A staff member in the College of the Liberal Arts has been receiving hate mail messages regarding sexual orientation since the beginning of the fall semester, according to the college's dean.

The hate mail, which has been found slipped under the staff member's door and throughout Sparks Building, has spurred a Penn State University Police investigation.

In a Nov. 3 e-mail memo to liberal arts faculty and staff, Liberal Arts Dean Susan Welch wrote, "Recently a staff member in the [College of the] Liberal Arts was a target of hate mail and threats based on sexual orientation." Welch said last week that the memo was sent after a "repeat incident" in which a staff member received an anonymous letter containing hate speech.

While she declined to identify the target of the letters or elaborate on what the letters contained, Welch said, "Most hate mail is threatening in its own way."

University police assistant director, Tyrone Parham, said a letter was found slipped under a staff member's office door Sept. 19 between noon and 1 p.m. Parham said another letter was found Sept. 20 between 2 and 3 p.m.

Since then, letters not specifically addressed to any particular staff member have been found in various locations around Sparks, Parham said.

"There have been several notes found throughout that building," he said.

Parham said the investigation is ongoing and would not release the name of the victim.

In her memo, Welch cited six university policies prohibiting acts of intolerance and noted that the perpetrator could receive "serious sanctions for such activities up to and including expulsion and dismissal."

Welch said despite the warning, letters have continued to be found "left in various places" since the memo was sent -- another letter was found the week before Thanksgiving.

Meanwhile, Welch's memo has been circulating through various departments.

Jon Olson, director of the Undergraduate Writing Center, forwarded the message to his staff.

He said he hadn't heard about the hate mail before he received the memo, but felt that the message was an example of a positive step that the university was taking against discrimination.

"I welcome the university trying to create an atmosphere that has an intelligent view of tolerance," he said. "I wanted my employees to see that."

Welch said this is the first time an incident of this nature has occurred in the College of the Liberal Arts.

"It's not something we like to have happen in what we think of as an enlightened community," she said.