academic and careers

'Growing Impact' discusses communicating inland flooding through visualizations

The latest episode of "Growing Impact" explores how a research team is using computer modeling and animations to visualize future flood and levee failure scenarios.




academic and careers

Viral country singer Sam Barber brings his ‘Restless Mind’ to Penn State Nov. 7

Viral country singer-songwriter and former reality-star contestant Sam Barber will bring his “Restless Mind” tour to Happy Valley at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, in Eisenhower Auditorium.




academic and careers

Joyce Robinson named interim director of the Palmer Museum of Art

Joyce Henri Robinson has been named interim director of the Palmer Museum of Art, effective Dec. 1. She has been a curator at the Palmer since 1997 and has served as assistant director since 2018. Erin M. Coe, director since 2017, is stepping down to become the executive director of the Rockwell Museum (a Smithsonian Affiliate) in Corning, New York. A national search will be launched for a new permanent director.




academic and careers

OPAIR announces inaugural cohort of Assessment Champions

Penn State’s Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research has designated its inaugural cohort of Assessment Champions for 2024-25. This new program recognizes individuals who are deeply committed to enhancing student learning through learning assessment.




academic and careers

2025 TLT Symposium request for proposals open for faculty through Nov. 4

Penn State Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT), part of Penn State University Libraries, is accepting proposals for the 2025 TLT Symposium, scheduled for March 22, 2025. Open to Penn State faculty and staff, the event showcases ways technology can enhance teaching and learning in higher education. Attendees will share unique ways they use technology, network with colleagues, and generate new project ideas.




academic and careers

Grad earns full-time position through Pennsylvania state department program

Lindsay Mitchell, a Penn State World Campus graduate who earned a bachelor's degree in accounting in May, is one of Pennsylvania’s newest auditors after securing a position through an intern-to-hire program. World Campus offers the undergraduate accounting program in partnership with the Penn State Harrisburg School of Business Administration.




academic and careers

Students invited to virtual leadership and success conference

Penn State World Campus is hosting a virtual leadership summit this month and invites students from across the University to attend.




academic and careers

Course focuses on best practices for assisting online learners’ supporters

A new professional development course explores how Penn State faculty members and staff can help the parents, guardians and spouses of online learners while following federal and University privacy policies.




academic and careers

Penn State Smeal's Palumbo-Miele named 2024 Women in Supply Chain award winner

Donna Palumbo-Miele, executive director of the Center for Supply Chain Research at the Penn State Smeal College of Business, has been awarded the 2024 Women in Supply Chain award by Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive.




academic and careers

Peter Cocoziello discusses real estate innovation on 'Dare to Disrupt' podcast

In the latest episode of Invent Penn State’s "Dare to Disrupt" podcast, host Ryan Newman interviews Peter Cocoziello, chairman, founder and CEO of Advance Realty Investors, a company specializing in real estate development, construction and property management.




academic and careers

Gustafson to discuss biodiversity protection, land values on Oct. 30

Matthew Gustafson, Robert and Judith Klein Professor of Finance in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State, will give the talk, “The Biodiversity Protection Discount,” at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 30, in 157 Hosler Building on the University Park campus. Lecture is free and open to the public.




academic and careers

Students are invited to connect with Pittsburgh-area employers on Nov. 25

Students are invited to expand their professional network and connect with businesses during the second annual Pittsburgh Connect: Penn State Student Networking Summit at the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 25.




academic and careers

New innovation fund for Penn State Smeal students to explore AI initiatives

Dan and Robyn Ives recently made a $100,000 commitment to create the Dan and Robyn Ives AI Innovation Initiatives Fund in the Penn State Smeal College of Business. Their annually funded gift will give Smeal’s eLearning Design and Innovation Group $20,000 a year over the next five years to explore the challenges and opportunities that AI presents for Smeal students, faculty and staff and to expand educational and experiential learning opportunities around AI.




academic and careers

Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation announces seed grant awardees

Penn State’s Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation has awarded its inaugural seed grants. These grants are designed to support interdisciplinary research projects that foster collaboration led by Penn State researchers, aiming to make a significant impact on the future of the built environment and real estate practice. 




academic and careers

Penn State Online MBA students make sure their friend doesn’t miss Homecoming

Three Penn State Online MBA students attended the 2024 homecoming game — including one in an unconventional way.




