The Department of Humanities supports various programs committed to arts in health.
Center Stage, the department’s largest program, enhances the healthcare experience at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center by showcasing art and music that calms, nurtures and inspires. Center Stage staff seek ways to enhance the well-being of individuals whether they are patients, caregivers, employees or students. As a leader in the field, Center Stage hosts a symposium to elevate arts in health and congregate regional leaders focused on the arts and healing.
The Penn State medical education curriculum offers opportunities to explore storytelling through film, graphic narratives, and art as self-care for medical students, to name a few.
The department also publishes an annual art and literary journal, Wild Onions. The Physicians Writers Group workshop primes creativity for publication and professional medical journals.