Michael J. Zeman

Director, Student Engagement Network

Michael Zeman earned a B.S and M.S in Kinesiology from Penn State University and is currently the Director of the Student Engagement Network (SEN). After launching the Student Engagement Network Grant program, SEN internship program, and SEN faculty academy in 2017, Zeman is currently directing efforts to design the Student Engagement App under the ‘Engage Penn State’ initiative. Working alongside a strong leadership team, he hopes to lead a team of faculty, staff, and students that builds scale and rigor into all components of student engagement at Penn State

After seven years of teaching K-12 Health Education in Rochester, NY, Mr. Zeman earned his school district administrative degree (SDA) and certified K-12 Principalship from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and worked as an assistant principal in New York before returning to State College with his family to direct the Science Outreach office in the Eberly College of Science from 2008-2017. He founded and then directed the Science-U program at Penn State for nine years. Zeman stays connected to the classroom as a Penn State instructor, teaching Biology 141 – Human Anatomy and Physiology for the Eberly College of Science.

Mr. Zeman has presented talks on student engagement, assessment, educational leadership, science outreach, and science leadership at conferences across the nation, including the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) National Conference, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence Student Leadership Conference, and the Engaged Scholarship Consortium Conference. 

Mr. Zeman is an alum of the Penn State Men’s Volleyball team, is an accomplished personal trainer, and has a passion for photography, piano, the arts, and science fiction