Thursday, March 12, 2026
photos by Rob Hinkal, social media specialist
An interdisciplinary cohort of leaders from the University of Pennsylvania experienced Penn College on Wednesday. The campus was the last stop on an 800-mile, three-day journey for the group, members of the Penn Commonwealth-Engaged Scholars Program, whose exploration took them through southcentral, southwestern and northern Pennsylvania.
The new initiative is intended to deepen the Ivy League school’s connection with communities throughout the commonwealth. The first cohort of PCES consists of faculty and staff interested in applying their expertise to local Pennsylvania issues.
Outside the Victorian House, Penn College President Michael J. Reed greets Laura Garnick Bellet, director of strategic communications projects for Penn Central Development and Alumni Relations. Garnick Bellet was among University of Pennsylvania leaders who visited Penn College on Wednesday.
“Being in Philadelphia, Penn can be, at times, disconnected from the rest of Pennsylvania. While Philadelphia has its own problems, the same problems can be found in other parts of the commonwealth, in communities of all sizes,” said Michael Smith, assistant vice president of the Office of Government and Community Affairs and a co-leader of PCES. “This program was designed to introduce Penn faculty and professional staff to all of Pennsylvania. To figure out where there are opportunities and challenges and how Penn – as an anchored, engaged, interwoven university – can help deliver innovative solutions to these societal challenges and opportunities.”
The group explored various campus facilities, including polymer engineering technology labs, the dental hygiene clinic, the Gene Haas Center for Innovative Manufacturing, the Larry A. Ward Machining Technologies Center and the Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center.
“One of the through lines of our entire tour has been workforce challenges in a variety of industries. We saw today how Penn College is training workers to fulfill those positions in different industries,” Smith said. “It’s a different model of higher education but an important one given the workforce challenges this state and nation face. Penn College is a unique, really important and really fascinating institution in what it’s able to deliver through applied technology education.”
Smith’s colleagues echoed his positive impression during a 20-minute session with Penn College President Michael J. Reed. They offered high praise for the scope and practicality of the college’s curriculum, the pristine labs with industry-standard equipment, the passion of staff and the school’s role in fulfilling critical workforce needs.
The sentiments about Penn College from PCES members were best summarized by Desmond Upton Patton, a Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor for the School of Social Policy & Practice and the Annenberg School for Communication. “You all make the world work,” he said to a roomful of smiles.
In the Thermoforming Center of Excellence, Brad M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies, shows an air duct for a car that was made by fusing together two pieces of foam in the college’s MAAC twin sheet thermoformer.
Penn College’s Patrick Marty, chief government and international relations officer, coordinated the PCES visit.
“We are so grateful to Dr. Smith and the Penn Commonwealth-Engaged Scholars for selecting Penn College for a site visit today. It was a wonderful opportunity not only for our academic leaders to showcase our industry-standard labs and curricula for this group of distinguished scholars but also to ideate with them around potential partnerships that would benefit students across both of our institutions,” Marty said. “It was clear that everyone came away excited and energized with our new friendships, coupled with a heightened mutual level of respect and admiration for our respective institutions and for the work we all do to advance the commonwealth and its citizens.”
In addition to Marty, several Penn College officials accompanied PCES on their tour: Joanna K. Flynn, vice president for academic affairs & provost; Valerie A. Myers, dean of nursing & health sciences; Anthony J. Pace, vice president for enrollment & student success; Brian D. Walton, assistant dean of business & hospitality; and Brad M. Webb, dean of engineering technologies.
Members of PCES who visited the college were:
Valerie A. Myers, dean of nursing & health sciences, leads a tour of the college’s dental hygiene clinic, which serves students’ real-world training needs and sees over 3,000 patient visits per year.
During a stop in the Larry A. Ward Machining Technologies Center, Webb describes the success of Penn College’s Baja SAE team. The Baja SAE competition requires schools to design and build a single-seat all-terrain vehicle to survive various tests.
Members of the Penn cohort learn about a Hardinge Bridgeport 3-axis vertical machining center while touring the Gene Haas Center for Innovative Manufacturing.
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