News about Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications

Over 500 students and more than 500 ceramic tiles in the making, another stunning example of Penn College art is complete and ready for rave reviews and views. Adorning a wall in the north stairwell of the Bush Campus Center, the ceramics sensation was started in Fall 2013 by David A. Stabley, instructor of ceramics and wood sculpture, after he received permission from administration. “It was my idea to have students make something to leave behind as part of a permanent art piece,” Stabley said. “It’s an interesting idea of working on a group project over such a long period of time. And it’s nice to decorate a plain stairwell area to give it some life!” With the help of two Ceramics III students – Amber Kreitzer, of Port Trevorton, and Natascha G. Santaella, of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico – Stabley recently placed the finishing touches on the CC stairwell project: ceramic triangles topping the tile wall. Kreitzer and Santaella earned associate degrees in baking and pastry arts in 2018 and will graduate this month with Bachelor of Science degrees in applied management. Stabley and smaller groups of students have installed the Centennial Mosaic on a wall of the Physician Assistant Center and mosaics in Capitol Eatery. The artist has also crafted solo mosaics in the atrium of the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center and on an exterior wall of the Hager Lifelong Education Center. Stabley’s inspiring artwork can also be found in downtown Williamsport.

The artistry of 12 Pennsylvania College of Technology students and a professor is gracing the new office and gallery space of Lycoming Arts, 46 W. Fourth St.

As part of a Wood Sculpture art elective, the class crafted masks, inspired by a study of African masks. Each mask was hand-carved with chisels, mallets and rasps, and the students were encouraged to experiment with shape, color, texture, mixed media additions and other design elements.

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The handiwork of 12 Penn College students in a Wood Sculpture (ART142) class will be on display for First Friday, Nov. 1, in downtown Williamsport. The wooden masks will be showcased through early December at the new office and gallery space of Lycoming Arts, 46 W. Fourth St., next to Alabaster Coffee Roaster & Tea Co. The students’ instructor, David A. Stabley, engages his class in an exploration of traditional African masks as part of idea development. This is the second time that such an exhibit has graced the downtown arts scene; last year, the masks were displayed in the Community Arts Center. Lycoming Arts is an organization advocating for the arts in Lycoming County.

David E. Bjorkman, instructor of emergency management/social science at Penn College, was a recent guest on the Keystone Emergency Management Association’s podcast. Bjorkman serves as secretary for the association, which is holding its second annual Emergency Preparedness Conference through Tuesday at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona. In a 10-minute interview with co-hosts Paul Falavolito and Amy Amer, the faculty member provided an overview of the college’s four-year emergency management technology degree – career opportunities, the realistic disaster simulations in which students participate, the overwhelming acceptance by veteran first responders to this “new generation” of emergency personnel and the college’s participation with KEMA’s mentorship committee.
Photo provided

Alumna Kate Stepnick returned to campus Wednesday, sharing her circuitous journey from graduate to a rewarding position as camp director at an area facility for children with special needs.

“I absolutely loved being at Penn College and believe that my education prepared me for every single job that I have had over the last 12 years,” she told faculty prior to her visit. “It took me some time to find my passion, but I know that going into human services was the right career path for me.”

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Mirroring trends in the field of human services, Pennsylvania College of Technology has expanded its human services major to include significant emphasis on restorative justice. The major’s new name – human services and restorative justice – took effect this semester.

“This revision reflects changes in the field and represents our commitment to providing the most up-to-date, relevant and marketable degrees for our students,” said Craig A. Miller, department head of social services and humanities and associate professor of history/political science.

