Mining expert Barbara Arnold, professor of practice in mining engineering, joined a panel of experts to discuss how the United States will need to make dramatic advances to increase its technical- and skilled-labor workforce to power its green energy future and to become less reliant on foreign nations for securing materials used in both everyday devices and critical national security applications.

Laura Pulido, Collins Chair and professor of Indigenous, race, and ethnic studies and geography at the University of Oregon, is the featured speaker for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ 2024 EMS Reads program. She will give the keynote lecture at 6 p.m. on Wednesday Nov. 13, in Paterno Library's Foster Auditorium on Penn State's University Park campus.

Penn State’s Local Climate Action Program is making a valuable impact beyond Pennsylvania’s borders, thanks in part to Joe Thompson, a World Campus Energy and Sustainability Policy graduate. Thompson was recently honored at a ceremony hosted by the San Diego chapter of the Climate Action Campaign, for his help in creating the City of Orange climate action plan.

Penn State will be sending its second delegation of students and faculty to COP29, the United Nations’ annual climate meeting, which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November.

Second-year student Morgan Dawkins and fifth-year student Olivia DiPrinzio spoke to the Board of Trustees about their experiences with the Schreyer Honors College. Honors programming has allowed them to find guidance, craft a courseload specific to their interests and find opportunities for professional development. 

Om Trivedi is a second-year student at Penn State Brandywine with a major in computer science. He was attracted to Penn State by the University's 2+2 program, which will allow him to transition to University Park for his final two years.

Prospective students and their families are invited to attend a visitation program at Penn State Brandywine at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, in the Commons/Athletic Center gymnasium. The event is part of the University’s "Penn State Day."

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 will host its annual Homecoming & Family Day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26.

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

The Brandywine community showed its Penn State pride at the campus' annual Homecoming & Family Day on Oct. 26. The day featured carnival games, an alumni reception, face painting, a petting zoo and more.

Penn State has named David Rosenberg, a 1974 graduate of the College of Health and Human Development and longtime supporter of Penn State Brandywine, and the Moyer family, whose transgenerational giving has benefited multiple units across the University, as the 2024 Fundraising Volunteers of the Year.

Penn State’s Consortium on Moral Decision-Making and Moral Psychology Research Group are co-hosting a conference Nov. 15-17 to highlight interdisciplinary research on moral and ethical decision-making.

Penn State Brandywine celebrated its annual Homecoming & Family Day on Oct. 26. With more 500 guests in attendance, and in collaboration with Penn State Day, Homecoming & Family Day was packed with alumni, prospective and current students, families, and friends participating in various activities.

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.

"When the day came to administer the first test I had designed," writes Brandon Lewis, "my heart sank."

AP has managed to dodge the partisan pitfalls that have felled other ambitious curricular efforts—so far, write Chester E. Finn Jr. and Andrew E. Scanlan.

Here's a handy glossary on terms like project-based learning, competency-based learning, and standards-based grading.

Group projects founder when students don't work well together. Here's the latest thinking on evaluating students on both content mastery and collaboration skills.

The arts, geography, economics, and foreign languages will lose their place in the testing line-up as the National Assessment of Educational Progress is being streamlined to cut costs.

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

As the two big groups of states craft common-assessment systems, experts warn that the smallest details could undermine their work.

The U.S. Department of Education sees two specific challenges potentially undermining the quality of the international assessment program, writes Mark Schneider.

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.

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.   

Penn State has announced the recipients of the inaugural Presidential Public Impact Research Awards, a new program designed to support faculty and students who are working on research projects that directly benefit communities.

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.

Five Penn State Commonwealth Campus leaders will be retiring from the University in the coming weeks and months, Penn State Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses and Executive Chancellor Margo DelliCarpini has announced.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

Pamela Pologruto has received the F.A. Davis Award for Outstanding Physical Therapist Assistant Educator. The American Physical Therapy Association recognized her achievement with this national award, only given to one recipient annually, at their honors and awards reception ceremony in Kansas City, Missouri.

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.

At seven of Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses, campus gardens and farms help to connect students with nature. Programs aimed at sustainable food practices and mental well-being help to create an environment for growth and joy within the community. 

At seven of Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses, campus gardens and farms help to connect students with nature. Programs aimed at sustainable food practices and mental well-being help to create an environment for growth and joy within the community. 

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.

Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus will host 24 basketball games inside its Community Center Main Arena between Nov. 5, 2024, and Feb. 11, 2025.

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.

Students at Penn State Wilkes-Barre are invited to take part in the annual Mental Health Awareness Day, set for 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 18. The event is designed to promote mental health awareness and self-care, reduce stigma, and provide students with an opportunity to engage in self-care activities. 

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.