Belonging at Penn State Resources

University-wide Equity and Belonging Resources at Penn State

External Diversity Resources

Administrative Fellows Program
The Administrative Fellows Program provides professional development opportunities for faculty and staff (with standing appointments). By serving under the mentorship of a senior-level administrator, fellows receive opportunities to broaden their perspectives and experiences in higher education administration.

Office of Equal Opportunity and Access
The Office of Equal Opportunity and Access at Penn State University is committed to ensuring equal opportunity in all aspects of employment and to foster diversity in the University community.

Africana Research Center
Our mission is to encourage and support research and scholarship that: (a) enhances the lives of Africans across Africa and the African Diaspora, and (b) serves as a catalyst for promoting an enabling environment where cultural production and discourse on diversity can be nurtured to advance the research, teaching, and outreach mission of Penn State University.

African American Chronicles
African American students, faculty, staff, and alumni have inspired and empowered the Penn State community. This timeline-based website chronicles the struggles and successes experienced by African Americans at Penn State.

African American Studies
The mission of the Department of African American Studies is to cultivate a critical understanding of the forms of knowledge and culture that African-descended peoples in the Americas have produced, as well as of the sociopolitical, cultural, and economic conditions under which they have done this work.

Belonging at Penn State Calendar
This University-wide calendar provides a listing of diversity-related events, exhibits, meetings, displays, activities, etc., at Penn State that contributes to Penn State’s diversity goals.

BLUEprint Peer Mentoring
BLUEprint is a peer mentoring program focused on offering cultural, social, and academic support to students of color, specifically those who are first-year or transfer/change-of-campus students.

Center for Education and Civil Rights (CECR)
CECR is a hub for the generation of knowledge and coalition building within the education and civil rights communities to promote racial and ethnic equality in education.

Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity
The Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity (CSGD) provides a comprehensive range of education, information, and advocacy services to students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and works to create and maintain an open, safer, and inclusive environment honoring gender and sexual diversity.

Center for Spiritual and Ethical Development
The largest multi-faith center of its kind in the country, the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center is home to the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Development at Penn State.

Commission for Adult Learners
Penn State’s Commission for Adult Learners is composed of faculty, staff, and students from several University locations. Members are dedicated to improving the adult learner experience at Penn State.

Council of College Multicultural Leadership
Council of College Multicultural Leadership are primarily responsible for leading the efforts to recruit and retain a diverse student body within the academic colleges and the Graduate School, and assist in advising and developing their respective College's diversity strategies.

Data Digest
Penn State’s official source for institutional statistics including student enrollment, retention, graduation, degrees awarded, and workforce demographics.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Resources (a SharePoint site for Penn State employees and students). Curated research and other resources to help you think more critically about a range of topics.

Diversity Strategic Planning
Advancing Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity-Our Commitment to Impact: The Pennsylvania State University’s Strategic Plan for 2020 to 2025.

Equal Opportunity Planning Committee
EOPC supports and advances the University’s strategic plan (see,"Engaging Principles of Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity") with investments in your programs and ideas.

Equitable and Inclusive Staff Search Toolkit
CONDUCTING AN EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE STAFF SEARCH: A Toolkit for Educational Equity Hiring Managers and Search Committees

FastStart
FastStart is a mentoring program that helps first-year students from African American, Latino/Hispanic, Asian, and Asian/Pacific American backgrounds, as well as those students who simply want to get their college careers off to a fast start.

First-Year In Science and Engineering (FISE) Special Living Option
The FISE offers a residential experience for first-year students seeking to live in a diverse and inclusive STEM-focused living and learning community.

Gender Equity Center
Penn State’s Gender Equity Center (GenEq) supports students who have been impacted by sexual violence, relationship violence, stalking, harassment, and other campus climate issues. GenEq staff provide education, advocacy, referrals, and crisis intervention/support counseling. All services are free and confidential.

Global Penn State
Global Penn State oversees education abroad programs; hosts international students, scholars, and international visitors; and provides support for the University's international partnerships and collaborations around the world.

Human Resources
Penn State's Office of Human Resources provides information on job opportunities and employment resources, retiree benefits, health and wellness opportunities, and other services.

Penn State Benefits (including domestic partner benefits)
Penn State's Employee Benefits Division is committed to providing a comprehensive benefits program designed to attract and retain high quality faculty and staff.

Latina/o Studies
The mission of this program is to promote a critical understanding of the historical and contemporary position of Latinas, Latinos, and Latinxs in the United States.

Minority Undergraduate Laboratory Research Experience
The MURE program began in 1991 at University Park and has offered research experiences in the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Earth and Mineral Sciences, Engineering, Health and Human Development, and Science.

Multicultural Resource Center
The Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) provides individual college counseling and educational services for undergraduate multicultural students at University Park and assists students in meeting the challenges associated with education and attaining a degree at a major research institution.

The Comprehensive Studies Program (CSP) is an equal opportunity higher education program funded by Penn State, providing access and retention to Pennsylvania students who display high academic potential and meet program criteria. The Comprehensive Studies Program provides a variety of individualized services for its students.

Office of Graduate Educational Equity Programs
The Office of Graduate Educational Equity Programs leads the Graduate School’s efforts to foster diversity and to provide a welcoming climate for both prospective and current graduate students of underrepresented groups.

Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research
The Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research activities support University decision making, policy development, and reporting through rigorous data collection, analysis, and interpretation. The office provides leadership for the institutional research function across the University through collaboration with partners and the sharing of best practices.

