UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Lynette Yarger, associate professor of information sciences and technology at Penn State, has been appointed the Schreyer Honors College’s inaugural assistant dean for equity and inclusion. She will begin her new role Aug. 1.
"We are very excited to have Lynette join the Schreyer Honors College as the inaugural assistant dean for equity and inclusion,” said Schreyer Honors College Dean Peggy A. Johnson. “We look forward to her helping the college foster a more diverse, inclusive and equitable atmosphere for students and staff.”
Yarger will join the Schreyer Honors College in a half-time position and will help to develop diversity-related initiatives and advance programs and policies that support equity and inclusion. The longtime Penn State faculty member, who will be continuing at the College of Information Sciences and Technology in a half-time role, is excited about the opportunity.
“A lot of times, when we talk about academic excellence, it’s presented in a way that is at least received as being elitist, especially when you’re talking about underrepresented communities,” Yarger said. “This opportunity provided a forum to look at groups who are typically underrepresented at the Schreyer Honors College but from the mindset of success — students who are among our brightest. That was what was interesting to me, being able to work with a high caliber of student.”
Yarger worked as an Administrative Fellow in the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology and CIO during the 2018-19 academic year. She is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, the College of IST George J. McMurtry Teaching and Learning Award (2013), and the Penn State Teaching Fellow Award (2014).
Her research examines the ways in which historically underserved groups appropriate information and communication technologies to improve their life chances. Her work has been published in more than 75 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings, including the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, Information Systems Journal, Communication Research, and the Journal of the Medical Informatics Association.
Yarger recently completed a nine-month information technology leadership program through the Big Ten Academic Alliance. She plans to leverage those leadership skills and her experience in teaching information technology to undergraduates in her new role.
“IT is the language of our young people,” she said. “Because I’ve worked and taught undergraduate students in this area of technology, I’ve been able to keep up with the trends of what’s interesting and the ways they’re using the technology. I think at that level I can build on some of those connections.”
Yarger received her bachelor of science degree in computer and information systems from Mercy College and her master of science and doctoral degrees in computer information systems from Georgia State University.
About the Schreyer Honors College
The Schreyer Honors College promotes academic excellence with integrity, the building of a global perspective, and creation of opportunities for leadership and civic engagement. Schreyer Honors Scholars total more than 2,000 students at University Park and 20 Commonwealth Campuses and represent 38 states and 26 countries. More than 14,000 Scholars have graduated with honors from Penn State since 1980.