Summer 2021
Results
Aspiring Scholars Summer Bridge Program (Berks)
The Aspiring Scholars Summer Bridge Program at Berks assists African American, Latinx, first-generation, and/or low-income first-year students in their transition from high school to college. The program seeks to introduce and acclimate students to campus and the college environment in a way that encourages success in the classroom, on campus, and in the community. Through this one-week residential summer bridge program, participants receive classroom-based instruction focused on academic skills, self-reflection activities, and interactive team building activities--serving to support self-awareness, communication, and decision-making skills with the ultimate goal of increased retention and 4- to 6- year graduation rates.
Changing the Future Penn State: A female faculty leadership development program (University Park)
We aim to empower women faculty at PSU to create a better future for themselves, their colleagues, their scholarly communities, their students and all of Penn State. Participants will learn about leadership, reflect on their leadership philosophy, and practice effective leadership competencies. They will create empowering peer networks to support their successes and help them navigate challenges. Participants will define their own goals and strategically pursue them via peer support and coaching. The proposed leadership training and the engagement in peer support communities will enhance success of female faculty and promote commitment of female faculty to scholarly and campus leadership.
CLEO Pre-Law Summer Institute 2021 (Carlisle)
Penn State Dickinson Law was again selected to host the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc. (CLEO) Pre-Law Summer Institute. The 2021 program is from June 7 to July 2, 2021. CLEO is the longest-serving national organization committed to persity in the legal profession. The Pre-Law Summer Institute—a multi-week program launched in 1968—is designed to introduce students to the skills, knowledge and values essential to their success in law school, including self-directed learning, legal reasoning, writing and the Socratic teaching method. Multicultural graduating seniors or graduates who plan to attend law school in fall 2021 are eligible to participate. The 2020 program we hosted was the first in its 52 year history to be fully online, which is the plan for 2021 as well.
Partnership for "Sustainable Bridges from Campus to Campus: Retention Models for Underrepresented Engineering and Science Students" (University Park)
Summer bridge and transition programs serve incoming students from perse groups under-represented in STEM. Programs are run concurrently across four Penn State campuses (Abington, Altoona, Berks, University Park) to create communities of belonging and increase student success. The Summer Bridge, Engineering Ahead, and Jump Start programs serve over 160 students. Bridge programs increase grades in the first math course, first year GPA, and retention in STEM. For example, underrepresented Engineering students who started at UP and who participated in PreF (now Summer Bridge) had a 68% graduation rate in Engineering compared to 44% for underrepresented Engineering students at large.
Penn State Beaver Unity Conference (Beaver)
The Beaver campus enacts Penn State’s land grant mission primarily through educating students for success in the twenty-first century, but also through contributing to the cultural and economic development of our region. Our project will combine the two emphases of our mission by working with local partners on a Beaver County Unity Conference on Race Relations to be held summer 2021. The goals of this conference are to 1) initiate conversations about how we, as a community, can become more welcoming of perse populations, 2) improve campus climate, and 3) establish a Center on Race and Social Solutions.