Chancellor and Dean Lori J. Bechtel-Wherry
As we end the 2016-17 academic year, we have much for which to be grateful and to celebrate. I am thankful for the dedication of our faculty and staff in serving our students and providing them with every opportunity for success. Our spring 2017 commencement ceremony marked the end of an era for some of our students, but it also represented the many possibilities that lie ahead for them. When I consider the individual and collective accomplishments of our 2017 graduating class, I have great hope for the future. I am proud of our faculty and staff who serve our academic mission with excellence and enthusiasm.
Due to the recent Voluntary Retirement Program, we will be recognizing fifteen faculty and staff members who have served our students and Penn State Altoona’s mission for years. We wish our retirees the best and thank them for dedicating their careers to enabling our students to meet their academic goals.
This past year, we had many students volunteering their services in our local and extended communities, traveling and studying abroad, engaging in research and creative activities with faculty, and making a positive difference through their individual and collective actions. As I witness the dedication of our faculty and staff in working with our students, I am inspired.
In the coming year, we will launch our new kinesiology program which offers two options: Movement Science and Exercise Science. The two areas of focus within the Exercise Science option are business and science. The addition of this degree program is linked with the completion of the multi-million dollar expansion and renovation of our Adler Athletic Complex this fall. The new building will offer: a state-of-the-art fitness center that will be named “The Reliance Bank Fitness Center,” in honor of a $500,000 gift from Reliance Bank; a new kinesiology wing in support of our newly minted major that will house classrooms, faculty offices, and state-of-the-art laboratories and research space; and a new gymnasium that will seat 2,000 spectators, which will support our NCAA Division III athletics programs, as well as events for our students and community. Moreover, the entire core of the existing Adler building will be renovated to provide offices; new locker rooms for our athletic teams, visiting teams, coaches and referees; a modern athletic training facility; conference rooms; and a refurbished swimming pool. The space will also house a new concession stand to augment the experience of our fans.
Although the 2016-17 academic year is over, summer will be a wonderfully busy time on campus as we welcome our second year of PaSSS program students. Through the PaSSS program, first-year students get a head start on their academic career by taking two college courses while receiving scholarship money to offset the cost of housing, courses, and books for the summer. These students also will receive valuable mentoring and tutoring from faculty and staff to ensure early college success, job opportunities, and student-engaged learning activities to boost academic success.
We have completed our inaugural year of President Barron’s Invent Penn State initiative by implementing our Altoona Launchbox for budding entrepreneurs, having served a total of twelve individuals from our local area as well as State College. These individuals comprised six different teams who completed our Entrepreneurship Boot Camp. The members learned the basics of entrepreneurship, steps in starting a new business, and received mentorship from a host of successful business leaders and entrepreneurs. We are hopeful that many of the participants will be successful in launching their new businesses in our area. We are proud to dedicate our new Launchbox space on June 1 in the former Gables Building in downtown Altoona on the corner of 12th Avenue and 14th Street, a wonderful addition to our already vibrant downtown campus.
Penn State Altoona continues to grow and thrive thanks to the individual and collective efforts of our staff, faculty, community members, and benefactors over the past seventy-eight years. As we work together to implement our strategic plan in the coming years, we will continue to provide quality educational experiences for our students to afford them every possible advantage for success.
Lori J. Bechtel-Wherry, Chancellor and Dean