HARRISBURG, Pa. – With the celebration of the New Year right around the corner, HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, is gearing up for a year’s worth of celebrations to honor 50 years of educational opportunities, community support and influential individuals.
 
“Over the past 50 years, HACC has made it possible for more than 673,000 students to further their education through its fivecampusesandathrivingvirtuallearningenterprise,” said HACC President John J. “Ski” Sygielski, Ed.D.
 
Established on Feb. 14, 1964 as the first community college chartered in Pennsylvania, HACC opened its doors at the former Harrisburg Academy site on Front Street in Harrisburg, Pa. with an enrollment of approximately 430 students and 16 programs. Today, HACC enrolls more than 20,000 students each year at its five campuses in Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York and via its virtual learning offerings.
 
The College offers approximately 200 career associate and transfer degree programs, diploma and certificate programs. In addition, it offers workforce development programs in health care, computer training, fire training, law enforcement and safety, security programs and technology and trades.
 
HACC has many events in store for 2014. . . The public is invited to attend the following events:

• ReDISCOVER HACC, an opportunity for the public to discover everything that HACC has to offer students and the community through tours, demonstrations and lectures from April 21-26, 2014.

• Dr. Ski’s Miles of Gratitude – Tour de HACC, which involves HACC’s president, John J. “Ski” Sygielski, Ed.D., taking the road from April 22-24, 2014 to express his gratitude for all that Central Pa. does for HACC. Dr. Ski will pedal his bike 150 miles throughout the region with stops at HACC’s Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York campuses.

• Lectures throughout the yearby individuals including, Kenneth Womack, award-winning novelist and author and editor of three books dedicated to the Beatles and William Pencek, American history professor from Penn State University who will focus on the Four Black Pennsylvanians in the Civil War.

• Frank J. Dixon Tournament for Scholarships, apremier fundraising event on Sept. 22, 2014 that provides scholarship support for HACC students with financial need attending classes at HACC’s Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York Campuses, and through Virtual Learning.

• Performances by Tommy Tune, the epitome of Broadway song and dance and the winner of nine Tony awards. He will present Taps, Tunes and Tall Tales, an upbeat, celebratory, one-man act at the Rose Lehrman Arts Center on the Harrisburg Campus on Oct. 17, 2014.

• HACC’s Golden Anniversary Galaon Oct. 25, 2014 at the Radisson Hotel in Camp Hill, Pa. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear HACC’s history and honor the College’s forebears. Tickets will be available in April 2014.

Residents of Central Pennsylvania are encouraged to visit www.hacc.edu/50 to learn more about the upcoming events, read about HACC’s history and register for events.
 
Additionally, individual fundraising opportunities are scheduled and being led by HACC’s donors, alumni and employees to support projects under the HACC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that raises private funds for HACC.
 
Many sponsorship opportunities are available for50th anniversary events, and the proceeds will support the President’s Fund for Excellence and HACC Foundation scholarship programs.
 
Sygielskisaid, “We encourage the community to discover what we have to offer. Learn about the College in the High School Program, our culinary programs or our Police Academy. Since the day HACC opened its doors, it’s continued to expand the horizons for students. As one student stated,‘I love that HACC gives me a chance to continue my education while I’m home and working full time.’ The options are yours at HACC.”
 
About HACC
HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, offers nearly 200 career and transfer associate degree, certificate and diploma programs to more than 20,000 students at five campuses in Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York and through virtual learning. In addition, HACC serves more than 29,000 students in noncredit workforce development, public safety, adult basic education and continuing education programs offered at all campuses and off-site locations in many communities in Central Pennsylvania. For more information about what HACC has to offer, visit www.hacc.edu.