Penn State College of Education Alumni Magazine, spring 2019

Spring Two Thousand Nineteen

Taking advantage of opportunities

Contents Dean

Dean’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

David H. Monk

Editor

Pair of education students learn a lot

Writers

by doing — and they’re doing a lot . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Annemarie Mountz Jessica Buterbaugh, Jim Carlson, Abby Fortin, Annemarie Mountz

Photographers

Jessica Buterbaugh, Jim Carlson, Annemarie Mountz

Contact Us

247 Chambers Building University Park, PA 16802-3206 814-863-2216 www.ed.psu.edu • edrelations@psu.edu Published twice a year by the Penn State College of Education

New RHS course emphasizes needs of workers with disabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 College of Education senior wins Fulbright . . . . . 9 What can you do with a College of Education degree? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

College of Education Alumni Society Officers

President: Pamela Peter President-elect: Joseph Clapper Immediate past president: Tonya DeVecchis-Kerr Secretary: Douglas Womelsdorf

Directors Nicole Birkbeck Larry Carretta John Czerniakowski Pamela Francis Kaela Fuentes-Packnick Tracy Hinish Jonathan Klingeman Holly Klock

Amy Meisinger Sandie Musoleno John Rozzo Cathy Tomon James Trainer Lawrence Wess Jeannene Willow Sharlene Yontosh

Student Members Hannah Chisler Leo D’Agostino

Penn State Higher Education Program has appreciable reasons to celebrate . . . . . . . . . 12 Staff members balance roles of parent, employee and student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Graduate Program rankings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Probing question about online learners inspires student to develop web app . . . . . . . . . 18

Bridget Parler

Prison Education Summit to help inform growing program in College of Education . . . . . 20 In his own words: Student Divine Lipscomb tells his story . . . . . . . 20 Success through the years: Alumni

The University is committed to equal access to programs, facilities, admission and employment for all persons. It is the policy of the University to maintain an environment free of harassment and free of discrimination against any person because of age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, service in the uniformed services (as defined in state and federal law), veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, marital or family status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, physical or mental disability, gender, perceived gender, gender identity, genetic information or political ideas. Discriminatory conduct and harassment, as well as sexual misconduct and relationship violence, violates the dignity of individuals, impedes the realization of the University’s educational mission, and will not be tolerated. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to the Affirmative Action Office, The Pennsylvania State University, 328 Boucke Building, University Park, PA 16802-5901, Email: aao@psu.edu, Tel (814) 863-0471.

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distinguish themselves in their fields . . . . . . . . . 22 Alumni Society Board president’s message . . . . 25 About the Alumni Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 On the cover: Education students — and roommates — Carly Siegle, left, and Taylor Young take a break from their rigorous schedules to smile with the Nittany Lion. Read about their academic accomplishments on pages 2-5. Photo: Jim Carlson

Dean’s Message This edition of our Alumni Magazine is a bit different for me, as it is the last one listing me as dean of the College of Education. Reflecting on my 20 years in that role, I am deeply struck by how quickly the time has passed. As we get closer to June 30, the reality of stepping out of the role of dean is getting a little sharper and clearer to me. I’m looking forward to my work as a faculty member, but it is difficult to step away from the invigorating swirl that is part of being a dean at Penn State and the wonderful people I get to work with as dean.

As this magazine goes to press, the College is interviewing finalists for the new dean. We attracted a strong pool of candidates, and I’m confident that whomever is selected will be successful in continuing to strengthen the College.

The spring edition of our magazine traditionally celebrates success and Dean David H. Monk achievement realized by our students, faculty, staff and alumni, and there are some great stories to share. So many members of our College are doing meaningful, impactful work and realizing success for the benefit of themselves and others around them.

Our most recent example of student success is senior Rachel Shriver, who recently was named a Fulbright scholar. Starting in July, she will spend 10 months in Colombia, building on her highly immersive and engaged undergraduate experience. Learn more about Rachel on page 9.

Our students not only excel in the classroom, they also engage in the local community and in other countries, seek out co-curricular activities that provide valuable leadership skills, and conduct research that truly expands the frontiers of knowledge. We use this issue to highlight a few of our remarkable students, including roommates Taylor Young and Carly Siegle, who are featured in our cover story. I hope you enjoy reading about them and our other high-achieving students.

Our faculty members also are doing notable work. You can read about a course faculty member Wendy Coduti created to teach about employment strategies for people with disabilities (page 6). The course is cross-listed in the School of Labor and Employment Relations and is designed to reach students going into the human resources industry as well as students enrolled in rehabilitation and human services.

Another faculty member, Efrain Marimon, is breaking new ground for the College and for Penn State in general with his work in restorative justice (page 20). Efrain recently brought together representatives from leading prison education and reentry programs from around the country; the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections; the Pennsylvania Department of Education; and local officials in a two-day summit to develop a vision for the expansion of Penn State’s Prison Education and Reentry Initiative.

The College of Education has more than 57,000 living alumni, and quite a significant number are employed close to home in a wide variety of roles at Penn State. We posed the question: What do people at Penn State do with a College of Education degree? The answer, we found out, is “almost everything!” Hear from people in diverse jobs explaining how their College of Education degree helped them in their current fields, starting on page 10. We also have staff in the College who are working on degrees while employed full-time. Hear from some of them about how they balance work, family and school, starting on page 16.

Normally, I’m aware of what’s going on in the College because of my role as dean. With my departure from that position, I plan to keep abreast of happenings in the College through our electronic newsletter, Bridges. Bridges is delivered to your email once every other week during the academic year, and once a month over the summer. If you are not already subscribed, I invite you to email edrelations@psu.edu and ask to be added to the subscription list.

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to serve Penn State as one of its deans for 20 years, and I’m brimming over with good wishes to everyone in the College of Education!

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Photo: Jim Carlson

Roommates Carly Siegle, left, and Taylor Young call their busy daily schedule a learning experience that they hope will result in future success.

Pair of education students learn a lot by doing — and they’re doing a lot

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f the time-worn adage that job-seekers should limit their resume to a single page remains true, then Penn State students Taylor Young and Carly Siegle are out of luck.

Those two prospective educators in just four semesters have participated in enough educational activities to start to fill a university bulletin. That includes the rigorous academic requirements of being Schreyer Honors College students; majors in math education and English education; and work as learning assistants (LA’s), tutors and researchers.

One has completed the Urban Education Seminar, the other will participate in the Teaching ESL with an Ecuador Immersion Experience. One works in the Krause Innovation Center; both serve on the Education Student Council; and both eventually will

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By Jim Carlson

complete student-teaching duties, one with hopes of being accepted in the College’s Professional Development School program.

And this dynamic academic duo easily can discuss with each other any problems that arise because Young and Siegle, who are from the Philadelphia suburbs of Lansdale and Doylestown, respectively, also are roommates. They discovered they’d be a good fit when they were learning assistants together in an educational psychology class.

“We were getting super close last year as freshmen and at one point we just said we should be roommates,” Siegle said.

Each can appreciate the other’s schedule, because they sort of mirror each other. “I think when you can look back and you realized what you accomplished in one day … I mean Carly and I both have

very busy days,” Young said. “You just sit down at the end of the day and it’s like, wow, this is what I did today. I think it’s very rewarding when you know that it’s going to pay off, and it pays off in the moment, too.”

Though it can be taxing, the daily grind overall is enjoyable, according to Siegle. “We do it because it’s a learning experience and we do it because we know it’s going to professionally develop us or help us in some way or another,” she said. “And we do it because we like to do it. So, we know internally that this is what we want and we’re doing the right thing.’’

The entire Penn State experience feels right, too, Young said. “And we both really want to be here,” she said. “We came to college because we want to study and learn and we’re intrinsically motivated to do all these things.”

Though just sophomores, they eventually each will be required to write a thesis through the Schreyer affiliation. Siegle’s research work is with Teaching, Learning and Technology (TLT). She helps with a literature review about active learning, and explores her interest in learning spaces, specifically those on campus and how they are being utilized by professors.

“A lot of my interest is in classroom spaces and how we can effectively use the space itself including the resources in the space to help enhance learning,” Siegle said. “A lot of times people see a projector and computers and laptops as technology; however, there are many other forms of technology in the classroom such as the furniture and the space. It is interesting to explore how a professor can adapt a space to help promote collaborative learning and productive engagement.”

Carly has an insatiable desire to learn and she avails herself of every opportunity that comes her way.”

Ramsay said Siegle accepted TLT’s invitation to represent Penn State at this spring’s ShapingEDU event at the University of Arizona where the future of learning in the digital age was discussed.

teacher training has implications for TLT’s higher education clientele.

“Conversely, she knows that what our research team discovers about teaching and learning in higher education will have implications for her future work with secondary students. It’s this mature sensibility, and a genuine desire to bring her best to all she does, that makes me so excited for Carly’s future students.”

Young is working with Rayne Sperling, associate dean of undergraduate and graduate studies in the College of Education, on a project called Missions with Monty, a game-based approach to comprehension monitoring with informational science text.

“I’m really interested in meta-cognition and seeing how you can improve students’ awareness and their knowledge of what they do know and what they don’t know and how you can use different skills to improve their learning,” Young said.

