HACC receives $1M gift from Robert and Angela Ortenzio Foundation
Single-largest-private donation to campaign for renovations and expansion will benefit Harrisburg Campus
Sept. 8, 2011
HARRISBURG –The effort to renovate and expand HACC’s Harrisburg Campus took a historic step forward today thanks to a $1 million gift from the Robert and Angela Ortenzio Foundation.
The gift represents the single largest private donation made toward HACC’s campaign to further enhance the campus.
"In recognition of Bob and Angela’s generosity, HACC will soon announce a significant naming opportunity on its Harrisburg Campus,” said Nancy Rockey, HACC vice president of college and community development and interim vice president of the Harrisburg Campus.
“More than 10,000 students at our Harrisburg Campus will benefit from this gift, making this a truly special moment for us,” said HACC President John “Ski” Sygielski. “We have been proud to share our vision for education in the region with the Ortenzio family, and now, to celebrate our newfound ability to expand our campus and increase student services.”
The foundation’s gift to HACC will consist of $100,000 per year over 10 years. It carries on the legacy of giving that the Ortenzio family regularly provides for causes throughout the commonwealth. Since 2004, the family added the Mechanicsburg-based Robert and Angela Ortenzio Family Foundation to help invest in many educational and healthcare organizations, among others.
“Each time Angela and I visit HACC’s Harrisburg Campus, we see a college on the move and with a swelling enrollment, but in need of more resources,” said Robert Ortenzio, co-founder of local healthcare giant Select Medical. “We have helped them before, and are happy to partner with them once again to help shape the future of Central Pennsylvania.”
Robert and Angela Ortenzio are lifelong Central Pennsylvania residents. He is a graduate of Gettysburg College and Dickinson Law School; she is a graduate of Bishop McDevitt and West Chester University.
Mr. Ortenzio serves as CEO of Select Medical, a publicly traded, national provider of post-acute care. With 28,000 employees, the 15-year old company owns or operates nearly 1,000 outpatient clinics, medical rehabilitation hospitals, and specialty hospitals across the United States. A previous donation from Select Medical enabled HACC to construct the Select Medical Health Education Pavilion, which today houses healthcare education and training on HACC’s Harrisburg Campus.
Established as Harrisburg Area Community College on Feb. 14, 1964, HACC is devoted to both the community and to the individual. HACC’s commitment to the community stems directly from its mission to foster educational, cultural, work force development, and economic growth of the college service areas. HACC offers nearly 200 associate and transfer degrees, certificate and diploma programs to more than 23,000 credit students in a 10-county area with regional campuses in Harrisburg, Gettysburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York, and a Virtual Campus that reaches students on a global scale. In addition, HACC is the region’s premier workforce development provider with more than 55,000 students enrolled in areas such as job training, customized company contracts, public safety, healthcare, technology trades and computer training.