On the Road with Penn State President Dr. Graham B. Spanier: A Virtual Tour

This is an online account of Penn State President Dr. Graham Spanier's 12-hour tour of Penn College facilities and visit with faculty, staff and students as it happened! Dr. Spanier's agenda is listed below.

Tour Schedule
9:30 a.m.: Aviation Center Tour of Facilities
11 a.m.: Advanced Technology and Health Sciences Center Tour of Facilities
2:45 p.m.: Bush Campus Center Student Forum
3:30 p.m.: Academic Center Auditorium Faculty and Staff Address
5:15 p.m.: Community Arts Center Alumni Reception
6:30 p.m.: Professional Development Center Corporate Community Reception

Lumley Aviation Center
President Spanier met with area and local press representatives upon his arrival at the Aviation Center. He toured the extensive facility and talked with students and faculty. Aviation Maintenance Technology (B.S.), Aviation Technology (A.A.S.), Avionics Technology (A.A.S.) and Aviation Maintenance Technology (Certificate) programs prepare students for a range of careers in aviation from airframe and powerplant maintenance to advanced positions in avionics technology.

Penn College's $6 million Aviation Center offers FAA-approved aviation and avionics training. The College is the sole provider of training for Textron Lycoming, one of the world's largest providers of aircraft-related products and services.

Breuder Advanced Technology and Health Sciences Center
Dr. Spanier toured this extensive facility and talked with students and faculty. He viewed a demonstration of Penn College's Computer Integrated Manufacturing Center a facility where students learn to program industrial-sized robots to inventory, manufacture and perform quality-control functions on a variety of new-age materials. A tour of Plastics and Polymer Technology presented Dr. Spanier with a complete overview of the plastics manufacturing process.

Dr. Spanier also visited the dental hygiene clinic that provides students with hands-on training using live patients. The Penn College Dental Hygiene Program consistently places students near the top on the State Licensing Board Examinations and boasts a 100-percent placement rate.

The ATHS provides 128,000 square feet of advanced technologies packed into one neat building. Four academic divisions provide such programs as plastics and polymer technology, graphic design, nursing, dental hygiene and Business and Computer Science.

Bush Campus Center
Dr. Spanier held his forum with students representing various campus organizations and the Student Government Association. Held in Penn's Inn, the student night club, Dr. Spanier discussed current outreach initiatives of the University and answered questions regarding student issues and the University in general.

The Campus Center was the site of Dr. Spanier's Student Forum. This new Center primarily houses student activities. Students can enjoy meeting in the new recreation center, Video Center and Garden Terrace student dining facility. A quiet lounge with a large circular fireplace and casual seating offers quiet study space. The Fitness Center is also housed in this building, as well as Child Care and Advertising Art classrooms and laboratories.

Klump Academic Center Auditorium
The auditorium was filled to capacity during Dr. Spanier's address. Faculty and staff heard his views about his statewide initiative to rededicate the University to the people it serves and to reinforce Penn State's commitment to its diverse constituency. Dr. Spanier answered questions regarding staff and faculty issues and the University in general.

The ACC Auditorium was the site of Dr. Spanier's Faculty and Staff Address. A renovated former High School building brings an early 1900's charm to our collection of modern campus buildings.

Community Arts Center
Dr. Spanier traveled to downtown Williamsport's cultural centerpiece to meet with Lycoming County Penn State Alumni and Penn College Alumni.

The special reception was held in the lobby of the recently renovated 1920's road-show house. To promote a spirit of cooperation throughout Pennsylvania, Dr. Spanier is making a point of personally meeting with alumni and community and business leaders across the state.

Penn College led the fundraising effort to raze the Capitol Theatre and the renovation work to construct the Community Arts Center. The multimillion-dollar proposition brought together the College, the City of Williamsport, the Williamsport-Lycoming Foundation and a very large segment of the community to pool resources for the betterment of the Greater Williamsport area.

Thompson Professional Development Center
Back on the campus of Penn College, the Professional Development Center served as a fitting location to end a whirlwind day. The reception with community business and industry leaders was catered by students from Penn College's Food and Hospitality and Culinary Arts Programs.

The PDC was designed and constructed by students at the College. It provides an excellent setting for management retreats and other professional meetings, conferences and seminars. Teleconferencing in the Center's elegant but relaxed atmosphere is an important option to explore. Satellite transmissions are projected onto a 16-foot-wide screen in the largest of the Center's meeting rooms.

Following the reception, Dr. Spanier attended a private dinner in the College's student-operated restaurant, Le Jeune Chef.