Encampment was launched by President Eisenhower (of Penn State, not the United States) way back in 1952 as an annual event bringing together all types of student leaders to promote dialogue within the student body.

When Gavin Keirans ran for his second term as president last spring, one of his major platform planks was the revival of Encampment (the last one was held in 2001).

This fall, President Keirans installed Greg Tallman as the Director of Encampment. At that time, Keirans described Tallman as a “prime time” person. Though his resume is indeed pretty rocking (THON Overall, Homecoming King), his success at reviving the inititve won’t be clear until Sunday March 21, when Encampment opens once again.

Tallman describes the motivations behind the event,

Through Encampment, we hope to create a forum to better enable the students of this University to be recognized. We also hope that you take this time to reach out to other student leaders and create a dialogue voicing any issues you see lacking focus at Penn State.

We met with Greg last night in Old Main to help him announce a special offer for the Penn State undergraduate community. He has 25 spots to offer the free-agents, so to speak, of Penn State– those students who are engaged and committed to the betterment of our university, but perhaps aren’t involved in leadership positions with any major campus organizations.

Encampment will be hosted by the UPUA at the Penn Stater Conference Center on Sunday March 21 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Breakfast and lunch will be provided, and transportation between the HUB and the Penn Stater will be available. Students interested are asked to email [email protected] expressing their interest no later than Friday March 5.