LEWISBURG, Pa. — These are Bucknell University story ideas that may interest you in February.
BUCKNELL TURNS 175 — Bucknell celebrates the 175th anniversary of its founding on Friday, Feb. 5. The charter for the University at Lewisburg was granted by the Legislature of Pennsylvania and approved by the governor on Feb. 5, 1846. Forty years later, the institution was renamed Bucknell University in honor of trustee and benefactor William Bucknell, who saved it from financial ruin. The University will celebrate the anniversary throughout 2021, starting with a State Senate Citation by Sen. Gene Yaw ’65 P ’15 (R-23) immediately following Senate business on Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 3. Three generations of Sen. Yaw’s family will have attended Bucknell once his granddaughter joins the Class of 2025 this fall. The Senate Video Link will provide the live stream of the citation. To mark the official date Friday, Bucknell President John Bravman and Board Chair Chris O’Brien ’80, P’18, P’20 will open the Board of Trustees’ winter business meeting by reading a special proclamation declaring 2021 as a celebratory year. There’s a story on Bucknell’s founding in the winter issue of Bucknell Magazine by Editor Sherri Kimmel, who also plans future stories highlighting the University’s history. A special 175th anniversary webpage with a timeline and links to historical information will go live Friday. And beginning next week, Bertrand Library will host a series of exhibitions of historic artifacts from its Special Collections and University Archives, created by Isabella O’Neill, head of special collections and University archivist. Events are planned throughout the year to celebrate the anniversary. CONTACTS: O’Neill, 570-577-3101, isabella.oneill@bucknell.edu; Kimmel, 215-375-0155 (c), sherri.kimmel@bucknell.edu
AN EPIC WALL STREET UPSET — At the height of last week’s GameStop frenzy, the price of GameStop stock had surged more than 1,700% from a mere month earlier, thanks to an extraordinary stock-buying binge organized online by a bevy of small retail investors, many of whom made massive gains while beating seasoned Wall Street professionals and hedge funds. The investor who led the horde of online followers is 34-year-old Keith Gill. Freeman College of Management Professor Janice Traflet, accounting & financial management, researches stock market history and says, “Regardless of how this remarkable saga ultimately ends, Keith Gill just scored himself a place in the annals of stock market history. Like David taking on Goliath, Gill helped lead an army of small investors to try to beat professional investors and the big hedge funds at their own game.” The GameStop saga caps off a wild year of a retail investing revolution that brings to mind the “Own Your Share” years of the 1950s and 1960s, according to Traflet. “The individual investor is back, and back with a vengeance,” she says. What is it about the GameStop saga that has transfixed so many people from all walks of life? “It’s not just the roller-coaster ride of the stock. It’s that the story touches on so many themes and controversies pervading Wall Street history,” she says. CONTACT: Traflet, 570-577-1920, janice.traflet@bucknell.edu
RESOLVING TO RETOOL — It’s no surprise that by February, many New Year’s resolutions have met their untimely death. So should we just give up? “No,” says Professor Anna Baker, psychology, who studies behavioral factors such as self-management. “We know that behavior change is extremely difficult, or we wouldn’t have a million different diets, exercise programs and apps to help us with different health problems,” she says. Baker points out that behavior change involves continuing to do something regularly — long enough to make it a habit. So you should assume that you will “fall off the wagon,” or miss days. “Knowing that you will, you should have a back-up plan,” Baker says. “Develop an attitude that sees this not as ‘failure’ but as a normal part of the behavior change process.” She says people frequently stop at the first sign of “failure” with resolutions and that doesn’t allow for enough time of acting that way to make it a habit. CONTACT: Baker, 954-439-6504, anna.baker@bucknell.edu
###
CONTACT: Mike Ferlazzo, 570-238-6266 (c), mike.ferlazzo@bucknell.edu