Lori Reno

Lori Reno
Assistant Director of Academic Affairs, Academic Affairs
Associate Teaching Professor of Business, Business
Schiavo Hall, 111
Penn State Hazleton
76 University Drive
Hazleton PA 18202

Lori Reno is assistant director of academic affairs and an assistant teaching professor of business at Penn State Hazleton. Before teaching at Penn State Hazleton, she served as business faculty at Penn State Brandywine and mass communications faculty at Bloomsburg University. She also taught several business and MIS classes for the Penn State Wilkes-Barre worksite training program.

Before teaching full time, Reno worked for more than two decades as middle and senior management of marketing-related teams across industries like financial services, pharmaceuticals, retail, academia, and nonprofits.

Currently the sole proprietor of a part-time strategic planning consultancy, she now focuses on pro bono work for new entrepreneurs and volunteers as part of the Hazleton LaunchBox supported by Pasco L. Schiavo, Esq., an initiative that aids entrepreneurs in the Greater Hazleton area.

Recent scholarship activity includes an upcoming publication on crowdsourcing in the Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, a work-in-progress about virality of social media, and several conference panel presentations on the topic of client-based learning in marketing curricula.

Reno is a member of the American Marketing Association and the Marketing Management Association. She also advises the Business Club at Penn State Hazleton.

Client-based teaching
Various marketing communications topics

Product promotion messages shared by small businesses on YouTube: Exploring virality principles in promotional content, Journal of Marketing Communications - April 4, 2025
Collaborators: Ali Kara, Co-Author; Zoia Pavlovskaia, Co-Author; Guido Grunwald, Co-Author

Marketing Ethics:A Study of Significance Within National Professional Associations, Journal of Leadership Accountability and Ethics - July 7, 2023
Collaborators: Ellen Raineri, Primary Author; Brett Krapf, Co-Author; Taylor Croy, Co-Author

An examination of RFID ethical issues supports the need for improved business and legal strategies. - June 30, 2022
Collaborators: Ellen Raineri, Primary Author; Gina Dignazio, Student Author; Pauline Chao, Student Author

A Study of Crowdsourcing in Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Education, Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice - June 20, 2022
Collaborator: Ellen Raineri

MBA, Marketing, Wilkes University

BA, English, Wilkes College

August 21, 2024

Workshops
Classroom Interventions for Retention and Enrollment
Penn State HN Opening Days
Hazleton PA

Collaborators: Joseph Ranalli, Co-Author and Presenter; Amie Yenser, Co-Author and Presenter; Elizabeth Huck, Co-Author and Presenter

In response to current and expected budget changes at UC and HN, we shared information and asked faculty participants that would help reduce DFW rates across the campus offerings. The majority of the focus was on DFW rates, mastery grading, and metacognitive strategies.

August 14, 2024

Webinars
Redefining Grading and Expectations in Higher Education
Instructor Days

Collaborator: Jaclyn Kaminski, Co-Presenter

Explore innovative techniques in grading and expectation management that drive student success. This session highlights the implementation of Standards-Based Grading and practical changes to syllabus language and assignment instructions, leading to improved educational experiences.

August 11, 2023

Webinars
Teaching and Learning in the Real World: Client & Project Based Instruction
Instructor Days

Collaborator: William Johnson, Co-Presenter

August 9, 2023

Webinars
Leveraging Peer Support for Learning
Instructor Days

Collaborator: Frank Sorokach, Co-Presenter

Discussion of how and why I used Kritik and Canvas peer reviews

March 20, 2023

Webinars
Why Is Customer Discovery Important?
Penn State University Startup Week
Virtual and State College

Customer discovery allows us to test our hypotheses by using interviews with potential customers. Penn State Hazleton Business Professor Lori Reno will explain how customer discovery helps determine how well the product meets customer needs which will create a sustainable business model.

March 18, 2023

Oral Presentations
Student Peer Review Activities: Four Different Approaches
Penn State TLT Symposium 2023
State College, PA

Collaborators: Elizabeth Huck, Co-Presenter; Beth Greenberg, Co-Presenter; Gina Tarud, Co-Presenter; Karen Stylianides, Co-Presenter

Attendees will gain exposure to and understanding an array of peer review assessment options and an overview of peer assessment tools, Kritik and Canvas. Kritik includes AI-assisted feedback to improve students critical thinking and peer evaluation skills. Kritik offers customized rubrics, an AI-driven evaluation scoring system for reviewers to improve their reviewing skills, and data-driven insights into student progress as they use the tool. Timelines for completion as well as reminders are also incorporated. Canvas also offers a little-known peer assessment option that is somewhat less flexible that Kritik but effective.

