Penn State Abington has a very diverse population (30 percent ethnic minorities) of approximately 3400 students, with a 17:1 student to teacher ratio. The vibrant faculty of teacher-researchers foster an atmosphere of intellectual and creative inquiry and of powerful ideas that help students realize their fullest potential as insightful and thoughtful participants of their local and global communities.
Through the efforts of Carla Chamberlin-Quinlisk, associate professor of communication arts and sciences, Penn State Abington was one of the first locations in the United States (and first in the Greater Philadelphia area) to declare itself "No Place for Hate."
As part of Astro 10 and 11, Dr. Ann Schmiedekamp and her students conduct research in astronomy at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, which is the site of the largest, fully steerable dish in the world. At the observatory, Abington undergraduate students obtain star data from a 40 foot radio telescope that is now dedicated exclusively for educational purposes.
Under the auspices of ACURA (Abington College Undergraduate Research Activities), Abington student researchers are collaborating with their biology professor mentors and Fox Chase Cancer Institute to determine how the pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin, impacts the growth of breast cancer cells. Other student researchers are studying how neurotransmitters accelerate or decelerate heart rate, using marine invertebrates as their animal models.
As a part of the senior capstone course, IST 440W, Abington IST students have worked with regional companies such as Vanguard, Lockheed Martin, SAP, and Red Cross, providing real-world technical solutions to business problems. Recently, students worked with Hersheypark to develop a guest tracking system to locate individuals, such as lost children, in the amusement park. At the heart of this project is a radio frequency identification technology (RFID) that will work to triangulate the location of the lost person.
Eleanora Adams, associate professor of German and Slavic languages, serves as an interpreter for the U.S. Department of State. She accompanies visiting dignitaries from Ukraine in their travels throughout the United States.
Since 1999, Penn State Abington's Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) has created and delivered outreach programs to businesses, social service organizations, public and private school students and peers. Each spring, SIFE students present a summary of their free enterprise awareness and educational programs at the Philadelphia regional competition. They have merited awards every year and won three championship trophies, earning the right to showcase their successful programs at three national expositions.
Social Sciences faculty participate in a joint five year program with the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) that gives students the opportunity to earn both a B.A. in Psychological and Social Sciences from Penn State Abington and a Master’s degree in either Clinical/Health Psychology or School Psychology from PCOM.
In January 2008 an office of International Affairs was established, testament to the priority that Penn State Abington has given to internationalizing the campus and the curriculum. The Office of International Affairs is responsible for the coordination of faculty-led embedded programs of study, the promotion of study abroad opportunities for all students, and the development of linkages for faculty exchanges and collaborative research. One of the highlights of the International Affairs department is the one-for-one student exchange program with HOF University of the Applied Sciences in Germany. During spring semester break, ten students enrolled in IST 197 will be participating in intensive lectures and lab work in cryptography and programming with ten German students at HOF. The students will work in German-American teams on an IST project. The program culminates in a final international team project presentation in Germany.
