College Gets $100K Grant to Equip Large-Group-Instruction Areas

Students attending classes in a former manufacturing facility being renovated for instructional use at Pennsylvania College of Technology will enjoy the benefit of state-of-the-art, computer-controlled projection equipment, thanks to a $100,000 state grant, Sen. Roger A. Madigan announced.

The bulk of the Community Revitalization Program Funding awarded to Penn College by the state Department of Community and Economic Development will purchase 16 computer-controlled projection units that will enable faculty to make classroom presentations incorporating voice data and video from commercially available compact discs, the Internet and material stored on the College's computer network.

The remaining funds will help the College equip the large-group-instruction areas at the former HON manufacturing facility with classroom desks and chairs.

"We are grateful to Sen. Madigan for his efforts in securing these funds, which will provide equipment of great benefit to students attending classes or presentations in the refurbished HON facility," said Penn College President Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour. "The addition of the large-group-instruction spaces equipped with computer projection units, courtesy of this grant greatly enhances the College's instructional flexibility."

The College acquired the former HON facility in 2001 through a gift-purchase arrangement. Currently, a $7.3 million renovation project is under way at the 104,000-square-foot site. When completed in Fall 2003, the building will provide instructional space for an additional 100 students.

Programs moving to the renovated facility are Collision Repair Technology, Automated Manufacturing Technology, Civil Engineering Technology and Surveying Technology. Collision Repair is expected to double its current enrollment.

The facility also will feature three technology-enhanced classrooms, three computer labs and two large-group-instruction areas. By locating the large-group-instruction areas in the larger HON facility, the College will save on renovation costs at the circa-1913 Klump Academic Center. Placing those instruction areas in the older building would have presented more costly design challenges, Dr. Gilmour said.

In its grant application, the College noted that 96 percent of its students hail from Pennsylvania, and more than 90 percent of Penn College graduates remain in the state to begin their careers.

The application also emphasized that, by focusing on hands-on instruction employing industry-standard equipment, the College creates strong linkages with business and industry throughout Pennsylvania.