Administration

Task force is convened to initiate a full review of the Student Code of Conduct

Credit: Penn State / Penn State. Creative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – In support of Penn State President Eric Barron’s commitment to address both the immediate issues and longstanding problems of racism, bias and intolerance, a task force has been convened to initiate a full review of the Student Code of Conduct, with significant participation by student leaders, including a student in the role of co-chair. Barron announced the convening of a task force in his June 10 message to the Penn State Community

The task force will be co-chaired by Nyla Holland, undergraduate student and President of Penn State Black Caucus and Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, Clinical Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Penn State Law.

“Penn State has a duty to protect its marginalized students and one crucial way is to effectively address hate speech and bias-motivated incidents,” said Holland. “The ‘we’ in ‘we are’ should include every student and this taskforce is just one effort to reaching this goal.” 

“I am inspired by the energy and expertise of the leaders on our taskforce and am confident that our collective work will result in tangible and necessary changes,” said Wadhia. “By creating this taskforce, the Penn State administration has taken an important step in responding to racial discrimination and hate on our campus and beyond.”

The task force co-chairs will hold weekly office hours on Wednesdays at noon via Zoom at https://psu.zoom.us/j/99016741402. Individuals are also welcome to provide input or ask questions by email at studentcode@psu.edu. 

Members of the Student Code of Conduct task force include:

  • Nicole Jara Andrade - Undergraduate Student, Political Science, President of Penn State Latino Caucus, Penn State - University Park  

  • Patricia Birungi - Undergraduate Student, Chair of Academic Affairs in UPUA, Penn State - University Park

  • Eleanor Brown - Faculty, Professor of Law and International Affairs and Senior Scientist, Rock Ethics Institute, Penn State - University Park 

  • Erin Brown - Undergraduate Student, Schreyer Honors College, Paterno Fellows Program, Penn State - University Park  

  • Nate Brown - Faculty, Professor of Mathematics, STEM Diversity Lab, Penn State - University Park  

  • Juan Castro - University Police Sergeant, University Police and Public Safety, Penn State - Harrisburg 

  • Kade Crittenden - Graduate Student, Master of Higher Education Administration, Penn State - University Park 

  • Gabby Falzone - Post-Doc, Restorative Justice Initiative, College of Education, Penn State - University Park  

  • Erica Frankenberg - Faculty, Professor of Educational Leadership, Director of the Center for Education and Civil Rights in the College of Education, Penn State - University Park  

  • Keisha Johnson - Conduct Standards Coordinator, Student Affairs, Penn State - Abington  

  • Brad Kovaleski - Director of Student Services & Engagement, Penn State - Scranton 

  • Tamla J. Lewis - Associate General Counsel, Penn State - University Park

  • Sidnee McDonald - J.D. Candidate, Black Law Students Association, Student Bar Association, Penn State Law - University Park  

  • Andrew Mitchell - Associate Director of Student Conduct and Residence Life, Penn State - University Park  

  • Cassandra Nunez - Undergraduate Student, Electrical Engineering, Millennium Scholars Program, Latinx Leadership Institute, Penn State - University Park

  • Lestine Paye - Undergraduate Student, VP of Berks Student Government Association, Penn State - Berks

  • Allie Ryave - Undergraduate Student, Penn State Hillel, Presidential Leadership Academy, Penn State University - University Park 

  • Jennifer Sabourin - Director of Student Conduct, Penn State - Altoona

  • Danny Shaha - Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, Penn State - University Park  

  • Sarthak Vij - Undergraduate Student, Economics and Mathematics, Former President of College of Liberal Arts Student Council, Penn State - University Park

  • Lamont Wade - Undergraduate Student, Penn State Football, Penn State - University Park 

  • Tylah Wells - Undergraduate Student, President of Association of Black Collegians, Penn State - Erie

  • Darius Williams - McKenzie - Graduate Student, Student Fee Board, UPAC, Penn State - University Park  

  • Alina Wong - Associate Vice Provost for Educational Equity, Penn State - University Park

To continue the opportunity for engagement, the University has established a new website — Action Together: Advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Penn State (actiontogether.psu.edu). The Penn State community can utilize the new website to share ideas and input, and all suggestions will be provided to the co-chairs. The site will also serve as a resource for updates to the community on the progress of these efforts.   

 

Last Updated July 14, 2020

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