Liberal Arts Chaiken Center celebrates five years of supporting student success

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When the Roz and Gene Chaiken Center for Student Success in the College of the Liberal Arts was established in 2021, it was envisioned as a place where students could find the resources, relationships and individualized support they needed to succeed.

Five years later, the Liberal Arts Chaiken Center has grown into a community that supports students at every stage of their Penn State journeys — from first-year and change-of-campus students finding their footing to peer success coaches helping classmates navigate college and alumni giving back to the students who follow them.

The Liberal Arts Chaiken Center is celebrating its fifth anniversary throughout the 2026–27 academic year with special events, stories and programming highlighting the students, alumni, faculty, staff and donors who have shaped the center and its impact.

“Student success is at the heart of our mission in the College of the Liberal Arts, and the Chaiken Center embodies that commitment by ensuring students have the support, relationships and opportunities they need to thrive,” said Clarence Lang, Susan Welch Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts. “As we celebrate this milestone, we are deeply grateful to Gene and Roz Chaiken for their extraordinary generosity and for a vision that continues to strengthen the student experience across our college and Penn State.”

The center was established through the philanthropy of Gene and Roz Chaiken, longtime supporters of Penn State and the College of the Liberal Arts. Their support built upon the Chaiken Scholars program, which they established in 2008 to provide Liberal Arts students with financial support, academic guidance, community and opportunities for personal and professional development.

The impact of the Liberal Arts center ultimately extended beyond the college. In 2024, the Chaikens made a subsequent gift that led to the naming of four additional Chaiken Centers for Student Success across the University — at Penn State Abington, Penn State World Campus, the College of Information Sciences and Technology and the University level at University Park.

Today, the Liberal Arts Chaiken Center serves as a welcoming space for all Liberal Arts students to study, connect with peers and staff, access resources and receive support as they work toward their academic, personal and professional goals.

For Patty Klug, inaugural director of the Liberal Arts Chaiken Center, the center’s fifth anniversary offers an opportunity not only to reflect on how its work has evolved but also to celebrate the relationships at the heart of student success.

“For the past five years, Gene Chaiken’s mantra — ‘Helping others is a privilege, not a chore’ — has guided the Chaiken Center’s work. It is reflected in our culture of care, our commitment to serving all Liberal Arts students and our efforts to build systems that create meaningful impact at scale,” Klug said. “We help students strengthen their learning and academic skills while connecting them with the people and resources that can move them along in their own college success story. Looking ahead, we will build on this foundation by expanding and strengthening our systems with strategy and assessment to advance holistic student success throughout the College of the Liberal Arts and Penn State.”

Building community through peer support

Peer success coaching has become a cornerstone of the Liberal Arts Chaiken Center since its introduction in 2022. Experienced Penn State students help their peers navigate University resources, develop academic and organizational skills, identify their strengths and advocate for themselves.

During the 2025–26 academic year, peer success coaches completed 261 appointments with Liberal Arts students, helping them with academic planning, study strategies, time management, organizational skills and other areas. The program also continued to expand its reach beyond Chaiken Scholars, with non-Chaiken Scholars accounting for more than half of completed appointments in spring 2026.

The peer-to-peer model also creates opportunities for students to become leaders themselves, drawing on their own Penn State experiences to help other students succeed.

Expanding support for students

As student needs have evolved, so has the Liberal Arts Chaiken Center.

First-generation student support has become one of the center’s growing areas of focus. The Liberal Arts First-Generation Committee, formed in 2022, brings students, faculty and staff together to identify student needs, while the First-Gen Faculty Mentor Program, established in spring 2026, connects students with faculty mentors. The new First-Generation Pathways Fellowship provides mentorship, leadership and professional development opportunities as students prepare for life after graduation.

The Chaiken Scholars program also provides a built-in community for approximately 135 to 160 students each year, about 70% of whom are first-generation college students. In addition to scholarship support, academic guidance, funding for experiential learning and professional development, first-year Chaiken Scholars can enroll in a dedicated section of the college’s LA 083: First Year Seminar in the Liberal Arts taught by Klug and Chaiken Scholar peer mentors.

The center has also expanded support for students transitioning to University Park from other Penn State campuses through peer mentoring, targeted outreach and other initiatives developed in partnership with the Liberal Arts Office of Academic Advising. The Liberal Arts Chaiken Center Pre-Law Group, meanwhile, now serves approximately 50 to 60 students through student-led programming, LSAT preparation, alumni and professional connections and other opportunities.

Across those initiatives, students help shape programs, mentor their peers, build community and become part of the support system for other students.

Celebrating five years — and looking ahead

Throughout its anniversary year, the Liberal Arts Chaiken Center will invite students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the college to celebrate its first five years while helping shape what comes next.

The center will officially kick off its fifth anniversary celebration during Penn State Homecoming weekend from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, in 138 and 139 Sparks Building. Students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the center are invited to stop by for cake and refreshments, contribute to a memory wall, write thank-you notes to Gene and Roz Chaiken and mentors and reconnect with the Chaiken Center community.

Fall programming will also include a First-Gen Panel on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and National First-Generation College Celebration Week in November, including LinkedIn Warriors and Headshots on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and a community service event on Thursday, Nov. 5. Additional anniversary programming is being planned throughout the academic year.

As the center enters its next five years, its cycle of support remains central to its work: helping Liberal Arts students find a place where they belong, develop the confidence and skills to succeed and become the people who help those who come after them.

To learn more about the Liberal Arts Chaiken Center for Student Success, its programs and upcoming events, visit the Chaiken Center website.