News about Construction & Design Technologies

Child’s Dream Matches Penn College’s Mission

A school assignment required 9-year-old Trevin Allen to write about his dream. Rather than being a famous athlete, musician or movie star, the youngster expressed a desire to work as a computer designer in the plastics industry for SEKISUI SPI, which employs his father, Lucas L., a 2001 Penn College graduate in building construction technology. Trevin’s “essay” sparked a visit to main campus, where he experienced CAD, the new makerspace and various plastics labs. Trevin’s wish for applied technology education – offered by the likes of Penn College – matches the needs of the workforce, which is grappling with a shortage of skilled professionals. Many Penn College students, especially plastics majors, have jobs lined up well before graduation. The college has a 96 percent graduate placement rate. Trevin’s word to describe his visit? “Cool!”

Newscast Features Students’ Work on Veterans Memorial

Papa tells the story in front of a group of Penn College students who just completed their work for the morning.

Luse displays plans for the project for WNEP photographer Tom Durant.

WNEP-TV reporter Kristina Papa spent Friday morning with a group of Penn College students whose class project honors the ultimate sacrifice. Approximately 25 masonry, site preparation and concrete students are working three days a week in helping to construct a wall of monuments at Veterans Memorial Park in Williamsport. The memorial will honor those who served in wars prior to World War I. Papa’s story includes interviews with building construction technology students Ian R. Myers, of Morrisdale, and Kurtis J. Klodnicki, of Danville, as well as instructors Harry W. Hintz and Glenn R. Luse.
Photos by Tom Speicher, writer/video editor

‘Makerspace’ Formally Dedicated at Penn College

Marshall D. Welch III, his mother Mary and other family members enjoy the evening honoring the Welch patriarch.

Designed by students and funded by a forward-thinking group of individual and industry benefactors, a space designed to inspire interdisciplinary innovation and collaboration has opened its doors at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Dedication ceremonies were held Aug. 14 for The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College, a facility constructed in the Carl Building Technologies Center on the main campus.

Donors – as well as members of the college’s Board of Directors, Corporate Advisory Board, the Penn College Foundation Board and the campus community – gathered in the makerspace to hear about its genesis and to view, in makerspace parlance, its spaces for “clean” (computers, 3D printers, sewing machines and vinyl cutters, etc.) and “dirty” (saws, drill presses, routers, lathes and CNC mills) activities to take place within.

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Make Way for Tomorrow

Commemorating a man whose home workshop – "a place where wisdom and camaraderie were dispensed in equal measure" – was decades ahead of the "makerspace" concept

A makerspace, providing a fertile environment for innovation and imagination – and the tools with which students can turn visions into reality – was dedicated in Penn College’s Carl Building Technologies Center on Tuesday. The student-designed Dr. Welch Workshop memorializes Dr. Marshall Welch Jr., a local orthodontist and longtime philanthropist, who died in 2012. The Welch family, including son Marshall III, is the principal donor for the facility; George E. “Herman” Logue Jr. supported the so-called “dirty space” (the Logue Fabritorium) and Frederick T. Gilmour, faculty emeritus, made a commitment for the “clean space” (the Gilmour Tinkertorium). The ceremony spotlighted the students and faculty members who brainstormed the idea into existence, and included representative comments from Rob A. Wozniak, associate professor of architectural technology: “With the many students from various majors that will use this makerspace, it is hoped that they take the opportunity to collaborate with others. To create. To explore. To learn about the tools that they may otherwise never have been able to have access to. To try another way of doing something. To invent (and maybe even patent) something new! And, as a result, Penn College, the community and the world will all benefit … from this amazing collaborative effort.”

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Last updated August 15, 2018 | Posted in Alumni, Architectural Technology, Construction & Design Technologies, Faculty & Staff, Industrial Design, Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies, Institutional Advancement, President, Students | This gallery contains 22 photos. | Tagged as | One Comment

Aspiring Professionals Awarded National HVAC Scholarships

Three Pennsylvania College of Technology students are among the 34 national beneficiaries of $58,000 in financial assistance from a partnership of longtime industry supporters.