Sperling believes Young will become an excellent teacher Crystal Ramsay, … and maybe more. a research project “She’s always positive manager with TLT, … always positive. said Siegle reached And very interested in out to her during learning. I think that her first semester at she may find a future Penn State, wanting Photo: Jim Carlson in research,” Sperling to know more about said. “She collaborates Even the Nittany Lion wants to know the secret to success employed by education the work of the very well with all of students Taylor Young, left, and Carly Siegle. research and faculty her peers. From the engagement team at first time I met her, I TLT. “As a former K-12 educator knew that she was going to be a contribution to our community. in Pennsylvania public schools, I “She spent time with the She’s having opportunities to work couldn’t be more excited at the team, got to know the individual with graduate students and then prospect of someone with Carly’s researchers and our work, and colleagues at two other research character, commitment and caliber voluntarily participated in TLT institutions.” entering the profession,” Ramsay events,” Ramsay said. “Beginning said. “Carly understands that what in fall 2018, we hired her as our Siegle has a passion for math, first undergraduate researcher. she’s learning in her pre-service Penn State Education

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Carly Siegle, left, is a math education major and Taylor Young is an English education major.

Both are students in Schreyer Honors College as well as in the College of Education.

Photo: Jim Carlson

she said, because it’s like solving a puzzle and trying to figure out the unknown. “I really like that part and a lot of people can’t make those kinds of connections to the patterns we see in math, and because I always understood that and I love helping people, I always saw myself in the classroom,” she said. “I wanted to help make that connection for students.”

Young, a secondary education English major with an Education Policy Studies minor, said she had difficulty choosing between world language education Spanish and secondary education English. “But I ultimately went with secondary English because I can incorporate Spanish literature into that and my knowledge of Spanish in the classroom,” she said. Also, I can always speak Spanish in my English class. I want my students to know that no language is the best language, because all languages have value and are unique. I want my students to feel free to use languages other than English in my classroom.

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“I’ve always loved the idea of being in the classroom and helping people. I always loved school but my peers didn’t necessarily like it, so I’d like to be a teacher to help the students who don’t necessarily like school that much and find a reason why they can like it. And English … I love writing and analyzing text and finding a deeper meaning in things,” Young said. Language is so powerful and flexible. I hope that as an educator, I can guide my students in discovering this and that they find it enjoyable and meaningful.

They’ve had a jump on teaching by serving as learning assistants and tutors as well.

“For most of your undergrad and even when you were in class from K-12, you saw a classroom from a student perspective,” Siegle said about being a learning assistant.

“When you can kind of flip the lens and look at it from a teacher’s perspective and where students can have misconceptions about information or how can I help them

understand this, you have a totally different mind-set about the class and classroom experience.”

Young tutors a student in Spanish in the State College Area School District through the Volunteers in Public Schools Program for just one hour a week and enjoys the experience. “It was a great opportunity to practice my Spanish and have great opportunities to explain it to the student,” she said. “I was having so much fun with it that I decided to continue with it this semester too.” I’ve learned a lot about how to explain concepts in different ways so the student understands and feels more confident.

Young and Siegle are examples of students taking advantage of countless options available within the College of Education specifically and Penn State in general.

“Carly and I have so many great opportunities here with what we’ve gotten involved with being LA’s, doing research, the student council, studying abroad; there’s so many

How can I get involved with the College of Education?

We need volunteers, student mentors and goodwill ambassadors for the College.

You also can support the College through financial donations.

Photo: Jim Carlson

The College of Education is a good fit for Carly Siegle, left, and Taylor Young.

different opportunities provided by the College of Ed,” Young said.

“Because it is a smaller college, you do get to make better connections with people. I’m really grateful for those relationships.”

So grateful that she wants to let prospective students know the virtually unlimited options that await them in the College.

“I like to talk about all the opportunities. That’s one of my main things; you can go on listing all the opportunities in the College of Ed and Penn State as a whole,” Young said.

to reach out to Dr. Sperling or my adviser, and everybody’s always willing to help. I think that’s really important.”

Siegle appreciates how a university setting so large can feel small and manageable.

“We really push the small community feel here. I see that.

I’m at a university with how many students and I have class with the same 20 students five days a week and I’m only a sophomore,” she said.

“That scale is just huge; it’s kind of a little scary but it’s nice when you realize how many opportunities there are because you’re like, ‘oh, I want to do everything.’

“The fact that you can say that, that you have a class with somebody or people that you know really helps, because students think they’re going to come here and just be another number or just be one of the 40,000 students, and you’re not.

“Also, the support, I always talk about how much support I get as a student here, financially and academically. If I ever have any questions, I never hesitate

“When you can make a connection with people and you can have that small-group feel, I think that’s really important for students to hear,” Siegle said.

To learn more, contact:

Simon Corby Director of Development and Alumni Relations College of Education 814-863-2146 sgc12@psu.edu https://ed.psu.edu/giving Penn State Education

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New RHS course emphasizes needs of workers with disabilities

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By Jessica Buterbaugh

e are all temporarily-abled. That is the message Wendy Coduti wants her students to take with them when they leave her RHS 410: Employment Strategies for People with Disabilities

course.

A former private vocational rehabilitation and human resources professional, Coduti now is an assistant professor of education (rehabilitation and human services) at Penn State whose research focuses on employment and disability.

“When I worked in private rehab and human resources, I worked with people with disabilities and helped them find employment,” she said. “When I went into academia, I often found myself thinking ‘man, if HR only knew this,’ and ‘if service providers only knew this.’ It got me thinking that there is a real disconnect between the two fields of human resources and rehabilitation and we are not adequately preparing students for how to work with people with disabilities.”

But now Coduti is changing that. She has crosslisted her course with the School of Labor and Employment Relations (LER 410) so that she can reach students going into the human resources industry as well as students enrolled in rehabilitation and human services (RHS). The class also is required for all students enrolled in the RHS minor and is available to master’s students in the Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling program.

It’s important, Coduti said, that she reaches as many students as possible. “It’s about expanding awareness for workers with disabilities and recognizing that disability is a part of workplace diversity. At some point in our lives, we all face a disability that requires accommodations.”

A national issue According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 19 percent of individuals with a disability are employed while those without a disability have a 65.9 percent employment rate. Although the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) of 1990 aimed to increase employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities, Coduti said that rates have remained consistently low throughout the years.

“There is a huge gap between the rate of employment for individuals with and without disabilities, and it’s not because people with disabilities don’t want to work or can’t work,” she said. “There 6

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is a lot of stigma around what people with disabilities can do or cannot do, or how they are supported in the workplace.”

For example, Coduti said, many employers believe that employing individuals with disabilities will cost them more. However, research shows that when companies hire individuals with disabilities, it influences their consumer base and can actually increase profits.

“When I was in private vocational rehab, what I experienced was that when I was knocking on the door of an employer to ask if they could help hire a person with a disability, there was a lot of apprehension because they are an unknown commodity,” Coduti said.

“If you help employers identify ways to support their own employees through policies, healthcare and other mechanisms, and get them comfortable with taking care of their current employees who have a disability, then it is much easier for them to hire a new employee with a disability because they have that knowledge and experience.”

That can be difficult because one of the many stigmas about disabilities is that if you don’t see it, it’s not there.

“A lot of times employers think that they don’t have employees with disabilities because they’re thinking only of things they can see,” Coduti said. “But about 25 percent of the population has a diagnosable mental health condition, so of everyone walking through their door, one in four has a disability.”

Recognizing those “invisible” disabilities is key in order for employers to provide a supportive work culture, she said, and if RHS and human resources students do not understand the challenges that people with disabilities face, things will never change.

A unique perspective Coduti knew that to address this growing issue in America, she would need to partner with LER to reach the right student audience.

“They were really forward-thinking in saying that their students need this type of course offering and so they were 100 percent supportive,” she said of the LER department. “Each semester, I have 15 of 30 seats reserved for LER students.”

One of those students is junior Josh Fields, who enrolled in the course in fall 2018.

“Going in to human resources and employment, one of the things I want to do is diversify how companies

hire people, and Dr. Coduti’s class talks about how to help people with disabilities get jobs that they typically wouldn’t get,” Fields said. “I’ve been involved with the disability community for a while and I thought this class would not only be interesting but also help me to help that community better.”

Coduti’s class also focuses on the lives of people living with a disability and how they have been impacted. This aspect of the class is important, she said, because it is a perspective that human resources professionals rarely get to see. But when they do, it leaves a lasting impression. Just ask Fields.

In 2015, while he was still in high school, Fields and a friend started The Next Step (TNS), a nonprofit in his hometown of Jamison, Pennsylvania, that advocates and provides educational and advocacy opportunities for individuals with disabilities who are transitioning out of high school.

“We had a speaker come in who never had any issues and had everything going for him, and then he developed a disability and everything changed,” recalled Fields, who is now working with Coduti on her new WorkLink program. “He told us about how difficult it was for him to acclimate to his disability in a world that is not universally accepting of people with disabilities.”

“It’s about expanding awareness for workers with disabilities and recognizing that disability is a part of workplace diversity. At some point in our lives, we all face a disability that requires accommodations.”

“That transition period after high school is incredibly tough for people with disabilities,” Fields said.

“What we’re doing at TNS is we’re advocating and educating Photo: The Harkin Institute people through workshops, and a lot of the workshops I develop, I’m using material from this course.”

Part of TNS’ mission is to make a societal change and normalize the idea and practice of hiring people with disabilities, Fields said. Its mission and the content of Coduti’s course aligned perfectly. Every aspect of the course has been beneficial, he said, especially the guest speakers.

“I try to bring in folks who are directly involved in working with people with disabilities,” Coduti said.

“I have people from insurance companies who are actually working with employees who may be on shortor long-term disability leave, worker’s comp, etc. I try to get the people who are doing the vocational rehab within insurance companies who are helping people get back to work.”

One of those speakers is Rachel Wesley, clinical manager of medical and vocational case management in the Clinical Department at Hartford Insurance, who said that when speaking to Coduti’s students, she always tries to focus on the importance of communication between human resource professionals and their clients.

