Sports B-1

Coach Mihalik points at the Rock fans after the Homecoming win against Edinboro University

The Rocket
www.theonlinerocket.com

Slippery Rock University Student Newspaper

Est. 1934

Friday, October 26, 2012

Volume 96, Number 8

Bob Smith returns to 'The Bob'

Professors allowed to commercialize personal research under new law

By Erica Kurvach
Rocket Staff Reporter

ALEX MOWREY/THE ROCKET

Former SRU President Robert Smith and current President Cheryl J. Norton cut the ceremonial ribbon for the dedication of the Robert M. Smith Student Center. The dedication was one of the events that took place on the Saturday of homecoming weekend. For photo highlights of the entire weekend, see A6-A7.

APSCUF prepares for strike authorization vote

By Jonathan Janasik
Rocket News Editor

The Student Government Association (SGA) rallied in the quad Tuesday afternoon in order to spread awareness of APSCUFs upcoming strike authorization vote. Immediate past president of the SRU c h ap t e r o f A P S C U F, D r. Jace Condravy explained that a strike authorization ser ves as a war ning to PASSHE that A P S C U F is willing to go on strike if necessar y. The strike authorization is voted on by the leaders of that 14 campus es t he compr is e APSCUF. If t h i s aut h or i z at i on

is passed, it will take a supermajority, or 10, of the 14 APSCUF presidents to agree to go on strike. It also takes 10 of the APSCUF presidents to agree to a contract. Condravy explained that passing a strike authorization is common. She believes it has happened the last three or four contract negotiations, over the last d oz e n ye ars . Although strike authorizations are frequent, Condravy st i l l b el i e ves that they are important. I d o n t believe that we do it lightly, Condravy explained. In other words, I dont believe that were just going through
SEE SGA PAGE A-2

ALEX MOWREY/THE ROCKET

SGA president David Wolfe addresses the student body about the upcoming APSCUF strike authorization vote during a rally in the quad on Tuesday.

SRU professors plan to take advantage of the Commonwealth Higher Education Modernization Act that PASSHE Chancellor John Cavanaugh presented last Thursday at an Entrepreneurial Forum. Last Thursday, Cavanaugh spoke about the new law that will allow PASSHE employees to commercialize intellectual property that is tied to their employment. Ms. Nancy Cruikshank, director of grants and sponsored research, said that the state system didnt have state patent attorneys before, but now it has a contract with Penn States Ofce of Technology Management to obtain patents, marketing and licensing of intellectual property. This is originally a teaching university, Cruikshank said. Pitt and Carnegie are research institutions. Since our faculty employees are hired by the state, they could get an attorney through it unless they did on their own. The rst step for professors is to ll out the Disclosure Form and that is sent to the Chancellor Ofce and then to the Penn State ofce to start the process. If the idea is new, novel and innovative, they may patent it. Cruikshank warns that professors need to take caution because once professors make their idea public knowledge, the clock starts ticking. This entrepreneurial phrase means that they have a year from that date to le a patent. Cruikshank suggests that professors need to decide how much information to disclose that might limit their time to le the paper because of competitors. I think its an excellent opportunity for faculty to commercialize because it allows them to go through patent process since its no cost to them, Cruikshank said. They would be able to collect royalties once the product is commercialized. The Chancellor said that it is a win-win situation for faculty members. Chemistry Professors Dr. Min Lin, Dr. Jiyoung Jung and a Duquesne professor are researching to nd a thin, lm monomer unit that will work efciently to provide an organic lubricity for joints to reduce painful symptoms due to biomedical implants. Lin said that about ve to 10 percent of patients treated with biomedical implants experience failure for ve to 20 years later because of the wearing of the metal layer and the pressure on the joints. The professors are expecting to patent their product within a year or so while taking advantage of the Modernization Act when they come to their ndings. Geology Professors Julie Snow and John Livingston worked with Dr. Hongbo (Bernie) Zhou, a computer science professor, to create dataservice software that will allow a non-scientist to utilize this tool to examine how air moves in their
SEE SCIENCE, PAGE A-3

SRU graduates carry heavy student loan debt

Pennsylvania second highest debt-bearing state in the nation
By Catie Clark
Assistant News Editor

Average student loan debt upon graduation in 2011

$35,000 $30,000

The average undergraduate debt load after graduation at Slipper y Rock University is $28,810, the second highest of PASSHE schools, according to a recent study. The study, which was released by the Project on Student Debt at The Institute for College Access and Success in Oakland, Calif., surveyed voluntary responses

from 1,057 public and private nonprofit schools across the nation. According the s t u d y, Pennsylvania was the second highest debt-bearing state in the nation, preceded by only New Hampshire. The PASSHE School with the highest debt after graduation was Indiana University of Pennsylvania, with $32,410 and the lowest was Clarion

University with $3,815 in debt after graduation. Patty Hladio, Director of Financial Aid, said that the results of the study are not completely reliable. When youre looking at all these figures that are self-reported by schools, you have to be aware that it is voluntary reporting
SEE FINANCIAL, PAGE A-2

$25,000 $20,000 $15,000 $10,000 $5,000 IUP SRU Cal. Edinboro Clarion

Information from: The Institute for College Access and Success