academic and careers

Estate commitment to support scholarships for actuarial science students

Ron Gebhardtsbauer and Greg Wright hope their $1 million estate commitment will help Penn State attract the type of high-achieving student for whom a scholarship offer can be the deciding factor between attending Penn State or another institution.




academic and careers

Northampton County corrections director speaks to criminal justice students

Michael Pittaro, director of corrections for Northampton County and associate professor of criminal justice at American Military University, shared stories about his experiences over his 35-year career in the field of corrections with Penn State Lehigh Valley criminal justice students recently.




academic and careers

PSU-LV criminal justice adjunct named Pennsylvania Probation Officer of the Year

Penn State Lehigh Valley criminal justice program adjunct instructor Corallys Fernandez's work in the juvenile probation field was recently recognized on a state level.




academic and careers

PSU-LV faculty and staff present at Commonwealth Connections Instructor Days

Faculty and staff from Penn State Lehigh Valley were among the slate of presenters and panelists at the annual Commonwealth Connections Instructor Days, a virtual event whose goal is to share strategies and tools for success in teaching.




academic and careers

Start Up Lehigh Valley holds 6th annual pitch competition

A sweet dessert infused with tropical flavors took home the top prize in the 6th Annual Start Up Lehigh Valley pitch competition held on Oct. 15 at Baker Hall, Zoellner Arts Center in Bethlehem. The annual event recognizes and encourages new business ventures in the greater Lehigh Valley




academic and careers

Lehigh Valley fall art exhibition to focus on 'liberty and justice for all'

Three artists whose work examines the ideas of social justice, civic engagement and democracy will be featured in an exhibition at the Ronald K. DeLong Gallery at Penn State Lehigh Valley from Nov. 18, 2024, to Jan. 23, 2025.




academic and careers

Panelists at PSU-LV event discuss importance, challenges facing reading literacy

Shifts in how reading is taught have led to declining reading literacy scores on standardized tests across U.S.




academic and careers

Scholarship honoring the life of Karli Short grows to include University Park

Penn State alumnus and Board of Trustees member Brandon Short and his wife Mahreen are honoring their late daughter Karli through the Karli Short Better Tomorrow Foundation. The foundation provides financial assistance through a scholarship for Penn State undergraduates grappling with the fallout of gun violence, and the Shorts are inviting other donors to support the fund.  




academic and careers

Greater Allegheny student research presented at biannual conference

Penn State Greater Allegheny hosted its Spring 2024 Undergraduate Student Research and Creativity Conference, highlighting students’ findings in topics they explored with faculty mentors.




academic and careers

Greater Allegheny students bring home regional press awards

Penn State Greater Allegheny student journalists earned Golden Quill Awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania for their exceptional writing and multimedia work in the campus newspaper, the GA-Zette.




academic and careers

Project aims to build strong manufacturing workforce with immersive technology 

The Richard King Mellon Foundation recently awarded $392,000 to Penn State to build a strong science- and technology-focused workforce in the state’s Mon Valley region through collaboration and virtual, augmented and mixed reality trainings and tools.




academic and careers

Third annual Open Champion award winners honored for work with open education

Six Penn State Commonwealth Campuses recently named faculty members as Open Champions, recognizing their work with open education in the third year of Penn State's Open and Affordable Educational Resources Champion Awards.




academic and careers

Greater Allegheny faculty member honored for advancing women in mathematics

Kuei-Nuan Lin, associate professor of mathematics at Penn State Greater Allegheny, has been awarded the 2025 Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) Service Award for her exceptional leadership in advancing women in mathematics. Her contributions, including leading the AWM Mentor Network Program and serving in various committee roles, highlight her dedication to supporting women in the field.




academic and careers

Greater Allegheny students named finalists in national competition

The College Media Association recognized Penn State Greater Allegheny students as finalists for its national Pinnacle Awards competition.

 




academic and careers

Greater Allegheny launches common intellectual experience on aging

Penn State Greater Allegheny’s fourth annual All Campus Day introduced the "Growing Older" common intellectual experience, aimed at exploring and understanding the complexities of aging, especially in a region with a significant senior population.




academic and careers

Faculty-produced videos on the value of the humanities earn honors

Unique video work done by Penn State Greater Allegheny faculty member Rosemary Martinelli, assistant teaching professor of marketing and communications, has garnered gold, silver and bronze awards on the local and international stages.




academic and careers

Greater Allegheny Inducts first-generation students into honor society

Summary: Penn State Greater Allegheny recently celebrated the induction of its first cohort into the Alpha Alpha Alpha (Tri-Alpha) honor society, recognizing the academic achievements of first-generation college students.




