Presidential Interview Available Through SiriusXM Radio
Published 06.16.2015
News
President News
A satellite radio appearance by Penn College President Davie Jane Gilmour aired twice Thursday and is available through SiriusXM's On Demand feature. The president was interviewed for a segment on Wharton Business Radio (Channel 111) while at the Forbes Women's Summit in New York City on June 9-10. "Technology is in every program we have," Gilmour told Dan Loney, host of Knowledge@Wharton. "We talk about the fact that our programs and our majors are recession-proof. If you need an HVAC technician, building automation – the building we're in today is being controlled by computers in a back room (regulating) our comfort, our ability to hear and function. Those programs and majors are in great demand. Young people today want to do something with technology, so, whether it's computer animation or cybersecurity or any kind of automotive repair or construction management, there's technology in all of it. Students are coming to us because they see the value of this diverse education. You don't grow up thinking about being a plastics technologist, you don't grow up thinking about having a four-year degree in welding and fabrication, taking the metal to places it's never been. So as we do career awareness, we're seeing many more first-time college-goers coming to Penn College. College, for us, is no longer, 'I'm coming to find myself.' Students who come to us are saying, 'I know where I want to be. Help me get there.'" The interview also covered the college's interdisciplinary approach to learning – 3-D printing students helping automotive restoration majors, for instance – as well as transfer opportunities, the exercise science major beginning this fall, programs such as SMART Girls that steer young women toward technological careers, and the president's rewarding involvement at the helm of Little League Baseball.