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Thursday’s Soup for the Soul event, at which 90 people were warmly served chicken tortilla or cheddar broccoli soup in handcrafted bowls (created and donated by students in David A. and Deborah L. Stabley’s ceramic classes, as well as General Services’ Gary T. Pandolfi), benefited the Penn College’s food pantry. The $8 donation on behalf of The Cupboard, located near the CC Commons site of the fundraising lunch, also included roll, dessert and a beverage. During the meal, Institutional Advancement kicked off its “Paw It Forward” campaign to aid The Cupboard. Donations during the next month will be recognized with paw prints to be displayed in the Keystone Dining Room.
Photos by Amy S. Lingg, Dining Services’ marketing assistant

National gold and silver awards have been bestowed on two graphic design alumni for work they created as students at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

The American Advertising Federation awarded a National Student Gold Award to Brandon M. Wolff for his “Trailblaze Chocolate Co. Packaging” and a National Student Silver Award to Jared D. Kosko for his “Rue Morgue Brewing Co. Packaging.” In the design industry, the awards are referred to as ADDYs.

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Career Day brought hundreds of ninth-12th graders to campus on Thursday to explore more than 30 activities offered by employees and students to help high-schoolers learn about the wide variety of career options available to them. The event is coordinated by the College Transitions and First Year Initiatives Office.

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Human services students traveled to High Flight Farm, along Route 973 in Cogan Station, on Tuesday to experience the benefits of equine therapy. Applied human services major Corianne A. Wilson, of Edgewater, Maryland, led a group session that included having students identify a life struggle. Instructor Sarah S. Moore said the students, charged with having their horse perform certain tasks, applied what they needed to do – hard work, change of plans, lots of effort, groupthink, etc. – to overcome their identified challenge. The students are enrolled in Serving and Surviving Human Services (HSJ 275), in which they must develop personal plans of action for surviving in the field as ethical, self-caring practitioners.
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Two recently retired faculty members at Pennsylvania College of Technology have been granted “faculty emeritus” status by the institution.

The emeritus recommendations for Sandra Lakey, associate professor of speech communication-composition, and Thomas J. Mulfinger, associate professor of building construction technology, both were approved by the Penn College Board of Directors on Oct. 3.

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Penn College’s 2-year-old brewing and fermentation major is featured in the October issue of Mountain Home, an award-winning monthly publication focused on Pennsylvania and New York’s Finger Lakes. “One thing about Penn College, among others, is that they’re really focused on industry trends,” instructor Timothy L. Yarrington says in the article by Melissa Farenish. “Consumers are starting to expect and demand consistent quality. So, brewers need education and the understanding of the science of brewing to maintain this quality. The curriculum is designed so that students not only get hands-on experience, but also the science education background that goes into understanding how to maintain quality in the brews.”

To assess Penn College students’ perspective on the day’s news – developments as fresh as the Washington, D.C., impeachment drama unfolding concurrently with their Thursday afternoon lecture – WNEP’s Chris Keating visited Craig A. Miller’s American Government-National course. Miller, an associate professor of history/political science whose Klump Academic Center classroom gives students a nonjudgmental space in which to formulate their opinions, began with a discussion of current events (including the congressional hearing on recess when the session convened, as well as its back story involving both President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden). In addition to interviewing Miller, Keating talked on camera with Allen J. Hafner, an individual studies student from Jersey Shore, and Dominic W. Howard, an undeclared major from Williamsport. The piece was broadcast on evening newscasts, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The “Avenue of the Arts” mosaic in downtown Williamsport will be celebrated at a dedication and reception scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Firestone Building, 400 Market St. Commissioned by PublicArtWorks and intended as a gateway to Williamsport’s cultural community, the piece was created and installed by David A. Stabley, an instructor of ceramics and wood sculpture at Penn College, and Carol Cillo, president of the Clinton County Arts Council.

Eyewitness News reporter Morgan Parrish talked Tuesday with graphic design alumni and a faculty member involved in a suicide prevention campaign. Parrish interviewed Nicholas L. Stephenson, instructor of graphic design, as well as two of the recent graduates whose work was showcased as part of the awareness project: Emily R. Kahler, of Pittman, and Luke A. Bierly, of Centre Hall. The piece aired during WBRE/WYOU’s evening newscasts beginning at 5:30 p.m.