The Penn State Berks global studies program will host a global forum titled "A Year in the Peace Corps–Timor-Leste," presented by alumna Jaymi Smith, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2, in Room 121 of the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. This event is free and open to the public.
A draft proposal of Penn State’s institutional strategic plan has been unveiled and shared with the community for feedback and discussion. All faculty, staff and students at all campuses are encouraged to visit the Strategic Plan website to review and provide feedback on the draft plans for four goal areas.
According to the 2020 census, the Hispanic and Latino population of the City of Reading is nearly 69%, up from 58% in 2010. To meet the needs of this growing population, Penn State Berks is expanding its efforts to engage with and support the local Hispanic and Latino communities with several new initiatives.
Brett Spencer, reference and instruction librarian for the Thun Library at Penn State Berks, received the 2024 Innovation and Advocacy in Library History Award presented by the Library History Round Table (LHRT) of the American Library Association (ALA). The award acknowledges those who have made recent substantive contributions to LHRT or the wider library history community by promoting library history in exceptional or new ways or by reaching new audiences.
Sadan Kulturel-Konak, professor of management information systems and director of the Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Center at Penn State Berks, will be formally recognized with the 2024 American Society of Engineering Education Middle Atlantic Section Distinguished Teaching Award at the association’s fall conference at Farmingdale State College, Oct. 25-26.
Penn State Berks has named 105 students to the summer 2024 dean’s list. To earn a dean’s list designation, students must end the semester with a 3.5 grade-point average or higher.
Eight incoming Penn State Berks students were awarded a four-year scholarship to study engineering through the Penn State Berks Leveraging Innovation and Optimizing Nurturing (LION) STEM Scholars Program. Funded by a U.S. National Science Foundation grant, the main goal of the LION STEM Scholars Program is to enhance the STEM workforce by graduating more diverse high-achieving STEM students who have demonstrated financial need.
The Penn State Berks global studies program will host a global forum titled “India Today” from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 9, in the first-floor Multipurpose Room in the Perkins Student Center. During this Zoom presentation, Sourav Kumar Nag, assistant professor of English literature and culture studies and head of the department of English at Onda Thana Mahavidyalaya in West Bengal, India, will address the influences of colonialism and history on modern Indian society and politics. He also will discuss the roles and status of women in modern India.
Penn State University Libraries’ Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) has named 13 recipients of the 2024 Faculty Engagement Award with this year’s theme of “Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Teaching.” Recipients will collaborate with TLT staff to identify potential uses, constraints and best practices for using generative AI for teaching purposes. Faculty will utilize available generative AI tools including Microsoft Copilot and Adobe Firefly to assist in content creation, course planning and content delivery.
The 2024 awardees of Penn State’s Inter-Institutional Partnerships for Diversifying Research initiative comprise five collaborative projects that connect Penn State researchers with colleagues from Morgan State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and the University of Texas Health Brownsville Campus, all minority-serving institutions
