'Rooted in Place: Leveraging Location to Enrich Learning and Strengthen Impact'

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State Sustainability’s Engaged Scholarship Community of Practice, and State College Borough will welcome Ashley Holmes to share her work and recent book, "Learning on Location: Place-Based Approaches for Diverse Learners in Higher Education." Holmes leads Oregon State University’s (OSU) Office of Academic Faculty Excellence (OAFE) and serves as executive director of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL).

The event will include an author keynote, workshop and ideation session to imagine place-based learning and experiences across all disciplines.

Registration for the talk is required at this registration link, and lunch is provided. Participants may choose to attend one or more sessions as their schedules permit.

Holmes provides strategic leadership to advance teaching effectiveness, faculty development, and student learning in alignment with OSU’s mission. With a background in rhetoric, composition, and the teaching of English, Holmes’s research centers around place-based learning, scholarship of teaching and learning, and public writing and rhetoric. Prior to joining OSU in 2024, she was academic faculty in English at Georgia State University for 12 years where she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in community-engaged writing, composition pedagogy, rhetorical theory, and research methods.

This session will count towards the Engaged Scholarship Provost Endorsement.

A Q&A and Engaged Scholarship Community of Practice discussion will follow. Faculty from all Penn State campuses are welcome to attend.