Current news from HACC, Nov. 29, 2017 HARRISBURG, Pa. - HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, shares recent news, including:

• HACC Celebrates 2017 President’s Award Winners
• Hoffman Trust Supports Student Emergency Assistance Fund

 
HACC Celebrates 2017 President’s Award Recipients
 
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Each year, HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, celebrates employees who have provided exceptional service to the College by presenting them with the President’s Award.
 
The 2017 President’s Award went to 11 individuals and a group of two colleagues, with recipients notified by HACC President John J. “Ski” Sygielski, Ed.D., and honored at a recent breakfast ceremony on HACC’s Harrisburg Campus. Breakfast attendees included HACC’s Board of Trustees, President’s Cabinet, nominees, award recipients, their supervisors and colleagues who submitted the award nominations. Recipients received a certificate of recognition and a merit award.
 
Of the 19 nominations received, these 13 individuals were chosen by the President’s Cabinet based on one or more of the following criteria:
 

• Demonstrated initiative, creativity and innovation in implementing and/or carrying out a project
• Undertook efforts that enhanced the College’s reputation
• Undertook efforts that resulted in increased efficiency or effectiveness collegewide
• Undertook efforts that resulted in cost savings to the College

The winners and their nominators include the following employees:
 
Jenn Boyd, coordinator, integrated marketing communications, was nominated by Pam Saylor for demonstrating initiative, creativity and innovation for dedicated behind-the-scenes work to ensure a successful second annual Day of Giving. Throughout the entire planning process for one of the largest fundraising events at the College, Boyd collaborated with colleagues to create visionary marketing materials, partnered with a local television station to obtain media sponsorship, communicated regularly with stakeholders to encourage event participation and maintained her sense of humor and spirit of collaboration throughout the entire event. Boyd’s overall vision and inspiration were what contributed to such a successful event. 
 
Jill Foote, administrative office specialist, Office of Academic Affairs, was nominated by Jennie Baar for efforts that resulted in cost savings to the College due to Foote’s work ethic, spirit of collegiality and willingness to support her academic affairs colleagues. Foote assumed additional administrative responsibilities when two vacancies occurred within the department and continued to perform at a level above expectations. Foote identified many areas that could be streamlined to prevent problems from recurring, tested new software programs at the request of the provost’s office, trained several new administrative office assistants and ensured the office had continual coverage to minimize the impact on service to students and employees. Her ability to juggle additional responsibilities and tasks without concern confirm that she is a high performer and an asset to the institution.
 
Emily Fox, interim director, student success, Virtual Learning, was nominated by Brandy Skaf, Natalie Toma and Amy Withrow for demonstrating initiative, creativity and innovation while serving as the sole project manager overseeing the revision of the Virtual Learning webpages.  Fox collaborated with colleagues to streamline content, provide step-by-step admission guides, revise FAQ documents and provide information about online sample courses. Her experience as an admissions counselor allowed her to tailor the Virtual Learning website to answer questions that many prospective students may have and to assist them in their research of HACC’s online offerings. HACC is grateful for the support that Fox has provided to students and the Virtual Learning community.
 
Shannon Harvey, vice president, Gettysburg Campus, was nominated by Cavil Anderson to recognize efforts that enhanced the College’s reputation. Harvey’s leadership fostered an environment at the Gettysburg Campus that supports creativity and focuses on creating solutions to work-related challenges. This environment encourages employees to thrive while giving them the ability to think critically and creatively. It also enables them to communicate and collaborate openly with various constituents. The Gettysburg Campus also created a positive mindset that focuses on developing employees and encourages them to tap into their knowledge, skills and abilities to positively influence others within the College and Gettysburg community. Harvey’s ability to provide influential leadership allows employees to focus on the positive attributes that the College has to offer.
 
Lauren Holubec, director, manufacturing and manager, career and technical education, was nominated by Victor Rodgers for demonstrating initiative, creativity and innovation in the creation and implementation of the advanced manufacturing apprenticeships at HACC. When Holubec was approached by a major manufacturer in need of increasing their talent pool to offset anticipated retirements, she and her team worked quickly to have HACC registered as a group non-joint apprenticeship site. This newfound program provides HACC the opportunity to serve multiple manufacturing companies within its 11-county service region and greatly increases HACC’s footprint in the manufacturing arena. Additionally, under Holubec’s leadership, the Pennsylvania Apprenticeship Council approved HACC’s Industrial Manufacturing Technician Apprenticeship Program that has been widely acclaimed by industry partners as the perfect stepping stone into the field. Holubec’s expertise and industry knowledge have contributed greatly to the success of the manufacturing programs and have enhanced the College’s reputation within the manufacturing industry. 
 
Margie Mattis, Ed.D., campus dean, academic affairs, York Campus, was nominated by Joseph M. Miller for demonstrating initiative, creativity and innovation for her many achievements and for serving as the interim campus vice president. Mattis continued to support faculty as the campus dean and identified many improvements to better serve the students and the surrounding communities. She secured funds to open the writing center that serves 26 percent of York Campus students who utilize the space, and established a welding lab to support York County’s manufacturing arena that includes over 600 companies in need of trained welders. Mattis also created the student commons area that includes food services and a modern space for students to enjoy, and launched the accredited automotive program to provide quality automotive technology training and support to the automobile industry. HACC is extremely grateful for the support Mattis provided to the College, the York Campus and the surrounding communities.
 
