Smeal Update: May 31, 2022

University Park one of five campuses to require masks indoors

In alignment with CDC guidance advising that masks be worn indoors in counties with high COVID-19 community levels, face masks will again be required to be worn indoors beginning today (May 31) at University Park, as well as the Beaver, Greater Allegheny, New Kensington and Schuylkill campuses. Read the University’s announcement online. 

Foley nominated for U.N. global sustainability award

Erik Foley, director of the Center for the Business of Sustainability, and a team of collaborators have been nominated for consideration for the 2022 PRME Faculty Recognition Award for Excellence in Sustainabile Development Goals Integration. Foley and his team were nominated after presenting about Major Sustainability at the PRME North America Chapter Conference. PRME, or the Principles for Responsible Management Education, is a United Nations-supported initiative founded in 2007 as a platform to raise the profile of sustainability in schools around the world. Winners will be announced at the UN PRME Global Forum on Friday.

Booths’ gift will create scholarships for Executive DBA

Rick and Brooke Booth recently made a $125,000 commitment to create scholarships for students enrolled in Smeal’s new professional doctorate of business administration program. Read the story.

Penn State Smeal announces faculty promotions in academic rank

Fourteen members of the Penn State Smeal College of Business faculty, which ranks among the best in the world for research productivity, will receive promotions effective July 1. Read the story.

Penn State Smeal names new members to real estate board

The college recently named three new members to the Borrelli Institute for Real Estate Studies’ Advisory Board: Jim Calder, Steve Stein, and Andrew Richie. Read the story.

MAcc student wins Graduate Student RISE Above Award

Ryan Setzenfand has been named the recipient of the 2021-22 Graduate Student RISE Above Award. The award formally recognizes a graduate student’s commitment to advancing Smeal’s culture of Honor & Integrity. This commitment can be demonstrated through any combination of behaviors demonstrated in the classroom, research, professional work, or student leadership. Ryan is a MACC student who serves as president of the Accounting Society. His leadership helped the society to become an Honor & Integrity certified organization. 

Johnson wins Faculty RISE Above Award

Ron Johnson, associate teaching professor in management and organization, has been named the 2021-22 academic year recipient of the Faculty RISE Above Award. The honor recognizes the integral role faculty play in advancing Smeal’s culture of honor and integrity through their contributions to extraordinary education, impactful research, and service.

Staff award nominations being accepted

Smeal annually recognizes talented and dedicated staff members for consistently going above and beyond. If you know of such a person, please consider nominating them for one of the following awards: Customer Service Award, RISE Above Staff Award, Leadership Award, Outstanding Staff Award, Staff Sustainability Award. To submit a nomination, visit: https://php.smeal.psu.edu/smeal/awards/

The deadline for nominations is June 17. The Smeal Annual Staff Recognition Ceremony is planned for 3:30 p.m. July 14. For further information, email Rebecca Cianci at rjc39@psu.edu.

DEI lecture to focus on international education

Penn State Global, Educational Equity, and the Penn State Libraries are co-hosting Chrystal George Mwangi for a university-wide lecture from 5:30-7 p.m. June 8 in the Foster Auditorium of the Paterno Library. George Mwangi is an associate professor of higher education at George Mason University and a premier scholar in the field of international education and DEI. She will discuss an approach for foregrounding (in)equity in internationalization strategies, international student mobility, international higher education partnerships/research, and education abroad. This research talk, titled “Keeping Pace and Pushing Forward: (re)imagining campus internationalization through an equity-driven lens,” will highlight how the process, concept, and construction of internationalization can center or silence the ways universities engage globally. Light refreshments will be provided. For further information, email Jena Soult at jfs5948@psu.edu or Nate Rufo at ner17@psu.edu.

Know someone who rocks? Nominate them!

Each month the Smeal Staff Advisory Committee names a You Rock! Award recipient. You can nominate a co-worker for the You Rock! Award online.

The Smeal Community Weekly Poll


Click this link to participate in this week’s survey. Results will be shared during the next Smeal Community Zoom, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. June 27.