People representing a variety of entities joined Penn State/Wilkes-Barre staff members in Towanda for a ribbon cutting (top) by Chancellor Dr. Charles Davis marking the opening of a new learning center there. Chris Brown, Economic Development Specialist for the Progress Authority (above, right), officially welcomed the new tenants, including Davis (left) and Kurt Risch, to the building.
Photos and Story by Rick Hiduk
As an extension of its Continuing Education Department, Penn State University’s Wilkes-Barre Campus opened a new Northern Tier Center in the Progress Authority Building in Towanda on Thursday. Progress Authority associates and other tenants were on hand to welcome the new learning center, as were Penn State/Wilkes-Barre personnel and Chancellor Dr. Charles Davis.
After opening remarks by Chancellor, Kurt Risch, Continuing Education & Training Specialist, introduced others in attendance. After the official welcome to the building by Chris Brown of the Progress Authority, Davis cut the ribbon. Guests lingered to get a sense of the distance learning technology that can bring several Penn State classrooms together simultaneously for credit and non-credit courses planned for 2017.
“We are very excited about our new location and are working hard to expand our programming to offer even more educational programs locally,” Risch stated.
The Penn State Northern Tier Center was first established in 1987 and has had several home including, most recently, the Northern Tier Career Center in North Towanda. In the early years, the emphasis was on business administration but expanded to meet the growing needs of professionals in Bradford, Sullivan and Wyoming counties.
Early beneficiaries were employees of the Ingersoll-Rand Company in Athens who took advantage of certification programs in stress management, statistical process control, team building and communications and associate degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering.
Over the past decade, programming has included supervisory development, employee retention, and customer service, all of which were popular among more than 200 healthcare employees who completed training with the center.
New programs planned for 2017 include Employee Relations, Compensation & Benefits, HR Law for Supervisors, Talent Management, and Project Management.
For information about additional classes and to register, visit www.wilkesbarrpsu.edu/ce, send an email to psnortherntier@psu.edu or call 570-268-7778.
To mark nearly 30 years of operating in the Towanda area, a free workshop on Effective Communication was offered right after the reception. Seven participants learned how to sharpen their company’s or organization’s persuasive messages and what to do when their company “becomes the news.” The instructor was PSU/W-B’s Senior Instructor in Communications Bill Bachman.
Guests at the PSU/W-B Northern Tier Center (above) listen to welcoming remarks by Chancellor Dr. Charles Davis prior to a ribbon cutting and free communications workshop.