UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Recently tenured and promoted Penn State faculty across the University were honored Oct. 17 through Penn State’s Promotion and Tenure Recognition Program, now in its 20th year.
Honorees, their guests and invited colleagues were welcomed by Faye A. Chadwell, dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications, during a private event held in the Paterno Family Humanities Reading Room on the second floor of Pattee Library at University Park campus.
“It is a privilege for the University Libraries to host this event,” Chadwell said. “We take pride in the part that we may play in supporting your success in teaching and research. On behalf of my colleagues I want to say thank you for your commitment to your students, your disciplines and the University, as well as the communities we serve in one way or another as a land-grant institution.”
The Promotion and Tenure Recognition Program asks each newly tenured or promoted faculty member to select a book title for the University Libraries’ permanent collection, and to submit a personal statement explaining why he or she chose that book. The Libraries purchases titles that are not already in its collection and affixes each with a bookplate to commemorate the faculty member’s achievement.
Each faculty cohort’s book selections and personal statements are listed online, searchable by year and by last name. Faculty members’ selected titles and words of dedication were on display at the Oct. 17 event.
Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi expressed her great appreciation of “this tradition of marking your achievement by choosing a book for people to read. And where else but a library would you celebrate something like this, because what we all hope to do is contribute a little bit to the understanding of the world.”
“The University Libraries is in many ways the heart of scholarship and discovery at Penn State, both symbolically and practically,” added Justin Schwartz, interim executive vice president and provost. “This is truly the perfect place in which to honor our newly promoted and tenured faculty. Any day that we can celebrate faculty success is a good day.”
To read each faculty member’s entry and learn more about the Promotion and Tenure Recognition Program, visit this link.