August 11, 2022

Workshops
Creative Assessments that Positively Affect Learning Outcomes
Instructor Days
PA

Collaborator: Joshua Parcha

Discuss and share examples of successful implementation of creative assessments in their courses and its benefits to students achieving learning objectives.

August 11, 2022

Workshops
Teaching and Learning in the Real World: Client & Project Based Instruction
Instructor Days
PA

Collaborator: William Johnson

This session will highlight two projects designed to enhance student learning through real world, workplace applicable project-based instruction. During this session, you will learn more about how one instructor uses X-Culture to guide a semester-long experiential project that focuses on simulating team collaboration in a business context. Join us to learn about how another instructor partners with their local campus and community to provide students with clients to solve actual real world, workplace problems in a business-like context.

April 6, 2022

Webinars
Customer Discover
Startup Week
PA

Introducing the importance of "Knowing Your Customer" to PA entrepreneurs and Penn State students, faculty, administration, and staff.

October 14, 2021

Seminars
How to Introduce Students to Diverse Populations and Community Citizenship Using Client-Based Projects
MMA Fall Educators' Conference 2021
Virtual

Collaborators: Len Harmon, Co-Presenter; Lexi Hutton, Co-Presenter; Kristy McManus, Co-Presenter

Client-based projects provide many hands-on business-related learning opportunities. However, these projects also provide valuable experiential opportunities to engage students with cultures of and issues faced by various groups within global and local communities. This session (or panel) will address considerations for client selection, business and social learning opportunities, and recommendations for working with marginalized populations or cohorts facing unique challenges within a community. One presenter describes her students’ experience as “eye-opening.”
Types of clients included in the discussion:
· An organization serving veterans with PSTD
· A tutoring program for low-income children
· A food pantry
· A community arboretum’s education program
· Women-owned businesses
· A Black Economic Council
Marketing and Management faculty who are considering client-based learning projects and/or who are seeking to strengthen community citizenship within their curricula will find interest in this session.

August 12, 2021

Webinars
Switching it Up: Using Adobe Spark for Course Assessment
Commonwealth Connections Instructor Days
Zoom

Collaborator: Michael Sturm, Co-Presenter

August 11, 2021

Webinars
Facilitating Effective Group Work
Commonwealth Connections Instructor Days
Zoom

Collaborator: Nonna Sorokina, Co-Presenter

March 24, 2021

Webinars
Why is Customer Discovery Important?
Penn State Startup Week
Zoom

October 28, 2020

Panels
Zooming your way to Client-Based Experiential Projects
MMA Educators' Conference 2020
Virtual

Collaborators: Leonard Harmon, Co-Presenter; Lexi Hutto, Co-Presenter; Kristy McManus, Co-Presenter

Remote learning due to the Covid pandemic impacted all aspects of the immersive experience of client-based experiential projects. We plan to discuss new concerns in preparation for these projects and how to manage the expectations (for both the client and the students preparing the project) in order to deliver the same high-quality, professional results that were previously achieved in face-to-face delivery.

June 17, 2020

Oral Presentations
Using Student Response Questions to Enhance Engagement with Online Content
TLT Symposium
State College

Collaborators: Jess Resig, Co-Presenter; Elizabeth Huck, Co-Presenter

Student response questions embedded in course content can improve learner engagement and performance. In this session, presenters will demonstrate how to use O365 and Canvas to embed a variety of question types throughout an online lesson. Presenters will also demo the World Campus student response system, which is available to attendees teaching World Campus courses. Integrating these tools with Canvas is a compelling use case of existing and available technology to enhance student learning.

March 27, 2020

Papers and Oral Presentations
Student Approaches for Nailing Promotional Campaigns
MMBA International Conference
Chicago, IL

How two different student approaches nailed the promotional campaign for Chester County (PA) Human Services

September 18, 2019

Panels
Planning and Executing Client‐based  Learning Projects 
MMA Educators' Conference 2019
Santa Fe New Mexico

Collaborators: Len Harmon, Panel Member; Lexi Hutto, Panel Member; Kristy McManus, Panel Member

Although managing client-based projects in the classroom can sometimes be a daunting task, these projects can serve as some of the best learning experiences for students when properly executed. Panel members discuss potential pitfalls throughout the process while providing useful tips and case study examples for success in the areas of recruiting clients, managing the expectations (for both the client and the students preparing the project), and delivering professional results.