Academic Year 2023-2024
Results
A Renewed African American Festival 2024 (University Park) [PY3]
“The PSU African American Music Festival celebrates the music of African Americans and representative composers. Occurring in February (Black History Month), it includes performances by faculty, students, and guest artists. The festival was created by Dr. Tony Leach, the long-standing director of the Essence of Joy choir, featured at the conclusion of the Festival. A significant addition with the 2023 EOPC funding was that the festival has grown to include African American instrumental music and composers. Programming was impacted by remote presentations during the pandemic, but we have fully transitioned to an in person and live-streamed experience since our initial funding in 2022. We wish to expand the current programming and increase the number of off-campus participants.”
Academic Life Coaching Program (University Park) [PY1]
“Undergraduate Education has partnered with Student Affairs, World Campus, and Educational Equity to form the Integrative Coaching Collaborative (ICC), a network that is developing an Academic Life Coaching Program at Penn State. The Academic Life Coaching program is designed to improve academic outcomes, persistence, student metacognition, and degree completion for students at risk of attrition with a particular focus on underrepresented minority (URM) students, students with disabilities, first-generation college students, veterans, and adult learners.”
Advancing Inclusive, Equity-Based Pedagogy through Open Educational Practices (University Park) [PY1]
“This program will support a cohort of Penn State faculty and student collaborators in developing open educational resources (OER) that better reflect our student diversity and include marginalized voices and experiences historically absent within disciplinary discourses and commercially produced textbooks. In addition to benefiting economically disadvantaged students by producing no-cost course materials, this program will encourage culturally responsive and inclusive pedagogy and would require faculty to add a social justice component to their syllabus in addition to developing course materials that reflect greater diverse experiences (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, age, life experience, physical and mental abilities).”
Black Studies Writing Retreat (University Park) [PY1] ]
“The Black Studies Writing Retreat will offer advanced graduate students the opportunity to workshop their dissertations. This program assists graduate students researching Black Studies through the process of completing their dissertation by learning best writing practices, how to translate the significance of their research to various audiences, and developing a writing schedule/research agenda. Session topics will include: structuring and writing a dissertation, leveraging your dissertation research for article publishing, and developing time management/writing schedules. The retreat will provide participants with valuable insight into the process of developing a feasible research project, expand their networks, and offer an opportunity to develop their dissertations.”
Brandywine Student (PAL-Peer Assistance & Leadership) Peer Mentoring Program (Brandywine) [PY3]
“Penn State Brandywine’s Chancellor’s Commission on Empowering Women continues to establish a peer mentoring initiative to build a supportive coalition of student mentors who help empower women, increase retention for historically marginalized student populations, and support first-year students’ sense of belonging and exploration of their chosen major. The focus of this third and final year of funding is to further integrate this mentor program into the campus, streamline resources by collaborating with other campus mentoring/tutoring initiatives, and conduct a student workshop to brainstorm ideas that help overcome challenges and improve the current student mentoring programs.”
Building inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems (University Park) [PY1]
“Invent Penn State’s (IPS) mission is to spur economic development for PA by helping entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses. Key to success is ensuring all Pennsylvanians have access to resources and support to increase their chances of success. Our Ecosystem Team program helps staff at our 21 LaunchBox locations expand their ability to identify and address gaps in services for underrepresented groups – those historically with limited/restricted/no access to business resources). We are currently running a pilot with five locations. Funding will support a needs assessment, collection of lessons learned, development of assessment tool, and program evaluation.”
Catto-LeCount Mentoring Program (University Park) [PY1]
“The Richards Center seeks funding for a mentorship program that recruits undergraduates from historically underrepresented racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups (including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and first-generation students) to pursue graduate degrees in history at Penn State. The program is designed to demystify the graduate admissions process and cultivate faculty- and peer-mentoring relationships. We particularly seek to recruit from Commonwealth Campuses, where more than 24% of undergraduates come from historically underrepresented racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, in order to enhance the academic pipeline for a diverse faculty within Pennsylvania and strengthen relationships within the University system in pursuit of equity.”
