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Program Excellence Network

The Program Excellence Network (PEN) is committed to strengthening HRD academic programs and promoting excellence in teaching HRD.

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Purpose

The Program Excellence Network (PEN) is committed to strengthening HRD academic programs and promoting excellence in teaching HRD. It provides a forum for its members to explore, learn, and work together to shape the future direction of HRD education.  This includes professional development as well as fostering the scholarship of teaching.

Benefits of the PEN

  • Annual meeting of delegates to foster networking, share best practices, engage in professional development, and more!
  • Access to a members-only online community where PEN members (and their faculties) can share academic resources with each other.
  • Opportunity to participate in and receive the results of the benchmarking surveys.
  • PEN Member Public Directory to promote your academic programs.
  • Listing of your HRD academic program on the AHRD website.

Also, in the future, the PEN will:

  • Be a critical coordinator for innovative professional development related to mentoring, teaching, learning, and leading within AHRD
  • Exploring a program to administer AHRD award(s) related to program excellence
  • Implement initiatives designed to help shape the future direction of HRD education and ensure that academic programs around the world are ready for the challenge!

Structure/Governance of the PEN

Chair: Cynthia Sims

The Program Excellence Network was created by AHRD Board of Directors at the Mid-Year Board Meeting in 2006. The Board appointed a Chair and a coordinating committee who are charged with ensuring that the PEN is actively pursuing goals aligned with its purpose. Wendy Ruona, Associate Professor at The University of Georgia and AHRD Board Member, is the founding chair. During PEN's inaugural year of February 2007 to February 2008, the committee, in consultation with PEN members, is working hard to develop the processes and structures that will guide PEN.

PEN Case Competition

The PEN  (Program Excellence Network) Team at the Academy is bringing to you all graduate students The inaugural AHRD Case Study Competition, which launches at the 2027 Academy of Human Resource Development Annual Conference on February 10, 2027. After a successful pilot last year, the PEN team is bringing it forward in full.

Here is how it works: graduate student teams take a real-world HRD case, analyze it, build evidence-based recommendations, and present live to a panel of judges from the Academy. A written analysis in the fall, a live presentation and Q&A at the conference. Real HRD practice, on a national stage!

A few things I want to make sure everyone knows:

🔑 Your university must be a PEN member to take part. PEN membership is the gateway to participating, so if you lead a graduate HRD program, now is the time to confirm your membership.

💰 There is no longer any entry fee. The $25-per-team fee that applied previously is gone. Participation is open to every PEN member program at no cost. One more incentive for you to participate!

👥 Universities may enter more than one team. You are not limited to a single team, if you have the talent, bring them all.

Key dates to hold:

  • Sep 2026 — Call for Participation issued
  • Oct 31, 2026 — University registration deadline
  • Nov 1, 2026 — Case released to teams
  • Dec 31, 2026 — Written analysis + deck due
  • Feb 10, 2027 — Live presentations & winners

Start forming your teams. We cannot wait to see the next generation of HRD scholars and practitioners on that stage.

Questions? Reach out to Dr. Sonai Chaudhuri (schaudhuri@temple.edu) and Dr. Kathy Yeager (yeagerkl@hotmail.com), or our PEN Leads Dr. Cynthia Sims and Dr. John Turner.

View Case Competition Video PPT

Joining PEN

PEN membership is institutional - meaning your HRD academic program joins. PEN is open to all programs - both the undergraduate and graduate level - worldwide that provide instruction, research, service and leadership in HRD.

The annual membership fee is $99 USD.

Each program will designate a PEN delegate.  This delegate should be the chair/coordinator of the HRD academic program at the member institution (or their designated representative). Delegates must be full-time faculty members actively engaged in HRD at their home institution and must be a current AHRD member.  Delegates will represent their HRD academic program at the annual meeting as well as be the primary contact for all PEN-related communications and business.