Six University faculty members have received 2026 Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement: Amy Bridger, assistant research professor of higher education strategy at Penn State Behrend; Cui-Zu Chang, professor of physics in the Eberly College of Science; Alexander Hristov, distinguished professor of dairy nutrition in the College of Agricultural Sciences; Michelle Newman, professor of psychology and psychiatry in the College of the Liberal Arts; Xingjie Ni, associate professor of electrical engineering in the College of Engineering; and David Witwer, distinguished professor of American studies and history at Penn State Harrisburg.
Six Penn State faculty members have received the 2026 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. They are Brianna Blackburn, instructor in nursing in the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing; Lisa Goguen, program coordinator and associate professor of psychology at Penn State Hazleton; Joseph Houck, teaching professor of chemistry in the Eberly College of Science; Lisa Mangel, assistant teaching professor of biology and elementary and early childhood education programs at Penn State Behrend; Michael Mashtare, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Elizabeth Womack, associate professor of English at Penn State Brandywine.
Penn State Behrend pitcher Abby Tingley earned her 250th career strikeout in a win over Mt. Aloysius on April 3. Tingley, a senior from Union City, threw a complete game, allowing just two hits. She struck out nine batters.
Day 6 — expected in early April — of NASA’s Artemis II mission should carry the Orion spacecraft past the dark side of the moon, roughly 250,000 miles from Earth. The Yahn Planetarium at Penn State Behrend previewed the mission with Artemis-related programming that will continue for the foreseeable future.
Melanie Ford leads K-12 outreach efforts at Penn State Behrend, coordinating programs that have served more than 30,000 local students. The Mercy Center for Women recently honored her with a “Women Making History” Award.
Penn State Behrend track and field athlete Jessica Park set a school record in the hammer throw at Carnegie Mellon University on March 28. Park, a senior from East Meadow, New York, recorded a 42.26-meter throw in her first attempt.
Nine accomplished young alumni recently were honored with the prestigious Alumni Achievement Award during a ceremony hosted by the Penn State Alumni Association on March 20 at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center. The event brought together the nine honorees, their families, University leadership, and Penn State faculty and staff to celebrate some of the University’s brightest and boldest rising alumni.
Anisha Tiwari, majoring in chemistry and biology at Penn State Behrend; Emma Duffy, majoring in recreation, park, and tourism management in the College of Health and Human Development; and Valeria Miraballes, majoring in global and international studies in the College of the Liberal Arts, have been named recipients of the 2026 Ralph Dorn Hetzel Memorial Award.
An early experience at THON set Mya McElhinney on a path to Penn State, and into a career in oncology nursing. She has accepted a position at UPMC Shadyside, in Pittsburgh.