“As clinicians we are helping individuals regain physical, mental, vocational and emotional well-being,” Wesley said. “We focus on what the claimant ‘can do’ and help them to identify and move through the barriers they might have that are interfering with or delaying their recovery.”

— Wendy Coduti

Fields called the experience “eye opening,” even for somebody like him who has worked with individuals with

disabilities for a number of years.

“You don’t think about how disability affects somebody’s entire family,” he said. “It’s easy to just think that it is one person who is affected but that’s simply not true. It’s easy to advocate for and say we need more opportunities for people with disabilities or we need to educate people more, but when somebody with a disability actually talks about their life and how their life has been challenged, it really makes you stop and think.”

Only at Penn State

Currently, no other classes at the University offer this unique approach to employment and disabilities.

In fact, according to Joseph Jones, executive director of The Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement, Coduti’s class is unique to higher education.

“I’ve never encountered this approach before and I think it is a very smart strategy that will reap long-term positive effects,” Jones said.

It’s so smart that when he saw Coduti presenting about the class at a national conference, he immediately invited her to speak at the Harkin International Disability Employment Summit, an annual event where select stakeholders, including policymakers and employers, are invited to share successful strategies for employing people with all types of disabilities.

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Photo: Jessica Buterbaugh

Wendy Coduti, Allison Fleming and Josh Fields speak at the College’s annual Discovery Summit about WorkLink, a post-secondary certificate program designed for students with intellectual disabilities. The program, developed by Coduti and Fleming, will enroll the first cohort in fall 2019. To support the program, visit www.raise.psu.edu/WorkLink online.

“Speaking at the Harkin Summit is the pinnacle of my career,” Coduti said. “I’ve been working on this approach for a long time and being able to connect with a lot of different people who also are working on this, it’s like finding the people who talk your language. You don’t get that very often so when you do, it’s really exciting.”

Coduti’s class also is better preparing students for their professional careers.

“When I was in graduate school at Penn State,” Wesley said, “I was not aware of career opportunities with insurance companies. We were only given information about working in state and city agencies and nonprofit organizations. I had no idea what workers compensation

and disability benefits were or how I could impact them as a professional. This alone sets this class apart from other program offerings.”

Coduti’s approach, Jones said, will go a long way to furthering full inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace. That is exactly what Coduti hopes will happen.

That is a real issue that Coduti recognizes and hopes her class will help to change.

“It is great to take all of this information that I have through my personal experiences, research and through what the best practices are, and put that in a format to reach these students and educate them that disability is OK and is a part of life, and this is what they can do to support people with disabilities,” Coduti said. “They are the ones who are going to change that 19 percent to 25 percent to 30 percent and so forth, and that’s what I tell my students when they leave here. I tell them the only thing they need to do is go change the world.”

“There is no degree for this type of work even though a large number of workers have disabilities,” she said. “There’s no disability management degree – you take a class or two. If you work in HR, you get in the field and you end up, through multiple paths, maybe working with disability leave issues and managing caseloads, but there is no formal education for it. This class is a way to help bridge that gap.”

Creating Transformative Experiences We are committed to providing opportunities that foster socially aware, innovative and academically prepared global citizens. Through the Greater Penn State campaign, alumni and friends can partner with us in creating these co-curricular offerings that will define a bright future for our students and our community.

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For more Information, contact: Simon Corby Director of Development and Alumni Relations College of Education 247 Chambers Building University Park, PA 16802 814-863-2146 sgc12@psu.edu

College of Education senior wins Fulbright

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By Annemarie Mountz

he J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board selected Rachel Shriver, a senior secondary English education major from Manassas, Virginia, for a Fulbright award to Colombia. Her fellowship will run from July 2019 through May 2020, at Universidad Industrial de Santander, in the city of Bucaramanga, the capital of Santander, Colombia.

According to the notification letter sent by Ambassador Jeffrey L. Bleich (ret.), chair of the Fulbright board, “Your grant is a reflection of your leadership and contributions to society, and is made possible through funds appropriated annually by the U.S. Congress and, in many cases, by contributions from partner countries and the private sector.”

Shriver said she’s pleased that she gets to continue to learn.

“I feel so incredibly honored, because before I came to Penn State, I thought that that type of thing was for other types of people.

I didn’t think that was a ‘Rachel’ thing,” Shriver said. “What it means to me is that I get to continue to form a greater understanding about how our world is multilingual and multicultural and practice my own global citizenship. The most important part is that it’s a way for me to better myself and my skills for my students in the future and my students that I’ll have next year, so I can continue to be better for them and for what I can bring to the classroom for them.”

The Fulbright Program is devoted to increasing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Fulbright is the world’s largest and most diverse international educational exchange program.

For Shriver, this is the latest in a continuing trajectory for her

Photo provided

Rachel Shriver visited Medellin, Colombia, last summer before applying for the Fulbright fellowship. She will be headed to Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia, roughly 240 miles northeast of Medellin, this July.

that started when she became a S.C.O.P.E. student in the summer before her senior year of high school.

Shriver’s S.C.O.P.E. experience was the first time she realized that there was more than one way to be an education major.

“I didn’t have to do it in the ‘traditional’ sense,” she said. “That was my first mind blow, and then that’s what really gave me the energy to say, ‘I want to come to Penn State and I want to learn how to be a revolutionary teacher that doesn’t always play by the rules or how I’ve known education to be.’”

“Rachel is a Renaissance woman with a passionate commitment to learning,” said Maria Schmidt, assistant dean for multicultural programs and founding director of S.C.O.P.E., the Summer College Opportunity Program in Education.

“Her fearless, reflective and disciplined approach to learning explain her abilities as a scholar and a leader.

Shriver said she has undergone a

great change during her time in the Penn State College of Education.

“My time here has been one of rapid expansion over my four years.

I’m changed in the way that I feel I can travel now. I didn’t know that before,” she said.

“I can be a teacher, and a good teacher and an informed teacher and one who’s constantly learning.

And I wanted to be that before.

But I don’t think I completely understood to what level that was.

I had no intentions of learning Spanish before I came here and now I really want to be fluent.”

Elizabeth Smolcic, associate professor of education (English as a second language), attributes Shriver’s success to her hard work and determination.

“Rachel excels because she is determined and tenacious and is willing to ask for help from others to support her in moving forward toward her goals,” Smolcic said.

Read the full story at http://bit.ly/shriver-fulbright online.

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“My education formed a strong foundation for my career in higher education. My understanding of the issues pertaining to higher education, particularly in regard to tutoring centers and supporting students with disabilities, deepened through my learning and research as part of the Master’s of Higher Education program.”

— Linda Rumfield (‘91, ‘18), Learning Center coordinator and disability coordinator, Penn State Lehigh Valley

What can you do with a College of Education degree?

Based on the careers our graduates have pursued, the answer is “almost anything.”

At Penn State alone, there are approximately 300 College alumni working in various capacities across multiple campuses, colleges and administrative units. Regardless of their positions, which include professors, managers, administrative assistants and chancellors, they agree that their degree from the College of Education has helped them in their career. Here is what some of them had to say: “The doctoral program and my experiences as a graduate assistant at Penn State were very helpful in preparing me for these roles, and the faculty and administrators were excellent mentors.”

— Keith Hillkirk (‘87), chancellor, Penn State Berks

“My degree from the College of Education has helped me deal in particular with the planning aspects of my job. My degree also has enabled me to come up with programming and events that add value to the membership of the organization I direct.”

— Wally Richardson (‘03), director, Penn State Football Letterman’s Club

“My degree sure has taught me to overcome adversity, to pick myself back up and jump back on the horse, and to keep the goal in sight.”

— Jenny Blew (‘84), administrative assistant, College of Arts & Architecture

“My degree initially enabled me to land a position as one of the lead trainers in a major database conversion program. Afterward, I was provided the opportunity to hold classes to educate staff on multiple software programs. My degree in education has provided me the ability to relay information to others in a manner that is clear and concise, but most of all, relevant.”

— Cheryl Harrison (‘78), regional alumni director, Penn State Alumni Association

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“Having been in my advisees’ shoes, I feel empathy and understanding toward them when they come to advising appointments. I like to think my advisees feel a sense of trust and hope when they visit with another College of Education graduate who has walked in their footsteps and is now able to help them begin their own career journeys.”

— Suzanne Dannenmueller (‘82), academic adviser, College of Education

“Because I am in the business of raising awareness for Penn State’s online degree and certificate programs, the LDT program’s blended approach has proven to be beneficial. The curriculum emphasizes designthinking methods and has been valuable to me when working with teams that leverage project management processes.”

— Aaron Hagenbuch (‘17), marketing strategy specialist, Penn State World Campus

“My degree allowed me to gain the needed experience as a classroom teacher to be able to teach future classroom teachers.

I feel I was hired very quickly after graduation because of the outstanding reputation the College of Education possesses.”

— Kristen Pearson (‘98), assistant teaching professor, Penn State Altoona

The following list includes the current Penn State employees who earned degrees in the College of Education, who responded to our request for information. While we could not use all of them in the story, we wanted to acknowledge them here.

