Latest news with #PennStateScranton
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Penn State report outlines reasons for keeping Scranton campus open
Citing its importance to the region and the diverse population it serves, Penn State officials are recommending keeping Penn State Scranton open to be a hub for Penn State in Northeast Pennsylvania. In a report issued Tuesday, officials said the campus in Dunmore is worth investing in because of 'its regional significance, operational soundness, and capacity to serve as a primary hub for Northeastern Pennsylvania' and suggested it serve as the primary anchor for the region. The report highlights investments in the campus, including the renovated mechanical engineering labs, nursing suite and library. It points out the mechanical engineering program is growing and the nursing program is regionally respected. The campus unveiled a $13.1 million renovation of the library and nursing facilities last fall and dedicated a new mechanical engineering building in late 2022. Officials acknowledged in the report that the campus has experienced declining enrollment but remains viable for future growth and investment, adding that being in Lackawanna County puts it in a position to serve a dense and diverse population. 'Unlike many campuses facing demographic headwinds, Penn State Scranton benefits from proximity to growing suburban communities and school districts and access to major highways, making it a logical anchor for Penn State's presence in the region,' the report states. 'The area's demographic profile also includes significant populations of first-generation and lower socioeconomic status students, aligning with Penn State's access mission.' The campus enrolled 827 students for the fall semester, 88% of which live in Pennsylvania and nearly 55% of which reside in Lackawanna County, according to enrollment information from the university. Enrollment has dropped nearly 27% in 10 years and 40% from its peak of 1,388 students in 2010, according to the report. Of those students, nearly 42% are Pell Grant recipients, 16% are underrepresented minorities, almost 46% are first-generation college students and nearly 17% are student athletes. While on-campus housing isn't offered, the report states the campus has strong connections to local school districts, employers and transfer pipelines, characteristics that the report said makes it particularly well suited to support dual enrollment growth, regional partnerships and hybrid academic models. 'Penn State Scranton's leadership has demonstrated both vision and effectiveness,' it concludes. 'The campus has consistently engaged in University-wide planning and collaboration efforts, and its openness to innovation positions it well to adopt new delivery models or share administrative services with other locations. Faculty and staff have embraced Penn State's goals, and the campus community has maintained a strong culture of adaptability and student-centeredness.' Elizabeth Wright, regional chancellor for the campus and the ones in Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre, said in an emailed statement Wednesday that while there has been no official decision by the Board of Trustees regarding campus closures, the recommendation to keep the Scranton campus open and invest in it was based its location near major interstates and metropolitan areas, demographics and the significant number of first generation and low income students. She added the campus' mechanical engineering and nursing programs are two areas with strong potential based on community needs and trends. 'The campus has already made significant investments in those programs over the past several years, most recently with the Mechanical Engineering Building, new Nursing Suite and Library Building renovations,' Wright said in the statement. 'We believe Penn State Scranton enhances Penn State's mission and provide meaningful impact to northeast Pennsylvania.' Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi announced in February that some commonwealth campuses will be closing, and she will decide which ones by the end of the semester, with no campus closing before the end of the 2026-27 academic year. The announcement stated that 12 of the university's 19 campuses — including Scranton and three others in Northeast Pennsylvania, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton and Schuylkill — were under review. Media outlets reported this week that the president recommended closing the DuBois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York campuses. Officials publicly shared the full recommendation report regarding the campus closures Tuesday night following the reports. Trustees will meet privately Thursday to continue discussing the proposal, SpotlightPA reported. Elected officials and community leaders in Lackawanna County have called for Penn State Scranton to remain open, citing its importance to the region and the students it enrolls. Reached for comment about the report Wednesday, Bob Durkin, president of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, said he was happy to hear the campus could remain open. 'I'm pleased that Penn State has decided to continue that investment and to recognize the financial, economic and workforce value of Penn State Scranton,' he said. Durkin said the campus is top for nursing and mechanical engineering, job fields that are forecasted to grow in the region. Penn State Scranton also employs people from the area on its campus. 'They've provided us with assistance and direction on how do they and we help grow the workforce and the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Lackawanna County and Northeastern Pennsylvania,' Durkin said. He said the campus allows students to access a Penn State education locally and it fits in well with the higher education ecosystem in Northeast Pennsylvania. 'Penn State is an absolutely first-class institution and that's an experience that you can only get if you're in a commonwealth campus,' Durkin said. 'I'm looking forward to Penn State University Park continuing to follow up on those words and continuing to invest as necessary.' In addition Penn State Scranton, the report outlines reasons for keeping the Hazleton and Schuylkill campuses open.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislators, advocates make case to keep Penn State Scranton open
