Harrisburg, Pennsylvania — An Economic Profile

EDUCATION

A WIDE SELECTION OF SECONDARY AND HIGHER EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE IN THE CITY OF HARRISBURG, IN ITS GREATER METROPOLITAN AREA, AND WITHIN A SHORT DRIVING DISTANCE IN THE SURROUNDING REGION.

CITY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

HARRISBURG AREA COMMUNITY COLLEGE (HACC).

Established in 1964 as Pennsylvania’s first community college, Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) provides outstanding educational opportunities to the community. Whether their aspirations are to earn a baccalaureate degree, complete a certificate or diploma program for entry into the workforce, upgrade their job skills or take advantage of special interest courses, HACC’s students find the resources and the support they need to realize their goals.

The sprawling main campus in the northern part of Harrisburg is on land donated by the City for this purpose.

A multi-campus institution, HACC offers courses and programs at the main Wildwood Campus in Harrisburg, and at campuses in Lebanon, Lancaster and Gettysburg, PA. Situated in the northern portion of Harrisburg, the 212-acre Wildwood Campus includes nine instructional complexes, a bookstore, college service center, conference center and a 12-acre public safety-training center.

The College enjoys a broad base of community support in fulfilling its mission. Through the strong leadership of the Board of Trustees, the outstanding support of the HACC Foundation Board of Directors, and the vital partnerships with sponsoring school districts and the business and higher education communities, HACC has established itself as a leader in providing high-quality, affordable education, training the region’s workforce and improving the quality of life in Central Pennsylvania.

Promoting the economic vitality of the region is an integral part of HACC’s mission. The College’s Workforce and Economic Development Division addresses the training needs of business and industry, promotes tech prep initiatives with area secondary schools, offers skills-based programs for individuals on state assistance, and provides cutting-edge information technology programs.

In 2001, the college’s new Technology Training Center in the city’s uptown area was opened and is a major new center for workforce training for area industries.

HACC’s reputation for excellence is reflected through its faculty. Nationally recognized as leaders in their fields, the faculty members have maintained high academic standards for the College, while giving students the personal attention and assistance they need to succeed.

Assisting HACC students in achieving their academic goals is a full complement of support services. Developmental courses are available for students requiring additional preparation for college courses, and individual and group tutoring are offered to students free of charge through the Office of Adult Basic Education and Developmental Studies. The Office of Special Services, which has received national recognition, coordinates accommodations for students with disabilities so that they may reach their educational objectives in a supportive learning environment. HACC’s Office of Institutional Diversity and Minority Student Affairs promotes access to educational opportunities for students of color while promoting multicultural initiatives at the College.

HACC’s combined credit and noncredit programs serve approximately 60,000 persons annually as an increasing number of people turn to the College for personal and professional growth opportunities. The College’s more than 26,000 alumni, many of whom support the College with both their time and gifts, have achieved distinction in almost every field, including business, medicine, law, the arts, education, human and public service, the military, and the technologies.

The College’s Rose Lehrman Arts Center serves as a regional hub for the fine and performing arts. The center features a newly renovated theater, a studio theater, gallery and rose garden. The College’s $6.7-million, 43,000-square-foot Wildwood Conference Center opened in 1992. Featuring the latest in audiovisual equipment and sharply appointed, the facility can accommodate more than 300 programs a year for groups ranging in size from 10 to several hundred.

Harrisburg Area Community College is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

THE DIXON UNIVERSITY CENTER OF THE STATE SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION

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Located on a beautiful six-acre campus at 2986 N. Second Street and facing the waterfront in uptown Harrisburg, the Dixon University Center is a consortium of The Pennsylvania State System universities, and three affiliated private institutions, primarily organized to serve the graduate level and professional educational needs of South Central Pennsylvania. Administered by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, the headquarters of which is also located on the site, the Dixon University Center, as an academic and governance institution, offers graduate degree programs in Business Administration, Clinical Psychology, Criminal Justice, Educational Administration, Environmental Science Management, Information Systems, Library Science, Public Administration, Safety Science, and Communicative Disorders. There are five undergraduate degree programs available on a part-time basis as well. Classes are held in the evenings and on weekends to accommodate working adults.

The current consortium members include the state universities of Clarion, Indiana, Kutztown, Millersville, Ship- pensburg and West Chester. New initiatives to bring the other system schools to the consortium are in progress. The three private affiliates are Elizabethtown College, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and Saint Francis College of Loretto. The Center houses a compressed video network and is the telecommunications hub for 20 state education facilities across Pennsylvania. Conference and meeting space is available on-site as well.

PENN STATE HARRISBURG CENTERS.

Penn State Harrisburg operates two centers in downtown Harrisburg, providing convenient locations for residents of the state capital community to access lectures, special programs, seminars, credit and non-credit courses, and specialized training.