Sean Agnew: B.S. Eliza Altenderfer: B.S. Sarah Anderson: M.Ed. Susan Anderson: B.S. Tim Balliett: M.S., Ph.D. Sheila Dianne Barlock: M.Ed. Albert Bartlett: Ph.D. Bonnie Bixler: M.Ed. Brett Bixler: M. S., Ph.D. Jenny Blew: B.S. Chris Brida: M.Ed. Debbie Brooks: Ph.D. Nina Bumgarner: B.S. Wei-Fan Chen: Ph.D. Beth Clark: M.Ed. Sue Cromwell: Ph.D. Lisa Curley: B.S. Suzanne Dannenmueller: B.S. Kaleena Davidson: M.Ed. Kirk Diehl: M.Ed. Teresa Diehl: Ph.D. William Diehl: B.S., Ph.D. Pam Driftmier: B.S., M.Ed. Linda Porreca Duerr: B.S., M.Ed. Beth Mincemoyer Egan: B.S. Jennifer Eury: M.Ed., Ph.D. Sharon Fong: M.Ed. Jordan Ford: M.Ed. Megan Foster: B.S., M.Ed. Chris Gamble: M.Ed. Chris Gamrat: M.Ed., Ph.D. Carolyn Griess: Ph.D. Kelly Griffith: Ph.D. David Guthrie: Ph.D. Leigh Ann Haefner: Ph.D. Aaron Hagenbuch: M.Ed. Meg Handley: Ph.D. Cheryl Harrison: B.S. Alla Hatfield: M.Ed. Karen Henninger: M.Ed. Natalie Hernandez DePalma: Ph.D. Shirley Hetrick: M.S. Rosemarie Hibbler: M.Ed. Keith Hillkirk: Ph.D. Jessica Hoffman: M.Ed. Cathy Holsing: M.Ed. Deb Houser: B.S.

John Hurst: M.Ed. Courtney Karmelita: D.Ed. Shubha Kashyap: Ph.D. Joshua Kirby: M.S., Ph.D. Melissa Kunes: M.Ed. Anita Leone: M.Ed. David Lieb: M.Ed. Peggy Lorah: D.Ed. Laura Miller: M.S., Ph.D. Jenn Moore: B.S. Ron Musoleno: B.S., M.Ed. Terry Musser: Ph.D. Linda Muthler: B.S. Mary Napoli: Ph.D. Dana Naughton: Ph.D. Moradeyo Olorunnisola: M.Ed. Marce Pancio: M.Ed. Kristen Pearson: B.S. Rebecca Pennington: M.Ed. Kelly Praskovich: M.Ed. Kaitlin Quigley: Ph.D. Victoria (Torrie) Raish: Ph.D. Wally Richardson: M.Ed. Jenay Robert: Ph.D. Gregg Rogers: M.Ed. Karen Royer: B.S. Linda Rumfield: B.S., M.Ed. Karen Schall: M.Ed. Maria Schmidt: M.Ed. Jennifer Seller Miska: M.S. Steven Shaffer: D.Ed. Kate Sillman: Ph.D. Janet Spearly: M.Ed. Lauren Steinberg: M.Ed. Carmen Strand: M.Ed. Dana Stuchul: Ph.D. Ellen Taricani: Ph.D. Ann Taylor: Ph.D. Amy Thul-Sigler: D.Ed. Christa Watschke: B.S., M.Ed. Lauren Watson: B.S. Bobby White: M.Ed. Marcus Whitehurst: M.Ed., Ph.D. Shirley Woika: B.S., M.S., Ph.D. Vivian Yenika-Agbaw: Ph.D. Sarah Zappe: M.S., Ph.D. Bill Zimmerman: M.Ed.

“Everything I do is informed by my coursework and experiences in the higher ed program. I came to the program directly from my undergraduate coursework, but the age and career diversity of my peers taught me as much as the faculty.”

— Jessica Hoffman (‘13), director of the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards Administration, Graduate School Penn State Education

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Penn State Higher Education Program has appreciable reasons to celebrate

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cknowledging the 50th anniversary of the Center for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) at Penn State is a golden opportunity to celebrate College of Education faculty past and present who have helped create and maintain one of the country’s largest such research centers.

“We are a community of faculty who are very interconnected in our approach to our work,” said Alicia Dowd, professor of education who is the center’s current director.

“The fact that we have over a dozen faculty involved is meaningful because we are able to cover a lot of key topics in higher education: law, financial aid and institutional economics, college access and equity, internationalization, and state, federal and institutional policy. We have sociologists, we have economists, we have people who bring perspectives from cultural studies and curriculum and instruction.

“The size, diversity and breadth of our faculty is the key strength of the center,” she said. “Our expertise runs the gamut of higher education topics and issues.”

The center was founded in 1969 by G. Lester Anderson to examine higher education as a social institution and as a process, according to a June 1974 document titled “The Center for the Study of Higher Education: The First Five Years 1969-1974.”

Its goal was to contribute to the capacity of American higher education to respond to increasing numbers of students of diverse talents, aptitudes, backgrounds and needs who seek a college education. In this way the varied 12

Penn State Education

By Jim Carlson

Alicia Dowd

Kevin Kinser

PREVIOUS CSHE DIRECTORS G. Lester Anderson Kenneth Mortimer William Toombs Kathryn Moore James Ratcliff Patrick Terenzine (acting) J. Fredrics Volkwein Carol Colbeck Donald Heller Robert Hendrickson (acting) John Cheslock Alicia Dowd (current) manpower needs of the states, the regions and the nation can best be met, the report said.

“We’re carrying on the tradition of the faculty who preceded us with a broad focus on all the arenas of higher education,” Dowd said. “The current faculty sustains the threads that have been studied previously – institutional research is a key area of study as well.”

Kevin Kinser, who heads the Department of Educational Policy Studies in which the center’s faculty members are housed, said the scholarly expertise of the faculty and their skill at targeting their work toward pressing issues in higher education is another key to the success of the CSHE. “I think it is unique for a research center like this that this expertise is sought out within Penn State as well as found useful by those outside the University,” Kinser said.

The College’s support for the center, according to Dowd, has produced a large network of alumni affiliated with the center and the higher education degree programs. “That’s a key aspect to the longevity,” Dowd said. “Our students who study and earn doctorates in the higher education program graduate into a network of scholars, policymakers, faculty, administrators — people in all arenas of higher education who work directly with students and administrators in colleges and universities.”

That number of alumni and the ties they hold with the center is important because it supports new students as well, according to Dowd. “And it’s important to the faculty because our work finds an audience through collaborative research or through application by people who are in position to apply our studies,” she said.

Collaboration was as important 45 to 50 years ago as it is today. The 1974 report cited the opportunity to serve as instructors and advisers in the higher education program as personally rewarding to the staff and significant elements in the staff’s productivity and professional satisfactions.”

Today, Dowd said, everyone who is part of the center doing research also is teaching. “The relationship between our research and teaching is very close. We provide peer review to each other on our research, and we’re also pulling from our research into our teaching,” she said.

Kinser said several hires in the past five or six years have provided “exciting” new lines of research and enhanced CSHE’s connection to practitioners and the field of education more broadly. “It really is

remarkable to be in an organization that is hiring for the future and building capacity to move to the next level,” Kinser said.

A prevailing challenge in higher education today is equity, according to Dowd, and it is one the center’s faculty is addressing. “Higher education has become more diverse but the question is also, how do we become a more inclusive institution, what does it mean to become more equitable?” Dowd said.

“It means not making assumptions about whose knowledge counts. What are the ways that people make claims about what an institution should prioritize or what should be taught?

What topics of study are worthy of research? Which types of students should receive our attention? The language that we use.

“Equity refers to whether or not we have a system of education that’s just. It’s an ethical standard for examining injustice in higher education. This ties into the enduring question — and central aspect of Penn State’s mission — about public good of higher education. What roles should colleges and universities be playing to promote the public good?” she said.

Kinser also cited the development of the World Campus master’s program in higher education, an “incredibly successful program” with more than 150 students enrolled. “And the Academic Leadership Academy is established as one of the premier leadership development programs for higher education administrators in the U.S.,” he said.

“But I am particularly proud of our ability to place our graduates as faculty in other higher education programs. This shows that we have the cream of the crop here, and it means our influence will continue to grow,” Kinser said.

While it’s a happy 50th for the Center for the Study of Higher Education, Penn State has been

graduating students from its higher education program for 70 years.

Leticia Oseguera is Leticia Oseguera the professor in charge of that higher education program, and the associate professor of higher education and senior research associate has seen the Center for the Study of Higher Education evolve from a center where faculty were merely affiliated with the center by virtue of their connection to the Higher Education Program to a more intentional discussion around what center faculty do and what the expectations are of faculty who are affiliated with the center.

“I have also seen an evolution of what we have been known for and for many years it appeared we simply benefited from the efforts of a handful of individuals who were successful at bringing in large grants,” she said.

“Center faculty have also been entrepreneurial about

ways to generate revenue while also maintaining excellence and providing service to the higher education community more broadly.

“I am optimistic about its future as the past couple of directors have engaged in serious conversations around how to maintain our relevance and we have engaged in exciting conversations around the future of our center and we all have had a say in the direction we are moving.”

Oseguera also believes that in an era of attacks on higher education more broadly, it is increasingly important for CSHE to engage in these conversations and to continue to produce scholarship that can be used to combat some of the criticisms that are waged against higher education.

The College of Education reached out to graduates of the program to ask for their opinions on what makes CSHE successful, how the program has helped them, how the program has evolved, some of its most important accomplishments, and challenges facing higher education today.

Here are their stories:

SUSAN LOUNSBURY, director, Education Data Services, Southern Regional Education Board, Atlanta (doctorate, higher education):

ON THE HIED PROGRAM AND SECURING JOBS: In addition to the professional network I developed through the Penn State Higher Education program, I believe the high-quality content and instruction in my coursework also prepared me well for a career in higher education. The core courses provided me with a solid foundation in higher education literature and research. I was also able to choose several electives from a variety of courses on topics such as institutional research, policy and finance in higher education that made me more competitive in the job market as well as prepared me for the work I have been doing since graduate school.

