From the Editor
Building Momentum

The view from campus as Penn State evolves to meet a time of transition in higher ed.

new classroom building at University Park, photo by Penn State
By Ryan Jones '95 Com
January / February 2025

 

If you’ve ever visited the Hintz Family Alumni Center—and if you’re reading this, I sure hope you have—you know we’re nestled among what have long been the traditional engineering buildings at University Park. And if you’ve been here in the past few months, you know our little corner of campus is in the early stages of some serious upheaval. (Check out this issue’s installment of “What’s Up With That?” for the details.)

But both in print and on the ground, that’s just a small part of the story. When the Board of Trustees met in November, they formalized progress on a slew of projects across the university that highlight the ways Penn State is adapting to the changing higher-ed landscape. Approval for a 90,000-square-foot classroom building, planned near the intersection of Bigler Road and Park Avenue, and a 1,500-bed affordable housing development on the northeast corner of campus, aligns with an expected bump in University Park enrollment. A new 80,000-square-foot Applied Research Laboratory building, fully funded by ARL, exemplifies a universitywide focus on leadership in high-level research. And a planned 47,000-square-foot Academic Learning Center at Penn State Harrisburg is in keeping with an ongoing commitment to a sustainable campus system and the university’s land-grant mission.

 

new applied research lab at University Park, photo by Penn State
ROOM TO GROW: Recently approved facilities at University Park include a classroom building, top, and a new home for the Applied Research Laboratory, above. Penn State.

 

There’s more to come, all of it—as outgoing board chair Matt Schuyler ’87 Bus put it in a recent conversation looking back on his tenure—focused on “positioning ourselves for the future.” Those words are a fitting echo of that line from the alma mater, guidance that has long served Penn State, and Penn Staters, well.

 

Ryan Jones sig

 

 

 

 

Ryan Jones ’95 Com  |  Editor
ryanjones@psu.edu  |  @RJPennStater

 


cover of 50 years of THON special issueCELEBRATE THON: In February, the Bryce Jordan Center will once again fill with all the color, passion, and joy of THON. What better way to prep for one of the biggest weekends of the year than to revisit our epic 2022 oral history?

 

 

Bordenstein head shotBIG IMPACT: In a new Q&A, Seth Bordenstein, director of Penn State’s One Health Microbiome Center, takes us inside the groundbreaking research center that has made Penn State a global leader in this increasingly essential field.