black-and-white photograph : Black students (African American students) photographic vertical files (01190)

The Penn State Black alumni experience project

About the project

The University Archives is undertaking a long-term effort to collect and preserve the Black experience at Penn State. Despite many decades of effort by the University, progress toward equity at Penn State remains elusive in many ways. Similarly, Penn State’s historical record as told by the University Archives is also not an equitable one. Students, scholars, and researchers may encounter some historical accounts, such as Black student activism in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but those are often just bits and pieces of richer, more nuanced stories. University Archives collections that reflect the experiences of student groups, faculty, staff, and alumni – especially from more recent decades – are sparse. We now seek to collect and share a broader representation of stories from those who experienced the events—large or small in size, political or social in nature, academic or athletic.

Tell your story 

This project especially invites original documents from students and alumni who have been involved with a student organization, a historically Black Greek letter organization, or participated in an event or action centered on Black student interests. Documents can be photographic images of people, places, and events at Penn State University, or materials you have kept from events, initiatives, or student groups you were a part of while at Penn State. For more recent alumni, photos and other documents may be digital, taken from your phone or computer. Other examples of historical documents include flyers, letters, announcements, and video recordings.

If interested in contributing to this ongoing effort, please contact Ben Goldman, University Archivist, at bmg17@psu.edufor more information on this process.

Osaze Osagie Memorial Scholarship provides quality-of-life support to students

Since 2019, the Osaze Olufemi Osagie Memorial Scholarship for Educational Equity has supported eligible Penn State students who have intellectual and mental health diagnoses so they can have quality-of-life experiences while at the University, including up-to-date support academically, emotionally and socially.