ON CHALLENGES FACING EDUCATION TODAY: The key challenges facing postsecondary education today have to do with access and affordability. Although we have been studying these topics for decades, challenges still exist. In addition, affordability of postsecondary education continues to pose a challenge for many students who want to pursue a degree after high school. Students from lowerincome families are affected the most, but middle-income families also often find it difficult to pay for college and must resort to incurring a great deal of debt.

ON BEING PART OF THE PENN STATE ALUMNI NETWORK: I have only conducted a few job searches over the course of my career, but Penn State alumni have been there during those times to offer advice when I have asked for it. It was helpful to get their opinions on the types of positions for which I should apply or the types of institutions at which I should look. In addition, I have contacted fellow alumni for suggestions on best practices or models that I might want to look at when faced with a particularly challenging project at work.

Penn State Education

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JONI FINNEY, Penn Executive Education in Higher Education Program, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Ph.D., higher education, 1990):

ON THE HIED PROGRAM: Four core courses were required of Ph.D. students in the mid 1980s and they established a broad foundation for understanding American higher education. The integration of public policy in the broader historical context of higher education became an intellectual interest. The faculty in the higher education program were very well connected to areas of practice. It was this work that allowed me to return to the academy as a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania to work with colleagues and students in research projects and establishing closer links to communities of practice in the public policy arena.

ON CHALLENGES FACING EDUCATION TODAY: Challenges are primarily external, even though I worry a great deal about the capacity of our system of higher education to respond to these challenges. As more (most) Americans require some education beyond high school to earn a living wage, our educational systems are still largely set up to educate a young, traditional population in traditional ways.

Addressing the diverse needs of students of many races/ ethnicities from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds is critical to the relevance and success of American higher education. The research agenda of higher education faculty is misaligned to these urgent public policy problems. Faculty experts are underutilized in the public policy arena in thinking about and contributing to future solutions.

LORENZO BABER, associate professor, School of Education, Iowa State (Ph.D., education policy studies, 2007):

ON THE HIED PROGRAM: My experience in the higher education program provided me with the confidence, skills and knowledge to pursue a faculty career. What I appreciated most was the visibility of faculty who provided transparent examples of balancing scholarship, teaching and service at a research university.

ON CHALLENGES FACING EDUCATION TODAY: The key challenge is the sociopolitical landscape that has positioned education, postsecondary education especially, as a vehicle for individual economic success. This perspective drives a market-based approach to education which influences state support, curriculum and student outcomes.

Lost in this shift are the aspects of education that support a strong democracy — understanding of historical contexts, critical thinking skills and communicating across differences.

ON BEING PART OF PENN STATE ALUMNI NETWORK: Early on, the Penn State network offered connections to an amazing group of scholars and leaders. Now, I am the person introducing students to leaders in the field and it is a wonderful feeling. I am honored to be associated with those who were in the program with me; we have all maintained the perspective developed in the program to find our place in the field, establish a strong reputation for supporting equity and excellence and pay forward to others what we learned.

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DAVID TANDBERG, vice president of policy research/strategic initiatives at State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, Denver (Ph.D., higher education):

ON THE HIED PROGRAM: My experience in the Penn State higher education program has been a distinguishing factor in my career. Having the credential, a Ph.D. from a top higher education program, itself has been helpful, but the knowledge and skills I gained from the experience have been critical factors. I use that knowledge and those skills daily. I used them working for a state higher education agency, as a faculty member, and I use them now working for a state higher education policy organization.

ON CHALLENGES FACING EDUCATION TODAY: There is a lack of appreciation and emphasis on higher education for the public good. Among the public and policymakers, the contributions made by higher education are not adequately understood and appreciated. Many institutional leaders do not adequately prioritize their responsibility to advance to the public good through their work. These factors have contributed to reductions in state support; increased tuition and fees; a prioritizing of extraneous activities (e.g., big-time college sports ...); and the rise, prevalence and influence of college rankings. Higher education prioritizes the education of upper-income and white populations. Resources and privileges follow those students, while lower-income, students of color, and first-generation students struggle to gain access; when they do, it is often to lower-resourced institutions.

JUSTIN ORTAGUS, assistant professor, School of Human Development and Organizational Studies in Education; director, Institute of Higher Education, University of Florida (Ph.D., higher education, 2015):

ON THE HIED PROGRAM: The reputation of the higher education program at Penn State was a helpful variable when I was on the job market as a Ph.D. student. I was asked a lot of questions about a lot of things when I was interviewing for faculty positions, but one thing that never came up was the quality of my training as a doctoral student.

That’s a testament to the tradition of excellence of the program and the faculty members doing the work.

ON CHALLENGES FACING EDUCATION TODAY: Identify how to ensure that all students have equitable opportunities at improving their lives by earning a college degree and securing a high-quality job. Penn State’s Center for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) can be a national leader in this space in a variety of ways, as the current faculty are already conducting cutting-edge research tackling postsecondary issues related to equity, costs, technology and more. The scholarship from Kelly Rosinger can help inform future conversations regarding how to design state policies in thoughtful ways that can reduce (and not exacerbate) inequality in higher education.

ON BEING PART OF PENN STATE ALUMNI NETWORK: I have been very fortunate to be able to connect and work with fellow Penn State alumni. It’s been extremely helpful to my professional growth to collaborate with program alumni.

KAREN PAULSON, associate professor in masters, doctoral and World Campus programs; coordinator of Online Programs (Ph.D., higher education):

ON CSHE’S SUCCESS: The center was borne from a connection to Penn State administrators and across the years has always tried to foster that connection with institutional practitioners. CSHE’s success is based on the diverse collection of faculty and graduate students who have brought and continue to bring their knowledge and application of multiple research methods to bear on higher education issues.

HOW CSHE HAS EVOLVED: In the 1990s, federal funding and large projects were key to CSHE’s success.

In the intervening time, large federal funding has waned.

Therefore, CSHE adapted; the result is that current projects are more foundation-funded and in response to institutional or organizational RFPs for research and policy support. The current collection of CSHE faculty may be the most cohesive in years which makes me hopeful about the future.

JAMES TRAINER, associate vice president and executive director of the Office of Planning and Institutional Research, Villanova University, Philadelphia (Ph.D., higher education, 1993):

ON THE HIED PROGRAM: My connections to Penn State (outgoing head of the higher education alumni group) and the Higher Education program, in particular, have been extraordinarily helpful throughout my career. The program is extremely well regarded, as it should be. As students we had the opportunity to be taught and mentored by some of the nation’s top scholars in the field. In addition to their scholarship and expertise, our professors seemed to take a sincere interest in our development as students, scholars and professionals.

ON OVERALL ACCOMPLISHMENTS: CSHE and the Higher Education program at Penn State have graduated hundreds (thousands?) who are making a difference in higher education across the nation and the globe. Graduates occupy faculty positions and administrative positions within all sectors of higher education. Our alumni network is strong and familial; everyone wants their fellow PSU HIED student or graduate to succeed. Even with faculty who have been part of CSHE and HIED – not necessarily PSU graduates – we have long-term professional relationships. That is a valuable asset.

ON CHALLENGES FACING EDUCATION TODAY: I think that we face serious issues around access, affordability, equity and inclusion. There seems to be a deep divide between the experiences and opportunities that some students have the chance to pursue and what others experience. I believe the shift from higher education being viewed as both a common — public as well as an individual — private good to being seen almost exclusively an individual good has been detrimental to society as a whole. This shift has allowed public support for higher education to erode and has contributed to the creation of an educational caste system of sorts – the “haves” and the “have nots.” This issue is acute in primary and secondary education, as well. I am pleased to know that the CSHE plans to focus a significant portion of its energy studying and addressing issues around educational equity.

ALLIE GOLDSTEIN, assistant professor of education in masters, doctoral and World Campus programs (Ph.D., higher education, ‘17):

DAVE GUTHRIE, associate professor of education in masters and doctoral programs, Department of Education Policy Studies, Penn State (Ph.D.):

ON OVERALL ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Over the seven years that I have been connected to the HIED program and CSHE, the things that have been the most exciting to watch are how both the center and the HIED program are anything but stagnant, and to see the brilliant graduate students our program continues to attract. Some examples include the creation of the World Campus M.Ed. in Higher Education and Institutional Research certificate programs, the Academic Leadership Academy, the Justice Equity and Sustainability Roundtables, the Leadership Development Program (LDP) for Leadership for Academicians Program (LEAP, India) and more.

HOW CSHE HAS EVOLVED: Traditional volumes and patterns of funding (e.g., federal funding from the DoE) have all but dried up. The center has had to work hard to connect to other sources of funding, while simultaneously maintaining its core purposes and exploring new avenues for partnership in investment. Spearheading an effort to develop a fully online master’s program in higher education, and also developing an academy for academic leaders in the country, demonstrates the kind of creativity crucial to the center’s existence.

ON CSHE’S SUCCESS: I am absolutely optimistic about the center’s future. I think what makes the center so exciting is that it has evolved over time alongside the field itself and with respect to the research foci of its faculty affiliates. As the center brings in new faculty and explores new partnerships, we continue to see exciting research and training, keeping our work relevant.

ON CHALLENGES FACING HIGHER ED: I think our field is evolving, and it’s challenging for any organization to keep up with change. I do think our faculty and students are up for the challenge. Another challenge is in continuing to recruit diverse faculty and students. The work we do is very much shaped by the people within our organizations, and diverse perspectives are key in our research and in the classroom. This is something we are intentionally looking to address.

