Central Penn College announces construction projects

SUMMERDALE, Pa. - Jan. 21, 2014 - PRLog -- Central Penn College has announced two new construction projects on the Summerdale campus, a nearly 4,000 sq. ft. student center and a health sciences building. Central Penn’s Lancaster Center is also adding a new Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) lab to begin offering the college’s successful PTA associate degree program in Lancaster, starting in July.

The new Summerdale spaces will be renovations of buildings that currently are not in use, with construction slated to begin in March and to be completed in July.

During a Jan. 15 town hall meeting with students, Central Penn College President Dr. Karen M. Scolforo explained how student, faculty and staff feedback led to these new projects. In Scolforo’s first few weeks on campus as the college’s ninth president, she had comment boxes installed on the Summerdale campus, at Central Penn’s offsite locations and online to request ideas for continual assessment and improvement. Since September 2013, she has read every comment submitted.

“Your comments have inspired change,” Scolforo said to students. “These enhancements to student life and holistic student development are a direct result of your feedback. The student center, called the Underground, will provide you with support services and opportunities to develop the soft skills that employers seek. We want you to be prepared not only in your scholarly education, but also in your core values. Due to development in both these areas, Central Penn’s professional, career-ready graduates are highly competitive in the workforce.”

The Underground, located on the lower level of The West Wing academic building, will include a new writing center for students, Student Government Association offices, a 250-seat multi-purpose theatre, dance studio, fitness center, student lounge and staff offices. The theatre and dance studio will be open to the community for select performances, gallery showings and classes. Students will have the opportunity to select the furniture, games and details of The Underground throughout the construction process.

“We want you to have choices because this is your space,” Scolforo said to students.

The health sciences building, replacing the former childcare center on Valley Road, will feature new state-of-the-art educational labs and facilities for Central Penn’s allied health students. The building will be completely renovated to include medical labs, classrooms, faculty offices, conference area, student lounge and a computer lab. Like the rest of campus, this building will feature wireless Internet access to enhance student learning.

Students, faculty and staff can track the progress of these new construction projects at www.centralpenn.edu/construction, which will have weekly video updates and some behind-the-scenes photos once construction begins.

Central Penn’s Lancaster Center is also in the construction process, with the addition of a new Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) lab. Upon approval from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education of the American Physical Therapy Association (CAPTE/APTA), Central Penn is extending its current successful Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) associate degree program on the Summerdale campus to the college’s Lancaster Center. The competitive program is now enrolling a maximum of 30 students to start in July 2014, and will enroll a group of 30 students to start January 2015.

The degree is designed for working adults and traditional-age students, and will be offered through a mix of online and on-site evening courses at Central Penn Lancaster. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry projects a 21.4 percent employment growth in the PTA profession in Lancaster County from 2010 to 2020.