During the 2003-2004 academic year, the Equal Opportunity Planning Committee (EOPC) will recognize its 20th anniversary of promoting diversity at Penn State. Events will be built around the theme of "Recognizing our Progress along the Path."
To kick off the celebration, Carol A. Cartwright, president of Kent State University and former chair of EOPC, will return to University Park as keynote speaker at a reception set for 4:30 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, in the Faculty Staff Club at The Nittany Lion Inn. Other speakers include former Penn State students who participated in EOPC programs and former directors of EOPC programs. The reception is open to the public, with no R.S.V.P. required.
"The 20th anniversary of EOPC is an appropriate point from which to look back on all of Penn State's diversity accomplishments over the past 20 years and to look forward to the challenges of the future," said Thomas G. Poole, associate vice provost for educational equity and chair of EOPC.
EOPC was formed in 1983 as a response to a desegregation mandate issued by the U.S. Department of Education to all public institutions of higher education within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Today, EOPC serves to support Penn State's strategic planning goal to become ìa caring University community that provides leadership for constructive participation in a diverse, multicultural world.
For more information on EOPC or the 20th anniversary recognition, visit the EOPC Web site at http://www.equity.psu.edu/eopc/ or call the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity, 314 Old Main, University Park, at (814) 865-5906.