Changing the future Penn State: An Empowerment Program to Promote Leadership Diversity (University Park) [PY4]
“The Richards Center seeks funding for a mentorship program that recruits undergraduates from historically underrepresented racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups (including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and first-generation students) to pursue graduate degrees in history at Penn State. The program is designed to demystify the graduate admissions process and cultivate faculty- and peer-mentoring relationships. We particularly seek to recruit from Commonwealth Campuses, where more than 24% of undergraduates come from historically underrepresented racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, in order to enhance the academic pipeline for a diverse faculty within Pennsylvania and strengthen relationships within the University system in pursuit of equity.”
Engagement and Peer Mentorship Program for Graduate Students in EMS (University Park) [PY1]
“Results from campus climate assessments in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) highlight the need to develop informal-interaction programming to combat isolation and fatigue for graduate students, especially marginalized graduate students. In response, we are piloting an engagement and mentorship program which will develop networks amongst graduate students across departments, host specialized events for the EMS graduate community, and bolster graduate mentorship activities within EMS. Our project impacts include: an increased sense of belonging within the college, increased interpersonal and leadership skills, improved mental well-being, and a wider knowledge and utilization of resources for graduate students.”
Executive Group Coaching for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (University Park) [PY2]
“The Smeal College of Business Diversity Council and Diversity Enhancement Programs (also in Smeal) are partnering with human Q (formally Experiential Insight) to offer digital group coaching as a professional development opportunity for employees (faculty and staff) and students (graduate and undergraduate) of the college. A certified executive coach worked exclusively with up to twelve people per class over six weeks to develop strategic impact and well-being skills to support a more inclusive workforce.”
Expanding the field: A pilot program for recruiting historically excluded groups to graduate school in Geography (University Park) [PY2]
“With 2022-23 EOPC funds we developed a mentorship program to support underrepresented undergraduates in applying to graduate programs in Geography in the US. Our program remedies the historical exclusion of racially marginalized people from Geography. We are bringing 10 racially underrepresented students from across the US to campus for a program guided by graduate students and faculty mentors from Penn State and other universities. Participants will be mentored about the “hidden curriculum” of graduate school applications and how to prepare. We seek to extend the program for a second year in preparation for an NSF proposal to fund the program.”
Lion’s Paw Pawpaw Ice cream (University Park) [PY1]
“This project aims to raise awareness of Penn State’s new Acknowledgement of Land; to create a better understanding of Penn State’s connections to Native American and Alaska Native communities (both historically and in the present); and, to create a sense of pride and belonging for our Native American community members. While the number of Native American faculty and staff at Penn State have grown in recent years, we still have very few Indigenous students, in part because many don’t feel a sense of belonging here and encounter many community members with misconceptions about Native American people. We need to take steps to improve this, without asking our very small Indigenous Faculty and Staff community for additional labor. The Penn State Berkey Creamery is an institution central to Penn State identity and community. This proposal seeks to harness the community-wide appeal of the Creamery to raise awareness to strengthen our Native American community (Indigenous Peoples Student Association (IPSA)/ Indigenous Faculty and Staff Alliance (IFSA)/ research in support of Indigenous communities). The project will establish pawpaw trees at the Student Farm and develop a new flavor of ice cream or water ice (a dairy free frozen dessert, similar to ice cream) that connects the Penn State community to Native Americans past and present. The frozen dessert flavor could be called “Lion’s Paw Pawpaw”. The project will hold a public tasting of the new flavor, hosted by Food Science. The event will be highly publicized and will include a public lecture by a Native American scholar, posters and handouts with educational information about the new Penn State Acknowledgement of Land and Penn State relations with Native American communities (e.g. The Morrill Land Grant Acts, IPSA/ IFSA/ scholarships), and a QR code to a website where people can find important information on Native American groups and research at Penn State (and information on ways to make a donation / “pay reparations” to Penn State causes that support Native American community members and research). We hope to eventually have the Creamery offer the new flavor with accompanying educational information on an annual basis to mark Indigenous Peoples’ Day (a time of year that also happens to align with football season when such an effort would get high visibility).”
Political Science Horizons Mentoring Program at Penn State (University Park) [PY1]
“The Program will recruit 20 1st-year students from historically underrepresented and underserved groups among all first year PSU students with an interest in Political Science, and mentor them and 20 alumni of the 2021-2023 pilot through the 2023-2024 academic year. The program will organize a year-long series of panels and events to support, and advance a diverse student body and improve retention and performance among these students. Participation in the program will teach students about the resources and opportunities available to Political Science students at PSU, about pursuing various careers with this major and provide a peer social support group.”
