Tonya Bennett, LPS’11, ML’23 at Penn Carey Law and director of educational technology at Penn Vet, has been selected to receive the 2021 EDUCAUSE Rising Star Award for her commitment to engaging young professionals from diverse backgrounds in information technology careers.

Presented to talented, early-to-mid-stage career IT professionals in higher education, the Rising Star Award recognizes an emerging leader who has contributed to the field through increased leadership, responsibility, and sphere of impact. Ms. Bennett received the award in October 2021 after being nominated by a colleague. She also regularly contributes to the EDUCAUSE newsletter.

While researching topics like gender and national ethnic conflict in 20th-century genocides for her master’s degree, Ms. Bennett worked as a coordinator for academic and student affairs. After serving as director of academic services and student life for two years at Penn Dental, Ms. Bennett began a position as director of educational technology at Penn Vet in 2018. There, she has been able to hone her skills in IT and share her knowledge to help others in higher education. At Penn Vet, Ms. Bennett supports faculty, staff, and students with educational technology products and online exams by acting as the primary administrator for programs like Canvas, Zoom, Panopto, E*Value, and Qualtrics.

Ms. Bennett recently received a Models of Excellence Award from the University of Pennsylvania for “Supporting Penn Through COVID-19 and Return to Campus Work-Team.”