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Payton Smith will travel to Senegal to immerse herself in the French language and culture of the region with the support of a Boren Fellowship.

Date Posted:

In this Q&A, Nita Bharti, associate professor of biology at Penn State, and postdoctoral scholar Kelsee Baranowski discuss what Ebola is, how it affects people and why this outbreak matters to people around the world.

As part of our regular “We Are!” feature, we recognize 20 Penn Staters who have gone above and beyond what’s asked of them in their work at the University.

Sabine Klahr, vice provost for Global at Penn State, has announced her transition to a phased retirement from the University, beginning July 1. During her phased retirement, Klahr will serve as special adviser in the Office of the Provost, supporting the advancement of key international initiatives and supporting the transition of leadership in Penn State Global.

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences welcomed a delegation from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, or FAO, to University Park last week to mark the first anniversary of the World Food Forum Youth Food Lab North America at Penn State partnership and to explore opportunities to deepen collaboration on global agrifood systems, innovation and education.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming global health and infectious disease science, bringing new opportunities but could also exacerbate existing disparities, according to Matt Ferrari, professor of biology. In this Q&A, Ferrari spoke about the promises and pitfalls of AI and large language models in infectious disease modeling, and how intentional collaboration could reshape the future of infectious disease science.

Due to ongoing construction projects in Boucke Building on the University Park campus, Penn State Global staff normally assigned to the Boucke Building will be relocating for the summer. This will impact students, faculty and staff who are planning in-person interactions with the office throughout the summer. The relocation will last from May 11 through Aug. 14.

Penn State Altoona held its annual Student Awards Ceremony on Monday, April 27, in the Wolf Kuhn Theatre of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts. The event concluded with the presentation of the Eric A. and Josephine S. Walker Award to senior psychology student Layna Henry.

Every child can recall their first trip to a museum and the sense of wonder and excitement that comes from laying eyes on the real-life remnants of a dinosaur or the preserved artifacts of our ancestors. For a group of students taking a course on the impacts of colonization on science museums, that spark was ignited by all the work that went into the completion of those museum exhibits.

Penn State University and Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea continue to strengthen their long‑standing strategic partnership through an impactful staff exchange program that emphasizes professional development, global engagement, the sharing of best practices in international education and championing institutional partnerships.

Vinciya Pandian, associate dean of graduate education and professor in Penn State’s Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, has been named a 2026 International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame inductee by Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Penn State students traveled to Italy over spring break for the SC 475N: Anatomy in Italy and IT 175: Italian Language and Culture embedded program, where they explored anatomy through a blend of science, history and culture.

Penn State Global is announcing that the Global Safety Network, or GSN, will transition to a new platform by the fall 2026 semester. The upgrade is intended to streamline the travel documentation process for Penn State-affiliated travelers while also improving the efficiency of internal review and processing.

Alexandra Persiko, director for global partnerships in Penn State Global, was recently awarded the DAAD Alumni Association Mid-Career Professional Award. The DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) recognizes exceptional contributions to advancing international exchange between Germany and the United States.

Jody Pritt, associate vice provost for Penn State Global, recently completed a Fulbright International Education Administrator experience in Taiwan. While there, she engaged with higher education leaders, visited academic institutions and explored opportunities for international collaboration.

A multi-university collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is producing a new documentary film to bring attention to the life and legacy of Polish pediatrician, author, playwright, radio broadcaster and educator Janusz Korczak, whose ideas in the late 1800s-early 1900s about children’s rights were considered revolutionary for their time.

The security of every nation faces an increasingly severe and frequent threat: disruptions to nature. In this Q&A, Bradley J. Cardinale, Penn State professor of ecosystem science and management, discussed his recent study examining how disrupted ecosystems can lead to increased risk for food security, water availability, health and well-being, as well as crime.

Through an embedded program in Greece, students brought classroom learning to life, gaining hands-on experience with ancient sites while expanding their academic and personal perspectives.

The May arrival of 13 Penn State students to the Italian hilltop community of Todi will mark the 40th summer of a partnership between Penn State and the town. To mark the anniversary, Penn State faculty members Jason Laine, associate teaching professor of Italian, and Giuseppe Bruno-Chomin, assistant professor of Italian, have planned reunion celebrations in Florence and Todi this summer, inviting previous students, professors, host families and local friends to join in these events.

