UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new website for One Penn State 2025 has been launched at onepennstate.psu.edu. A signature initiative of Penn State’s strategic plan, One Penn State 2025 will provide a guide for the implementation of seamless online access to curricula and processes across all of Penn State. The new website will be the source of information for all topics related to the initiative and will document the progress of the guiding principle teams. The website also provides an archive of presentations from the recent virtual symposium.
On Feb. 10, nearly 800 faculty, staff and students from across the University attended the One Penn State 2025 Symposium, which featured virtual presentations by more than 50 speakers from the guiding principle teams. Sessions spotlighted work already accomplished through this strategic planning initiative and highlighted projects underway for the future. All of the sessions from the half-day symposium were recorded and are now accessible on the website.
Speaking at the symposium, Yvonne Gaudelius, vice president and dean for Undergraduate Education and co-chair of the One Penn State 2025 executive committee, noted the positive impact of the program on Penn Staters. “We really appreciate the fact that you came to learn, figure out ways to get involved, and to help us improve a Penn State education,” she said.
The goals of the symposium were to share the ongoing work of the One Penn State 2025 teams with the University at large, celebrate the successful implementation of innovative pilot projects already underway, invite members of the University community to join in the effort and inspire new ideas and collaborative projects.
Work for the One Penn State 2025 initiative began when a task force, charged by Provost and Senior Vice President Nick Jones to examine the future of online education, recommended a much broader approach to rethinking the future of Penn State. There are now more than 85 Penn State faculty, administrators, staff and students working on the guiding principles of the One Penn State 2025 strategic initiative.
The guiding principle working groups were convened just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. University leaders acknowledged during the symposium how the work underway for One Penn State 2025 helped Penn State transition quickly to all-remote instruction during the spring 2020 semester and provide support and the necessary process changes to support students, faculty and staff through the summer and fall.
Renata Engel, vice provost for online education and co-chair of the One Penn State 2025 executive committee, reinforced the significance of the work accomplished by the pandemic response teams and how it relates to the One Penn State 2025 initiative.
“There are many people, hundreds of people, that gained an additional skill set through COVID, because of the collaborative networks they built,” she said. Engel emphasized that the strengths of these networks, and people working together without boundaries, is an institutional strength. “We need to leverage that post pandemic,” she noted.
Feedback from a survey sent to all participants of the symposium helped shape the initial information presented on the website. In addition to the symposium recordings, the website will:
- document the ongoing progress of the planning initiative;
- link to strategic planning documents and executive charge;
- list committee membership;
- feature FAQs that will be updated on a regular basis,;
- promote future events and activities; and
- include contact information and an information request form.
Each guiding principle team will have a section on the site for their teams to provide updates on the status of their existing and future projects.
“Please reach out, we want your ideas, we want your energy, we want your creativity,” Gaudelius said.
Questions about the One Penn State 2025 initiative and how to become involved can be directed to onepennstate@psu.edu.