Carina Garcia, a second-year criminal justice major at Penn State Schuylkill, secured an internship with the Houston Police Department this summer. She’s been accompanying officers on ride-alongs and helping with daily administrative tasks. A fluent Spanish speaker, Garcia also has served as a translator, helping bridge communications between citizens and officers.
This past spring, Penn State Schuylkill established a Faculty Speakers Bureau that brought faculty experts to high school classes, connecting students to world-class, university-level research. With a new school year approaching, Schuylkill faculty members are preparing to present on subjects such as business, career preparation, health sciences, humanities, social sciences and STEM.
As part of Penn State's COVID-19 mitigation plans, COVID-19 tests will be required for all students moving into on-campus residential housing who have not shared with the University that they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or provided a positive COVID-19 test result from the last 90 days prior to arrival.
In a move designed to limit the spread of COVID-19 on Penn State campuses, the union representing about 2,600 technical service employees, has agreed to follow University requirements for mask-wearing, regardless of vaccination status. The agreement goes into effect immediately.
Penn State students, faculty and staff who are not vaccinated for COVID-19 and those who have not shared with the University that they are fully vaccinated will be required to test weekly for COVID-19 throughout the fall semester, or until they share with the University that they have been fully vaccinated.
Penn State Schuylkill welcomed the classes of 2023 and 2025 on Aug. 23. These Penn Staters compose the largest class of first-year students welcomed to campus since 2017 and consist of a diverse group of students from across the nation and globe, more than half of whom are first-generation college students.
The Penn State Office for General Education has announced the selection of seven Penn State faculty who will serve as new advisers and program leaders and will help to build high-impact teaching and learning practices in general education across the institution. The seven new members will serve three-year terms as part of a team of 16 general education faculty scholars.
Penn State Schuylkill has released its community engagement programming schedule for fall 2021, including pre-college programs, professional development courses, and services for companies. Highlights include Practical Spanish for the Workplace, Change Management Certification in partnership with Prosci, SHRM courses, Grant Writing, SAT Prep and more.
After COVID-19 effectively shut down the fall 2020 sports season, the Penn State Schuylkill athletic program is ready for a return to regular intercollegiate play. The upcoming fall 2021 season features a new lineup of head coaches and fresh faces of first- and second-year student-athletes, as well as the welcome return of some key veteran players and coaches.
At Penn State Schuylkill, 83% of full-time employees indicated they are fully vaccinated, including 100% of administrators, 88% of academic personnel (instructors, researchers and faculty) and 79% of nonunion staff. Among students, 59% of students living on campus and 40% of students living off campus uploaded proof of vaccination to the University. The combined rate for all students at Penn State Schuylkill is approximately 46%.
