HA CC builds tech labs
By Ken Stiggers
About a year ago, Penn State
Capitol changed the look of the
campus when the new $2.1
million Science and Technology
Building was constructed. The
building was finished just in
time for fall classes.
Last spring, Harrisburg Area
Community College
(H.A.C.C.) began construction
of a new $5.1 million
technology center to be known
as the North Hall Technology
and Laboratory Building.
Funding for the new
technology building resulted
from the combined efforts of
the federal and state govern
ments, H.A.C.C. and the
private sector. A federal grant
of $600,000 was awarded under
the Vocational Education Act,
and the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania provided half of
the total cost. H.A.C.C. pro
vided over $1 million. Also,
private funds of $78,000 have
already been pledged, and the
State Public School Building
Authority will finance the re
maining costs.
Since 1979, H.A.C.C. has
experienced an enrollment in
crease of 33.4 percent and faces
a severe shortage of instruc
tional space, particularly in the
area of technology education,
Building improves
campus image
By Ken Stiggers
About a year ago Capitol
Campus changed the look of
the campus when the new $2.1
million Science and Technology
Building was finished just in
time for fall classes.
This new facility became the
first to be constructed solely for
the academic purposes in the
campus' 18-year history. Ac
cording to Dr. William Welsh,
head of the Division of Science
and Technology, the engineer
ing program has experienced
enrollment increases since 1975.
These increases in enrollment
caused a shortage of instruc
tional space in the Mechanical
Engineering Program, and the
new building provided the
needed space.
The twenty-thousand square
foot facility will be used for
class lectures, laboratory work,
and research. The Mechanical
Engineering Technology
department will move into the
old Engineering Lab Building
next to the University Apart
ments. The building consists of
four labs and eight rooms:
general chemistry, civil
engineering and materials, en
as stated by Dr. Kenneth
Woodbury, president of the
Board of Trustees at H.A.C.C.
One-third of the North Hall
building will be used for the
new high technology programs,
and the other two-thirds will be
used for the existing programs
at H.A.C.C. Also, new equip
ment will be provided at the
North Hall building. New pro
grams in microcomputer ac
counting, computer-assisted
design and drafting/computer
asiisted manufacturing,
microcomputer applications
and mechanical robotics
technology will be offered when
the North Hall building is
finished.
Also, the facility will allow
the expansion of the new
General Motors Product Train
ing Center and further develop
ment of job-related programs
at H.A.C.C.
The State Public School
Building Authority awarded
contracts to construction com
panies from Carlisle,
Lewisburg, Harrisburg and
Reading for general.construc
tion, heating ventilation, air
conditioning, plumbing and
electrical construction.
The building will be a two
story 60,000 square foot struc
ture. Completion is scheduled
for spring of 1985.
vironmental, and physics; two
classrooms, two rooms for
faculty and student research
and four faculty offices. The
building also features a
chemical instruction lab, an
organic chemistry lab and in
cubation room.
The architectural firms of
Hayes, Large, Suckling, and
Fruth of Harrisburg and Al
toona designed the building.
The Wohlsen Construction
Company of Lancaster was
general contractor for the pro
ject. The Frey Lutz Corpora
tion installed all of the heating,
ventilation an air conditioning
for the facility. Other firms in
volved in construction .of the
Science and Technology
Building were Eshenaurs Inc.
of Harrisburg, plumbing;
Howard P. Foley Company of
Harrisburg, electrical; and
Laboratory Furniture of New
York City, science equipment
contractor.
Was the new technology
building designed with the in
tentions of being compatible
with H.A.C.C.'s technology
program? According to Welsh,
that was not the case with the
Science and Technology
Building.
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H.A.C.C.'s North Hall will house high-tech programs
Leventhal positive on
Capitol's development
By Tony Perry
In two weeks, Capitol Cam
pus' new provost will have been
in office for four months, and
as she moves the administration
into a "strategic planning
phase," she is optimistic about
the task of improving and pro
moting Penn State's only upper
division commonwealth
campus.
"I'm going to be positioning
Capitol Campus as the regional
center for higher education in
South Central Pennsylvania,"
said Provost/Dean Ruth Lev
enthal, recently.
"It's not getting easier and
it's not getting any harder," she
said. "It is enjoyable. People
have helped tremendously."
Leventhal said the recent ap
pointment of John H. Joseph
as planning officer for the cam
pus is the start of an intensive
effort to get Capitol's im
mediate goals into a final plan
of action by March.
Composed of faculty, stu
dents, alumni and members of
the campus community, ap
proximately 27 separate com
mittees are being formed to
"study and make recommenda
tions about the kinds of things
we could do," Leventhal noted.
A "campus-wide" commit
tee will be examining the cam
pus in the areas of academics
and student life, she said.
The provost noted that cur
ricula currently being con
Thursday, October 18, 1984 The Capitol Times Page
sidered includes telecom
munications tehnology, food
service technology, and com
puter science applications.
The committees will also be
soliciting ideas and opinions
from other members of the
campus community.
"If you don't know what so
meone wants," Leventhal said,
"you can't give it to them."
As an example, Leventhal
noted that she has spoken to
several members of the campus'
black student community in
order to learn more about their
needs. The provost said she was
concerned about low minority
enrollment at Capitol.
"It's a problem here and it's
a national problem as well,"
Leventhal noted. "There is a
legal mandate in Pennsylvania
but I have a personal andmoral
committment as well."
Capitol Campus has a "par
ticular opportunity" to help in
crease minority enrollment,
Leventhal said, because of its
location. Also, Leventhal add
ed that she has been working
with Ken Woodbury, president
of Harrisburg Area Communi
ty College, to establish a strong
recruitment program that
would encourage young people
to prepare for college at an ear
ly age.
"Our problem is, as an up
per division campus, we are
further from the high schools,"
she said. Leventhal added that
the low number of minorities
and women preparing for col-
e ntli,
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lege is due to the way many
perceive college life. She said
that perhaps the reason many
women are not entering the
engineering technology pro
gram here -- and are avoiding
similar programs at other
schools -- is because they don't
believe they are welcome.
"They aren't taking their
maths and sciences" in high
school, she said, because they
don't think they have a chance
of success. Leventhal said it is
up to schools like Capitol to ap
proach the high schools and en
courage students to consider the
college career of their choice.
"It's an investment we have to
make."
The provost also indicated
that Capitol's administration
will be looking for ways to
"generate its own resources."
Funding of various projects on
campus will be examined, she
said.
Leventhal also said she is still
in the process of meeting with
people within the campus com
munity as well as legislators and
community leaders to streng
then Capitol's image as a center
for higher education. She also
proposed that one member
from each of the four nearest
commonwealth campuses --
York Campus, Berks Campus,
Schuykill Campus and Mt. Alto
Campus -- be added to Capi
tol's board of advisers to im
prove the current recruitment
efforts.