Penn State undergraduates and graduate students taking a marine biogeochemistry course that explores the ways life influences and is influenced by chemical, physical and geological processes in the ocean, spent spring break visiting San Salvador Island in the Bahamas.

Long before she led reforestation efforts in her native Lebanon, Maya Nehme was a graduate student in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, researching ways to combat invasive species threatening forests. Even then, her vision extended beyond the lab — helping to inspire what would become the college’s international agriculture and development graduate dual-title degree program, known as INTAD.

The Arthur W. Page Center announced the recipients of its 2026 Page/Johnson Legacy Scholar grants, selecting 11 projects that will assess how corporate social responsibility, advocacy and activism are evolving in a polarized political and cultural environment.

The Penn State Fox Graduate School Alumni Society has announced the recipients of its 2026 alumni awards, recognizing three graduates whose achievements exemplify the values of leadership, service and professional excellence.

After two decades in international business, finance and education, Mauricio Maldonado decided it was time to pursue a doctorate in business administration, which he felt would allow him to combine his business expertise with his love of academia. He chose Penn State Smeal College of Business and liked it so much that he left his home country of Bolivia and moved to the State College area to complete the degree and pursue work at Smeal.

Over spring break, Penn State students traveled to Germany to Munich for a Liberal Arts embedded program.

Through the College of IST, Penn State has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian AI Research Organisation to expand global collaboration in artificial intelligence. The partnership will support joint research, faculty and student exchanges and training of early-career scientists, reinforcing the University's land-grant mission in the era of AI.

Over spring break, Penn State Liberal Arts students traveled to Belize and Guatemala to visit ancient Maya archaeological sites and learn about local cultures.

Penn State Scranton Assistant Professor of Corporate Communication Stephanie Longo has been named a faculty fellow for the University’s 2026 Global Learning Fellows Program, a year-long professional development opportunity supporting full-time Penn State faculty who want to implement global learning in an existing undergraduate course.

To learn more about beef production abroad, nine students from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences spent their spring break in Brazil.

Students and chaperones from Penn State Beaver and Penn State Shenango traveled to Peru over spring break where they performed community service and visited historic sites.

Penn State undergraduate David Anderson earned a 2026 Critical Language Scholarship and will study Russian during an intensive eight-week study abroad.

A group of 11 Penn State DuBois students, alongside a group of Penn State Altoona students, chose to spend spring break rooted in service, learning and cultural immersion.

A group of students from the College of Agricultural Sciences and School of International Affairs spent their 2026 spring break in Costa Rica, learning about sustainable agricultural production, agroforestry systems, rural development, and Costa Rican history and culture. The trip exemplified interdisciplinary expertise and collaboration, the impact of experiential learning on student success, and the value of global engagement.

Students in MGMT 345: Cultural Intelligence in Leadership and Management at Penn State Schuylkill recently expanded their learning beyond the classroom, traveling to Denmark and Sweden as part of the course’s international embedded travel component. The course brought together students from Penn State Schuylkill, University Park and World Campus for a weeklong experience focused on cultural exploration and global leadership.

Penn State Global has announced the 2025-26 recipients of its annual awards that recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals and academic programs at the University who have contributed to advancing its global engagement goals. This includes a new award this year, the Outstanding Global Alum award.

A group of students from the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, representing Penn State Altoona, University Park and World Campus, spent spring break in Athens, Greece, exploring care of underserved communities and the refugee population in urban clinics.

Recent News

2026 Penn State alumna to study French in Senegal using Boren Fellowship

Q&A: Ebola outbreak and public health emergency

Let's hear a 'We Are!' for these Penn Staters — May 21

Sabine Klahr, vice provost for Global at Penn State, to retire

College of Ag Sciences, FAO mark one-year anniversary of Youth Food Lab

Q&A: Is AI democratizing global health or reinforcing old inequities?

Penn State Global to temporarily relocate for summer

Penn State Altoona hosts spring 2026 Student Awards ceremony

Course on science museums travels to the United Kingdom

Penn State and Sungkyunkwan University deepen partnership through staff exchange

Vinciya Pandian named to International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame

Students explore anatomy and culture through Italian embedded course

Penn State Global announces upcoming platform change for Global Safety Network