and other different pencil and crayons. I even make my digital art look like oil paint. I incorporate different styles that I did with fine art and put it in the digital. I don't really have challenges with it. I usually just do it. Sometimes I just randomly do other ones. I do sharpie art, which is just cross hatching with sharpies. I also melt crayons onto canvas so it looks waxy. I kind of try to see what else you can do and incorporate all of it into the book.

Q: How do you balance your job at OPP and your small business?
Kara: I work around it because I work here full time from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Then, I usually have an hour and a half break when I get home to sit and relax, then I start working on the book. With spray paint right now, when I run out I work on the book.

When I work on spray paint it can’t be extremely hot outside. I have to look at the forecast to see what the weather is going to be like for the day. Temperature is the deciding factor of spray paint because it could make the paint runny or the can could explode. Working with oil paint can be dangerous because it’s very flammable, so you need to do it in a controlled environment. Also, you can’t spray paint in the rain either.

We finished this book in April and I wanted to have a month off of not working on it. Now, we're starting to sketch out the pages again for the second volume. It should be ready by December.
 
If you are interested, you can order Kara's graphic novel at www.firesphere.net or find it at Webster's Bookstore Café, Comic Swap, Emporium Market in the Nittany Mall, and Jake's Card Shop in Bellefonte.

Upcoming Events:
·          Culture Crawl in State College on July 8 th
·          Steel City Con in Monroeville August 10-12 and December 7-9
·          Additional Culture Crawl events throughout the year

For more about Fire Sphere, follow Kara on Facebook at Fire Sphere Dezigns and on Instagram as @firespheredezigns.

Purchase or request paintings from Kara on the Facebook and Instagram pages!

Be on the lookout for Fire Sphere Vol. 2 coming in December!
Kara and her co-author, Mads
Spray paint art by Kara
Work Lion Updates

On Monday, July 23, Penn State HR added several resources to the WorkLion portal to help managers and their proxies choose the correct form when looking to change compensation, provide supplemental pay, provide a one-time payment, or change a job, for example.

Within the Manager Tools menu in WorkLion, two new menu options titled, Help Me Choose and Manager Form FAQs will be available.

The Help Me Choose option provides a decision tree that will help in choosing the correct form in the aforementioned scenarios. Alternatively, you can use a guided questionnaire at the end of which, you’ll be provided with the correct form based on your responses.

Lastly, within the manager tools menu option, there is a Manager Form FAQ. This provides answers to frequently asked questions about all manager forms in general.

Attached is a sneak peek of how the Help Me Choose tool will look.

Back to School Drive
The OPP Events Committee is helping the Salvation Army collect school supplies for students in the area. Needed items include book bags, pens, pencils, graphic calculators, paper, notebooks, tissues, highlighters, flash drives, and crayons. The box will be located in the Office of Physical Plant lobby until August 10. Help a child in need!
Penn State Football Game Day Frequency Coordinator
Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics is seeking an experienced radio operator, who will function as the football Game Day Frequency Coordinator for all home Penn State football games for the 2018 season.

The ideal candidate will be knowledgeable in VHF/UHF RF communications along with an understanding of FCC Rules and Regulations. The roles and responsibilities of the Frequency Coordinator are primarily to make certain that all entities operating wireless devices throughout the stadium on Game Day have a clear and useful frequency for the duration of the event. The Frequency Coordinator must be engaged in pre-event coordination to identify and resolve frequency conflicts prior to and if necessary during events.

Ideal candidate must possess strong administrative skills. Position must be able to amass and coordinate any and all frequencies utilized on gameday, much of which is brought in on gameday by visiting teams, broadcasters, Law Enforcement, EMS, event security staff, and other non-University entities. Much of this coordination will need to take place prior to the season as well as in the weeks prior to games. Strong written and verbal communications skills are also necessary. Successful candidate is expected to establish a frequency screening process whereby any and all radio equipment used on gameday is vetted and frequency information is gathered in electronic format.

This individual will be required to be on site at Beaver Stadium Friday’s prior to each home football game from approximately 830am – 600pm and also prior to the game on Saturdays staying through the end of the game. Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics will provide the necessary gameday credential, parking pass, laptop and other equipment that is deemed necessary to complete the work required.

Compensation for this position will be determined based on experience. Hotel accommodations may be provided if necessary.  

Interested candidates should email a cover letter outlining their experience along with a resume to Cory Chapman, Associate Athletic Director – Facility and Event Operations, at chapman@psu.edu.
OPP Phone Swaps
Due to some questions regarding technicians receiving a new cell phone when they change positions within OPP, we looked into the practice and wanted to provide the reasoning for why we do this.