Professional Development Series (Fayette, The Eberly Campus) [PY2]
“The Penn State Fayette Inclusion Diversity Equity Alliance has a multilayered process to address racism and social justice issues. This process is designed to equip faculty and staff with knowledge and tools through professional development opportunities that are intended to build their capacity to challenge racial injustice, understand structural racism, and improve racial and cultural awareness. In addition, the professional development program intends to promote greater equity for historically underrepresented and underserved groups by creating a campus community that will be able to identify systems, processes, and procedures that adversely impact underrepresented and underserved faculty, staff, and students.”
Professional Development Series (Greater Allegheny) [PY2]
“The Penn State Greater Allegheny Racial Equity and Justice Taskforce has a multilayered process to address racism and social justice issues. This process is designed to equip faculty and staff with knowledge and tools through professional development opportunities that are intended to build their capacity to challenge racial injustice, understand structural racism, and improve racial and cultural awareness. In addition, the professional development program intends to promote greater equity for historically underrepresented and underserved groups by creating a campus community that will be able to identify systems, processes, and procedures that adversely impact underrepresented and underserved faculty, staff, and students.”
Professional Development Series (New Kensington) [PY2]
“The Penn State New Kensington Anti-Racism Committee has a multilayered process to address racism and social justice issues. This process is designed to equip faculty and staff with knowledge and tools through professional development opportunities that are intended to build their capacity to challenge racial injustice, understand structural racism, and improve racial and cultural awareness. In addition, the professional development program intends to promote greater equity for historically underrepresented and underserved groups by creating a campus community that will be able to identify systems, processes, and procedures that adversely impact underrepresented and underserved faculty, staff, and students.”
Small Group Experiences with Artists: Creating a Climate of Healing and Belonging (University Park) [PY1]
“The Center for the Performing Arts (CPA) advances anti-oppression and anti-racism with artists who share this vision. We engage Penn Staters and broader communities through performances and public engagement programs. EOPC support will provide artists’ wages and lodging to extend residencies beyond main stage performances, to deepen connection and create courageous space to share cultural and artistic practices. Artists will hold convenings, teach, listen, and facilitate in small group settings. For previously underserved audiences, engaging with artists personally is an invitation to speak one's language, engage with passion the disciplines and traditions that are one's home, learn together and celebrate.”
Student Pathways to Undergraduate Research (SPUR): Facilitating undergraduate research experiences for traditionally excluded students (Altoona) [PY2]
“Undergraduate research is a high-impact practice providing benefits for undergraduates (Carter et al., 2016), thereby increasing marketability for employment or graduate programs. These benefits are disproportionately realized by research students from traditionally underrepresented and marginalized groups (Stanford et al. 2017). At Altoona College, our data indicate that Black and Indigenous people of color (BIPOC), first-generation college students, or at the intersection of the two are disproportionately not represented in undergraduate research. Our program will broaden student representation by removing exclusionary practices restricting access to research opportunities, while enculturing students early into research to gain the most benefits from the experience.”
The Rising Scholars at Penn State (previously called Pathways to Penn State (P2PSU) Formerly Incarcerated College Awareness Pilot Program (University Park) [PY2]
“Formerly incarcerated students are underrepresented in college, especially those from historically marginalized racial/ethnic and socioeconomic communities. The purpose of the rebranded Rising Scholars program is to instill the belief that college, including Penn State, is a viable option for formerly incarcerated adult learners in Pennsylvania, and to provide skills/tools to help make that option a reality. This 2nd year of Rising Scholars is part of a larger project to develop programming that supports the recruitment and retention of formerly incarcerated students at University Park and across the Commonwealth Campuses.”
Towards an Inclusive Research Ecosystem: Enriching Penn State Research with LGBTQ+ Undergraduate and Graduate Researchers (University Park) [PY3]
“It is known that the quality of STEM research increases with the diversity of research groups. It is also well-documented that there are significant barriers to the participation, progress, and retention of LGBTQ+ people in STEM research. The purpose of the proposed program is to improve Penn State research by fostering a climate that encourages participation by LGBTQ+ researchers. The program is developing an LGBTQ+ and ally STEM research community. The intent of the proposed program is to increase the number of LGBTQ+ trainees in STEM research groups, and to support and retain them in research training through graduation.”