UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The College of Education at Penn State and the U.S. Army may not seem to be the likeliest strategic partners. But both have found a shared vision of building educational change from within and have collaborated since 2015 as part of the Sergeants Major Academy Fellowship Program based at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.

The first of its kind in the Army, the Sergeants Major Academy Fellowship Program started with cohorts of up to 20 Fellows in a partnership with Penn State. Through the Lifelong Learning and Adult Education program in the Department of Learning and Performance Systems in the College of Education and World Campus, the Fellows focus on adult learning theory and practice as they pursue their master’s degrees.

Those who are interested in the master’s program must go through a competitive application process within the Army and must meet Penn State’s academic requirements to be selected.

Having worked with the Sergeants Major Academy since its inception and during the vast majority of his time as a College of Education faculty member, William Diehl, associate teaching professor of education (lifelong learning and adult education), said he has seen the program continue to improve and grow.

“I started at Penn State in the summer of 2015, the same year that the Fellowship program began, and one of the first things I did was to prepare for an orientation at Fort Bliss with the Army,” Diehl said. “I worked with our program faculty, our program administrator Whitney DeShong, World Campus Military director retired USMC Lt. Col. Gregory F. Bond and our World Campus team — and enjoyed my first visit to Fort Bliss in August. Throughout the years, we also have had stellar advising support from Ellysa Cahoy, who is education librarian and assistant director at The Pennsylvania Center for the Book. We are now working with the eighth cohort and getting ready to meet the ninth cohort applicants before the new year.”

The students in the Fellowship have one year to complete their master’s degree, at which time they’ll be assigned teaching positions at the Sergeants Major Academy and will teach the incoming class of future sergeants major.

Diehl, who also is director of the American Center for the Study of Distance Education and coordinator of online graduate programs in the college, said the long-term enlisted soldiers, all of whom are highly accomplished leaders, often are apprehensive at the thought of returning to school, especially a prestigious one like Penn State.

“It’s always interesting to meet with these seasoned leaders and to be a part of this challenging new academic journey that they’re on,” he said. “And they have proven that they can rise to the challenge. I have had the privilege to serve as the adviser to more than 100 graduates of this Fellowship. They have gone on to teach at the academy, take on prestigious leadership posts, and there have been more than a dozen who have received or are in the process of earning doctoral degrees. It has been a pleasure to work with these highly motivated and accomplished individuals, and I have also had the privilege to meet and plan with the Army leadership at Fort Bliss.

“Our program helps them to reflect upon their prior leadership and teaching experiences and to understand adult education and distance education, to expose them to new ideas and new practice so that when they go into the classroom to teach the future sergeants major, those sergeants major, the Sergeants Major Academy and the Army can benefit,” said Diehl.

The success of the program, and the shared vision between the Army and the Lifelong Learning and Adult Education program in the College of Education at Penn State has contributed to the Sergeants Major Academy becoming fully accredited.

The reputation of the program continues to grow with each passing cohort. It’s becoming increasingly well-known and well-respected throughout the Army — so much so that in his travels to and from Fort Bliss three times each year, Diehl said it isn’t surprising for him to hear positive feedback from soldiers when they find out where he’s headed.

“I was flying out of DCA (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) heading to Fort Bliss, was charging my phone and there was a gentleman next to me in Army fatigues,” Diehl recalled from one recent trip. “He looked up and I thanked him for his service and asked how he was doing. We struck up a conversation and when he found out that I am the adviser for the Fellowship program, he immediately recognized it and talked about what a great initiative it is for the Army and for the soldiers. It really makes me feel good that our program has that kind of reputation.”

And it’s that reputation that has Diehl believing that not only will the program continue to grow, but that the program’s growth will pave the way for future generations of Penn State students.

“Every August, the Army holds a graduation celebration at Fort Bliss which is attended by family members and so I have gotten to know the spouses and children of the Fellows,” he said. “Former Fellows are working on setting up a regional alumni chapter, and there is tremendous pride in earning their Penn State degrees. Many of the Fellows and their families also attend graduation in Happy Valley as well, and while there, they attend the military cord ceremony that is hosted by President (Neeli) Bendapudi. I can imagine that some of the children of these new Penn State families will be attending Penn State classes on campus or online one day.”