(Nearly) One Year Anniversary

From engage.shc.psu.edu. I will be in Pittsburgh today and tomorrow on bidness so no blogging for a day or so.

It has nearly been a full year since I started as Dean of the Schreyer Honors College and some reflection is in order. Personally, it is amazing to think of all that has happened in the last 10 months. It was just a year ago this week when my wife and I visited campus for The Interview. We were very excited about the prospect, being from the north east we yearned for the seasons and terrain of the region, but we tried to keep our excitement in check. That being said, Penn State, State College, and most of all the people have lived up to our very high expectations.

Dean Brady & the LionI should note that it is the people most of all that have made this such a smooth transition and a wonderful place to be. From the staff in our office who work very hard and joyfully to the administration, the Penn State family is wonderful. And the students make this one of the best jobs I could imagine. Schreyer Scholars are some of the most engaging, interesting, and thoughtful people I have met. They make us all Penn State proud and make it all worth it. (Schmaltzy? Maybe, but true!)So, looking back on (nearly) a year what’s new? Well a lot is the same and that is a very good thing. The academic offerings, internships, research opportunities, and the travel programs that have formed the basis of the Scholars Program since 1980 remain solidly in place. We are working to strengthen them, however, with new courses being developed, new opportunities for travel, and greater connections with our alumni and friends for exciting internships and job opportunities. (Shanghai anyone?)

We have implemented some new things, from the mundane of this blog and our podcasts (you DO listen to our podcasts don’t you? 😉 ) to the new SHOtime, Schreyer Honors Orientation for all incoming Scholars this fall. We have several new people in the office including Chris Arbutina, our coordinator of college relations, and just hired this week Lisa Kerchinski as our new full-time coordinator of career development.

Most of all we have recommitted ourselves to the excellence and integrity of scholarship that the College has always maintained. It is not just enough to be the best academically, it is imperative that in doing our best we are also seeking to promote the best in and for others. Research and discoveries do not help anyone if they merely remain in the laboratories and in books, which is why we continue to encourage and enable our students to take what they are learning out into the world where they will continue to learn while also helping others. It is an ethic and ethos that suffuses the SHC and PSU; in the words of our Alma Mater:

For the glory of old State,For her founders strong and great, For the future that we wait, Raise the song, raise the song.

For old State, for the world, for the future.It has been one amazing year and I look forward to many, many more!

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