academic and careers

Marny Xiong, School Board Chair and Social Justice Champion, Dies at 31 of COVID-19

The daughter of Hmong refugees was an outspoken advocate for minority communities. She was elected to the St. Paul, Minn., school board in 2017.




academic and careers

Getting New School Board Members Up to Speed

One way to train newly elected school board members for the job ahead is to start before they even run for office.




academic and careers

Why School Board Diversity Matters

Most school boards don’t look the students they serve, but new research suggests that must change.




academic and careers

School Board Elections Don't Get Much Attention. They Should

School boards play a critical role in steering the progress of the nation’s schools, but the relationship between school boards and school district leaders could be better.




academic and careers

How the Fight for America's Suburbs Started in Public Schools

A heated school board election in the fast-changing Atlanta suburbs pits Black Lives Matter vs. the “Suburban Lifestyle Dream.”




academic and careers

When School Boards Diversify, Spending Priorities Shift. Here's How

Examining California school boards, a researcher found that electing just one Hispanic member impacts school spending and teacher churn.




academic and careers

School Board Elections Are Often Overlooked. They Shouldn't Be

Don’t forget to vote for your school board, writes Charlie Wilson. It has direct consequences for the education children receive.




academic and careers

Building Better School Boards: 3 Strategies for District Leaders

Here are strategies for creating strong, respectful, productive relationships between superintendents and school boards.




academic and careers

Gift creates emergency assistance fund for World Campus military students

A gift from a Vietnam War veteran will create an emergency fund to help Penn State World Campus’s military learners when they have an unexpected financial setback.




academic and careers

Q&A with outgoing Board of Trustees Chair Matt Schuyler 

After four years as chair of the Penn State Board of Trustees, Matt Schuyler’s leadership term officially ends during the trustees’ meeting today (Nov. 8). Schuyler first joined the board in 2015 as an at-large trustee and will continue serving as a member of the board through the end of his term in 2026.




academic and careers

Kleppinger, Sokolov elected Board of Trustees chair, vice chair 

The Penn State Board of Trustees voted to elect David Kleppinger as chair and Rick Sokolov as vice-chair during its regular meeting on Nov. 8 on the University Park campus. 




academic and careers

Trustees November recap: Board approves projects, elects new leaders

The Penn State Board of Trustees concluded its November meetings, giving final approval to several capital projects and electing new officers, among other actions, Nov. 7-8 at the University Park campus.




academic and careers

Estate gift to benefit students connected to University Libraries and military

Alumna Tanya Seyfert’s estate commitment will create scholarships for students who are affiliated with the military or who participate in work-study at the University Libraries, as well as funding urgent priorities set by Libraries leadership.




academic and careers

Penn State Smeal program supports military veteran entrepreneurs

Jeffrey Goldberg and Matthew Vogt contribute a significant portion of the sales of their company, Sky Devil Wines, to veterans and veteran-specific causes. In 2018 they established a fund that is now named the Sky Devil Veteran's Entrepreneur Fund. The first two recipients of proceeds from that fund were recently named.




academic and careers

Penn State to unveil a new Employee Resource Group for caregivers

Penn State is launching a new Employee Resource Group (ERG) for employees who serve as caregivers for other individuals in their lives, including family members such as elders or children of any age who are unwell, or have special needs or disabilities. The new ERG, called Penn State Cares and is open to employees at all campuses, seeks to create a workplace where caregivers can support each other, use and expand existing university resources, and enable employees, who are caregivers, to thrive and grow.




academic and careers

Army veteran shares story of resilience to teach skills that saved his life

Army veteran Adam Hartswick lost both of his legs due to a IED explosion while he was serving in Afghanistan, but his life was saved by proper tourniquet use. Now, he works with the Justice and Safety Institute, a Penn State Outreach program, to train law enforcement on the technique that saved his life. 




academic and careers

Study tests novel approach to PTSD treatment that helps individuals and spouses

Active-duty service members and veterans experiencing PTSD have additional opportunities for treatment to support them, along with their partners, after the Department of Defense awarded a $3 million grant to Steffany Fredman, associate professor of human development and family studies, and colleagues in the STRONG STAR Consortium.




academic and careers

Three new hawks join flock at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center

Three new hawks have joined the flock at the Klingsberg Aviary at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, including a forest-dwelling goshawk and two rough-legged hawks native to Pennsylvania’s grasslands.