Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Photos by Tom Wilson, writer/editor-PCToday
The chair of the State House Republican Appropriations Committee visited main campus on Tuesday, touring a variety of instructional areas with Penn College officials and two legislative colleagues.
Rep. Seth Grove, whose 196th legislative district comprises a number of York County municipalities, was accompanied by Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Tioga/Bradford/Potter, who serves on the college's Board of Directors; and Rep. Jamie L. Flick, R-Lycoming/Union, a Williamsport Area Community College graduate.
Gathered around a Haas 5-axis Universal Machining Center in College Avenue Labs, just one example of the corporate philanthropy that helps Penn College create career-ready graduates, are (from left) Rep. Clint Owlett, R-68th; Patrick Marty, chief government and international relations officer; Rep. Jamie L. Flick, R-83rd and a 1981 alumnus; Loni N. Kline, senior vice president for college relations/chief philanthropy officer; Bradley M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies; President Michael J. Reed; and Rep. Seth Grove, R-196th.
Guided by Penn College officials – President Michael J. Reed; Patrick Marty, chief government and international relations officer; Loni N. Kline, senior vice president for college relations/chief philanthropy officer; and Bradley M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies – the assemblymen got a firsthand look at how Penn College prepares today's energetically focused learners for leading roles in tomorrow's in-demand workforce.
The visit closed with lunch at Le Jeune Chef Restaurant, where the group was joined by Suzanne T. Stopper, senior vice president for finance/chief financial officer, and Jonathan A. Nichols, executive director of finance/controller.
The visit kicks off in the Davie Jane Gilmour Center, where the appropriations chair is greeted by Owlett, Reed and Kline.
Group members briskly cross The Madigan Library's first floor, en route to the Center for Career Design upstairs ...
... where Kline explains the many services available to students, including resume and interview prep, business card printing, and a Career Gear Clothes Closet full of professional attire to borrow.
Webb talks with Grove in the Thermoforming Center of Excellence, highlighting just one of the five processes reflected in the college's curricular catalog and in its Plastics Innovation & Resource Center.
Another must-see is the Shell Polymers Rotational Molding Center of Excellence.
The legislative tour coincided with a Model United Nations competition in the Field House, where it met up with Williamsport Area High School students (including Cali Reed, the president's daughter, third from right) and Marilouise Mazzante (center), a retired WAHS social studies teacher and longtime Model U.N. adviser.
Pausing by UPMC Field for a presidential primer on intercollegiate athletics and its role in shaping today's scholars and the future's leaders
No tour of the School of Engineering Technologies would be complete without a visit to the Larry A. Ward Machining Technologies Center, renovated with the largest alumni gift in college history. Among the equipment purchases were four Sodick Wire Electrical Discharge Machines, one of which was being operated by Gavin L. Baer (right), a Wildcat golfer and a manufacturing engineering technology student from Bainbridge.
While standing by the college's Baja SAE off-road vehicle, Reed relates the team's hard-fought success in international competition.
In the SAE Baja team's dedicated lab space, Grove meets a constituent: Jack J. Stump, a machine tool technology student from York.
Before moving into the construction and culinary areas, Marty shares more of what makes Penn College special.
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