Penn State Abington Chancellor Gary Liguori discussed plans to increase student retention, graduation and belonging at the University’s Board of Trustees meeting on July 18 in Abington.  

Dubbed “The Abington Experience”, the initiative launches this fall and reinforces four aspects of Abington’s campus offerings, university officials said. Those aspects include:

Internships and faculty led research: Liguori plans to co-locate Career and Professional Development and Academic Advising Center in the Lares student union building. “Bringing these services together in one high-profile space will improve access and outcomes for Abington students,” he said. In addition, the undergraduate research program, known as ACURA, will expand into more disciplines across campus. 

Embedded (short-term) academic travel: Abington boasts several courses that include required study abroad of 10 days or less over the fall and spring breaks, but Liguori’s goal is to make the classes more affordable and therefore more accessible. “One of my goals for the Abington Experience is to double the number of students who participate in academic travel. I have invited faculty to develop domestic trips, knowing that many of our students have never been far beyond Philadelphia. With subsidies from my office, there will be little to no cost to our students,” Liguori said. 

Leadership: Leadership training prepares students to succeed at Abington and in the world outside of higher education. “We are building a scaffold of leadership opportunities, where students can move on to more complex roles to build their skills. … If we can show them how to get involved and support them along the way, it will become a critical part of the transformative process that occurs while they’re on our campus,” Liguori said. 

“The Abington Experience will structure our existing assets into a roadmap for student success grounded in real world leadership experience,” he said. “We know the new academic building is going to transform our campus, and the modern spaces and design will foster problem-solving and hands-on learning.”

According to the university, the new $68 million academic building is still on track for the fall 2026 semester. A proposed $25 million gut renovation of the Athletic Building is expected to begin late next year to provide modern facilities for Abington’s 14 NCAA Division III teams. Five million dollars in renovations and the expansion of the campus biology labs are nearly complete. 

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Photos: PSU Abington