Initiative News
The Initiative had partnered with Gratz College and its president, Dr. Zev Eleff. Credit: Provided
One of the first things you’d notice about Dr. Zev Eleff is how humble he is. At 35, the Gratz College president may have already accomplished enough for a lifetime. He served as provost at Touro College Illinois outside of Chicago and has authored several books, including the upcoming Dyed in Crimson: Football, Faith, and Remaking Harvard's America available February 2023. Yet he shows no indication of slowing down.
Read More
Kate Van Haren (left) stands with two Peruvian locals in the Sacred Valley, Peru during a Global Leadership Fellowship with the NEA Foundation. Credit: Penn State College of Education Instagram (@psu_collegeofed)
Kate Van Haren, who has worked with the Initiative on designing educational materials and served on our Teacher Advisory Council, has joined the Penn State College of Education’s social studies education doctoral program.
Read More
Director Boaz Dvir lists six ways for people to get involved with the Initiative. Credit: Bill Cardoni
Watching the FIFA World Cup has reminded me of the time I realized that one can contribute in a wide variety of ways.
Read More
Logan Rutten (right), a program specialist for the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative and co-director of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant earned by the initiative, leads a discussion with Red Lion Area School district teachers. Credit: Paris Palmer / Penn State. Creative Commons.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative at Penn State has won a prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant to work with 30 teachers from around the country on sharpening their classroom skills.
Read More
Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After a long day teaching fifth-grade language arts and social studies in the Red Lion Area School District during the 2020-21 school year, Wendy Smith sat down to plan her next social studies unit: the Civil War.
Read MoreJoin our Teacher Advisory Council today! We are now accepting applications for educators nationwide to join our Teacher Advisory Council. Application deadline is October 30, 2022. Please read the informational flyer for more details.
Read More
Stacy laughing in the stern of a Camp Wabun canoe during a floating lunch on a trip in Lake Temagami, Ontario, Canada (this territory is ancestral land of the Algonquin and Ojibway First Nations, part of the Anishinaabe people). Credit: Provided
I’m here in the thick of the Canadian backcountry with ten adolescent girls and my one assistant trip guide. The skies are dark and loud with a severe thunderstorm, driving our group into the trees for lightning protocol. Each person sits on their lifejacket spaced out away from each other like tiny islands among the tall spruce and pine trees. Bodies hunch over to keep rain off their faces—cold, wet, and maybe a little scared. This is when homesickness sets in. I think through the steps of CPR and location of the satellite phone on repeat, mental scars from a past experience with lightning.
Read More
Jean Dyszel rides through Puglia, Italy on a cycling trip of Europe. Credit: Provided
Jean Dyszel spends a lot of time on her bicycles. She rides 15-20 miles a day on her Specialized hybrid or e-bike, often with family or friends. She’s cycled throughout Europe and the Galapagos Islands, and she’s discovering her home state of Pennsylvania.
Read More
Headshot of Wendy Smith, a current fifth-grade teacher at Larry J. Macaluso Elementary School. Credit: Provided
After a long day teaching fifth-grade language arts and social studies in the Red Lion Area School District during the 2020-2021 school year, Wendy Smith sat down to plan her next social studies unit: the Civil War. She tried to focus, but local and national headlines about polarizing current events swirled in her head. How should she approach this difficult historical topic? Did she need to avoid certain phrases and/or resources? Even as a teacher with more than 33 years of experience, she felt unsure.
Read More
Vic and Dena Hammel. Credit: Provided
When Penn State alumni Vic and Dena Hammel of Wyomissing joined our Initiative early last year, they quickly elevated our operation. They began by contributing $450,000 to set up our Eastern Hub at Penn State Berks. At the same time, Vic, former Ehrlich Pest Control CEO and co-owner, helps lead our development efforts and mentors me on the business and marketing sides of our work.
Read More