DUNMORE — Closing Penn State Scranton would limit local educational opportunities for students, hamstring workforce and economic development efforts and tear a hole in the fabric of the community of which the institution is a pillar, lawmakers, business leaders and other advocates said Thursday. They gathered at Penn State Scranton to make that case to keep the campus, located in Dunmore, open. The session followed Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi's late February announcement that 12 of the university's 19 satellite campuses — including Scranton and three others in Northeast Pennsylvania named Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton and Schuylkill, respectively — are under review for possible closure at the end of the 2026-27 academic year. A group co-led by university administrators will make a final recommendation on campus closures to Bendapudi by the end of the spring semester, and Bendapudi will make the final decision. Against that backdrop, a panel of officials that included Democratic state Sen. Marty Flynn, Democratic state Reps. Jim Haddock, Kyle Donahue and Kyle Mullins, Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce President Bob Durkin, Scranton School District Superintendent Erin Keating, Ed.D., and Dunmore Superintendent John Marichak spoke Thursday to the myriad ways the Scranton campus benefits the region and its students. For many of those students, including nontraditional students and those without access to transportation or a wealth of financial resources, a closure 'would mean the end of their education,' Flynn said. 'They also spoke about how much they value being part of a campus that reflects their own community, going to class with people they know, people from their hometowns, that sense of belonging,' he continued. 'A connection is something that can't be replaced or replicated miles away.' State Rep. Jim Haddock speaks with a panel of legislators, including state Rep. Kyle Donahue, Sen. Marty Flynn, and state Rep. Kyle Mullins during a public forum concerning the possible closure of Penn State Scranton in Dunmore Thursday, May 1, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Many who spoke echoed those or similar sentiments, touting Penn State Scranton as an indispensable resource. Durkin and other chamber officials described the school as a vital partner providing educations that prepare students to fill high-priority jobs in the region, bolstering a talent pipeline critical to economic growth and development. Penn State Scranton leaders, faculty and staff also actively participate in regional economic development efforts, support the chamber's entrepreneurship program, open doors for internships at member businesses and expand professional development opportunities, the chamber stressed in a recent letter to Bendepudi. Keating and Marichak said losing the institution would negatively impact students in both districts directly, including by reducing dual enrollment opportunities allowing high school students to earn college credits and educational opportunities more broadly. 'I represent a low-income school district,' Keating said, noting nearly 80% of the Scranton School District's roughly 9,300 students are economically disadvantaged. 'They don't have the means or the opportunity to leave the area to receive a post-secondary degree that's recognized for global excellence, and Penn State is. It gives my kids an opportunity to be able to have that access.' 'Those low-income children, those children who come from economically disadvantaged homes, deserve that opportunity,' she continued. 'Closing this campus takes an opportunity like that away.' Penn State's Regional Chancellor Elizabeth J. Wright speaks during a community meeting held at Penn State Scranton in Dunmore Thursday. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Elizabeth Wright, Ph.D., regional chancellor for Penn State's Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton campuses, said 41% of students at the Scranton branch are 'Pell eligible,' meaning they're among those the federal government classifies as having the highest financial needs, and about 45% are the firsts in their families to attend college. 'And within that context we think daily about how we support students and their families as they seek to attain their educational goal,' she said. 'And indeed our goal is to help families that may be thinking that college is out of reach to transition to a moment when they say to themselves that college is within reach.' Several students and alumni who attended Thursday's event also shared personal anecdotes about how Penn State Scranton helped them academically, professionally and personally. President of the student government at Penn State Scranton Gavan Quimby voices concerns during a community meeting held at the campus Study Learning Center in Dunmore Thursday, May 1, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) But their testimonies come as Penn State and other colleges and universities face a number of headwinds, including declining enrollment. Bendepudi has attributed the 'difficult choices' the university now faces regarding the future of its satellite campuses to declining enrollments, demographic shifts and financial pressures. At the 12 campuses unprotected from closing, enrollment has dropped 39% in a decade, officials said earlier this year. Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed budget includes $242.1 million in general support funding for Penn State, the same allocation the university received for the past several years and $30 million less than it requested. But while that general support funding remains flat, Shapiro also proposes $60 million in new performance-based funding for Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh and Temple University, money that would be distributed to those institutions based on the recommendations of a Performance-based Funding Council established last year. Haddock referenced the performance-based funding proposed for those state-related universities, noting Penn State officials he spoke with were 'thrilled' by the proposal. But he also took aim at Republican state lawmakers who've opposed and blocked past efforts to increase funding for Penn State, increases Haddock said local Democratic lawmakers reliably supported. 'We have all voted, this Lackawanna County delegation, we have voted for the funding of Penn State and we all voted for increased funding of Penn State, but unfortunately the votes didn't come from the other side of the aisle,' Haddock said in calling for the Scranton campus to remain open. 'So my message to Penn State is this: support the politicians that supported you. … It's ironic when I see my cohorts in the House of Representatives having roundtables like this, public forums, say 'don't cut Penn State in my district. It's jobs, it's this, it's that.' But they won't vote to fund Penn State and they forget about our students and they forget about the jobs until they're at risk. Sometimes the truth has to be spoken.' Haddock, Flynn, Mullins and Donahue all said either during or after Thursday's session that they'd reconsider their support for future state funding increases should Penn State close the Scranton campus. Their collective focus now is on making a strong case to keep it open. 'We're not here today to attack anyone,' Flynn said. 'We're here to advocate, to unite, to make it clear Penn State Scranton matters. It matters to that student who's trying to balance a part-time job and classes. It matters to the parent hoping that their child can get a degree without going into extreme, massive debt. It matters to the families who can't afford out-of-town tuition or the burden of a long-distance travel. It matters to the local businesses who rely on campuses to train their workforce.' 'So let me say this clearly,' he continued. 'Closing this campus would be devastating, not just in Dunmore or Lackawanna County, but to all of Northeastern Pennsylvania.'
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Lackawanna County residents rally for 20-year-old cancer patient
THROOP, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A local college student is in the fight of his life, battling cancer. Lackawanna County residents are rallying around him as the 20-year-old is now in search of a blood stem cell donor. All week long, there are swab events to help find a bone marrow match for Eddie Kaufman. The 20-year-old Mid Valley alumnus has been battling leukemia since the fall. 28/22 News spoke with his dad and friends earlier Tuesday about Eddie's diagnosis and the race to find him a match. 'I would like to be the one to help him out, potentially save his life… we've been best friends since preschool,' Eddie's friend Jaden Carroll explained. Carroll, a Sophomore at Penn State Scranton, says he's hopeful he is a bone marrow match for his lifelong friend Eddie Kaufman. 'It was shocking, I mean it just goes to show that it could happen to anybody because I thought that was the healthiest, most athletic kid I knew,' Carroll explained. After starting his second year at Roanoke College last fall, the standout baseball player was diagnosed with T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Cold case arrest after body found in garbage bags on I-80 'He had gone back to school in Virginia. He called and said he's got some swollen lymph nodes and something's going on, and that was the first sign there was an issue,' Eddie's father, Brian Kaufman, said. The diagnosis is a form of cancer that impacts blood, tissue, and bone marrow. Months into the fight, Eddie is now in search of a blood stem cell donor. 'They warned us going in that 70% of family members are not perfect matches, and we fell into that 70%,' Brian continued. Family and friends are now pushing to find the Mid-Valley alum a perfect donor match. 'Everybody just kind of came together and decided that we should find this match for Eddie,' said Eddie's Friend Emily Deoliveira. Contractor sued for alleged 'subpar' work, violations Through the National Marrow Donor Program, the community is holding several swab events across Lackawanna County. Anyone ages 18 to 40 can be a potential donor; all it takes is a simple cheek swab. For potential future matches, 90% of donations are non-surgical and are as simple as giving plasma. 'There's a lot of people out there that need a bone marrow transplant, and 22,000,000 people are in the database. It sounds like a lot, but it's not enough,' Brian added. 'We're getting a lot of love for Eddie, which is really, really nice,' Deoliveira said. Team Eddie K is growing locally and beyond. The swab results take about one to two weeks to come back. There are also campaigns going on in Virginia, Georgia, and New York. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Artificial intelligence presents opportunity, concern for workforce of NEPA
