Second state House Education Committee chair tours college
Thursday, August 22, 2024
Photos by Rob Hinkal, social media specialist
For the second time this week, a chairman of the Pennsylvania House Education Committee visited Pennsylvania College of Technology to learn more about the impressive developments occurring at the institution’s main campus, Lumley Aviation Center and Schneebeli Earth Science Center.
State Rep. Jesse Topper (R-Bedford), who serves as the committee’s Republican chair, received a tour of several instructional areas, including advanced manufacturing & machining technologies, automotive restoration & collision repair, aviation maintenance & aviation technology, dental hygiene, diesel & power generation, polymer engineering technology, and welding & metal fabrication technologies. He saw the Center for Career Design and the Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College. He also enjoyed the opportunity to visit the Little League Baseball World Series complex, where he learned about the meals being prepared for the 20 competing teams by the college's Le Jeune Chef Restaurant staff and student employees.
Topper was guided on his Penn College visit by President Michael J. Reed; Loni N. Kline, senior vice president for college relations; Patrick Marty, chief government and international relations officer; and Anthony J. Pace, associate vice president for enrollment and academic operations. He was also greeted upon arrival by Joanna K. Flynn, vice president for academic affairs and provost, and state Rep. Jamie Flick (R-South Williamsport), a college alumnus.
In the academic labs, Bradley M. Webb, dean of Engineering Technologies, and Master Teacher Mark E. Sones, instructor of diesel equipment technology, provided additional details, and Kat A. Valentine, manager of makerspace operations, offered insights into the collaborative workshop.
Earlier in the week, state Rep. Peter G. Schweyer (D-Allentown), majority chair of the House Education Committee, toured the college.