A group at 欧博体育官网哈里斯堡分校 attends a session during the 2024 Opportunity Institute.
宾州大学公园. — Thirty-seven teams from Penn State composed of 101 people attended the 2024 “Opportunity Institute: Colleges and Universities Working to Improve the Student Academic Experience and Outcomes” from June 10-12.
Working remotely and from in-person sites at the Harrisburg and 大学公园 campuses, teams spent three focused days attending workshops and webinars, collaborating with coaches and each other, as they worked on their projects related to student success and providing opportunities for students in the higher education space. Teams could be comprised of faculty, staff, students and administrators.
In addition to Harrisburg and 大学公园, 阿宾顿的, 阿尔图纳, Behrend, 白兰地酒, 杜波依斯, 好时, 黑泽尔顿, 蒙特中音, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre campuses and 世界校园 all participated.
艾伦Rieck, associate vice provost and associate dean of 本科教育 at Penn State, said it was critical for the University to participate in events like the Opportunity Institute and capitalize on opportunities to collaborate.
“It is easy to talk about things that we would like to do to make things better, but it is much more difficult to have the time to actually do those things,里克说. “We need to take advantage of collaborations that bring people together to answer important questions and solve difficult problems. Penn State has too many outstanding people for us not to work together in these ways.”
彼得·莫兰, associate dean for policy and planning at Penn State 阿尔图纳, said the team representing the 阿尔图纳 campus found the institute a rewarding experience, 和y will continue meeting monthly throughout the academic year. 阿尔图纳’s projects include a campus-wide peer mentoring programing and experimenting with different pedagogical approaches to the first-year seminar.
“The institute gave our group space to collaborate on student success initiatives, 和 guest speakers effectively challenged the audience to think in new, creative ways about issues related to student success,莫兰说.
Fifty-six institutions participated in the 2024 Opportunity Institute, which was co-hosted by Penn State and Georgetown University and sponsored by the American Talent Initiative, Ithaka S+R 和 Aspen Institute.
“One of the key collaborative tools in the institute is the opportunity to hear speakers from around the country who share perspectives about opportunities for students that are inspirational and challenging,里克说.
Attendees had the chance to participate in a series of consultations and workshops over the three-day institute and watch panels and provocations. 第三天见到了玛丽·达纳·辛顿, president of Hollins University, challenge leaders to make love an institutional priority. 辛顿的演讲, 《从边缘到心脏,提到了她自己的故事, who in 10th grade was told that college was not an option for her. Hinton said her life was “crafted in the margins,” and today as a leader in higher education, much of her work has been focused on creating structures, policies and programs that promote inclusion and equity and opportunity to those in the margins.
Hinton said college and university leaders must approach difficult situations with love, 这通常是困难的.
“Leading with love compels us to act in ways that are compassionate, 广阔而诱人,欣顿说. “When our students feel that,n they are open to love and to learning.”
Penn State’s participation in the Opportunity Institute is coordinated by 欧博体育官网哈里斯堡分校, 本科教育, Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses 和 教育公平办公室.
