The honor of being on homecoming court is no longer limited to just Penn State students this year.

Homecoming 2006: Pride in Our Legacy, marks the first year that a homecoming court will be held for the staff and faculty of the university as well as the students.

"This is our first year doing it," Catie Star, homecoming university relations overall, said. "It's a way to recognize the faculty and get them involved in homecoming."

Students involved in homecoming felt the court would give faculty a stronger role in homecoming, Star said. "We felt that homecoming didn't have many opportunities for the faculty to get involved," she said.

Students had the opportunity to nominate staff and faculty on the homecoming Web site by giving reasons why they felt these individuals deserved to be on the court. The homecoming university relations committee selected a court of five based on the best student responses.

The members of this year's staff/faculty homecoming court include Ingrid Blood, professor of communication disorders; Frank Clemente, professor of sociology; Allen Kimel, assistant professor of material science and engineering; Patricia Kleban, instructor of recreation, parks and tourism management; and Andrew Peck, senior lecturer in psychology.

All nominations came from students.

"Students knew that they loved their job, and that they weren't just here to teach; they were here to educate us," Star said. "They knew that they cared about their work."

Unlike the traditional student homecoming court, there will be no voting for a king and a queen. The court will simply be presented as a group of faculty appreciated by the student body. "We're starting small this year," Star said.

The court will be attending the friends and family tent at Friday's homecoming parade, and will be presented on the field during halftime of the homecoming football game versus Illinois tomorrow.