UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State President Eric J. Barron’s monthly show, “Higher Education in Focus,” will return at 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, on WPSU-TV and WPSU-FM with an in-depth discussion on access and affordability in higher education.
Renata Engel, associate vice provost for Online Programs; David Christiansen, associate vice president for Commonwealth Campuses and senior associate dean for academic programs; and WPSU-TV’s Patty Satalia will join Barron as the group will discuss several University initiatives, including helping students finish a bachelor’s degrees in four years, aimed to better serve the Penn State community.
A member of the Penn State faculty since 1990, Engel joined the World Campus in its newly-created position in June. The associate vice provost is charged with advancing new online undergraduate offerings, including noncredit programs and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), to students across the country and around the world.
In his role since July 2013, Christiansen works with faculty and staff across Penn State’s 19 undergraduate campuses and the Great Valley School of Professional Studies. The Commonwealth Campus office develops regional clusters of activity and resource sharing to facilitate programmatic collaboration, cost savings and more effective use of resources.
“Higher Education in Focus” will air throughout the academic year and feature a variety of guests discussing University-related topics. Last month’s episode highlighted Penn State’s achievements in recycling and sustainability.
In addition to the WPSU broadcasts, WITF-TV in Harrisburg and WQLN-TV in Erie will air the program at a later date. For more information and to watch archived episodes, visit wpsu.org/infocus.