State education secretary tours Penn College

Published 03.21.2024

Photos by Cindy D. Meixel, writer/editor-Penn College News

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    Penn College President Michael J. Reed (left) joins State Education Secretary Khalid N. Mumin on a tour of campus Thursday.

    State Education Secretary Khalid N. Mumin visited Pennsylvania College of Technology on Thursday, receiving a tour of the impressive facilities and gaining a firsthand look at the institution’s innovative and effective approach to preparing the next generation of tomorrow makers.

    Mumin’s campus call coincided with an exploration of Williamsport Area High School’s in-house Career and Technical Education Program.

    Greeting the educational leader in the Davie Jane Gilmour Center were President Michael J. Reed; Joanna K. Flynn, vice president for academic affairs and provost; Loni N. Kline, senior vice president for college relations; Anthony J. Pace, associate vice president for enrollment & academic operations; Bradley M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies; Nate Woods Jr., special assistant to the president for inclusion transformation; and Patrick Marty, chief government & international relations officer.

    The well-versed administrators led Mumin through the Center for Career Design and five academic areas: polymer engineering technology, dental hygiene, collision repair and automotive restoration, welding and metal fabrication technologies, and machining technologies. Joining him were Casey Smith, communications director of the state Department of Education, and Amy Lena, special advisor to the department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.

    The visit concluded with dinner in Le Jeune Chef Restaurant, where the group was joined by Sue A. Kelley, dean of business, arts and sciences; Valerie A. Myers, dean of nursing & health sciences; and Jennifer McLean, dean of students.

    Mumin was appointed to his state post in 2023. For more than 25 years, he served in various capacities as a teacher, dean of students, principal and central administrator. Most recently, he served as the superintendent of schools at Lower Merion School District in Montgomery County, and prior to that, as superintendent of Reading School District. He began his educational career as a secondary English teacher.

    In the lobby of the Davie Jane Gilmour Center, Mumin is engaged by Reed in Penn College's "future made by hand." To the right are Smith and Lena (far right).
    The group begins its tour in the impressive Gilmour Center, home to numerous student services. Offering Mumin an overview is Pace (at far right).
    The state education secretary's visit, on the second full day of spring, is welcomed by blue sky and sunshine.
    The Madigan Library always offers a stellar scene for tour groups, topped by the college seal. Here, Marty (far left) and Kline lead the entourage.
    In the Center for Career Design, Mumin joyfully utilizes the photo booth for professional portraits ...
    ... and checks out the interview-ready attire available to students in the Career Gear Clothes Closet.
    Guys in bow ties! Webb and Mumin bond over their stylish preference.
    With Webb's guidance, Mumin dips into the science of polymers in the Shell Polymers Rotational Molding Center of Excellence.
    In the collision repair lab, Mumin and Woods (at center in blue blazer) engage with students in the popular Auto Graphics class ...
    ... and marvel at the creations of Daniel M. Bilger (at right), adjunct faculty in collision repair and a 2005 collision repair technology graduate.
    With the assistance of collision repair instructor Roy H. Klinger (at right), Mumin (near back of car) removes a plastic cover, revealing the brilliance of a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport, an award-winning restoration project completed by Penn College students.
    "Car Talk!" Mumin delights in showing cell phone photos of his own vintage automobile.
    Lena happily reunites with Trevor J. Lindsay, a former student of hers when she was an elementary school principal in the Cumberland Valley School District. Lindsay is a junior in manufacturing engineering technology from Mechanicsburg.
    In the Baja Room, the education secretary meets Baja SAE Club members and hears about the international competition Penn College will be hosting in May.
    Webb discusses the Cambridge Vacuum Engineering electron beam welder, believed to be the only one of its kind being used for instruction in U.S. higher education.

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