• The Penn State Downtown Center (234 N. 3rd St.), established in 1989, is located directly across the street from the state Capitol. The Center provides a wide range of services to people residing and working in downtown Harrisburg. Services include a public policy lecture series, quarterly newsletter, access to information on all of Penn State’s colleges and locations and an Independent Learning Resource Center.
• The Eastgate Center (1010 N. 7th St.) opened in 1991, includes seven classrooms, administrative offices, a microcomputer lab and student lounge. Both academic and continuing education courses are offered throughout the year. The Eastgate Center also provides General Educational Development (GED) testing and a monthly School of Business Administration lecture series. The Center is home to a wide range of credit and non-credit courses and to the E-Commerce center, established through a partnership involving the University, state government, Microsoft Corporation, Dell, Unisys, and the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania.

Temple University Harrisburg (TUH).

A satellite of Temple University in Philadelphia, TUH offers graduate programs designed for the adult learner and provides undergraduate (with a new Bachelor’s of Social Work degree program), graduate and continuing education levels of higher education. Graduate degree programs are offered in Educational Administration (master’s and doctorate) and master’s degrees in Adult and Organizational Training, Business Administration and Educational Psychology as well as in Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising. Also, an Ed.M. is offered in Elementary Education Certification.

Graduate-level certificate programs are available in Training and Organizational Development, Gerontology, and Public Policy. Principal, Superintendent, and Supervisory Certification programs are also available. With only 250 students when originally established in 1987, the campus has grown to more than 2,200 enrollees.

Located in a portion of the ground and second floors in Strawberry Square, the 35,000 sq. ft. Center is within one block of the Capitol Complex. The Campus is equipped with “smart” classrooms with every seat connected to the Internet as well as with PC & Mac computer labs, a 119-seat lecture hall, a distance learning facility, expanded library, student lounge and study areas.

Planning and development activities are currently underway for the proposed Harrisburg Polytechnic Institute, a non-traditional university with residential campus and a major business incubation center in the City. This exciting new institution of higher learning will have a special focus upon advanced technical training and degree programs in such areas as computer sciences, robotics and other high-tech disciplines.

METROPOLITAN AREA COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Penn State Harrisburg (Middletown, PA). Established in 1966, Penn State Harrisburg is a nationally recognized undergraduate transfer college and graduate school of The Pennsylvania State University, accepting applications from students into undergraduate majors who have successfully completed most of their freshman and sophomore level course work.

With an enrollment of 3,500, the College offers three associate, 26 baccalaureate, and 17 master’s degrees along with the D.Ed. in Adult Education and the Ph.D. in Public Administration. A number of certificate and certification programs are also available. For the convenience of students who are employed and study part-time, Penn State Harrisburg’s graduate programs are offered in the evening. A comprehensive research college, Penn State Harrisburg’s programs are housed in five academic schools: Humanities; Business Administration; Public Affairs; Behavioral Sciences and Education; and Science, Engineering, and Technology. The College features a small-college atmosphere with the resources, academic standards, and assets of The Pennsylvania State University — the Commonwealth’s comprehensive land grant university.

The academic growth at the College has been matched by an historic physical expansion of the campus. Recent projects have resulted in an expanded Science and Technology building and a 115,000-square-foot, three-story library which opened in January 2000. The $17 million campus library is the most technologically advanced facility of its kind in the region. Upcoming projects include the construction of new student housing.

The College serves both the educational and economic development needs of the region with extensive outreach through a number of centers and institutes. The campus is home to the Pennsylvania State Data Center, the Commonwealth’s official source of demographic and economic data.

Other Centers and Institutes include: The Institute for State and Regional Affairs, Center for Community Action and Research, Center for Ethics in Professional Life, Center for Quality of Working Life, Economic Development Research and Training Center, Environmental Technology Center, Women’s Enrichment Center, Giant Foods Center for Economic Education, Center for Environment and Community, Center for Pennsylvania Cultural Studies, Center for Survey Research, and Center for Improvement of Teaching and Learning.

Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA) is a private, national liberal arts college of 2,000 students known for its innovative curriculum and international education programs. In September, 1783, Dickinson became the first college chartered in the newly recognized United States, named in honor of the writer of the U.S. Constitution. Considered among the top 50 liberal arts colleges in the country, the school leads all colleges and universities in the country in the per capita production of language majors. The college sponsors 13 academic year and semester programs located throughout the world and numerous overseas summer and short-term programs, and also partners five other programs abroad with other academic institutions. The college presents a variety of exhibitions, special events, concerts and performances throughout the year, most of which are free and open to the public.

