HACC and Widener University partner to offer hospitality bachelor's degree completion
May 3, 2010
HARRISBURG – Starting this fall, HACC graduates with an associate degree in hospitality management can get a bachelor’s degree from Widener University without leaving HACC’s Harrisburg Campus.
An agreement signed today by representatives of the two institutions will allow HACC students to seamlessly transfer into the bachelor’s degree program in hospitality management. All courses will be taught by Widener faculty at HACC’s Harrisburg Campus, One HACC Drive.
“We are committed to expanding the educational opportunities for Harrisburg residents,” said Ron Young, HACC provost and vice president of academic affairs and enrollment management. “By combining resources our two institutions can better serve the educational needs and economic development in this region for professions in the hospitality and tourism industries.”
Widener’s hospitality management program ranks in the top 20 in the United States according to the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education. Though Widener has a Harrisburg campus that offers graduate and professional programs in law, nursing and social work, the hospitality management will be the first undergraduate program the university will offer in the Harrisburg region.
According to Widener Senior Vice President and Provost Jo Allen, HACC graduates that enter Widener’s program will be able to take full advantage of the leadership development, community service, and study abroad opportunities that have helped make Widener’s School of Hospitality Management a national leader.
“This agreement is a great example of how public institutions such as HACC and private universities such as Widener can work together to serve the needs of a region,” Allen said.
For Getachew Kassahun, HACC professor and department chair of hospitality and tourism, the agreement will mean keeping talented workers in the region.
“Partnering with Widener allows us to train and retain high caliber hospitality and tourism professionals in our region, said Kassahun. “It benefits the workforce and economic development of Central Pennsylvania – and beyond.”
For more information, contact Kassahun, at 717-780-2495 or Emily Richardson, Ed.D., Widener dean of University College, at 610-499-4334.
Today, HACC has an enrollment of more than 21,000 students and approximately 50,000 noncredit and workforce development students at the college’s regional campuses in Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York, as well as numerous community sites throughout the region. HACC serves an eight-county primary service area in Central Pennsylvania, providing affordable, quality education through its nearly 200 associate and transfer degrees, certificate and diploma programs and more than 2,000 workforce development and continuing education programs. HACC is the number one provider of adult and workforce training programs in the region.
Widener University is a private, metropolitan university that connects curricula to social issues through civic engagement. Dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal attention, and experiential learning are key components of the Widener experience. A comprehensive doctorate-granting university, Widener comprises eight schools and colleges that offer liberal arts and sciences, professional and pre-professional curricula leading to associate’s, baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees. The university’s campuses in Chester, Exton, and Harrisburg, Pa., and Wilmington, Del., serve some 6,500 students. Visit the university Web site, www.widener.edu.
