UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Part of the Penn State College of Education’s stated mission is to make education equally accessible to all, and a recent donation to the college will help make that goal a reality.

Nancy Arnold, a Penn State alumna and current member of the Lancaster General Health Foundation Board of Trustees and the College of Education Dean’s Development Council, has established an annually funded scholarship for the next five years to reduce tuition costs for students in the Summer College Opportunity Program in Education (also known as SCOPE), beginning with the program that recently concluded this year.

“We are deeply grateful for Nancy’s contributions to our future educators and, most importantly, her tireless commitment to ensuring that SCOPE remains accessible to students,” said Brenda Martinez, director of the College of Education’s Office of Education and Social Equity, which organizes and manages SCOPE. “SCOPE is an exceptional program and through her efforts, our students have been able to fully appreciate the benefits of pursuing a career in education, particularly at the Penn State College of Education.”

Arnold, who began her career as a teacher, said she wants to help students reach their full potential by removing potential barriers for the students who would benefit most from the program.

“They’re getting good grades in their classes, they’re working, and they’re also having to worry about the financial burden — that’s a disadvantage,” Arnold said. “Anything I can do to help people achieve their goals, that’s what I want to do. I want to try to eliminate some of the disadvantages so they can focus on their studies.”

SCOPE brings high school students from diverse backgrounds entering 11th grade who are interested in pursuing a career in education to the University Park campus each July for a month-long, college-credit intensive course. The program is designed to help students develop their research, writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills by choosing a current topic in education to research.

Students begin by writing a research proposal on their chosen topic, then explore viewpoints and solutions to their topic using resources such as the Pattee and Paterno Libraries. They complete the project by developing a solution or further clarifying their understanding of the problem.

At the conclusion of the program, students invite friends, family, faculty, staff, and the public to the college to give their final research presentations and answer questions from those in attendance about their work.

Arnold said she believes SCOPE is an opportunity for the College of Education to transform the education industry by laying the foundation for more people from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds to get their foot in the door.

“When you look at the lack of diversity in the classroom, I think that’s a very important issue,” Arnold said. “I think the SCOPE program is a starting point to address that problem. To reach out to potential students from underserved and underrepresented backgrounds, to get them interested in education, and to get them on campus to develop the skills that this program teaches, I think we probably all should have had something like that.”

Members of the College of Education can see the program’s potential firsthand. Kaela Fuentes-Packnick participated in SCOPE in the summer of 2004. Since then, she has earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees from the College of Education and is now the college’s assistant director of alumni relations.

“She’s phenomenal. I mean, she’s a very special person,” Arnold said. “Kaela came to one of our council meetings to speak to us, and I was just so overwhelmed and impressed with her and the program. Later in our meeting, I said to (Director of Development and Alumni Relations) Steve Wilson that I would like to contribute. It’s a small program and I think it would be too much, but it has a huge reach both to the schools that the students attend and the people that they come in contact with.”

SCOPE held its first cohort in 2002. The most recent session included 16 participants whose research topics included underfunding of public schools, learning disabilities, the disadvantages of standardized testing, and more.

Schools interested in receiving information about SCOPE can email the College of Education’s Office of Educational and Social Equity at [email protected].

About Philanthropy at Penn State

Donors like Nancy Arnold support the university’s historic mission to serve and lead. Through their philanthropy, alumni and friends help students join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; they advance research, outreach and economic development that build our collective strength and future readiness; and they increase the university’s impact on families, patients and communities across the state and around the world. For more information, visit raise.psu.edu.