To the Penn State community,  

As we prepare to close the chapter on 2024, it’s only natural that we all reflect on the year’s triumphs and challenges. We made incredible strides this year in strengthening our University and preparing for its future.  

Before the end of the semester, I want to take this opportunity to share some of these accomplishments. Many of these I learned about as I engaged with you. I’ve enjoyed learning about points of pride, sourced from every corner of our community, which showcase your dedication to our University’s strategic goals.  

I continue to feel inspired by the members of our community who take time to express gratitude for their fellow Penn Staters throughout the year. One specific example I’d like to highlight is the “We Are!” shoutout series, which provides staff, faculty and students with a platform to publicly recognize their colleagues and friends for the work they do for the University. In 2024 alone, more than 300 Penn Staters have been recognized with “We Are!” shoutouts. And that number continues to grow — read the latest shoutouts on Penn State News. This is a true testament to our team approach and to how our community consistently recognizes and appreciates others before ourselves.  

The image below — generated from the most-frequently used words that appear in “We Are!” shoutouts — perfectly encapsulates the power of these seemingly simple messages, among them: positive, knowledgeable, willing, welcoming, amazing, true, outstanding, friendly, together and success. 

There is no way to sum up every accomplishment from across our many academic and administrative units, student organizations, teams and offices, though I do want to share just a few highlights from throughout 2024.  

You are committing yourselves to enabling our students to thrive inside and outside the classroom — our north star and core purpose. 

• For another year, students danced for 46 hours during THON to raise a record-breaking $16.9 million to combat pediatric cancer.   

• The Lion's Pantry, which is led by students, celebrated 10 years of combatting food insecurity — supporting over 17,000 students during this time.  

• Students in Penn State York’s Future Business Leaders of America Collegiate group earned 16 awards at an esteemed national leadership conference.

• PSU Votes helped more 3,600 students cast ballots at Penn State University Park alone this fall — more than triple the amount who voted in the 2022 election. The program was also recognized nationally for outstanding efforts to increase nonpartisan student voter participation. 

• Thanks to the generosity of our many incredible donors, Penn State had a strong year of fundraising, including a commitment from longtime donors Gene and Roz Chaiken that will establish new Student Success Centers across the University and a commitment from Jeff and Ann Marie Fox for initiatives that will enhance the academic caliber of graduate education. In addition, a gift from Mort and Sue Fuller of their 355-acre property, Fullers Overlook in North Abington, Pa., to Penn State will provide opportunities for on-site learning, research and collaborative partnerships with sustainability-oriented organizations. 

• Our Penn State student-athletes are winning on and off the field with one national championship, seven conference championships, and with 22 teams making appearances in their respective NCAA Championships, Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament or bowl games — all while earning a record-tying 93% NCAA Graduation Success Rate.  

• Thirty-eight faculty and staff members from across the University who are making a difference for our students were awarded with Faculty and Staff Awards in categories including teaching, mentoring, advising and academic support. 

• Penn State sent a record 30 current and former student-athletes or club athletes representing 13 countries to compete at the Paris Olympics. Penn Staters earned 13 total medals in Paris — two gold, three silver and eight bronze — with United States gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik leading the count with a pair of bronze medals.  

You are advancing discoveries, new knowledge and scholarship to grow our interdisciplinary research enterprise and fuel creative activity.  

• Penn State’s total research expenditures reached a record high of $1.337 billion, an 8% increase from the previous year, bringing the research expenditures of external and internal funding to the largest total in the University’s history. For the first time, external funding from sponsored grants and contracts surpassed $1 billion — a nearly 11% increase over the last fiscal year.  

• Researchers are refining the recovery process of rare earth elements and other critical materials from coal, coal wastes and coal by-products, helping to establish a domestic supply chain for critical minerals, reducing U.S. reliance on foreign suppliers. 

• For their outstanding academic contributions to Penn State, 13 faculty members have been recognized this year as distinguished professors. In addition, for the second year in a row, Penn State was the No. 1 producer of faculty Fulbright Scholars, who travel to other countries on short-term experiences to gather and share knowledge.  

• Penn State Behrend secured $6.5 million in state funding to develop a Center for Manufacturing Competitiveness, an industry-facing research facility that will include the nation’s first full-service heavy-haul battery testing facility, and faculty members at Penn State Altoona are leading a team that secured a $6.87 million grant to create a railroad research center.  

• Ten Penn State students have been awarded predoctoral fellowships by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, securing over $1.4 million in total funding.  

• Researchers in the College of Arts and Architecture are exploring ways to use sustainable materials such as fungi for architectural use to lessen the effect building components have on the environment. 