ON CSHE’S SUCCESS: Leadership.

Over the years, the director of the center has played a pivotal role in creating and sustaining the positive profile of the center. And the timely work of the center in exploring critical, relevant topics, and typically with other colleagues and with other organizations/entities within and beyond PSU-UP.

ON OVERALL ACCOMPLISHMENTS: With renewed grant activity and collaborations as well as partnerships with other faculty within and beyond Penn State, it’s notable that we are now identified as the No. 2 higher education graduate program in the country; that our UP master’s program provides about 25 graduate assistantship opportunities through the University, in partnership with the same number of offices, mostly in student affairs arenas; that our graduates are highly sought after, at both master’s and doctoral levels; that our faculty are producing excellent teaching and published scholarship.

Penn State Education

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Staff members balance roles of parent, employee and student

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By Jessica Buterbaugh

t’s not easy balancing the roles of parent, spouse and employee. Add being a student to the mix and the demands become even more challenging. But for five College of Education staff members, it is a challenge they face head-on.

to leave Penn State Altoona.

Now, nearly 25 years later, Richardson is halfway through her bachelor’s degree in Letters, Arts and Sciences, where she is concentrating on writing and the arts, and minoring in marketing.

Stephanie Hopkins, Greg Mason, Bonnie Richardson, Samantha Roan and Amanda Smith all are full-time employees and part-time students at Penn State, each working toward their own educational goals while juggling the demands of work and family.

“It’s really important to me that my children see that it’s never too late to follow your dreams,” Richardson said. “It’s never too late to get an education.”

When she graduated high school in 1996, Richardson’s dream was to travel to California to attend the University of California at Los Angeles and study theater. But her family didn’t see that as a legitimate career choice, and they weren’t about to send their teenage daughter 2,500 miles away from home.

“I ended up staying in central Pennsylvania and went to Penn State Altoona and majored in psychology,” said Richardson, who is an administrative assistant in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. After one semester, she transferred to South Hills School of Business and Technology, where she completed a program in travel business and tourism.

“My heart just wasn’t in it,” she said of her decision

“I love being creative,” she said. “I love writing and the arts, and I have a dream of writing children’s books.”

Richardson, like her fellow student-colleagues, has a spouse and children at home. And if there is one thing they all stress, it’s that family always comes first.

“My kids and I do our homework together,” Richardson said. “When I took a children’s literacy class, I had to read children’s books as part of my homework, so I would read them to my kids and it became part of our family time.”

Integrating family time and school time is not always feasible, especially for those with young children.

“I have a 2-year-old son and he takes up a lot of my time,” Roan said, explaining that she is a “nights and weekend student.”

The same is true for Hopkins, whose husband and toddler daughter are her primary focus in life.

“It’s not easy when you have a little one running around,” Hopkins said. “She is growing so fast and learning so much at this age and I want to be present for these special memories. I want her to grow up like I did and understand the value and importance of education but I also want to make sure she doesn’t always see me on my computer.”

Hopkins and Roan, both of whom are enrolled in the online master’s of higher education program and who work together in the college’s Advising and Certification Center, said they get about two hours a night to do schoolwork after their children go to bed and the remaining work is done on the weekends.

Photo: Jessica Buterbaugh

Stephanie Hopkins, Greg Mason and Samantha Roan are not only co-workers, they also are graduate students in the Department of Education Policy Studies.

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Penn State Education

“I was a first-generation student when I enrolled at Penn State Scranton in 2004 and now, I am the first in my family who will receive a master’s degree,” Hopkins said. “That really means something to me. My parents always stressed the importance of a college education but

they never had the opportunity to go to college. For me, it’s about more than just getting the degree.”

Roan, who is an alumna of the rehabilitation and human services program, said that earning a graduate degree was always on her to-do list.

“I simply wasn’t done learning,” she said, explaining that her education and career have led her down an unexpected road.

“Working in the rehabilitation and human services field, you get burned out fast,” she said, explaining that prior to joining Penn State, she worked with elderly patients in nursing homes. “I re-evaluated what I wanted to do.”

Roan began in an administrative assistant position in the Advising and Certification Center. She has risen through ranks and now is the undergraduate records coordinator for the College. Her hope, she said, is to become an academic adviser.

Hopkins, who serves as an academic adviser for the College, and Roan both agree that it is the flexibility of their online graduate program and the support of their colleagues that makes completing the program possible.

“Being in the College of Education, it’s just natural for people to support you in getting an advanced degree,” Hopkins said. “With our supervisor working on his Ph.D., he is very supportive and understanding.”

Their supervisor is Greg Mason, director of the Advising and Certification Center, who currently is completing his dissertation work for the higher education doctoral program.

Mason started the program in 2013, three children ago.

“I am a father of four, the oldest of whom is 7 and the

youngest just turned 1,” he said.

“I am also a husband. Balancing the family demands with work and school has taken some real discipline, and has meant that I spend some early mornings in my office working on my Ph.D. work. Work does not get done at home — my house is crazy!”

But, he added, that is a positive thing.

“When I walk through the door at the end of the day, my wife and kids deserve and get my full attention,” he said.

Being a parent, a spouse, an employee and a student can be very difficult.

“For me, the biggest challenge has been trying to figure out a way to balance it all — work, school and family,” said Amanda Smith, who is completing the educational leadership doctoral program and raising a family. “And, I’m not great at it. I don’t know if there’s a secret to it. You just have to figure out what works best for you and do it.”

A former science teacher, Smith said she has always seen herself continuing her education.

“It just made sense for me. I love my job and the work I do, and I realized that in order to do my job better, I needed more education.”

Smith is the STEM outreach and engagement liaison for the Center for Science and the Schools and served as the Pennsylvania STEM Ambassador in 2018, which required her to advocate for STEM education in Pennsylvania schools.

The reality is that there is never a perfect balance between all the family responsibilities and academic obligations, Smith said. “But I love my family and I love my job and I love learning.

I’ve just been fortunate to have the support from my family and colleagues to be able to have all three of these things,” she said.

Graduate Program Rankings All 11 College of Education graduate programs that fall into categories ranked by U.S. News and World Report have been ranked in the Top 20, with five of those programs in the Top 10. Penn State is the only institution in the Big Ten to be ranked in all 11 categories in the publication’s latest national rankings.

According to U.S. News and World Report, program rankings “are based solely on nominations by education school deans and education school deans of graduate studies from the list of schools surveyed. They selected up to 15 top programs in each area.

Those schools receiving the most votes in each specialty are numerically ranked in descending order based on the number of nominations they received, as long as they received seven or more nominations in that specialty area.”

In the survey, the College is ranked 39th in the nation among 258 graduate programs of education.

The programs are ranked this year as follows: Higher Education Administration..........................2 Technical Teacher Education (Workforce Education).............2 Rehabilitation Counseling........4 Education Administration/ Supervision (Ed Leadership)....7 Student Counseling/ Personnel Services...................7 Education Policy.....................12 Special Education...................12 Secondary Education.............13 Curriculum and Instruction....15 Elementary Education............15 Educational Psychology.........16

Penn State Education

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Probing question about online learners inspires student to develop web app

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By Jessica Buterbaugh

hy are course completion rates for online students so low?

That’s the question Nicole Wang asked herself five years ago when she was working as a post-graduate researcher with the University of Pennsylvania.

“I was working on a MOOC project and I was part of the first team in the country to actually mine through this type of data,” said Wang, who currently is completing her doctorate in learning, design, and technology (LDT) through the College of Education. “It was the first time online learners were taking courses without paying. To me, that is a wonderful learning opportunity.

However, the completion rate during that time was very low — between 2 percent and 4 percent.“

Photo: Jessica Buterbaugh

Nicole Wang, a doctoral candidate in learning, design, and technology, developed SPOT, a web-based learning tool that allows online learners to engage in a supportive and anonymous environment.

Wang said she couldn’t help but wonder why students weren’t finishing the free, online courses. “One of the reasons I was thinking was related to engagement. However, I did not have any further knowledge related to online learning so that is why I decided to pursue my Ph.D. at Penn State,” she said.

When she enrolled in college’s LDT program in 2015, she shared her thoughts with her adviser, Kyle Peck, professor emeritus of education (learning, design, and technology). Peck was very supportive, she said, and encouraged her to find answers to her questions.

Later that semester, she applied for a grant through

Penn State’s Center for Online Innovation and Learning (COIL), which is now part of the Nittany AI Alliance, and was awarded $40,000 in seed funding to create SPOT, a web-based application designed to promote self-motivation and increase peer-to-peer support in online courses.

SPOT, which stands for Social Performance Optimization Tool, is different from platforms such as Canvas, Moodle or Blackboard, which are considered learning management systems. SPOT allows students to anonymously engage in an interactive learning environment and monitor their course performance through different states of an avatar.

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“If a student is struggling and needs to seek out help from another student, he or she can do so without feeling ashamed or embarrassed,” Wang explained.

But how do the students know who to ask for help?

It’s simple, Wang said.

also have been approached by the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Oklahoma State University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), each of which are interested in piloting the application.

