As the first director of the Statton Learning Commons, Justine Kobeski Black ’08 has spent the past year deeply engaged in both the building’s exterior progress and the growth that will take place inside its renovated walls.

The new director role means serving as a partner, convener, supervisor, and cheerleader for a space that’s transforming the more traditional 20th-century library building into a 21st-century learning commons. Black is excited to work with her team and the college community to build on the academic and experiential learning opportunities that made her own Juniata experience so special—for Black is a proud alumna. 

As an involved student, she served as president of the equestrian team, vice president of student government, and a student representative on the Board of Trustees. 

Black held another unique leadership role, one with a level of responsibility that surprised her friends outside of Juniata and offered excellent career preparation. As the student manager of Juniata’s Technology Solutions Center, she managed a student-run help desk, overseeing a team of 20 student workers and a $72,000 budget. 

“The mentorship, onboarding, and trust I received as a student manager of the Technology Solutions Center led to such growth for me as both a learner and leader,” said Black, who has led Juniata’s digital learning and online education efforts since 2011. “That’s not always a typical part of the undergraduate experience. I’m excited to see that experiential learning is a central part of Juniata’s new strategic plan; it will also serve as a core component of the new Statton Learning Commons.” 

The student manager job was directly related to Black’s program of emphasis (POE): Educational Assistive Technology Development. This POE, a combination of IT and special education courses, was designed by Black in close collaboration with her professor and academic adviser, John Wright ’93. She quickly obtained a job with a K–12 school system following graduation. 

Three years later, Black heard of an opportunity she couldn’t pass up: Juniata was hiring an assistant director of instructional technology. After she applied for and got the position, Black was invited to a college faculty meeting. She’ll never forget the words of Communication Professor Lynn Cockett, who kicked off the meeting with this greeting: “On behalf of the faculty, we want to say welcome home Justine.”

Black smiles warmly at the memory. “Everyone clapped, and I knew that I really was home.”  

With strong support from the Juniata community, Black, in turn, embraced every opportunity to grow in her job as assistant director of instructional technology. She oversaw an array of training and co-developed a video production team for students, creating the same kind of experiential learning opportunities Juniata offered her as a student.  

Black considers herself lucky to work with many of her former mentors. Those included Wright, now the chair of the Information Technology and Computer Science Department, and Joel Pheasant ’99, her boss in the student manager role. 

Promoted to director of digital learning in 2018, Black explored ways to expand online learning opportunities for students. She worked with a task force to understand what role online learning could play in the lives of Juniata students while taking into account the college’s traditional residential experience. Juniata saw an increase in $1.5 million in revenue for undergraduate online learning during this period; today, the College’s online offerings include undergraduate courses and master’s programs in areas like business, organizational leadership, and data science.  

Black took graduate-level coursework in education and earned a certificate in a year-long Institute for Emerging Leaders in Online Learning while she worked and started a family. She also served as Juniata’s cheerleading team coach for eight years. 

“I’ve loved coaching, mentorship, experiential learning, and connecting with our students,” said Black, reflecting on her Juniata journey and new role leading the Commons. “This new opportunity to lead a student-centered academic hub—one that will create such a vibrancy in learning for them—it’s amazing. I couldn’t ask for better work.”  

When it comes to Juniata College, there’s no place like home for Justine Black.