• Penn State's Department of Political Science is now home to the U.S. Supreme Court Database, one of the foremost research aids devoted to the nation’s highest court containing information on every case decided by the Supreme Court from its first decision in 1791 to today. 

• Over the past year, graduate students have been integral collaborators on many high-impact research projects, including how microplastics are increasing in freshwater, the impact of criminal records on hiring practices, developing a 3D atlas of the mammalian brain, discovering new species of wasps, discovering oversized planets in distant galaxies, and recreating Andean art's ancient past. 

• A $20 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation will support the establishment and operation of a new center at Penn State to enable research about how complex biological systems, such as cells, emerge from simpler molecules. Findings from the research could eventually inform the development of disease treatments and other applications such as minimizing negative effects of aging.  

You are helping create opportunities for all Penn Staters to find belonging and purpose as members of our community. 

• Penn State launched a new effort to recognize and celebrate the hard work and dedication of all full-time faculty, staff and technical service employees through a new Years of Service Recognition Program.  

• The Women in Engineering Program was honored as the sole national recipient of the 2024 Women in Engineering Program Award by the Women in Engineering ProActive Network and recognized as an outstanding model for other institutions. 

• Nearly 2,000 Penn Staters shared their ideas and feedback on the draft of our next institutional Strategic Plan.  

• By providing a sense of belonging and access to crucial resources, Penn State Abington’s First Gen Living Learning Community is offering support to first-generation college students and empowering them to thrive in their academic journeys. 

• Students from the College of Arts and Architecture unveiled a “Mending Walls” mural this spring, which is now displayed at the Career Services Building. Each year, the Mending Walls student organization plans to create a new mural with a focus on fostering dialogue and collaboration during the mural creation process.  

You are living our mission by making a real difference in the lives of neighbors in communities across the state. 

• The new Palmer Museum of Art has boosted accessibility to Penn State’s art collections for students, faculty, staff, our regional communities, and beyond. 

• Penn State launched the Veteran Business Outreach Center, offering resources and support for veterans and service members transitioning to entrepreneurship. Serving communities across Pennsylvania, the center is empowering veteran-owned businesses with the tools needed to succeed. 

• As part of a staff-council sponsored blood drive for the American Red Cross, Penn State staff, faculty and students donated a total of 93 pints to beat West Virginia University. 

• Thousands of Penn State supporters, including hundreds of students who participated in the annual Advocate Penn State Capital Day in Harrisburg and a group of student leaders who wrote to state legislative leaders, successfully advocated for state appropriations that benefit more than 42,000 Pennsylvanian-resident Penn State students. Join our advocacy efforts at psu.edu/advocate. 

• The Invent Penn State LaunchBox & Innovation Network continues to expand its impact through a new program designed to help rural business owners identify market opportunities and refine their ideas. Since 2015, the network has supported 8,377 entrepreneurs, facilitated the launch of 524 new companies across Pennsylvania, and contributed to the creation of 708 jobs, driving economic growth and innovation throughout our great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

• Penn State was recently ranked No. 1 among Big Ten institutions, No. 2 among all U.S. public universities, and No. 19 internationally by QS World University Rankings for our sustainability efforts to tackle environmental, societal, and governmental challenges.  

You are helping to strengthen health care through academic, research and clinical collaborations across the University. 

• Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine employees touched more than 1 million lives through community health programs to improve mental health, health equity, and wellness and disease prevention. 

• Penn State startup Illuminate Therapeutics is working to create a potent, targeted treatment for head and neck cancers that would cause minimal damage to healthy surrounding tissues.  

• The Association of American Medical Colleges honored Kent Vrana, the Elliot S. Vesell Professor and emeritus chair of the Department of Pharmacology, with the Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award — making him one of four individuals to receive the honor for outstanding contributions to medical education and scientific research. 

• Penn State Health marked the 40th anniversary of the heart transplant program at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center to provide life-saving treatment to patients with end-stage heart failure. 

• To bridge the gap in health equity in rural communities, the College of Medicine launched a new Center for Advancing Health Equity in Rural and Underserved Communities dedicated to studying, addressing and reducing health disparities in Pennsylvania and beyond.  

While these are only a few highlights, I know there is greatness happening in many places. Collectively, these examples show the dedication, hard work, commitment to service, ingenuity and Penn State pride of our community — a community of passionate individuals from across our state and nation and from countless points around the globe. It's a community that I hope you are as proud to be a part of as I am.

As the year winds down, I hope you are able to spend quality time with your loved ones over the winter break. And, if you haven't already, take a minute to celebrate our community and “We Are” spirit by watching this video: Surprise! Celebrating every day at Penn State. 

Again, thank you for all you do for Penn State as we look forward to 2025! 

Sincerely, 
Neeli