This week's top stories from across Penn State:
LGBTQ-FRIENDLY: Penn State received 4.5 out of 5 stars for overall campus climate for 2015 and was named among the Top 25 LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities in the United States by Campus Pride, a national nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus groups working to improve LGBTQ environments at colleges and universities.
GRAND MARSHAL: Comedian Keegan-Michael Key will be the grand marshal for Homecoming 2015.
artsUP: The College of Arts and Architecture will present artsUP, a free celebration of the arts on Sept. 20. Performances, exhibitions, demos and hands-on workshops will be featured throughout the Arts District, which includes Eisenhower Auditorium patio, Palmer Museum of Art plaza and Walters courtyard.
LEARNING RESOURCE NETWORK: Penn State faculty and staff now have a more seamless process for finding, registering for and keeping track of professional development courses with the launch of the new Learning Resource Network powered by Cornerstone on Demand.
COOL SCHOOL: The Sierra Club recently released its annual "Cool Schools" ranking, which rates participating four-year, degree-granting undergraduate colleges and universities in the United States on the basis of their campus sustainability practices. Of the 153 universities ranked in 2015, Penn State qualified at No. 35, making it the highest ranked university in Pennsylvania.
HEALTH CARE SURVEY: Penn State employees who are enrolled in a Penn State Highmark health plan were sent a survey via email on Aug. 13, which offers employees an opportunity to provide feedback on how they chose their health plans. The deadline for survey completion is Oct. 1.
TODDLER VOCABULARY: Two-year-old children with larger oral vocabularies enter U.S. kindergarten classrooms better at reading and mathematics as well as better behaved, according to a team of researchers lead by Paul Morgan, associate professor of education policy at Penn State.
DUBOIS SERVICE: More than 140 first-year students, plus faculty and staff leaders, participated in the annual Penn State DuBois Outreach Day on Aug. 21. The annual event, part of New Student Orientation, sends student volunteers to various charitable and community organizations throughout the DuBois area, giving students a look at the importance of service while lending a hand to local charities.
NEW NAME FOR BUILDING: The former Health and Human Development East Building at University Park campus, home to the College of Nursing, has been renamed the Nursing Sciences Building.