The 26-year-old Scrantonian has no college degree, but his AI-based business is thriving. Bailey Simrell, a web developer and artificial intelligence consultant, primarily builds projects for other businesses. 'I've been doing this computer stuff since I was like 13, 14, so I was lucky to find what I liked to do at a younger age and have an affinity for it,' he said, adding that he loves to learn but was 'just not a great student.' Today, he says AI has changed his life for the better, by cutting down the length of time it takes to accomplish work, removing communication barriers and accomplishing tasks he would have had to pay others to do, among other ways. He compared AI to a calculator. * Penn State Scranton Fred Aebli gives a presentation at Penn State Scranton in Dunmore, to the members of Family Business Alliance on the topic of, 'Great Uses of AI in Your Business.' * Fred Aebli, a professor at Penn State University in Scranton, said that AI in schools is a double edged sword that may provide certain benefits, as well as raising concerns. (FRED AEBLI / SUBMITTED PHOTO) Show Caption Penn State Scranton 1 of 2 Fred Aebli gives a presentation at Penn State Scranton in Dunmore, to the members of Family Business Alliance on the topic of, 'Great Uses of AI in Your Business.' Expand 'When I was in middle school and high school, teachers said, 'You're not going to be able to sit around with a calculator and do all your work.' That's exactly how it works,' he said, adding that while students should work and struggle, he feels a lot of schoolwork is 'busy work.' 'I think the style of work will get more intentional and meaningful,' he said. 'AI is a tool, it's not a replacement.' The tool, which most notably gives humans the capability to solve problems, make decisions and automate certain functions with increased ease and speed, can seem confusing to workers who aren't traditionally versed in or have apprehension around computer systems. For younger generations, like Simrell's, raised with easy access to computers since birth, there is less resistance. This set includes the current college class, the youngest of whom were born in 2007, who will soon head into the working world. While it may seem like a distant blur to some, 2007 was a substantial year for technological advancements. In that 365-day period alone, Apple launched its iPhone, social media platforms Facebook and Twitter expanded worldwide, and Google bought YouTube. Since then, the AI industry has grown, quickly, under the radar. Program Coordinator and Lecturer in Information Sciences Fred Aebli at Penn State Scranton in Dunmore, on Tues., March 11, 2025. Today, it quietly looms large, touching nearly every industry in Northeast Pennsylvania. It is not a new concept. While British mathematician Alan Turing is considered to have ideated the concept, studies in the field reportedly began at Dartmouth University in 1956 by college math professor John McCarthy, who led a summer conference aimed at unlocking the possibilities of the science. McCarthy is also credited for giving it the name we use today: artificial intelligence. Stakeholders marched onward, expanding on the technology, which led to the development of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, and projects like the self-driving car, the Deep Blue chess-playing computer, sending AI-aided NASA rovers to Mars, and virtual assistants Siri and Alexa. Following COVID, the development of self-learning generative AI — which allows users to create all manner of written reports, photos, graphics, and videos using only text prompts, such as with OpenAI's ChatGPT program using an LLM, or large language model — has put AI into the direct global spotlight in a big way. Suddenly, work that was inconceivable to some is now possible in a fraction of the time. For example, AI is capable of writing a book in a few days, a task that might have traditionally taken months or years. Research papers and event posters can be generated in moments. With the technology's high accessibility, the region's colleges are taking careful note, and trying to stay ahead, or at least keep up with the countless advancements and ramifications as changes in the AI landscape tumble out at lightning speed. Young students' hands-on knowledge of and fast familiarity with AI presents infinite potential, as well as risks, as they forge ahead into their future careers. Fred Aebli, a program coordinator and lecturer in information sciences and technology at Penn State Scranton in Dunmore, and local speaker on AI, is constantly juggling how and when to incorporate the 'new' science into his own classroom. 'If you're teaching a technology class, you're making a conscious decision if the students are using these tools or not,' Aebli explained, demonstrating the challenges of teaching a science that many teachers are still trying to learn and understand themselves. 'AI is changing so fast,' he said. Aebli explained that many programs in daily classroom use 'weave in AI features' and don't offer an option to disable them. 'It's (AI is) automatically creeping in as a tool,' he said, adding that while some professors are open-minded to the technology, not all are. 'Technology has always caused this kind of stress,' he said, stating that recruiting efforts are proving that students must be knowledgeable with the tools in order to thrive in the careers the school promises to prepare them for. 'There are students being told not to use them, and these corporations are saying, 'No, no, no, you're going to use them.' It's an eye-widening experience for these young people,' Aebli said. 