UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Recently promoted faculty were joined by their families and colleagues for a celebration of their accomplishments and contributions to Penn State in the Bryce Jordan Center’s 1855 Room on Sept. 13. Teaching, clinical, research and library faculty, who account for more than half of all faculty at Penn State, came from across the commonwealth to celebrate their promotions.
President Neeli Bendapudi, speaking to event attendees, said Penn State was honored by their hard work and sacrifices made by families and friends.
“Every one of you that's being promoted here today, sincere gratitude to you,” Bendapudi said. “Penn State would not be anything without you.”
Samantha Beebe was celebrating her promotion to associate teaching professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State Lehigh Valley with her two sons in attendance. She said although the promotion process was rigorous, it required a lot of self-reflection and that it was “satisfying to put together the portfolio and see how it has grown over the years.”
Tracy Langkilde, interim executive vice president and provost, thanked promoted faculty for all they had done to support students and the libraries, create new knowledge, and impact the world. She noted the rigorous process for promotion and praised faculty for overcoming obstacles in their journey.
In the past five years, 535 faculty members have been promoted to the second rank and 297 promoted to the third rank, according to Kathy Bieschke, senior vice provost and interim dean for Undergraduate Education. She congratulated the faculty and thanked them for their many contributions to the University.
Steve Seman was celebrating his recent promotion to associate teaching professor in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science. He has been teaching at Penn State for the last 21 years, having first served as an undergraduate teaching assistant as a student, and his interest in teaching grew from there.
Seman said, “It feels great,” to be recognized for promotion, and “your accomplishments and work, and all the effort put into helping the University accomplish its mission.”
Andrew Read became senior vice president for research just before the start of the current round of promotions. He said he was “staggered” at the caliber of those faculty involved who earned their promotion.
Planning for this year's event was led by Deidre Yingling, events coordinator for the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, in collaboration with Bre Robinson, executive assistant to the executive vice president and provost, and Miki Wagner, assistant to the executive vice president and provost. Three undergraduate students with the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence also provided support for the event: Alivia Peterson, administrative assistant; Olivia Szaszko, web and social media content aide; and Ana Puri, administrative assistant.
“The Schreyer Institute is pleased to co-host and plan this important event for faculty whose efforts play a critical part that allows Penn State to meet its mission,” said Angela Linse, executive director for the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence and associate dean for teaching. “Many of the teaching and clinical faculty are the first to interact with Penn State students and set their trajectory in college. The connections that research and library faculty have with undergraduate and graduate faculty are equally important to student success.”