News

Fourteen faculty and graduate students from across the College of the Liberal Arts will receive more than $60,000 in support from the McCourtney Institute for Democracy’s Research in Democracy Support Grant program to advance their work on topics related to democracy. 

The College of Information Sciences has announced the winners of the 2026 David and Kathy Hozza Learning Assistant Award.

Brian Thiede, associate professor of rural sociology, of sociology and of demography, has been named the director of the Population Research Institute at Penn State.

Jui Baliga will be one of 58 students to present their research at the annual Liberal Arts Undergrad Research Expo on April 17.

Penn State alumnus Troy S. Thornton has made a commitment to advance the University’s educational equity efforts through the creation of a new discretionary fund designed to address emerging and evolving programmatic needs across the institution.

Penn State’s Rock Ethics Institute has announced the winners of the 2026 Stand Up Awards for Undergraduate Ethical Leadership.

Over spring break, Penn State students traveled to Germany to Munich for a Liberal Arts embedded program.

The Communication, Science & Society Initiative, a research partnership between Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences in the College of the Liberal Arts, has announced the grant recipients from its 2025 request for proposals.

Robin Becker will close this year’s Mary E. Rolling Reading Series with a reading from her new collection, “Midsummer Count: New and Selected Poems,” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, in Paterno Library’s Foster Auditorium. 

Over spring break, Penn State Liberal Arts students traveled to Belize and Guatemala to visit ancient Maya archaeological sites and learn about local cultures.

Thirty-one Penn State graduate students earned awards at the 2026 Graduate Exhibition — the premier annual community showcase for graduate student research, scholarship and creative activity across the University — hosted by the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School on Friday, March 27, on the University Park campus.

The College of Arts and Architecture’s Woskob Family Gallery, located at 146 S. Allen Street in downtown State College, will host a cross-disciplinary faculty panel to discuss the current migration landscape, asylum and refugee law and on-the-ground advocacy efforts at 4 p.m. on April 16.

For Schreyer Scholars, one of the key parts of an honors education at Penn State are the relationships they build with the faculty. From small honors courses to research projects, to ultimately creating a thesis, faculty support Scholars throughout their education.  

The College of the Liberal Arts has named Cherish Graham, a psychology student and mental health advocate, as the 2026 Schwartz Fellow. This prestigious fellowship recognizes outstanding undergraduates for their academic achievements and contributions to the humanities.

Six University faculty members have received 2026 Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement: Amy Bridger, assistant research professor of higher education strategy at Penn State Behrend; Cui-Zu Chang, professor of physics in the Eberly College of Science; Alexander Hristov, distinguished professor of dairy nutrition in the College of Agricultural Sciences; Michelle Newman, professor of psychology and psychiatry in the College of the Liberal Arts; Xingjie Ni, associate professor of electrical engineering in the College of Engineering; and David Witwer, distinguished professor of Ame

Sinfree Makoni, Liberal Arts professor of African studies and applied linguistics and director of the African Studies program in the College of the Liberal Arts, has been awarded the 2026 President’s Award for Excellence in Academic Integration. The award is given to a full-time faculty member who has exhibited extraordinary achievement in the integration of teaching, research, or creative accomplishment and service.