As Penn State’s first-ever professor of caring and compassion, Rob Roeser is tasked with designing classes that meld the ancient practices of mindfulness and meditation with modern neuroscience. The goal is to help students become calmer and more focused—and ultimately, to be more engaged and caring citizens of the world.

Social activist turned entrepreneur Jess Weiner has made a career out of helping women and brands see the value—and real beauty—in inclusivity and female empowerment.

Mindful of his place in a dwindling population, World War II veteran Milt Feldman felt compelled to put his experience in writing. Seventy-five years after the conflict’s end, the story of a Jewish-American soldier who survived both the Battle of the Bulge and a Nazi prison camp is a poignant reflection of a generation’s sacrifice.