Walking onto a college campus after leaving the military can be a daunting experience for student veterans. That’s why The Home Depot Foundation and Student Veterans of America (SVA) are awarding the SVA chapter at Penn State Berks $10,000 for its veteran center on campus, as part of their Vet Center Initiative.
Students living in Sproul Hall at University Park campus and Oak Hall at Penn State Altoona no longer wait to hear the spin cycle complete or dryer buzz. WashAlert sends email or text notifications to students when their load of laundry has finished washing or drying. The online tool reduces the number of times spent visiting the laundry facility to check for available machines or to see if a load is complete.
Penn State Provost Nicholas Jones has approved a 50 percent increase in the amount of scholarship dollars for rising juniors from the Commonwealth Campuses who are part of the 2016 Student Transitional Experiences Program (STEP). These students will now receive a $1,500 STEP Scholarship Award, up from the $1,000 awarded in previous years.
The Penn State Berks Department of Theatre will present "The Complete History of America (abridged)" by Adam Long, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, at 8 p.m. Oct. 5 to 8, in the Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room. Admission is free, and donations to the Theatre Department will be accepted. Seating will be limited.
Penn State researcher Priya Sharma is researching how blogging in the classroom can help students better understand and make meaning from their classes.
Penn State Berks will offer CREATEiT Learning By Making, a weekly professional development course for educators, from 5-8 p.m. every Wednesday, Sept. 28 to Nov. 30, in the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. In this course, educators will learn how to use Maker tools to stimulate design thinking in students and how to develop a design culture in which exploration and problem-solving are seen as valuable aspects of the classroom community. There is a $225 registration fee, which includes instruction and materials.
This fall, as part of the Global Studies degree program's "Global Oscars Comes to Berks," Penn State Berks will present three films: "Mustang" on Thursday, Oct. 6; "A War" on Thursday, Nov. 3; and Son of Saul, on Thursday, Dec. 1; all at 6 p.m. in room 121 of the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. All three films are free and open to the public.
The Penn State Berks Kinesiology Department is celebrating Exercise Is Medicine Week from Oct. 3–7 with a variety of events and activities, including daily 20-minute walks on campus; participation in a Health and Wellness Fair on Wednesday, Oct. 5, in the Multipurpose Room of the Perkins Student Center; and various activities on the lawn of the Perkins Student Center on Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the common hour, 12:15–1:15 p.m.
The Penn State Berks Freyberger Gallery will present "Stirring the Fire," a photographic exhibition by West Coast artist Phil Borges from Oct. 27 to Dec. 8. There will be an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27. This event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.
Prospective students and their families are invited to a visitation program at Penn State Berks at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Perkins Student Center, located just off Broadcasting Road in Wyomissing.