'They (students) should be informed as to where it's leading.' Aebli said there should be an emphasis on classes around ethics and process management, versus a degree track, outlining appropriate times and ways to use AI. With the countless applications and opportunities AI offers, it also presents countless concerns. Fears range widely, from technology taking the jobs of humans, to dystopian 1980s sci-fi film-style fears of the science overrunning humanity and taking over the world. Aebli maintains a realistic outlook. 'I've been around technology far too long to know that anything built by humans is flawed, and AI's got a lot of flaws,' he said. 'We've already seen them. It's never going to be perfect if humans have their hands on it.' Aebli added that AI learns by watching humans. 'Companies are made up of people, and they're messy,' he said, sharing that in consulting for corporations, he observed that many employees 'don't know what their jobs are,' and that 'you can't train someone to do something if you don't know what it is' — diminishing certain AI overthrow-related fears. 'You're going to see AI systems helping out in certain areas that they (workers) didn't think of in the past, but other areas will stay in the hands of the humans, at least for the next five, 10 years,' Aebli hypothesized. 'I don't see it as being so dire.' Beth Ritter-Guth, the associate dean of virtual services at Northampton Community College, who oversees the school's online program, virtual reality, augmented reality, and now, AI, works with AI every day. 'AI is permeating all of the different tools that we use,' she said, explaining the needs of the students and faculty, specifically where AI is concerned, are shifting. 'The demands for educating faculty and helping students in support for future jobs, that is more and more of my work,' Ritter-Guth said. 'We have a lot of work to do to make sure our students are prepared for the jobs of the future.' She said at first, there was a fear, 'because nobody really understands how it works.' 'AI is not new,' she explained. 'If you've been using spell checker, chat prediction … AI has been around, we just didn't know that is what it was called. Now we have tools that can help us write better, create better graphics and transform our workflow.' Ritter-Guth doesn't believe that AI-related fears are wholly warranted. 'The misnomer and myth about it is that it will replace humans,' she said, confirming that AI is not yet sentient. 'It can't think for itself, so there has to be a human checker,' she said, noting that AI can 'hallucinate,' or 'make stuff up if it can't find an answer.' How AI will factor into many Northeast Pennsylvania businesses is still uncertain, yet the technology is becoming increasingly more incorporated across the region. For local businesses, keeping a steady head and realistic expectations about AI's capabilities is paramount. 'I think all technology is neither good nor evil,' Ritter-Guth explained. 'It has ways to transform, very positively, our society, but it's how we use it.'
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Honoring MLK Jr.'s life in Dunmore
DUNMORE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Music, video, and words highlighted a Black History Month presentation honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the campus of Penn State Scranton Campus in Dunmore. 28/22 News Reporter Gianna Galli has more about a national touring group that organized the presentation in January that focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. National touring group, King's Dream, wanted their performance at Penn State Scranton to be a powerful one. In front of students, faculty, staff, and people in the community, the group orchestrated a multi-media presentation to relive the most memorable events in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life. 'That's the whole part of it: To educate the youth of today about the civil rights movement, because they don't know anything about that and it's not really taught like that to that degree in schools,' said cast member for King's Dream Stephen Wise. King's Dream presentation is looking to change that. The group tours all across the tri-state area, combining music, video, and story-telling into their live concert multi-media presentations. A slide show captured the drama, pain, and perseverance of the Civil Rights Movement. It showed the struggles Dr. King endured for his efforts in creating social change and racial equality. Black Broadway preserves history and fosters creativity among local youth 'Dr. King lived through a very difficult period. I cannot imagine myself not being allowed to sit in certain places on a bus, or not being allowed to drink from a fountain, or enter a restaurant because of my looks, whether it is black, or anything else,' former Penn State Scranton Chancellor Dr. Marwan Wafa said. While remembering the testaments of Dr. King's life, Dr. Wafa and his wife, Sahar Al Masari were recognized for work at Penn State Scranton. They were honored with the External Excellence in Diversity Award. The former Penn State Scranton Chancellor from 2015 to 2024 and his wife Sahar created the Diversity Circles Program at Penn State that brings together groups of individuals to expand diversity awareness. 'Diversity is something, is very very important for the world to really understand what that means, and to be living in a higher education world right now, and seeing the diverse effect here,' Student Activities Coordinator Nikki Paolicelli stated. Paolicelli is grateful people at her school had the chance to be a part of that difference in an impactful way. 'I think it served the community very very well to see a great crowd,' Paolicelli explained. 'The dream. Keep the dream alive,' Wise said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
