UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As Penn State prepares for the upcoming fall semester, students may notice renovations on the third floor of the HUB-Robeson Center. This project aims to promote student success through an equity-centered design focused on developing community, belonging and increased student engagement. Although construction has just begun, the project will continue throughout the 2024-25 academic year and open to student communities in fall 2025.
With hundreds of award-winning projects to their credit, Perkins & Will is the lead design firm on the 25,000-square-foot project. Throughout the envisioning process, the firm worked with Penn State students to design the third floor to accommodate the needs of the Student Assembly, affinity and identity-based communities, and student government organizations, while also incorporating common rooms of various sizes, conference rooms, and office and storage space for student organizations’ materials. The Perkins & Will team strived to incorporate the voices of Penn State students past and present into the physical design of this new space.
“With this project, we seek to create a student-centered space that our diverse communities can use to make connections, share space, gather, and leverage in support of their own creative and visionary social change efforts,” said Brian Patchcoski, assistant vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Student Affairs. “Inspired and developed by current and former student leaders, this project aims to empower and support our students by providing a redesigned, collaborative physical environment that provides a foundation and designated area for the development and growth of new organizations. This space will enhance our student engagement efforts inside and outside of the HUB-Robeson Center and further our shared commitment to student success and, ultimately, belonging.”
In addition to the renovations currently underway, and with additional support from the Student Initiated Fee, the Paul Robeson Cultural Center (PRCC) has filled three new community-specific positions: a Black Community Coordinator, Adline Juste; a Latino/a/x/e Community Coordinator, Justus Peña Berman; and an Indigenous, First Nations, and Native Community Coordinator, Jacinta Garcia. The search for an Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Community Coordinator is ongoing.
All four Community Coordinator roles were created to reduce the administrative burden of program planning and community building while enabling students to succeed inside and outside the classroom in forming intentional communities of support and connection.
When the third floor renovation project is completed in fall 2025, these facilities will be housed alongside adjacent student organizations, including: Middle Eastern and North African Caucus (MENA), LION Pride Caucus, Black Caucus, Latino Caucus, APIDA Caucus, Indigenous Peoples’ Student Association (IPSA), and Queer & Trans People of Color (QTPOC).
These initiatives, which aim to create connections through physical space and direct support to the student community, align with PRCC’s strategic vision.
“Over the last year, in collaboration with our colleagues at the HUB-Robeson Center, we have fostered targeted interactions with our student leaders and their respective organizations to solidify this design and the overall project, while also working to foster a supportive and responsive vision that will shape the strategy for the new Community Support Coordinator positions,” said Evan Williams, PRCC Director. “With the evolving physical space and the addition of these direct student support roles, I believe our joint team, along with our student leaders, will only complement and advance existing efforts to foster community and increase student engagement throughout the HUB-Robeson Center.”
