1. Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center is one of the top-grossing entertainment venues of its kind nationally, and has hosted artists ranging from Elton John to Cirque du Soleil to Martina McBride. Which group was the very first featured act to perform at the Jordan Center, on January 18, 1996?
a. Rusted Root
b. Goo-Goo Dolls
c. Phish
d. The Clarks
2. The Nittany Lions appearance in the 2007Alamo Bowl will mark the 40th time the football team has played in a post-season bowl. What is Penn State’s all-time winning percentage in bowl games?
a. 56.7 percent
b. 66.7 percent
c. 76.7 percent
d. 86.7 percent
3. At the start of the 2006-07 academic year, University Park residence halls and apartments had a capacity of 13,253 students. But because of strong demand for on-campus housing, a few students above that number were briefly accommodated in temporary quarters. Two other Penn State campuses that year also temporarily surpassed their official on-campus housing occupancy rates. These campuses were:
a. Berks and Hazleton.
b. Erie and Beaver.
c. Altoona and Mont Alto.
d. Harrisburg and Greater Allegheny.
4. Penn State’s University Park campus recycled a total of about 20 tons of paper, glass, plastic and other assorted waste products in 1989. How many tons of campus waste materials were recycled last year?
a. 1,150 tons
b. 3,020 tons
c. 4,430 tons
d. 6,070 tons
5. Penn State has approximately 1,500 buildings on its 24 campuses throughout the state. What is the average age of these structures?
a. 16 years
b. 21 years
c. 27 years
d. 33 years
6. The Penn State Thespians, founded in 1897, is the University’s oldest continuously active student organization. Although the Thespians historically have been reasonably law-abiding, in April 1935 they violated a local ordinance when they attempted to
a. introduce women as cast members for the very first time.
b. move scenery from downtown State College to Schwab Auditorium on a Sunday.
c. stage a play in which one of the characters used curse words.
d. use a professional actor in one of their productions.
7. In 2006-07, Penn State received more than 6,800 applications for the 145 vacancies it had available for students entering what program?
a. physician training the College of Medicine
b. the Ice Cream Short Course in the College of Agricultural Sciences
c. MBA studies in the Smeal College of Business
d. undergraduate majors in the College of Information Sciences & Technology
8. This Penn State undergraduate program capped its centennial celebration in 2006-07 by being ranked, along with a similar program at Louisiana State University, as the best in the nation. What is the program?
a. Petroleum and natural gas engineering
b. Landscape architecture
c. Agronomy
d. Educational psychology
9. Old Main is Penn State’s most well known and most often photographed building. Opened in 1930 and designed by Charles Klauder, the leading collegiate architect of his era, it replaced the original Old Main, opened in 1859. Who was the architect of the original Old Main?
a. Evan Pugh, Penn State’s founding president
b. Hugh N. McAllister, a founding member of the Board of Trustees
c. Turner and Natcher, the Carlisle-based construction firm that built Old Main
d. William G. Waring, founding member of the horticulture faculty
10. September 1983 is a benchmark in Penn State history because
a. John Oswald, who had served as University president since 1970, announced his intention to retire.
b. women finally outnumbered men in the undergraduate population (total, all campuses).
c. the University Libraries introduced a policy of monetary fines against faculty who had overdue books.
d. the University returned to a semester calendar after 22 years of using a four-term academic year.
11. Penn State’s class of 2008 recently chose to contribute a gateway entrance to campus along North Atherton Street as its gift to the University, continuing a tradition of class gifts that goes back more than 100 years. One of the most famous gifts is the Nittany Lion shrine, presented by the class of 1940. Yet when the seniors of 1940 voted for their class gift, the Lion shrine won by a margin of less than 4 percent of the total vote. What proposed gift almost beat out the Lion?
a. a scholarship fund
b. a cabin on nearby Tussey Mountain as a getaway for Penn State presidents
c. a painting of the Nittany Lion for display in Old Main
d. an ambulance for the new Ritenour Infirmary
12. At the end of the spring semester for the past 12 years, Penn State President Graham Spanier has led newly hired University faculty on a three-day “Road Scholars” bus trip, giving them a first-hand acquaintance with the Commonwealth’s people, places and heritage. Which of the following has the Road Scholars tour NEVER visited?
a. a mushroom farm in Armstrong County
b. a brewery in Schuylkill County
c. a hospital in Montour County
d. a baseball stadium in Erie County
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