Ridge at Grove City

Ridge at Grove City

GROVE CITY, Pa. — Former Pennsylvania Governor and Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge will present the annual Grove City College Pew Memorial Lecture at 7 p.m. Oct. 8 in Ketler Auditorium of the Pew Fine Arts Center on campus. The presentation is free and open to the public.

A native of western Pennsylvania, Ridge served six terms in Congress beginning in 1982 and was the first enlisted Vietnam combat veteran elected to the U.S. House. He was governor from 1995 to 2001, earning recognition for technology, education, environmental and health-care initiatives and aggressive tax reforms.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he was appointed the first Office of Homeland Security Advisor, and in 2003, took over as the first Secretary of Homeland Security, a position he held until 2005. He now serves as a consultant and sits on the boards of such businesses as Home Depot and Savi Technology, an international technology provider.

Most recently, he was appointed senior adviser to the government of Albania and is a member of the Virginia Tech Incident Review Panel, a group prescribed by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine after the April 16 shootings at the Blacksburg campus.

Ridge is a graduate of Harvard University and Pennsylvania State University’s Dickinson School of Law.

Wanted: couches for race

CANTON — That old couch you’re about to throw out may be the fastest davenport on wheels. There’s only one way to find out — contact the Office of Student Development at Malone College at (330) 588-7815.

The annual Malone College Davenport Derby will be at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18 in front of Randall Campus Center, and teams of Malone students are searching for old davenports to convert into racing machines, decorating both the couches and themselves based on selected themes.

They compete for the coveted “Golden Couch” award but there are also honors for the best costumes, most spirited contestants and fastest couches. The event is a throwback to an earlier tradition of bed races that once took place along 25th Street in the 1950s.

Mount Union visitations

ALLIANCE — Mount Union College will hold fall Visitation Days for high school juniors and seniors interested in attending the school. The students and their families can visit campus Sept. 22 beginning at 2 p.m. or Nov. 10 beginning at 8:30 a.m. to learn more about the facilities. The visitors are also invited to stay for Purple Raider football games both days. For information, call the Office of Admission at (330) 823-2590 or e-mail admission@mcu.edu.

Beaver Co. college fair

MONACA, Pa. — Penn State Beaver and the Beaver County Times will host the Sixth Annual Beaver County College Fair from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 25 in the campus gymnasium.

The event is free and open to the public with representatives from more than 130 colleges, universities, technical schools and the military present to answer questions and provide information for students and their families. In addition to college recruiters, a representative from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) will be present to answer questions about financial aid.

High school students, especially seniors and juniors, are encouraged to attend the fair. No registration is required. Directional signs and parking attendants will be on campus to provide parking assistance.

St. Rose accreditation

GIRARD — Sunny Days Child Care Center located in St. Rose School has earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The ranking recognizes the center’s commitment to reaching the highest professional standards, said Michelle Frease, administrator. The accreditation lasts for five years.

WKSU wins news award

KENT — The WKSU newsroom at Kent State University has been awarded a first-place PRNDI Award for Continuing Coverage from Public Radio News Directors Inc. The honored work was a compilation of reporter/producer Daniel Hockensmith’s reports on the 2006 strike at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. The award was presented at a recent annual PRNDI conference in New Orleans.

Free adult education

YOUNGSTOWN — Registration for free adult education classes sponsored by Youngstown Adult Basic Literacy Education is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday during the last three weeks of each month throughout the school year. Registration can be completed at St. John Episcopal Church, 323 Wick Ave. Classes include GED preparation, improved reading, math or writing skills, English as a second language, college preparation and career entrance testing. For information, call (330) 744-8715.

Grove City freshmen

GROVE CITY, Pa. — Grove City College may have some bragging rights with the academic quality and achievements of its 654-member freshman class this fall. Some facts and figures about the class include:

•Average GPA: 3.72.

•Average SAT: 1269.

•Average ACT: 28.

•62 valedictorians and 27 salutatorians.

•20 National Merit Scholarship Finalists.

•52 percent in the top 10 percent of high school class.

•3 percent served as student body presidents.

•2 percent served as senior class presidents.

•20 percent played varsity athletics.

•23 percent were involved in student council.

•47 percent were active in missions.

•94 percent performed some sort of community service in high school.

•20 percent were involved in marching band.