Summer 2024
Community Diversity Conference (University Park) [PY2]
“The Community Diversity Group (CDG), PSU's Finance and Business Department, and in partnership with State College Borough wish to provide another all-day Community Diversity Conference on June 25, 2024, a needed educational opportunity for those directly involved with shaping the overall cultural climate for the increasingly diverse population enjoyed by our community due to its location near PSU. PSU recruits many talented and successful employees - this conference aims to enhance the present cultural environment and provide a more welcoming climate for newcomers, so they decide to stay and make our community their home.”
Conference on Latina/os and U.S. Political History (University Park) [PY1]
“I have organized and found the needed funding for a conference at University Park on Latina/os and U.S. political history—I am requesting EOPC support for the writing of conference papers and their expansion into publishable essays. The conference will be open to the Penn State community, who can read the paper abstracts, listen to the presentations, question the conference participants, and complete linked assignments in classes, allowing them to show what they have learned. EOPC support will allow the conference proceedings to be published by a top university press. I achieved these outcomes with my previous EOPC-supported conference”
Introducing research in summer bridge programs (University Park) [PY1]
“We will pilot the introduction of research concepts for the 2024 Engineering Summer Bridge program, which serves 30 incoming students who are underrepresented. We hypothesize that exposing students to concepts and opportunities of undergraduate research will motivate and prepare for future research experiences. Given the established positive impact of participation in research, we expect our intervention to promote higher retention rates. Students will be introduced to university research, opportunities at PSU and elsewhere, and will connect with student mentors to learn about pathways for undergraduate research involvement. Assessment will leverage survey instruments and CoE retention dashboards to track student success.”
Maymester in Mexico: Language, Culture & Community-based Learning (University Park) [PY3]
“A faculty-led study abroad program to Mexico develops equity-minded dispositions, leadership and advocacy skills through experiential learning in multicultural, multilingual communities. The program offers classroom instruction preparing students for ethnographic inquiry within Spanish-speaking and indigenous communities as they examine cultural, racial, and linguistic biases to build understanding of systemic oppression and the interpersonal and global impact of language. An innovative program design builds a reciprocal relationship with Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca (UABJO). Mexican students join PSU students in online instruction (Spring semester) and on-ground during a three-week experience in Mexico (Maymester). Our recruitment targets students of historically underrepresented groups in study abroad programs.”