“We’re receiving a lot of interest and that’s great,” Wang said. “But we also want to make sure that “Each student is represented by an avatar that we have all the kinks worked out before it is widely looks like a dog and the dog shows how well each shared. We are applying for an internal grant because student is doing,” she said. “If a student is doing well, even though it is working, it is not perfect. We haven’t the dog is smiling and its tail is wagging. If a student is had a large enough sample size to actually do a true struggling or not performing well, the dog is sad.” quasi experiment to Students enrolled prove if it is going to Penn State-affiliated members of the SPOT research in the online courses work on a larger scale.” and development team are: piloting SPOT can The process of view the course roster, –– William Diehl, assistant professor of education (adult seeing SPOT grow which lists the screen education), College of Education from a seed in her name and avatar for imagination to a each student, and –– Amy Garbrick, director of the Office of Learning Design, functioning application see who may be College of Information Sciences and Technology has been a great struggling, doing well learning experience, or anything in between. –– Andrea Gregg, associate director of evaluation, she said. “So much outreach analytics and reporting, World Campus They then have the has gone into making option to seek out or this a success and I’m –– Rebecca Heiser, instructional designer, World Campus provide one-on-one thankful to be at Penn assistance by sending –– Kyle Peck, professor emeritus of education (learning, State, to be able to a private message to design, and technology), College of Education use its resources and another student or by partner with so many –– Bart Pursel, assistant director of TLT and affiliate posting a comment to a different talented community discussion associate research professor, College of Information people.” board.

Sciences and Technology Wang said she “The idea is for –– Stanley Smith, associate professor of mathematics has worked with SPOT to be an avenue and director of online instruction, Department of the staff at Happy of communication Valley LaunchBox and Mathematics, Eberly College of Science for students,” Wang currently is working said. “If you’re in a –– Martin Yeh, assistant professor of information sciences with the University’s traditional, residential and technology, Penn State Brandywine Office of Technology class, you can talk to Management to make External collaborators are: your classmates and sure all contracts with ask them questions outside universities –– Mina Mizumatsu, assistant professor, Tohoku University after class, things like meet the appropriate ‘What did the professor –– Alvin Yu, associate professor, St. Cloud University legal requirements. mean by this?’ In an She’s also utilized the online setting, there’s services of the Teaching and Learning with Technology no easy way to do that.”

(TLT) office.

SPOT currently is being piloted across 12 online “I never imagined SPOT would come such a long courses at three universities — Penn State, St. Cloud way from starting with my original idea to being a State University in Minnesota and Tohoku University in functional app,” Wang said. “Before coming to Penn Japan.

State and getting this grant, I only had an idea and now I am actually starting to transform that idea into “An important part of the research is making sure something real. There is so much that has gone into SPOT is applicable across cultures,” Wang said. “We this project and it is just surreal sometimes.” don’t want it to be useful only to Penn State students.

We want it to be useful for all online learners no matter And she can’t wait to see SPOT continue to grow where they are enrolled.” and make a positive change in online education, she said. “My goal as a person is to make an impact on Wang and her team, which includes a people and I believe education is the perfect way to do multidisciplinary group of researchers and scholars that.” from across the University as well as external partners, Penn State Education

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Prison Education Summit to help inform growing program in College of Education Diversity, inclusion and social justice all have an articulated importance in the Penn State College of Education. That is increasingly evident through the actions of the College’s faculty, staff and students, who are working hard to bring about social change and realize more student success in diverse populations.

The most recent example of this commitment is the Prison Education and Reentry Summit, held March 29-30 on the University Park campus.

“The College of Education’s mission speaks explicitly about its commitment to both the development and the utilization of human capabilities wherever they exist,” said College of Education Dean David H. Monk.

“Prison education programs speak directly to both parts of our mission as these programs develop capabilities and also focus efforts on making effective utilization of the capabilities that are developed.”

The summit grew out of the Restorative Justice Initiative (RJI), founded by Efrain Marimon, assistant professor of education.

The RJI is a partnership formed to provide educational opportunities for incarcerated individuals to succeed in society upon their release.

The summit included representatives from leading prison education and reentry programs from around the country; the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections; government agencies; and state and local officials to develop a vision for the expansion of Penn State’s Prison Education and Reentry Project. It was designed to help devise a plan customized to the needs of Pennsylvania.

“My hope is to build an alliance, foster collaboration and drive innovation that can support the infrastructure necessary to sustain our program,” Marimon said.

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In his own words:

Student Divine Lipscomb tells his story My name is Divine Liscomb. I am a native New Yorker. Born, bred, fed.

I’m also a transplant into Pennsylvania. I’ve been here about 10 years.

I come from a blended family. Dad wasn’t around until I was 10, so the man who raised me, he gave me a set of morals and values that I didn’t learn to appreciate until he left. When a new man came into my life, he was abusive. He was a drug addict. He did all the things that a man is not supposed to do. Lo and behold, Daddy shows up. He’s still Photo:Annemarie Mountz no good to no one.

Divine Lipscomb, a student majoring in rehabilitation and human services, was the featured speaker on the second day of the Prison Education and Reentry summit held in the College of Education on March 29-30.

The streets found me. I found drugs. I found alcohol. They became my passion. They became my best friend. I didn’t know that those drugs were important because I was buried in traumas – sexual, emotional. You know, those stories that we don’t talk about, especially as men. Those things that we bury, because society doesn’t give us that room to talk about it. I was an angry kid, quiet, isolated. So naturally, when New York City found gangs, or gangs found New York City, I was a prime candidate. I was being groomed, before I even knew what being groomed was. I was running those dark streets with my stepfather while he was cheating on my Mom ‘cause I didn’t know no better.

School? What’s school? I’m not going to school. I can’t go to school.

If I go to school, when I come home, will my Mama be alive? C’ause they was just drinking last night.

All of that’s irrelevant, because the educational system. They failed.

How did this “A” student run around with knives all of a sudden? Why? Why did I just disappear from attending class?

The justice system. They failed. Fourteen years old. That was a heinous robbery. What kid? What normal kid would beat and rob someone like that? Ah, no, we’re just gonna lock him up. Those guys from Brownsville, that’s what they do. They’re just menaces. We’re just gonna lock him up, put him away. So that’s what they did. They put me in a juvenile detention center.

I was eligible for a program as a youthful offender. They released

me, still smoking weed, so I had to go to a drug treatment program, where I FIRST discovered that I had emotions that I needed to deal with, that I had traumas. But I was 15. I didn’t know what to do with these emotions. Those long, therapeutic sessions, where you uncover all that grit, right? Then they just abandon you with it.

And then they let you back out into society and say, “Oh, just go to school, you’re good.” No! He’s still beating my Mama. I’m gonna kill this man, eventually. I didn’t. I learned to forgive him at some point.

But not before the system caught me again.

This time for four years. State penitentiary. What did they teach me at the state penitentiary? How to survive? I mean the streets taught me that before I got there.

I started reading. A lot. Especially in the Special Housing Unit. Seventeen, 18, I’m locked away in solitary confinement. The only things I had were my books.

I got my GED, released back into population, then they let me go. I’m free! Wow! At 20 years old, I’m back home.

Mentally I’m still that same 16-year-old kid though. I don’t know how to deal with those emotions. “Well, the nature of your crime doesn’t allow us to help you in this program.

Maybe you should go check out this other program.” “Oh, wait, you’ve been out too long, so we can’t help you in this program.”

So, I stumbled through life. The only thing I did know was I wanted to go back to school. So, I went. The first thing I noticed on my application, “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” Of course! Who hasn’t? We’re from Brooklyn. It’s unnatural to ask me that question.

I applied to Penn State three times. They told me I would NEVER … “Divine, I’m sorry, I advocate for you a lot, but Penn State’s never gonna hire you. You have felonies.” Ha, OK, watch me. The thing is, there wasn’t any real programming, that we do. This reentry work. Nobody taught me how to go through rejections, nobody taught me how to be a Daddy. Nobody taught me how to just be me. Nobody taught me that that trauma that was sitting in my gut festering needed to be taken care of. Nobody taught that me I had to leave that addiction.

“You smoke any more marijuana Mr. Lipscomb, we’ll lock you back up.” Well, they sell alcohol in the liquor store. That’s legal. That’ll come right outta my system really fast. So, I became an alcoholic – the best and worst thing that ever happened in my life. See because, being an alcoholic brought me here. It brought me to a situation, many, many situations, many dark nights when I was just like, “I’ve got to do better than this.” There’s somebody waiting for me on the other side.

‘Cause, in my mind, I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to open this T-shirt company, which I did. I’m gonna start a program, ‘cause being an entrepreneur allowed me to be self-sufficient and nobody could tell me, “I’m not going to hire you.” Wait – maybe I can help you become

Photo: Annemarie Mountz

an entrepreneur. How do I do that? Birth of my program.

I said, hey! I have this idea guys, is anybody going to help me? “Ah, that’s a great idea, but ...

I said, you don’t want to help me? OK, that’s fine. It brought me to Penn State. But when I got to Penn State, I was like, Where are my people at? “Oh, the Paul Robeson Cultural Center is down that way, Divine, you can find your people.” I’m not talking about black people. I see them every day. If I want to hang out with them I know where to find them. “Oh, you can go to the Adult Learner Center, you’re an adult learner.” I don’t want to be with them old people. “You’re not old, don’t take offense to that.”

Where are the convicted felons? This is Penn State.

Statistically, there have to be more justice-impacted individuals here. Why can I not find them? I wasn’t supposed to find them. I was supposed to find Efrain [Marimon]. Because Efrain was doing something on this campus that no one else was doing. He was impacting lives. He was changing minds. He was introducing education. HE was doing what I was looking for 16 years ago. How could I not be involved with that?

Penn State is special. Everything that everyone here does is special. See because we can’t save the world, but there’s one person in these here organizations, just one who’s looking for you to give him that shot. I just need you to let me in, and I’ll take care of the rest. I don’t need you to do anything else but open that door.

Efrain, you’re opening up doors, sir. For that, I’m humbled and thankful. Dean [David] Monk, thank you.

