Academics

Penn State community invited to learn about engaged scholarship March 31

Sutermaster will share her experiences working at underprivileged schools in Cape Town, South Africa, during the engaged scholarship symposium. Credit: Staci SutermasterAll Rights Reserved.

Bioengineering senior Staci Sutermaster spent the past two summers building upon her classroom experiences to help serve underprivileged schools in Cape Town, South Africa.

“Even though I don’t have an education background I was able to combine my problem-solving and leadership skills learned through the engineering program to become a positive role model to students,” said Sutermaster, a Schreyer Honors College scholar who worked with the One Heart Source organization. “It was moving to be part of the process and see kids come out of their shells.”

Sutermaster will share her experiences at the 2015 Engaged Scholarship Symposium: Advancing Engaged Scholarship Practical Strategies for Penn State at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31. The symposium is one of two engaged scholarship conferences, including the annual Engaged Scholarship Consortium in September, Penn State will host in 2015.

The free symposium welcomes students, faculty, staff and administrators to discuss the impact of engaged scholarship — an out-of-classroom academic experience that complements in-classroom learning at the University — for students and faculty, and collaborate on the best practices to implement, fund and assess engaged scholarship opportunities.

The symposium will feature presentations, case studies, discussions, networking opportunities and a “Vang” drama performance, as well as keynote addresses from Richard Kiely, director of engaged learning and research at Cornell University, and Bryant T. Marks, associate professor of psychology at Morehouse College.

Kiely provides engaged learning opportunities to faculty, students and community members who are interested in community-engaged learning and research, while Marks’ mission as director of the Morehouse Male Institute is to identify facts that foster the affirmative personal and academic development of black males.

The registration deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 24. A webcast also will be available featuring both keynote addresses and select breakout sessions. Registration and more information for both the on-site and webcast versions is available at engagedscholarship.psu.edu.

Last Updated March 23, 2015

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