Making Life Better
Decades and decades ago, when higher education was in a world of its own, colleges and universities had little interaction with their host communities. In fact there were a number of communities that would not exist were it not for the college or university located there. Even so, the “town and gown” schism was alive and well. Today, however, most institutions of higher education understand that they are an important part of any community’s warp and weft.
At Penn State Berks, we understand how important it is for us to participate in the life and economic sustainability of the Greater Reading area. We know, for example that Penn State Berks has at least a $116,000,000 annual direct and indirect impact on the Greater Reading area’s economy. This significant financial impact does not even include the kind of intellectual collaborations that take place between our faculty, staff, students, and the community.
Recently the Mayor of the City of Reading came to us and asked us to help with developing a lighting system in the downtown area and at the Pagoda that would be economical and energy efficient. In the past several months, our faculty and staff proposed a project to the City and to BARTA that was designed to convert used cooking oil into fuel to run the busses. While that is awaiting federal approval, it is exciting to see the kind of impact that effort, alone, can have on the larger community.
Food processors look to the significant research being done by our faculty regarding bacteria that can grow with improper packaging methods. Local golf courses are benefiting from the research in turf management here at Penn State Berks. We could also look at the research conducted with the senior citizens of Berks County with respect to their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.
The lists of applied research projects could go on and on, but in our current issue of Research at Penn State Berks, I hope you will begin to have a sense of the broad spectrum of intellectual activity that takes place right here in “river city.” There is a rich blend of basic/theoretical research and applied/practical application research.
Our faculty and students here at Penn State Berks are truly living the tag line for the University–we are “Making Life Better.”
Susan Phillips Speece,
Ed.D. Chancellor
Penn State Berks