Dean [Maria] Schmidt, awesome. See, because I wasn’t supposed to find the justice-impacted. I was supposed to find my family in the College of Ed. Because even as an adult learner, life shows up. Wife moved, she took a job. I found myself homeless and at my mother’s house. College of Education stepped in. “Look, dude, we got you. Just come to school, get trained, do what you gotta do. We will take care of you.” So I show up and show out ‘cause I put in the work so others can say “We Are ...”

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Success through the years: Alumni distinguish themselves in their fields

Barbara Weisberger graduated in 1945 with a B.S. in education.

She began dancing at age 3 and was George Balanchine’s first child student at the School of American Ballet. She founded the Wilkes-Barre Theatre and the Pennsylvania Ballet, and has served as Artistic Adviser for Peabody Preparatory Dance since 2001. She was named a Distinguished Alumna in 1973.

Allan W. Ostar graduated in 1948 with a B.A. in psychology.

He devoted a long career to advancing higher education, directing the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) from 1965 to 1991.

He was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 1989.

Thomas J. Anderson Jr. graduated in 1951 with an M.Ed. in music education. He was chairman of the Department of Music at Tufts University, retired in 1990 from Tufts as Austin Fletcher professor of music emeritus, and now composes music full-time.

He was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 1990.

College of Education Distinguished Alumni 2018 Roger L. Williams, ‘88g 2016 George Santiago Jr., ‘86, ‘94 2013 James T. Harris, ‘88 2012 Harold Cheatham, ‘61 2011 Ovid J.L. Tzeng, ‘73 2009 J. Bonnie Newman, ‘69 2008 *Harry Landis Eberly, ‘45 2004 Eda C.B. Machado de Souza, ‘73, ‘75 2003 C. Kirby Yung, ‘78 2001 John W. Moore, ‘70 2001 Suzie McConnell-Serio, ‘88 1998 *Donald M. Cook, Jr., ‘60g 1997 *Richard E. Grubb ‘71g 1991 Helen Dickerson Wise, ‘49, ‘52, ‘68 1990 T. J. Anderson, Jr., ‘59 1989 Allan W. Ostar, ‘48 1983 *Harriet Wenner McGeehan, ‘30 1982 Darlene Dintino Large, ‘59 22

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1981 Ruth H. Johnson, ‘59 1976 *Gertrude A. Barber, ‘40, ‘45, ‘57 1975 *Gardner E. Lindzey, ‘43, ‘45 1974 *Martha M. Dohner, ‘37 1974 *Lucetta Parker Kennedy, ‘33 1973 Barbara Linshes Weisberger, ‘45 1972 *John Thomas Biggers, ‘48, ‘48, ‘54 1972 *Margaret Bittner Parke, ‘27 1970 *Richard S. Schweiker, ‘50 1968 *Gilbert Nurick, ‘28 1966 *Amos E. Neyhart, ‘34g 1964 *Margaret Mary Mercer, ‘29, ‘34, ‘38 1962 *Barbara M. Troxell, ‘37, ‘39g 1961 *Clara Cockerille, ‘41, ‘51g 1959 *Mary Frear Keeler, ‘24 1957 *John R. Richards, ‘31g 1951 *George D. Stoddard, ‘20 * indicates the alum is deceased

The College of Education boasts 35 Distinguished Alumni — outstanding alumni whose “personal lives, professional achievements and community service exemplify the objectives of their alma mater.” The Distinguished Alumni Award, authorized by the Penn State Board of Trustees in 1951, is the highest honor bestowed by Penn State. These pages feature introductions to some of our Distinguished Alumni.

Eda C.B. Machado de Souza graduated in 1973 (master’s) and 1975 (doctorate). She is founder of IESB University, which has become one of the most respected institutions of higher learning in Brazil. She was named a Distinguished Alumna in 2004.

Photo: Annemarie Mountz

College of Education Dean David H. Monk, left, with Eda C.B. Machado de Souza and Ovid J.L. Tzeng, both of whom were named inaugural members of the Penn State Provost’s Global Advisory Council in 2017.

Helen Dickerson Wise graduated in 1949 with a B.A. in education; in 1969 with an M.Ed. in education; and in 1968 with a D.Ed. in secondary education. After a long teaching career she became president of the Pennsylvania and National Education associations.

She was a member of the House of Representatives, deputy chief of staff to the governor of Pennsylvania, and a member of the Penn State Board of Trustees. She was named a Distinguished Alumna in 2008.

Ovid J.L. Tzeng graduated in 1973 with a Ph.D. in educational psychology. He is the first Penn Stater to be an elected academician of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan. He also was elected an academician of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and also of The World Academy of Science. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2011.

Roger Williams graduated in 1973 with a B.A. in history, in 1975 with an M.A. in journalism and in 1988 with a D.Ed. in higher education. He spent the bulk of his career with Penn State, and retired in 2015 as associate vice president and executive director of the Penn State Alumni Association. He authored “Evan Pugh’s Penn State: America’s Model Agricultural College” (2018) and “The Origins of Federal Support for Higher Education: George W. Atherton and the Land-Grant College Movement” (1991). He was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2018.

Find more Distinguished Alumni profiles on page 24.

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Darlene Dintino Large graduated in 1959 with a degree in art education. She founded HOINA in 1971, helping Native American children, Mexican tribal women, leprosy patients, and more than 4,000 East Indian orphaned, abused, abandoned and handicapped children, providing homes, medical care and education. She was named a Distinguished Alumna in 1982.

George Santiago Jr. graduated in 1986 with an M.Ed. in education administration, and in 1994 with a Ph.D. in education administration.

He has built a successful career in higher education. From his early days in student affairs to the president’s office, his focus has remained on at-risk populations.

He was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2016.

Harold E. Cheatham graduated in 1961 with a B.S. in psychology and history. He is a recognized pioneer in multicultural counseling, a discipline he served greater than four decades throughout society and in education, including Penn State’s College of Education. In 1996, he was named Founding Dean of Clemson’s current College of Social, Behavioral and Health Sciences. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2012.

For more information about the Distinguished Alumni Award, visit http://bit.ly/distinguished_alumni 24

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James T. Harris graduated in 1988 with a D.Ed. in higher education. Currently president of the University of San Diego, he is nationally recognized for his work in civic engagement.

Throughout his academic career, he has worked closely with crossdiscipline teams to spearhead new civic and community engagements. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2013.

J. Bonnie Newman graduated in 1969 with an M.Ed. in higher education. She had a prolific career that spans the public, private, nonprofit, and academic sectors, retiring as executive dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University. After retirement, she served as interim president of the University of New Hampshire and interim chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire. She was named a Distinguished Alumna in 2008.

Alumni Society Board Message from the Board President June of 2018 marked the start of my first year as president of the Alumni Society Board of Directors.

I am having a wonderful time as president and have enjoyed many opportunities to meet and interact with alumni from across the College.

In July of last year, I returned to campus to attend Penn State Arts Festival Alumni Weekend and to volunteer at the College’s welcome table, greeting alumni who returned to campus. Volunteer Ellen Freeman, a recent graduate of the Higher Education program, and I enjoyed engaging them in conversations about their experiences at Penn State and in the College.

September brought the new student celebration reception to the Chambers patio. While faculty served Berkey Creamery ice cream to the class of 2022, alumni volunteers engaged students in conversation and encouraged them to sign up to win one of 24 Blue & White Society memberships that were generously donated by Alumni Society Board members. Alumni Andrew Ahearn and Alexis DiDomenico had such a great time that they now mentor students as part of the College’s alumnistudent mentoring program.

October saw not only Homecoming and the Alumni Society’s annual appearance in the parade, but also our Alumni Awards Dinner. I met Alumni Excellence honoree, Samuel B. Slike, who has spent his career working in the area of deaf education by improving teaching practices and access to higher education for students with disabilities.

The spring and summer of 2019 will bring a number of opportunities for alumni to return to campus including We Are Weekend and of course ArtsFest. I plan on returning to the College that always feels like home to me, and I hope to see you there!

Nominate outstanding alumni for annual awards The College of Education Alumni Society supports awards in five categories, presented each year to graduates and student teachers who have distinguished themselves in their profession. Nominations are accepted throughout the year, with award recipients chosen each spring. For information, and to submit a nomination, visit https://ed.psu.edu/ alumni-friends/award/alumni-society-awards online.

Board members for 2018-19 include: Front row, from left: David Monk, Tonnie DeVecchis-Kerr, Hannah Chisler, Stefanie Tomlinson, Tracy Hinish. Second row, from Photo: Steve Tressler left: Lawrence Wess, Sherry Yontosh, Pamela Peter, Pamela Francis. Third row, from left: John Rozzo, Joe Clapper, Douglas Womelsdorf, Larry Carretta, Cathy Tomon.

Back row, from left: Leo D’Agostino, Jeannene Willow, Jonathan Klingeman, John Czerniakowski, Henry Laboranti (no longer with the board). Not pictured are Nicole Birkbeck, Kaela Fuentes-Packnick, Holly Klock, Amy Meisinger, Sandie Musoleno, Bridget Parler and James Trainer.

Pamela Peter (‘92 Behrend, ‘94 M.Ed. Edu)

About the Alumni Society The College of Education Alumni Society provides a means for alumni to come together to help improve the College and the University. It oversees a number of important projects that help serve the needs of alumni, students, the College and the University as well as promote the esteem of the institution. College of Education alumni automatically become members of the Alumni Society when they join the Penn State Alumni Association.

For more information, contact the alumni relations office at 814-863-2216 or Stefanie Tomlinson, assistant director of Alumni Relations, at skt2@psu.edu.

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