UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State has named Katie Motycki as the new director of Student Orientation and Transition Programs (SOTP), effective Jan. 24. Motycki has served as interim director since August 2021.
In her new role as director of SOTP, a combined unit of Undergraduate Education and Student Affairs, Motycki will lead the planning and execution of New Student Orientation (NSO), Transfer Student Orientation, welcome programs, change of campus initiatives and the President’s New Student Convocation.
“Penn State is deeply fortunate to have Katie in a role that is instrumental in getting students off to a strong start in their Penn State careers,” said Yvonne Gaudelius, vice president and dean for Undergraduate Education. “Katie’s wealth of experience and proven ability to innovate will be great assets to SOTP and to our students.”
Motycki began as senior associate director for Student Orientation and Transition Programs in 2018. In this capacity she provided leadership for the New Student Orientations at each of Penn State’s 19 undergraduate Commonwealth Campuses. In spring 2020, Motycki played an instrumental role in adapting these in-person NSO programs into a single, virtual University-wide orientation. Virtual NSO welcomed more than 16,200 students from 20 undergraduate campuses in summer 2020 and was utilized again in summer 2021.
Motycki first joined Penn State as the associate director for New Student Orientation in 2013, playing a critical role in the implementation that year of the University’s first two-day New Student Orientation, which served more than 8,200 new students and their families at University Park. Further accomplishments included developing a credit-bearing training course for Orientation Leaders, which launched in spring 2014, and establishing the College Advising Meeting Learning Outcomes Group, which fosters collaboration among academic advisers from various colleges at the University Park campus.
“As the next director for Student Orientation and Transition Programs, I look forward to continuing to enhance and reimagine the welcome experience for new, transfer and change-of-campus students as they acclimate to life at Penn State,” said Motycki. “I’m excited for this next chapter.”
Prior to beginning her Penn State career, Motycki held positions at La Roche College in Pittsburgh (assistant director, college activities) and Indiana University of Pennsylvania (assistant director, orientation programming). She holds a bachelor of arts degree in telecommunications from Penn State and a master of arts degree in student affairs in higher education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Motycki succeeds Dan Murphy, who now serves as director for Commonwealth Campus support in Student Affairs.
Student Orientation and Transition Programs is a joint initiative of Undergraduate Education and Student Affairs.