Dr. Henry G. Ansell, Assistant Professor of Engineering at Penn State Berks, officially retired on June 30, 2015, after 28 years of service to the college.

As part of the college's and University's commitment to sustainability, Betsy Scarpaci, Assistant Director for Student Affairs / Residence Life at Penn State Berks, recently helped to lead a trip to Jamaica for a group of incoming Penn State University students through the LEAP in Jamaica: Sustainability Research Abroad program.

As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, Penn State Berks is hosting seniors from local area high schools to participate in the third annual Latino Forum on Monday, September 28, 2015, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium.

Penn State Berks is one of four Penn State campuses to receive funding through the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a summer bridge program to enhance the retention rate of racially underrepresented and first-generation engineering students.

Unity Day, an annual Penn State event that helps bring students, faculty, staff, and the community together to celebrate diversity, will be held on Wednesday, September 23, 2015, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Activities will take place under the tent at Perkins Plaza, rain or shine. All Unity Day activities are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. "We Are Global Citizens" is the theme for this year's celebration.

The Penn State Berks Office of Career Services will provide transportation for students to two Career Services events at University Park campus in September: the IST Pro Expo Career Fair on Monday, September 14, 2015, and the University Park Fall Career Fair on September 15 and 17. Transportation will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Office of Career Services will host an Etiquette Lunch for all students on Monday, November 9, 2015 from 1-2:30 pm in the Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room. The event is an interactive dining experience that prepares students for a job interview lunch or dinner, in addition to other business-social events they will encounter on the job. Students must pre-register with Career Services by November 5, 2015. Registration will begin in October. Business casual dress and arrival by 12:50 pm are strongly recommended.

Lion Surplus, a Penn State store that handles the removal of University-owned equipment, will hold a massive public liquidation sale at Penn State Berks on Wednesday, September 23 from 8:00 a.m.-7:30 p.m. and Thursday, September 24, 2015, from 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The sale will run until the inventory is depleted. Sale and auction items include office supplies and classroom furniture, among other items, for deeply discounted prices. All sales are final and all items must be picked up when purchased.

Dr. Brenda Russell, Program Coordinator for the Criminal Justice degree and Professor of Psychology at Penn State Berks, was recently awarded a Penn State Schreyer Institute of Teaching Excellence 2015-16 Teaching Grant for her project titled "A Visit from John Douglas: The Criminal Justice System: Law and Disorder."

Penn State Berks will sponsor its first Local Hack Day on Saturday, October 10, 2015, from 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. in room 106 of the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. This event is a 12-hour mini-hackathon where the local student hacker community teams up to build things like websites, applications, and hardware hacks. Simultaneously, students from other colleges and universities around the world will be hosting their own Local Hack Days, resulting in the largest single day of student hacking ever.