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Welcome to Penn State, welcome to Pennsylvania By Celena E. Kusch
Dr. Irwin Richman (center), professor of American studies and history at Penn State Harrisburg, guides President Graham Spanier and Road Scholars faculty on a tour of historic Philadelphia. Road Scholars visit one of Philadelphia’s 470 urban community food gardens. Coordinated by Penn State Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener Program, the Philadelphia gardens cover more than 2 million square feet and generate more than $1 million worth of produce each year. Dr. William D. Milheim (standing), campus executive officer and associate dean of Penn State Great Valley, speaks with faculty on the Road Scholars tour. photos by Bill Mahon Penn State Public Information	As universities across the country strive to demonstrate their engagement with their surrounding communities, a Penn State model program is placing outreach in the foreground of new faculty experiences. The University-wide Road Scholars program and its regional spinoffs offer new faculty a tour of Penn State through the lens of the Pennsylvania communities the University serves.   President Graham Spanier instituted the Road Scholars program in 1996. During his own statewide tour to all of the campuses, he heard so many positive comments that he decided to make it an annual event.   This year marked the sixth annual University-wide Road Scholars program. Nearly 80 faculty members joined the President on a two-and-a-half-day bus tour of some of the University’s community, government and industrial partners, as well as four Penn State campuses, including the Penn State College of Medicine at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.   Through the tour, new and current faculty see firsthand how the University contributes to the statewide community through its missions of teaching, research and service. This year’s tour of southeastern Pennsylvania introduced new faculty to Penn State researchers and educators who have advanced the horticultural industry through work at Longwood Gardens; enhanced economic growth at Lockheed Martin, Management and Data Systems in King of Prussia; supported preservation of our environmental resources at Valley Forge State Park; and contributed to the health and well-being of Pennsylvania communities through scholarly efforts that support the Reading Terminal Market, urban gardens in Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Food Bank project.   In addition to witnessing the wide-ranging impact of the University’s outreach scholarship on the state, Road Scholars have a chance to meet new colleagues from different disciplines and begin to develop future partnerships and programs both within the University and with the community, as well. This year’s tour included a visit to the State Capitol Building and meetings with representatives of state government.   The benefits of the Road Scholars introduction to University outreach have led some Penn State campuses and Penn State Cooperative Extension offices to arrange regional tours of their own. Last year, the Berks County and Lehigh County Cooperative Extension offices, along with the Penn State Berks-Lehigh Valley Continuing Education office, jointly sponsored a local program modeled after the University-wide Road Scholars. Ten new faculty toured several examples of ongoing outreach programs, including a Mennonite farm growing new crops for new markets, a fifth-grade classroom learning about snails and a corporate training center where employee development programs are offered.   This fall, the Capital Region Outreach Council is also offering a regional Road Scholars program called Outreach Express.   Dr. Michelle S. Rodgers, director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach for the Capital Region, explained the value of the Road Scholars tours. “The Road Scholars model exposes new people to the outreach partnership and brings faculty on board to engage with many outreach partners. We want to introduce more faculty to Cooperative Extension and the other outreach units by showing them examples of work that is already being done through ongoing outreach programs,” she said.   Supported by the Outreach Partnership Fund, the tour will include approximately 30 faculty. The tour highlights programs that are specific to the Penn State Harrisburg area, including a Hershey program for K–12 students and teachers, a redevelopment area in the New Baldwin Corridor, faculty programs for legislators at the Penn State Harrisburg Downtown Center, the Penn State Cooperative Extension ServSafeŽ food service program for area restaurants and PENNTAP and Continuing Education programs in the area.   According to Rodgers, the objective is to encourage “more faculty involvement with outreach partners. Many faculty in our region are already engaged and have programs within the community. We want to explore the potential for even more activities and to encourage greater synergy between faculty and the multiple outreach partners.”   “The Road Scholars and Outreach Express tours are wonderful initiatives,” Dr. Theodore R. Alter, associate vice president for outreach, director of Cooperative Extension and associate dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences, said. “The tours help faculty better understand Pennsylvania issues, see a broad array of Penn State activities in the Commonwealth and discover opportunities for how they can engage Pennsylvanians through their scholarship.”   The Capital Region Outreach Council also plans to host tours from Penn State Mont Alto and Penn State York in the future. An outreach program of the Office of the President and Conferences and Institutes and an outreach program of the Capital Region Outreach Council