Office of Veterans Programs
The Office of Veterans Programs (OVP) at the University Park campus is organized as a comprehensive, direct service unit for veterans and Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) benefits recipients providing services in three major areas: Outreach, Certification, Mentorship, and General Counseling.

Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity
The Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity serves as a catalyst and advocate for Penn State's diversity initiatives. Educational Equity's vision is a Penn State community that is an inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

Paul Robeson Cultural Center
The Paul Robeson Cultural Center provides programs and support services to encourage and cultivate the appreciation and celebration of the diverse perspectives, experiences, and cultures of many underrepresented communities at Penn State.

Penn State for Adult Learners
Penn State World Campus and our campuses throughout Pennsylvania serve students and communities as we carry out our mission of teaching, research, and service.

President's Commissions for Equity
The President's Commissions for Equity: The Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Equity (CLGBTQE); the Commission on Racial/Ethnic Diversity (CORED); and the Commission for Women (CFW) are advisory groups to the President of Penn State.

Report Bias
This website provides students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests with a Penn State User ID with a web form for reporting acts of bias or intolerance that occur at Penn State. Students may use the form to report any act of intolerance they experience themselves or observe directed against anyone else.

Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program
The McNair Scholars Program is designed to help academically talented students from traditionally underserved backgrounds reach their potential by earning a doctoral degree.

Senior Faculty Mentors
In line with Penn State's commitment to the excellence and long-term diversity of its faculty, the Senior Faculty Mentors, in collaboration with the Vice Provost for Educational Equity, provides supportive services to tenure-track faculty members belonging to underrepresented racial/ethnic groups to facilitate the attainment of tenure and promotion.

Sexuality & Gender Studies Minor
The undergraduate minor in Sexuality and Gender Studies addresses human sexuality and gender as they have been conceptualized and investigated by diverse disciplines

Student Disability Resources
Student Disability Resources (SDR) is responsible for coordinating support services, reasonable academic accommodations, and promoting disability awareness in the University community. SDR provides services to students with disabilities enrolled at the University Park campus.

Student Minority Advisory and Recruitment Team (SMART)
The Student Minority Advisory and Recruitment Team was founded in 1988 with the goal of sharing the success of underrepresented students at Penn State and assisting with the recruitment of ethnic minorities.

Student Organization Directory
Penn State has over 1,000 student organizations to fit almost any interest. If you can't find the right fit, you are always welcome to start your own.

Summer Research Opportunities Program
The Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) is an eight-week research program designed to interest talented undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in academic careers and to enhance their preparation for graduate study through intensive research experiences with faculty mentors.

Talent Search
The Talent Search program is one of the Federal TRIO Programs dedicated to assisting high school students in furthering their education. Talent Search is primarily available to students who are from low-income households, and whose parents did not go to college, but anyone can apply.

University Faculty Senate Standing Committee on Educational Equity and Campus Environment
The Committee on Educational Equity and Campus Environment, in conjunction with other Senate Committees and other bodies outside of the University Faculty Senate (e.g., Commission on Racial/Ethnic Diversity), will recommend policy and advise the University on activities to improve the campus environment and educational equity across the entire University at all of its campuses.

University Libraries LGBT Studies Collection
LGBT Studies provides students and researchers across disciplines a multi-content perspective on the LGBT political, cultural, and social movements throughout the twentieth century and into the present day.

Upward Bound Programs
Upward Bound Programs is a federally-funded program that helps high-school students gain academic skills and motivation to continue their education beyond high school.

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
The Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is committed to creating an inclusive campus community that acknowledges the inherent dignity in every person.

World in Conversation Project
A student-driven center with a mission to host dialogues that allow people to think together across borders.

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External Resources

American Council on Education (ACE)
ACE is a membership organization that mobilizes the higher education community to shape effective public policy and foster innovative, high-quality practice.

Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U)
AAC&U is the leading national association dedicated to advancing the vitality and public standing of liberal education by making quality and equity the foundations for excellence in undergraduate education in service to democracy.

Consortium of Higher Education Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgender Resource Professionals
The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals is a member-based organization working toward the liberation of LGBTQ people in higher education.

Human Rights Campaign
As the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans, the Human Rights Campaign represents a force of more than 3 million members and supporters nationwide—all committed to making HRC's vision a reality.

I’m First
I'm First was created in 2013 to provide students who lack a family history of higher education with inspiration, information, and support on the road to and through college and is now an initiative of Strive for College—a national nonprofit that also runs a national online mentoring program for college-bound students.

Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates through 2032
For almost 40 years, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) has produced Knocking at the College Door, with detailed data and projections more than 15 years forward on high school graduate populations for all 50 states.

Live Another Day
42 mental health and addiction recovery resources to support Black college students.

Middle States Commission on Higher Education
The Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education, doing business as the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), was formally incorporated under Pennsylvania Commonwealth law on March 1, 2013. From its origins in 1919 through February 2013, the Commission was a unit of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and is now an independent corporation.

Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs directly connects the Office of the Governor and state agencies to citizens, constituency groups, associations, local governments, and others in efforts to listen, learn, address matters, and assist in creating a government that works for the people of Pennsylvania and its diverse regions and communities. The office consists of multiple streamlined and coordinated segments: Boards and Commissions, Constituent Services, External Affairs, and the Regional Offices.

Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, or PHRC, enforces state laws that prohibit discrimination: the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and the Pennsylvania Fair Educational Opportunities Act.

Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. We use a three-pronged strategy to battle racial and social injustice: Fighting Hate; Teaching Tolerance; and Seeking Justice.

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