Joseph V. Gullace, of Livingston, New Jersey; Christopher J. Milliken, of Bellefonte; and Austin R. Reynolds, of Enola – all enrolled in Penn College’s two-year heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology major – are recipients of the Clifford H. “Ted” Rees Jr. Scholarship. Milliken and Reynolds each received $2,000; Gullace was awarded $1,500.

The Rees Scholarship Foundation has distributed nearly $700,000 since 2003 to honor a former organization president for his efforts to encourage HVAC, refrigeration and water-heating manufacturers’ support for aspiring industry technicians across the country.

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Construction Faculty Featured in HELP Grant Video

http://www.nationalhousingendowment.org/showpage_details.aspx?showPageID=17352Penn College is included in a National Housing Endowment video that highlights this year’s recipients of Homebuilding Education Leadership Program funding. The college was awarded a $73,838 HELP grant in February after a yearlong effort by Levon A. Whitmyer and Barney A. Kahn IV, building construction technology instructors, and Carol A. Lugg, now dean of construction and design technologies. The seven-minute video, posted to the NHE website, includes interviews with Whitmyer and Kahn (beginning at about the 3:55 mark). The HELP initiative began more than a decade ago, encouraging colleges and universities to create, expand and enhance residential construction management programs.

Member of College’s Construction Faculty Attends D.C. Symposium

Levon A. Whitmyer

An instructor of building construction technology was among the participants at a recent Residential Construction Professors Symposium in the nation’s capital, gaining perspective on relevant industry topics and exemplifying the practicality of a Pennsylvania College of Technology education.

Levon A. Whitmyer joined counterparts from Michigan State, LSU, Kennesaw State, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and the University of North Florida – all of which, like Penn College, are recipients of Homebuilding Education Leadership Program grants from the National Association of Home Builders.

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Campers Enjoy the Not-So-Lazy Days of Summer

A summer of refreshing, enlightening exploration

The hunger for knowledge continued for hundreds of young women and men who explored the hands-on world of Penn College’s summer camps mere weeks after their school year ended.

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Last updated June 25, 2018 | Posted in Business & Hospitality, Construction & Design Technologies, Events, Faculty & Staff, Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies, Nursing & Health Sciences, Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications, Students, Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies | This gallery contains 32 photos. | Tagged as | Leave a comment

Fourteen Incoming Students Chosen as 2018-19 ‘BE Scholars’

Fourteen of this fall’s first-year students in construction and design majors at Pennsylvania College of Technology have been selected as Built Environment Scholars in a program that rewards academic talent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related fields.

Scholarship funding up to an annual $10,000 per student is awarded through a $1 million National Science Foundation grant that aims to increase retention, graduation and career readiness for students in six of Penn College’s STEM-focused pursuits.

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Assistant Dean Appointed for Construction, Design Technologies

Naim N. Jabbour

Naim N. Jabbour has been named assistant dean of the School of Construction & Design Technologies at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Jabbour, who is an assistant professor of architectural technology at Penn College, officially begins his duties June 11.

“I’m thrilled that Naim will be joining the leadership team for the School of Construction & Design Technologies,” said Carol A. Lugg, dean of construction and design technologies. “Naim’s combination of solid academic achievements, complemented with industry and classroom experience, will be a valuable contribution. The academic school has a strong legacy of educating students to become leaders in the construction and design industry, and I look forward to the contributions that Naim will bring to this position.”

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Spring Commencement: A Mid-May Extravaganza of Emotion

Eyewear for the day, vision for the future

Pennsylvania College of Technology held three commencement ceremonies May 11-12 for more than 900 students who petitioned to graduate following the Spring 2018 semester. The Friday afternoon proceedings at the Community Arts Center honored students from the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies and the School of Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications. Saturday morning featured The School of Construction & Design Technologies and the School of Health Sciences, while students from the School of Business & Hospitality and the School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies graduated during the afternoon session. Student speakers were Hanna Jo Williams, of Marion, New York, awarded a bachelor’s degree in industrial and human factors design and an associate degree in studio arts on Friday; Glendalis Guadarrama, of Avondale, who received a bachelor’s degree in nursing at Saturday morning’s session; and Alexandra M. Lehman, of Williamsport, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration: sport and event management concentration to close out the festive weekend. The college also bestowed three teaching honors – the Veronica M. Muzic Master Teacher Award and two Excellence in Teaching Awards – as well as a pair of alumni awards.

