Construction & Architecture Articles

More than 700 students from 20 area high schools and career and technology education centers attended Penn College’s fifth PA Build My Future event on Thursday to discover what a career in the construction industry might look like. Faculty and students in Penn College’s construction and architecture division were joined by 25 industry partners to provide hands-on demonstrations and activities.

A. Pickett Construction, Inc. has scheduled a Pop-Up Employer Information Table for Monday, Oct. 21, in the Carl Building Technologies Center at Pennsylvania College of Technology. The company is recruiting carpenter helpers, carpenters, assistant HVAC technicians, assistant business administrators, assistant project managers and assistant estimators. Interested students should bring their resumes.

In the two and a half weeks since ground was broken for a Habitat for Humanity home just north of campus – on a Fifth Avenue property donated to Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity by Penn College – students in building construction and heavy construction equipment technology majors have made six visits to the site.

Pennsylvania College of Technology joined Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity on Sept. 19 to break ground at 508 Fifth Ave., where, over the next two years, Penn College students will build a Habitat home on land donated to the organization by the college. “This is such a win-win project,” said Bob Robinson, executive director of Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity.

Johnson Controls is providing Pennsylvania College of Technology with a $100,000 grant for the second consecutive year to support students seeking in-demand careers. The grant is part of Johnson Controls’ Community College Partnership Program, a nationwide initiative that aims to provide $15 million by the end of 2026 to help students from historically underrepresented groups prepare for careers related to sustainable building practices.

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s architecture majors are among the recipients of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Design Designation in the department’s 2024 cohort. “Penn College’s programs have always focused on sustainability, especially from a zero-energy design perspective. Thus, we’re both excited and honored to be recognized as part of this year’s ZEDD cohort,” said Ellyn A. Lester, assistant dean of construction and architectural technologies.

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s architecture & sustainable design program hosted a dedication on Sept. 9 to celebrate its move to a newly renovated space – on the fourth floor of the George S. Klump Academic Center – that enhances student workspaces and provides room for the growing program to expand its enrollment.

Ellyn A. Lester, assistant dean of construction and architectural technologies at Pennsylvania College of Technology, has been named to The 2024 Trailblazers in Building & Infrastructure list, released Monday by City & State PA. “Meet the people helping us work, get around and live better,” the announcement reads. Beau M. Lazzo, a 2017 Penn College construction management graduate, is also included on the list.

Jeffrey L. Erdly, originator of two Pennsylvania College of Technology scholarships and recipient of the college's Distinguished Alumnus Award, has boosted his institutional support with a gift of $500,000 toward an upcoming project on campus. Half of the donation is designated for an endowment that can be used for program materials, scholarships and more; the remaining $250,000 is earmarked for the creation of a materials library at the Carl Building Technologies Center.

Pennsylvania College of Technology held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for two projects funded, in part, by a $2 million U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration grant: construction of an 1,800-square-foot Clean Energy House and renovations at the Carl Building Technologies Center on main campus.