UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences recently announced the recipients of the 2023 Dr. William Henson Diversity Achievement Award, which recognizes distinctive and outstanding teaching, research, extension or creative work that advances diversity in the college.
“The college’s Diversity Coordinating Council is proud to highlight the outstanding efforts of our faculty, staff and students to support the advancement and well-being of diverse populations in the college and across the commonwealth,” said Patreese Ingram, assistant dean for multicultural affairs.
This year’s recipients are Jaime García Prudencio, assistant teaching professor for the Spanish for Agriculture Program; Mary Alice Gettings, a senior educator and health and wellness state program team leader with Penn State Extension in Beaver County; Tammy Shannon, academic advising coordinator for the Environmental Resource Management program; and Xiaoling Chen, a graduate student in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences.
Jaime García Prudencio
García Prudencio was one of the original nine members of Penn State Extension’s Latinx Agricultural Network, which serves the needs of the Latino population in Pennsylvania. He is one of the three leaders guiding this 100-plus-member network, which received the 2022 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Extension Award for Diversity.
He plays a strategic role in supporting Penn State Extension's initiatives as a member of the college’s Beyond Civil Rights Committee, created in 2020 to help extension foster an inclusive and welcoming environment. He is also a member of the design team working on the first Penn State Extension diversity, equity and inclusion assessment, which is designed to understand extension’s practices, policies and culture around diversity, equity and inclusion.
García Prudencio has taught Spanish for Agriculture courses for a decade to prepare the future generation of agricultural professionals with a knowledge-based foundation centered on language acquisition and cultural and global competency. In addition, he contributes as a guest speaker in other college courses and in the School for Excellence in Agricultural Sciences summer program.
García Prudencio also supports the college’s communications unit by translating hundreds of articles, publications and internal documents for Spanish-speaking audiences.
Mary Alice Gettings
Gettings was instrumental in leading the development of Penn State Extension’s Well Connected Communities initiative, which supports the city of Aliquippa in Beaver County in addressing low food access. The USDA designates a town as an area with low food access when 33% of the population in an urban area lives more than one mile from a grocery store or when rural residents live more than 10 miles from such a store.
Gettings began working with the Aliquippa Food Council in August 2019. Together they determined that the best way to address low food access was to pursue a fresh food mobile unit. Despite setbacks from the pandemic, organizers have made progress in introducing the “Produce Cart,” which provides local produce, meat, poultry and dairy products in locations in Aliquippa. SNAP benefits are accepted.
She also serves on the steering committee of a new local food cooperative initiative. With the help of other extension team members, Gettings provided leadership for the first Aliquippa Wellness Festival in 2022, which attracted more than 50 vendors. She also co-taught cooking classes, sponsored by a grant from the American Heart Association, at the Aliquippa High School. She received donations to provide attendees with kitchen equipment, supplies and grocery store gift cards.
Tammy Shannon
Recognizing that fewer students from nontraditional backgrounds benefit from a study abroad experience, Shannon planned and created an international course for first-generation college students called ERM 499: First in Family to Study Abroad.
This year — the inaugural year — 12 first-generation students completed residential instruction during the spring and traveled to Costa Rica during spring break. The program is part of a larger initiative in the College of Agricultural Sciences called Sustainable and Accessible Study Abroad.
Shannon and Derek James, former coordinator of multicultural programs in the college, partnered to secure a $25,000 grant from Penn State’s Equal Opportunity Planning Committee to support the development of this program. Throughout the course, students have opportunities to learn about issues related to Costa Rica, connect over common issues associated with being a first‐generation student, gain access to special resources and have networking and mentorship opportunities.
As a first‐generation college graduate, Shannon said she understands the value of this type of experience. Her doctoral research examined the importance of creating a sense of belonging among nontraditional, first‐generation college students.
Xiaoling Chen
Chen has demonstrated dedication to fostering a welcoming, inclusive environment and supporting students from all avenues of life at Penn State. She started as a one-on-one mentor for the Efrosini Demoulas Scholars Program, which assists low-income students. She became involved with the Graduate Women in Science organization at Penn State and has taken several leadership roles, including chairing the annual Empower Conference.
The Empower Conference is designed for students, faculty, professionals and members of the local community who are interested in STEM and are allies to women and marginalized genders in science, technology, engineering and math. As the chairperson, Chen developed the conference’s first mission statement: to build a global community to inspire, support, recognize and empower women in science.
Serving as curator for the conference, she built a long list of speakers with a spectrum of ethnic, racial and gender backgrounds. With her committee, she led the first Empower Conference featuring a majority of participants who were Black, Indigenous and people of color.
A new initiative on Chen’s agenda is establishing a college mentorship program to connect current graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to alumni and senior graduate students.