The Sutherland Building at Penn State Abington.
ABINGTON, Pa. — Penn State Abington Chancellor Margo DelliCarpini awarded nine faculty and staff members grants to advance priorities that support the campus strategic plan, including diversity, equity and inclusive excellence; aligning learning outcomes with National Association of Colleges and Employers career readiness competencies; and promoting engagement with the local community.
The Chancellor's Grants selection committee distributed the funding based on the significance and scope of impact and the connection to existing programs and centers including the Abington Center for Civic Engagement and Social Scholarship (ACCESS), Abington Laboratory for Innovation in Teaching and Education (ALITE), and the Center for Intercultural Leadership and Communication (CILC).
The grants are funded by the Albert and Suzanne Lord Chancellor Endowment.
Proposals from these faculty and staff received up to $5,000 each:
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Christine Cicio, director of Continuing Education: To develop the one-day Tech-Con and Innovation Challenge on Oct. 22 for Abington students, local information technology professionals, and area residents to promote the use of technology to solve community issues.
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Karen Gould, director of Counseling and Psychological Services: To support the peer counseling program.
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Sharon Holt, associate teaching professor of history: To partner with local sites to highlight the importance of the Old York Road corridor in the struggle to end slavery in America.
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Michael Lavetsky, lecturer and program chair of the rehabilitation and human services major: To increase the number of students from across the University enrolled in Abington’s Chemical Dependency Prevention and Counseling certificate program.
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Maryam Roshanaei, assistant professor of information technology and cybersecurity analytics and operations: To determine best practices for mitigating educational artificial intelligence implicit bias in shaping diversity, inclusion and equity.
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Pierce Salguero, associate professor of Asian history and religious studies: To create an immersive faculty professional development experience dedicated to trauma-aware pedagogy.
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Glenn Sterner, assistant professor of criminal justice: To expand the scope and impact of The Story Powered Initiative, which promotes inclusivity by breaking down stigma surrounding substance use, mental and public health, disability, justice involvement and incarceration, race, gender and sexual identity among others.
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Chris Walters, coordinator for student success, and Kaitlin Wolfert, coordinator of the Center for Student Achievement: To hire a graduate assistant to help facilitate the Pathway to Success: Summer Start (PaSSS) and Lion Guidez peer mentoring programs.
Priority was given to projects that are sustainable and could potentially be absorbed into the campus general funds budget at a modest cost, include plans for evaluation, and have the potential to attract future external funding.
About Penn State Abington
Penn State Abington provides an affordable, accessible and high-impact education resulting in the success of a diverse student body. It is committed to student success through innovative approaches to 21st-century public higher education within a world-class research university. With more than 3,000 students, Penn State Abington is a residential campus that offers baccalaureate degrees in 23 majors, undergraduate research, the Schreyer honors program, NCAA Division III athletics and more.
