HERSHEY, Pa. — Mary Leone and Vlada Prymak are the recipients of the Diversity Champion Award sponsored by the Campus Council on Diversity at Penn State Hershey. This award recognizes employees, faculty, students and community members who have contributed significantly to the diversity and inclusion climate of the Penn State Hershey community.
Leone is an administrative coordinator for the Department of Public Health Sciences and currently serves as chair of the recently established Penn State Hershey Commission for Women. She joined Penn State in 1993 and has worked in various Colleges at the University Park campus, the Office of Continuing Education at Penn State Harrisburg, and the Office for Faculty Professional Development, Junior Faculty Development Program, and Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at Penn State Hershey. She is currently the chair of the Penn State Hershey Commission for Women. She previously served three years as the chair of the group’s nominations and awards committee. Leone was nominated for the award by several members of the Penn State Hershey community, including physicians, postdocs, faculty and staff.
Prymak has been president of the World Culture Club of Central Pennsylvania for the past three years. Members of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion, staff and faculty nominated Prymak for her commitment to build a community that values people of all cultures and traditions. Prymak is involved with several nonprofit organizations. The World Culture Club of Central Pennsylvania strives to foster education, understanding and tolerance; to build a community that welcomes people of different cultures and traditions; and to promote a shared humanity and a better society. To achieve this vision, she organizes programs that expand knowledge about local, regional and global communities and cultures in order to overcome misunderstanding and prejudice.