The current policy, which requires a phone stay with a position when an individual changes jobs within OPP, was reviewed by team members from Buildings & Grounds, Administrative & Financial Services and ITS to determine if a change in process was needed. After weighing the pros and cons of the current policy versus changing it, it was determined that the practice of issuing a new phone should remain in place as-is. Key takeaways from this conclusion include:

  • Customer service is a huge component of our work. For example, if a customer needs to contact an Area 4 technician, they are always able to use the same phone number to contact an Area 4 technician regardless of whether the individual in that position has changed.
  • Device type is determined by position. A position needing a phone only for the purpose of contacting others requires only a flip phone, while a position needing access to Maximo requires a smart phone with internet access.
  • Supervisors and administrative staff have specific numbers assigned to their area for ease of service.
  • Cell phones can be thought of much like a tool. Just like a tool you are issued, a cell phone stays with the position and not the person when there is a job change.
  • Phones are assigned to positions allowing for the device to be billed out based on purchase and usage. Transferring devices can have a domino effect impacting multiple systems, processes and people across units.

Transferring contacts is one of the key challenges for employees when receiving a new phone. To address this challenge moving forward, the Payroll/Telecom office will transfer contacts from phone-to-phone using a Cellebrite device obtained from AT&T. This will make the process of getting a new phone much easier.

If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding the cellular phone swap policy, please reach out to the Payroll/Telecom office at opppt@psu.edu.

Thank you for your understanding and attention to this issue.
OPP Website Insights
Since launching the new OPP website in February 2017, the website has continued to grow and change to adapt to the needs of OPP employees and customers. There are a number of unique and useful features throughout the website. Look forward to learning about them in the next few editions of News & Views.

Employee Communication Archive
Check out the new section on the Intranet! The Employee Communication Archive will keep you updated when Bill Sitzabee or another member of the senior leadership team sends out an email regarding policies, protocols, or to follow-up on any issues or questions.

ITS HelpDesk
Similar to the legacy OPP website, the ITS HelpDesk has a section on the OPP Intranet, which can be found in the "Resources" menu on the intranet. On the HelpDesk page you can submit an eTicket, find self-help instructions for a variety of topics, and find contact information.

Facilities Coordinators
Looking for a Facilities Coordinator? Visit the designated Facilities Coordinator page, which can be reached via the yellow button at the top of the OPP webpage, from the Quick Links menu, and from the blue Facilities Coordinator button located below the OPP Mission Statement graphic. You can search by name, building, administrative unit, and email.

Calendar
Looking for upcoming training events, OPP events committee events, and more? Check out the intranet calendar. Once on the intranet, scroll down to the calendar below the right side menus and select "View All Events." See an invent your interested in? Click it for more information.
OPP Game Day 2018!
After last year’s overwhelming success, the OPP Events Committee has once again worked with the Athletics’ ticketing office to put together a great deal. This time we’re going with the very first game of the season, Sept. 1 against Appalachian State. One difference this year is that we are offering two different options. You can purchase $30 tickets in the Upper North End Zone, or you can purchase $70 tickets located on the Upper Sidelines (sections EGU/ECU or EFU/EDU). You can purchase tickets for yourself, friends, and family. There are no limitations on this deal! 

We are offering the ability to purchase tickets using this link, Ticket Order Form It is only one page. Once you click “Next” at the bottom of the page, your request will be submitted.

You can also print and fill out a paper form (pdf) for tickets.

If you have any questions, please email oppevents@psu.edu.
Did You Know?

Trivia Question:
Here's the answer to the next question: $1.50. Now, what is the right question?

a. What was the cost of a one-semester mail subscription to the Daily Collegian in 1959?
b. What was the cost of the "sheepskin fee" for spring commencement in 1960?
c. What was the cost of a cheeseburger platter meal in the Lion's Den at the HUB in 1961?
d. What was the cost of a ticket to a Duke Ellington-Dizzie Gillespie concert in Rec Hall in 1962?

Last Month's News and Views Trivia Question and Answer
Philanthropy goes back many years. Who was the first donor to Penn State to have something named in recognition of his or her generosity?

a. Hugh McAllister
b. Louise Carnegie
c. Elliot Cresson
d. Rebecca Valentine
Photos of the Month
Blake Leah, daughter of Matt Leah, throws out the first pitch at the State College Spikes game on Aug. 2.
Andy Hughes, second shift custodial supervisor, captured this beautiful sunrise!
Mike Wilks, environmental systems technician retiree, received an award after working for Penn State for 26 years.
Tammy Zeigler , custodial supervisor, received her 25 year award.
Who wore it best? Steve Oskin , Todd Webber or Dwayne Rush?