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Last updated May 12, 2018 | Posted in Alumni, Business & Hospitality, Construction & Design Technologies, Events, Faculty & Staff, Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies, Institutional Advancement, Nursing & Health Sciences, President, Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications, Students, Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies | This gallery contains 32 photos. | Tagged as | Leave a comment

Penn College Presents Distinguished Teaching Awards

Joanna K. Flynn, associate professor of mathematics, was presented with the highest honor accorded to Penn College faculty – the Veronica M. Muzic Master Teacher Award – at Spring 2018 Commencement. She is shown here with Penn College President Davie Jane Gilmour.

Three Pennsylvania College of Technology faculty members were honored during Spring 2018 Commencement ceremonies for their outstanding teaching abilities.

Joanna K. Flynn, associate professor of mathematics, was presented with the highest honor accorded to Penn College faculty: the Veronica M. Muzic Master Teacher Award.

Two other faculty members received Excellence in Teaching Award recognition: Edwin G. Owens, associate professor and department head for mathematics, and Thomas J. Mulfinger, associate professor of building construction technology.

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Two Alumni Honored at Penn College Commencements

Pennsylvania College of Technology presented honors to two alumni during Spring 2018 commencement ceremonies, held May 11-12 at the Community Arts Center, Williamsport.

Andrew S. Wisner, of Cumming, Georgia, formerly of York, received the Alumni Achievement Award on May 11, and Bradley G. Willis, of Harrisburg, formerly of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, was presented with the Volunteer of the Year Award during morning exercises on May 12.

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Students Helping Habitat Families Realize Home-Ownership Dream

Penn College construction students prep the site of a Habitat for Humanity build ...

... installing a layer of foam insulation prior to finishing the concrete work.

Harry W. Hintz Jr.’s Concrete Construction class (BCT 238) has been involved with a Habitat for Humanity project this semester in Williamsport’s West End, spending two entire class periods at the 1608 Scott St. site. “The first day was spent doing prep work, where we used a laser transit to get the stone subgrade to the correct height, then we installed 2-inch foam board as the floor insulation,” said Hintz, an instructor of construction technology. “The following week, we placed and finished 20 yards of concrete that is serving as the first floor” of the two-unit structure. Additional students, representing the Penn College Construction Association, are involved in the project. “The Scott street build is a duplex that will house two families – to be selected this month! – and both Professor Hintz’s students and students of the PCCA have been instrumental in the build thus far,” said Katherine M. McCaslin, program director for Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity (who also provided photos). “We look forward to working with the students again in the fall.”

Advisory Committee Honors Construction Management Students

Scholarship recipients and members of Penn College's Construction Management Advisory Committee mark the occasion with a group photo. Back row (from left): Brandon Miller, area manager, Henkels & McCoy; Kevin M. Snoke, president/chief operating officer, Wagman Construction Inc.; James P. Craft, project manager, James Craft & Son Inc.; S. Curtis Wargo, project manager, Allan Myers; students Jacob R. Stouffer, of Chambersburg, and Calen B. Heeter, of Emlenton; and Matthew R. Sarver, CMAC secretary and project executive, Gilbane Building Co. Front row (from left): Student Lauren S. Herr, of Lititz; Brian J. Fish, general superintendent, Hensel Phelps Construction Co.; students Elias S. Brallier, of Hopewell, Nowell H. Covington, of Benton, and Derek S. Smith, of Port Matilda; Angie Moore, assistant project manager, Wickersham Construction; and Stephanie L. Schmidt, CMAC vice chair and president, Poole Anderson Construction. (Photo provided)

Seven Pennsylvania College of Technology students were recently designated by the college’s Construction Management Advisory Committee to receive scholarship awards.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology is a special mission affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University