News — College of the Liberal Arts

Libraries offering $1,250 award for 2020 outstanding undergraduate thesis On Jan 22, 2021 Penn State University Libraries invites submissions for the 10th annual competition for the outstanding undergraduate thesis. The University-wide competition aims to find the best research by a Penn State undergraduate student in consultation with his or her adviser. The Guentter Award winner will receive $1,250. Finalist awards of $750 and $500 will be presented to the second- and third-place recipients, respectively.

Liberal Arts Career Week helps prepare students for professional success On Jan 21, 2021 College of the Liberal Arts students seeking to gain a thorough understanding of post-graduation possibilities, hone their professional skills and network with employers should attend and participate in virtual Liberal Arts Career Week events, held Jan. 25 to 29 and hosted by the Career Enrichment Network.

Two Penn Staters named to state law enforcement advisory commission On Jan 20, 2021 Two members of the Penn State community — Charima Young, director of local government and community relations, and Suresh Canagarajah, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Applied Linguistics, English and Asian Studies — have been appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf to the newly formed Pennsylvania State Law Enforcement Citizen Advisory Commission.

Retired Army veteran's World Campus degree leads to career with LinkedIn On Jan 20, 2021 The Penn State World Campus homeland security master’s degree program helped alumnus Bryan Parent combine his military intelligence training and his desire to serve others to land a job at LinkedIn.

Student experience helps Penn State alumna 'unearth' magazine career On Jan 18, 2021 Katy Koontz always had a passion for writing and chose Penn State for its journalism program. As a student, she also discovered and developed a love for anthropology, which led her to pursue and earn degrees in both anthropology and journalism - and today, she credits both degrees with helping to shape her career as a writer and editor.

Graduate student overcomes barriers to receive NIH award On Jan 15, 2021 Berenice Anaya, a psychology doctoral student at Penn State, has been awarded the F99/K00 - NIH Blueprint D-SPAN Award, an NIH blueprint specialized predoctoral to postdoctoral advancement in neuroscience award that supports the pre- to post-doctoral transition of diverse graduate students.

Panel to discuss VanHaitsma’s 'Queering Romantic Engagement in the Postal Age' On Jan 14, 2021 A panel of leading scholars on rhetoric and queer studies will discuss the recently published book “Queering Romantic Engagement in the Postal Age: A Rhetorical Education” by Pamela VanHaitsma. The virtual event is free and open to the public. It will occur Monday, February 8, at 6:00 p.m.

NASA Pa. Space Grant accepting graduate research fellowship applications On Jan 13, 2021 The NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium is currently accepting applications to its graduate research fellowship program. The program offers funding to outstanding students in the STEM, education and humanities fields who are conducting research related to NASA’s science and outreach missions.

Access Club seeks to improve accessibility, create more inclusive environment On Jan 13, 2021 The Access Club is a Penn State student organization that seeks to connect students — particularly those with disabilities — and advocates for a more accessible campus.

Integrative course examines importance of empathy in health communication On Jan 13, 2021 Penn State Scranton Associate Professor of English Kelley Wagers set out to create an innovative course that gives students across the academic spectrum the opportunity to explore and practice compassionate communication during a health crisis. During the fall semester, Wagers taught Communicating Care, an integrative general education course she designed with input from a medical ethics expert at Penn State College of Medicine and some campus colleagues.

Scholar alumna exploring moral cognition in children and adults On Jan 13, 2021 Penn State and Schreyer Honors College alumna Larisa Heiphetz, an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia University, has been able to connect with a wider range of participants during her moral cognition studies during the coronavirus pandemic.

Liberal arts degree gave alumnus 'space to find my voice,' help others On Jan 12, 2021 Penn State alumnus Brian Davis, 2018, African American studies, is currently associate director for diversity and inclusion at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco.

Toby Thompson to read from published works on Jan. 28 On Jan 12, 2021 Toby Thompson will offer a reading from his published works as part of the Mary E. Rolling Reading Series on Thursday, Jan. 28.

Zombie movies prepared you for the pandemic On Jan 11, 2021 Tales of post-apocalyptic landscapes in which few survivors emerge into a new and much different world have long been popular tales woven by screenwriters and authors. While many enjoy these stories, thinking of them as nothing but a guilty pleasure, they may not realize that immersing themselves in fiction has prepared them for the reality of 2020, according to a team of researchers.

McCourtney Institute spring events to explore the future of American democracy On Jan 08, 2021 Three speakers hosted by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy in the coming weeks — Donna Shalala, Anne Applebaum and Danielle Allen — will address the future of American democracy following a tumultuous election and violence in Washington, D.C., via the institute's virtual event series.