Penn State Brandywine’s Student Spotlight series highlights the remarkable work being done by students in leadership, academics, service, athletics and more.

Penn State Brandywine's and Penn State Berks' LaunchBoxes collaborated with Penn State Great Valley to hold the Fall 2024 Idea TestLab Pitch Competition on Nov. 4. Six startup business owners participated in the competition. 

Penn State Brandywine’s and Penn State Berks’ LaunchBoxes, powered by Penn State, collaborated with Penn State Great Valley to hold the fall 2024 Idea TestLab Pitch Competition on Nov. 4. Six startup entrepreneurs participated in the competition, which was held at Great Valley.

The PARCC and Smarter Balanced assessments have evolved since they were launched in 2015. Here's a guide to understanding them now.

The collection and use of data about just how prepared individual children are to enter kindergarten can be a ticklish proposition.

Penn State New Kensington will honor its fall 2023 and spring 2024 graduates on May 6 with an in-person ceremony at 10 a.m. The ceremony will also be livestreamed. Adis Juklo, alumnus and current meteorologist at WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh, will serve as the event’s keynote speaker.

Jacob Guerrini, a junior electro-mechanical engineering technology student at the New Kensington campus, was named the 2024 Berger Scholarship recipient.

Robert Howard and John DeRiggi inducted to the New Kensington Athletics Hall of Fame on April 17. 

Penn State campuses across Pennsylvania were sites of celebration and recognition May 3-5 as the University awarded more than 14,000 degrees during 2024 spring commencement ceremonies held statewide. Revisit the excitement of commencement with this gallery of photos from Penn State's Commonwealth Campuses.

As part of our regular “We Are!” feature, we recognize 14 Penn Staters who have gone above and beyond what’s asked of them in their work at the University.   

Kevin Snider, who became chancellor of the New Kensington campus in 2008, will leave behind a legacy of innovation, fostering partnerships and community development when he retires from Penn State on Dec. 31.

As part of our regular “We Are!” feature, we recognize 13 Penn Staters who have gone above and beyond what’s asked of them in their work at the University.   

As part of our regular “We Are!” feature, we recognize 14 Penn Staters who have gone above and beyond what’s asked of them in their work at the University.  

As part of our regular “We Are!” feature, we recognize 14 Penn Staters who have gone above and beyond what’s asked of them in their work at the University.   

As part of our regular “We Are!” feature, we recognize 15 Penn Staters who have gone above and beyond what’s asked of them in their work at the University.   

Penn State students are experiencing a transformative way of learning thanks to a collaboration between Teaching and Learning with Technology Media Commons and Maker Commons, part of University Libraries, and College of the Liberal Arts faculty in the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Together, they have developed project-based assignments that incorporate hands-on maker technologies, giving students a unique opportunity to enhance their technical and creative skills while promoting social justice and community values.

Erin Kitt-Lewis, associate director of education for the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing’s Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, has been named a 2024 Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing by the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence. 

Penn State World Campus will accept credits from certain courses offered by the Community College of the Air Force that can be transferred toward a bachelor of science in organizational leadership. The degree is offered online through Penn State World Campus by the School of Labor and Employment Relations in the College of the Liberal Arts.

The Biology and Ecology Student Research Showcase, hosted by the Biology Graduate Student Association and Ecology Graduate Student Organization on Nov. 1, featured poster and podium presentations from nearly 30 graduate and undergraduate students.

Sarah Stein, a Penn State College of the Liberal Arts student with three majors, completed an internship with Amazon as one of 28 Liberal Arts students in the Chapel Executive Internship Program this summer.

The science major in the Penn State Eberly College of Science has been renamed integrative science as part of a modern refresh to reflect its interdisciplinary nature.

Dr. Mary Catherine Santos, pediatric surgeon and professor of surgery and pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine, is among an elite group of surgeon educators to be inducted membership into the American College of Surgeons Academy of Master Surgeon Educators in 2024.

Three Penn Staters were selected as finalists for the prestigious and competitive Rhodes Scholarship. Anshuta Beeram, Nate Carey and Kueyoung Kim will participate in final interviews on Nov. 15 and 16. 

The Eberly Family Special Collections Library at Penn State University Libraries has announced that the application period for 2025-26 research grants is now open. Awards are available to support travel and research expenses while utilizing the Eberly Family Special Collections Library at Penn State’s University Park campus. The application deadline is Dec. 10.

Jennifer Jewell, teaching professor in the physical therapist assistant program at Penn State Shenango; Pamela Pologruto, teaching professor of physical therapist assistant at Penn State Fayette; Laura Cruz, research professor at Penn State's Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence; and faculty members from Penn State Lehigh Valley presented at the 2024 Lilly Conference in Austin, Texas.

