This year Penn State Greater Allegheny is celebrating several significant milestones: a new name reflecting its expanded mission, its 50th anniversary at its current location and the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Alumni Society.
Join Penn State Greater Allegheny in celebrating its past and for a special convocation of the University community examining new models for the region's future on Monday, Oct. 22. Activities begin with a reception at 6 p.m. in the Student Community Center's U.S. Steel Corp. Concourse, followed by a presentation at 7 p.m. in the Robert and Elizabeth Ostermayer Room.
Keynote speaker will be Dr. Lakshman Yapa, professor of geography and known for his work on poverty alleviation, economic development and outreach scholarship, will share lessons learned from his work with The Philadelphia Project at 7:30 p.m. in the Ostermayer Room. His presentation will be "Public Scholarship and the Responsibility of the University to Society."
Dr. Yapa teaches courses on poverty, economic development, and outreach scholarship. He is the director of the project titled, "Rethinking Urban Poverty: Philadelphia Field Project," a course in outreach, service learning and public scholarship. He has won several university and national awards for his work on poverty alleviation. In 2006 he won the President's Award for Excellence in Academic Integration of Teaching, Research, and Service. In 2002 he won the National Association for Multicultural Education Program Award and in 2000 he won the Faculty Outreach Award for his work on urban poverty in Philadelphia.