Female student in red shirt and mask sits on steps in front of the Nittany Lion Shrine

Bringing 20/20 vision to 2021

Leaders are challenged to think differently, act with resolve, and embody the mindset of making things better. In this spirit, Penn State Shenango is working hard to advance our strategic initiatives that will help the region advance in 2021 and beyond.
By: Jo Anne Carrick

Sharon, Pa. — Clearly – no pun intended – the year of 2020 was not true to its definition of clear vision. Despite the overwhelming day-to-day uncertainty, the nation worked hard to move forward.

Last year will go down in history for what we have witnessed across the country. Frequently the word “unprecedented” was a descriptor for happenings that we had never seen, or did not have any experience with.

Leaders are challenged to think differently, act with resolve, and embody the mindset of making things better. In this spirit, Penn State Shenango is working hard to advance our strategic initiatives that will help the region advance.

Our academic portfolio is growing to include four new majors that align with in-demand fields. Corporate communications, criminal justice, cybersecurity analytics and operations, and health policy and administration will join Shenango’s offerings in 2021. We look forward to continue pursuing new majors to support our region’s needs in coming years.

In 2020 we announced an updated design of our scholarship program for high-performing students. Penn State Shenango’s ‘$3,000 for a 3.0 GPA’ program has been a staple at the campus since 2016, and this year we added tiers that allow students with grade-point averages ranging from 2.80 to a 3.50 to earn up to a $20,000 total award.

Good progress has been made on an $8 million modernization of our Forker Laboratory building, despite new and important pandemic mitigation policies. This project will transform learning spaces into state-of-the-art classrooms and labs with technology to engage students and support success in their studies. There have been delays, but we anticipate that students will be able to enjoy the renovated building this fall.

While our athletes were not able to compete this academic year, we are hopeful that competitions will be able to resume in fall 2021 when we will launch our third sport, women’s basketball. Our new coach, Daniel Johnson, joins us with prior college coaching experience and is actively recruiting athletes for the team.

2020 was a challenging year, but we were fortunate to virtually host two commencement ceremonies that celebrated approximately 80 local Penn State graduates that have entered the workforce in critical fields, like health care and supply chain management.

As a partner to our community since 1965, we are grateful for the support that we receive and are committed to being a vital and active contributor to the region’s ongoing growth and enrichment. We look forward to moving towards a clearer vision.