Roger Myers, recent graduate of Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, has accepted an internship with Walt Disney World Resort.

Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus is dedicating September to raising awareness about suicide prevention through a series of events and activities. This initiative follows the official proclamation by the Fayette County Commissioners, recognizing September as Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month.

As part of our regular “We Are!” feature, we recognize 13 Penn Staters who have gone above and beyond what’s asked of them in their work at the University.   

Penn State Fayette students are invited to meet Estelle Belko, student aid coordinator, from 9-10 a.m. on Oct. 16 inside the Williams Building Student Success Center.

Eric Wicklund, co-author of "Through a Convict’s Eyes: An Overlooked View of the Criminal Justice System," will visit Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus at 12:15 p.m. on Oct. 29 to discuss his insights on criminal rehabilitation. He will be joined by his co-author, Lavarr McBride, who has worked in the criminal justice field for 39 years and serves as a professor of criminal justice at Penn State Fayette.

Virtual reality goggles with a choice of soothing environments or guided meditations, a color-changing bubble wall, a prayer area, Zen garden and massage chair: These are all options provided by Penn State Wilkes-Barre’s Counseling Services to help students relax and stay calm.

They first met in kindergarten, and now they’re in college together. Caleb Balas, Nikolas Kistner and Alexis McGrady were educated at Hanover Area schools throughout elementary, middle and high school. Coming from a graduating class of 111 students, they frequently saw each other throughout school. Since they each made their college choice individually, they didn’t know they would continue to see each other at Penn State Wilkes-Barre — and all three said it’s nice seeing familiar faces.

Penn State Wilkes-Barre held its first Surveying Career Summit on Oct. 16, providing high school students interested in surveying engineering with the opportunity to visit the campus and learn more about their field of interest.

Penn State Wilkes-Barre was selected as “Best College Campus” in a local media group’s annual readers’ choice awards program.

Penn State Wilkes-Barre has received a donation from the Pennsylvania Land Surveyors’ Foundation, enabling the program to purchase additional equipment.

In late 2023, the Penn State Law in University Park Civil Rights Appellate Clinic — along with the Employment Law Group, a Washington, D.C.-based boutique litigation firm — filed merits briefs with the Ninth Circuit to appeal the district court’s dismissal of an ADA case. On the basis of this briefing and subsequent oral argument, the Ninth Circuit reversed the lower court’s ruling and remanded the case for trial.

Penn State researchers explain what election and campaign finance laws say about Kamala Harris becoming the presumed presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket.

Theresa Tarves, interim associate dean for library and information services and professor of legal research, and Rebecca Mattson, interim director of the Law Library and professor of legal research, were invited to speak at the American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting held in Chicago, Illinois, from July 21 through July 23.

Second and third-year law students enrolled in the Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic at Penn State Law in University Park honed their advocacy skills while assisting five Vietnam veterans and their families, and two other veterans, to win disability and/or survivor claims before the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Penn State Law Minority Mentor Program held its 10th annual kickoff reception on Sept. 6 at Toftrees Golf Resort in State College.

Michael Helbing, executive director of the Center for Energy Law and Policy and adjunct professor of law at Penn State, will give the talk, “Flying into the future: sustainable aviation fuel and the policies impacting its development,” at 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7, in 112 Walker Building at Penn State University Park.

In August 2024, Pennsylvania resident Max Justice launched Setas Eternal Living. His flagship product, MyCoffin, is a biodegradable coffin made from mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms. Justice has utilized resources provided by Penn State Law's Entrepreneur Assistance and Intellectual Property clinics and Happy Valley LaunchBox to grow his business. 

Faculty and staff in Penn State’s Law, Policy, and Engineering (LPE) initiative were recently tapped by the governor’s office to lead a two-day training program in September in Harrisburg on science and technology policy. The faculty and staff are part of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Science and Technology Policy Program, which is run by LPE and aims to improve public and environmental health, economic and social equity, and public scientific discourse in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The Penn State School of Music will host internationally acclaimed classical guitarist Julia Trintschuk for a two-day residency, Nov. 15-16, featuring a masterclass and recital that are free and open to the public.

Accomplished writer and Penn State alum Jami Nakamura Lin will read from her works at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14, in Foster Auditorium as part of the 2024-25 Mary E. Rolling Reading Series.

The Emily Dickinson Lecture featuring acclaimed poet Ilya Kaminsky will now take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, in Paterno Library's Foster Auditorium.  The event — rescheduled from an earlier date — is free and open to the public.