Abigail Peslis, director, corporate and business services, was nominated by Victor Rodgers for demonstrating initiative, creativity and innovation in the creation and implementation of HACC’s Brewing Science Certificate Program. When Peslis was approached with the idea of exploring the craft beer industry, she and her team immediately began researching and understanding the needs of the industry in order to create a curriculum and training experience that is unique to the requirements of the commonwealth. The Brewing Science Certificate Program is the only one in this state that is recognized by the Brewers of Pennsylvania Association. The program has been very successful through its first two cycles. Due to the overwhelming success of this program, surrounding states have taken notice and requested to have the program duplicated at their sites. Peslis’ leadership, vision and dedication to HACC and this program has increased the College’s visibility to those who may not have considered HACC as an option for higher education.
 
Perry Pierich, coordinator, fire training, was nominated by Bob Stakem and Cindy Doherty for demonstrating initiative, creativity and innovation while enhancing the College’s reputation through the oversight of the HACC Fire Academy and fire science programs. Pierich was instrumental in creating the first-ever online Hazardous Materials Operations Refresher course that will be implemented throughout Pennsylvania and offered nationally. HACC’s Fire Science Degree Program has been nationally recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a National Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education Program and is one of three associate degrees in Pennsylvania with this designation. Additionally, Pierich developed a high school entry-level fire training program that has the potential to be implemented state-wide. He also has greatly increased the amount of contracted trainings and credit and noncredit offerings. Pierich’s institutional and industrial knowledge has paved the way for various successful initiatives within the fire training program and collegewide.
 
Stephen Sagar, textbook specialist, was nominated by James Groff for demonstrating initiative, creativity and innovation through the textbook sharing initiative between HACC’s Lancaster Campus and Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. In 2015, a partnership between the two institutions began to provide support to Thaddeus Stevens employees and students through the buying and selling of textbooks and other course materials at the Lancaster Campus bookstore.  Over the past two years, this initiative fostered collaboration in the academic community, reinforced HACC’s reputation as a first choice for quality and accessibility as a higher education opportunity and generated over $627,000 in sales. Sagar’s commitment and professionalism has allowed the opportunity for HACC’s mission and goals to be shared with others in our communities.
 
James Schadewald, associate professor, psychology, and Lori Shoemaker, campus director, disability services, York Campus, were nominated by David Satterlee for demonstrating initiative, creativity and innovation in participating in the third annual “Disable the Label.” This program provides participants the opportunity to experience what it feels like to have a disability in an effort to empower those with disabilities to speak openly about their needs. It also creates a positive impact on the perception of those with disabilities. Since the program’s inception in 2014, over 400 students and employees have been educated about various disabilities that impact those at our campuses and within our communities. This event has encouraged those with disabilities to show pride in their accomplishments and shows them how to serve as advocates for their needs.
 
Erika Steenland, manager, curriculum and catalog editor, was nominated by Wendy Bratina, Michelle Myers and Lois Schaffer for demonstrating initiative, creativity and innovation to successfully implement the 2018 curriculum changes. Steenland worked tirelessly to ensure that faculty made the necessary curriculum changes for the upcoming academic year and showed extraordinary leadership to ensure new degree requirements were completed within a very ambitious timeframe. The curriculum changes and new degree requirements will greatly benefit HACC students as they move forward in achieving their academic goals, and the College is grateful for Steenland’s commitment to the continued success of HACC’s students. 
 
Dory Uhlman, campus dean, academic affairs, was nominated by Shannon Harvey to recognize the many achievements that were made to enhance the College’s reputation. Uhlman worked to increase enrollment among high school students through the College in the High School initiative and collaborated with student affairs to implement a dual advising model that resulted in a student graduating with a high school diploma and associate degree in the same academic year. Uhlman also led various co-curricular learning opportunities and presented to local organizations to promote new community education offerings and programs. Uhlman works tirelessly to serve the College, specifically the Gettysburg Campus, by implementing and supporting various initiatives within the College and supporting the needs of those within the community.
 
Photo Caption: The 2017 President’s Award winners include employees from all areas of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College.
 

 
The Robert C. Hoffman Charitable Endowment Trust Supports Student Emergency Assistance Fund
 
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – For the second year in a row, the Robert C. Hoffman Charitable Endowment Trust has donated $5,000 to the HACC Foundation to provide emergency assistance funds to students enrolled at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College.
 
These funds allow students to overcome obstacles without incurring additional debt when they face a financial emergency or unexpected financial burden. These grants of up to $500 provide peace of mind to students who may already feel burdened by the debt incurred for college and living expenses.
 
While postsecondary education is very important to support our economy, many students who enroll at HACC are the first in their family to pursue postsecondary education and have low to moderate income. Emergency assistance funds are an effective retention tool to deliver financial support to students fast and convey a commitment to providing extra support in times of need. Over the years, emergency assistance funds have helped many students achieve their educational goals at HACC.
 
Amelia Demopoulos, a student at HACC’s Gettysburg Campus, is a real-life example of the impact of an Emergency Assistance Fund award. She said:

“I feel very fortunate to have received a grant from the emergency assistance fund. In 2016, I was faced with two choices: having to pay out of pocket for two necessary courses for summer semester or a 10-day shut off notice for my electric, both in the same day. After exhausting all other outside resources possible to no avail, I reached out to the HACC Student Emergency Assistance Fund, and received an approval two days later. With this grant, I didn't have to consider between a chance at nursing clinicals or my electricity.”

HACC and its students are thankful that the Hoffman Charitable Endowment Trust decided to support our Gettysburg Campus students with these funds.
 


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