UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Student Engagement Network hopes to draw in faculty, staff and community partners from across the Commonwealth to a summit exploring Penn State student engagement efforts.
Registration is now open for the Oct. 18 event at University Park and will close Oct. 15. Space is limited and the event is filling up quickly. Faculty, staff, community members and administrators who serve in any student engagement capacity are encouraged to attend, including graduate students, post-docs and those early in their faculty careers. There is no cost to register.
The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Oct. 18 in the HUB-Robeson Center at University Park.
Penn State presenters from a diverse range of backgrounds will provide lightning talks and host discussions in eight different break-out sessions, with four in the morning and four in the afternoon, including topics such as communicating the impact of student engagement, the societal impact of engagement, helping students to plan their engagement journey, and assessing the impact of engagement.
Visit the Summit website for the full agenda, registration information, speaker bios, lodging options and maps.
Mike Zeman, director of SEN, said he is excited to invite more people into the conversation about student engagement.
“There are four goals we’d like to accomplish with the first summit,” Zeman said. “We want to learn more about current best practices, identify challenges across the Commonwealth, determine how Penn State can support needs across the realm of student engagement, and determine which partnerships will best help tackle student engagement challenges and impact community.”
Nina Jablonski, Evan Pugh University Professor of Anthropology, will present a keynote address to open the summit. Jablonski has for the last 25 years been working in the field of biological anthropology, with a special focus on human skin and skin pigmentation. She brings an important perspective to student engagement and will challenge attendees to consider a shared responsibility in cultivating versatile students.
Attendees can then select one of four different breakout sessions during the rest of the morning before convening for lunch in Alumni Hall, then choose from another of the four sessions during the afternoon. The summit will close with a panel discussion on furthering student engagement at Penn State.
The summit will also mark the premier of a video statement from Penn State President Eric Barron on the importance of engagement at the University.
The Student Engagement Network is a joint initiative of Undergraduate Education, Student Affairs and Outreach and Online Education at Penn State. The mission of the Student Engagement Network is to advance the power of participation by connecting students with experiences that empower them to make a positive impact as citizens and leaders of the world.
For more information about the Student Engagement Network, visit engage.psu.edu or email engage@psu.edu.