William H. Feddersen, a former president of Williamsport Area Community College, a predecessor institution of Pennsylvania College of Technology, died March 4 at the age of 84.
Feddersen served as WACC president from 1974-80. He established the Dr. Bill Feddersen Leadership Scholarship Fund at Penn College in 2011; the endowed scholarship promotes and recognizes student leadership and community service.
William "Bill" Feddersen
Feddersen’s leadership was honored in “Legacy of Leaders,” a publication developed for the college’s 2014 Centennial, marking 100 years of adult education on campus. In the Feddersen chapter , he is quoted as saying WACC (the second community college established in Pennsylvania) had a “tremendous reputation as the leader in vocational technical education.” Building on the college's deep career education roots, Feddersen implemented long-range planning, undertook overdue building renovations, broached the need for on-campus housing, initiated regular interaction with students, empowered employees with an open-door policy and cemented the college's role in the outlying community.
In April 2014, he sat down for an oral history interview , and he returned to campus for the college’s Centennial Gala, held in July 2014 to celebrate the institution’s evolution and acknowledge the pivotal players who contributed to its legacy. Feddersen was among those who addressed the gathering.
Feddersen during his WACC presidency (left) and addressing the Centennial gala audience in 2014.
Following his tenure in Williamsport, he went on to lead two California community colleges for 22 years and received the highest award given to a California community college president.
A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Friday, March 21, in the Memory Chapel at Forest Lawn-Covina Hills, in Covina, California. A celebration of life will be held at a later date at Friendship Church in the Sun City Sunset View Clubhouse, in Palm Desert, California. A full obituary can be viewed online.