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Paul Robeson Cultural Center and entire Penn State community to benefit from new director

By Andy Elder, Student Affairs Writer

As the new director of the Paul Robeson Cultural Center, suffice it to say that Toby Jenkins is hard at work and brimming with new ideas.

“I have been spending much of my time in the past few weeks reviewing the past reports of the Robeson Center and hearing from the campus community (students, faculty and staff) on their outlook and past experiences with the center,” Jenkins said. “In its past 33 years of existence, the Robeson Center has served as a strong safe space and support system for students of color. It is sometimes as important to identify those things that must not change and this role as student advocate is one of them.”

Jenkins has a world of work experiences from which to draw in order to determine what is worth changing and what is worthy of remaining the same.

Past professional experiences, research interests and studies have taken her to Greece, Spain, Norway, Italy, Morocco, Egypt, Russian, Belgium, Turkey, South Africa and various parts of the West Indies. She has also worked with students from more than 40 countries as the resident life director for the Johns Hopkins University Office of Summer Programs.

“What I most love about cultural center work is that it integrates all of my personal and professional lived experiences. I have been able to garner a broad understanding of both student affairs and academic affairs through my work in various aspects of the university setting,” Jenkins said. “I have been fortunate to have past experiences in student activities, residential life, Greek life, study broad, black cultural centers, and within an academic college.”

Her experiences started when she graduated with a bachelors degree in communications (emphasis in public relations and event planning) from the Honors College at the University of South Carolina. She received her masters in college student personnel administration from the University of Maryland, and is completing doctoral study in educational policy and leadership/social foundations of education.

Jenkins comes to Penn State from the University of Maryland. At UMD, she worked within Student Affairs as an advisor to the student program board within the student activities/student life office, in Student Affairs as assistant director of the Nyumburu Cultural Center, and within the College of Education conducting research assessment and creating mentoring outreach programs to local K-12 schools within the Institute for Urban and Minority Education.

In 2000, Jenkins directed two programs which were honored by President George Bush and the governor of Maryland. She has served as faculty advisor to several student organizations. In addition, she has worked for several companies in a wide range of capacities.

It is that depth and breadth of experiences that has led Jenkins to identify one of area of change at the Robeson Center.

“The most evident change that must occur in order for the center to build a firm foundation for the future is to expand the level of institutional support provided to such a critical campus entity,” she said.

“In its 33 years, the capacity for the Robeson center to build strong institutional programs and to make a large impact on the entire campus community has been minimal due to the fact that resources and institutional support have not grown with each year nor kept pace with the changing needs of students. Nationally, we are now at a critical stage where facilities are no longer enough for cultural centers – we must begin to look at providing these centers with the resources necessary to do more and be more. And this support most likely must come from everywhere – the university, the community, students and alumni.”

To channel those potential resources to most efficiently effect change, Jenkins has been busy taking the pulse of the campus.

“I am spending this first semester talking to people – hearing from campus,” she said. “To better understand what we might be able to add to the center, we must first understand where there is need.”

No matter what direction Jenkins determines to steer the Robeson Center, she is confident her experiences will help chart a steady course.

“I am optimistic,” she said, “as I bring with me a history and a culture whose involvement in new environments has changed the dynamics of the world.”

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