The Dickinson School of Law of The Pennsylvania State University (Carlisle, PA). Founded in 1834, The Penn State Dickinson School of Law is the oldest law school in Pennsylvania. In 1997, The Dickinson School of Law became affiliated with Penn State University and the two institutions celebrated the completion of the merger on July 1, 2000. The School has enrollment of 525 students and 35 full-time professors. The School is considered ideal for those who wish both a small-town environment for study and the value of close proximity to Harrisburg as the state capital and major judicial center, as well as to larger metropolises in the northeast U.S. In the three years since the affiliation, Dickinson has seen its applications rise from 1,154 in 1997-1998 to 1,800 in 1999-2000. Also, the School has recently opened three new academic centers: The Center for Dispute Resolution, The Center for International and Comparative Law and The Miller Center for Public Interest Advocacy. In addition, the School successfully operates the Agricultural Law Research and Education Center, in conjunction with Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. The School’s extensive library, with over 400,000 volumes, and state-of-the-art, on-line legal data references, such as Westlaw and Lexis as well as CD-ROM databases, are available. The school offers over 100 courses in the J.D. and LL.M programs as well as opportunities for J.D. students to participate in live-client clinics.

Widener University School of Law (Vartan Way, Harrisburg). An extension of Widener University in Chester, PA, the School of Law offers the only legal education program in Central Pennsylvania with both full- time (day) and part-time (day or evening) options. Widener’s 21-acre campus, located only seven miles from downtown Harrisburg, enrolls approximately 400 students and was twice named “Outstanding School of the Year” by the ABA (American Bar Association) Law Student Division. The School’s course offerings encompass all areas of law, with an emphasis on practical skills including trial advocacy, alternative dispute resolution and estate planning.

Widener’s innovative Law and Government Program takes full advantage of the School’s proximity to the Capitol Complex and relates to state agencies to train students for careers in state and federal government and private practice representing clients in governmental matters.

Widener University School of Nursing (Vartan Way, Harrisburg). The Harrisburg Campus of the School of Nursing was the first in the Central Pennsylvania area to offer a Masters Degree leading to the certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner. Other graduate nursing programs are also available at the Harrisburg Campus including Community Based, Emergency/Critical Care and Adult Health Clinical Specialist programs, with the exception of the clinical courses.

Academy of Medical Arts and Business. Situated just north of Harrisburg at 4200 Linglestown Road on Academy Drive, the Academy is a nationally recognized trade and technical school. Degree programs are offered in 15 months and Diplomas in nine months in the Business, Computer, Medical, Dental, Massage Therapy, Paralegal and Child Care fields. Established in 1980, the Academy is licensed by the PA Department of Education and the State Board of Private Licensed Schools. It is also approved by the Secretary of the PA Department of Education to award the Specialized Business Degree and the Associate in Specialized Technology Degree. The Academy is the only school in Central Pennsylvania which has an MA Program accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools and additionally is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology. The Academy has on-site childcare while parents are in class and features the Campus Café and fully equipped facilities for corporate meetings and presentations.

SECONDARY EDUCATION

Harrisburg School District. With an enrollment of 7,200 pupils and a complement of 16 school buildings, the Harrisburg School District provides education for the city’s youth beginning with all-day kindergarten through twelfth grade. Harrisburg High School, formerly known as John Harris High School at 2451 Market Street, along with its companion vocational technical center at the former William Penn High School at North 3rd and Division Streets, is a comprehensive academic and vocational school for grades nine through twelve. The Rowland and Scott Intermediate Schools were opened in 1999 in a renovated office building complex located in the 1800 and 1900 blocks of Derry Street; a move to both maintain the neighborhood school environment and to contain development costs. The district, which is governed since Decemmber, 2000, by a mayorally-appointed, five-member board that serves at no salary, is now well along in an extensive initiative to reform, improve, and upgrade academic and operational standards and accountability, with some initial success having been achieved. A multi-year restructuring and reform plan is aimed at making the district a model urban educational system.

City Charter Public Schools. In 1997, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania enabled the creation of charter public schools to provide options in public education. As independent public schools, charter institutions empower parents, teachers and communities to custom-design unique educational programs that meet the specific needs of children. Charter public schools are designed to operate free of most state and federal mandates, however are accountable in fulfilling the goals and objectives which the schools themselves establish. Charter public schools in Harrisburg include:

• Ronald H. Brown Charter School (925 N. Third Street). Enrollment - 450; elementary grade levels.
• Sylvan Heights Science Charter School (915 S. 13th St.). Enrollment - 176; elementary grade levels.
• Bishop McDevitt High School (2200 Market St.). The parochial high school, serving Harrisburg and the metropolitan area’s east shore, combines a broad academic curriculum with a strong foundation of religious values. The school’s students come from a variety of economic, geographic, racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds, making the importance of mutual respect and cooperation a focal point of the school’s philosophy.
  Bishop McDevitt celebrates over 80 years of excellence in education and proudly continues the tradition of preparing young adults to be principled, active and productive members of society.
• Harrisburg Academy (Wormleysburg, PA). Established in 1784 by John Harris, Jr., the founder of Harrisburg, the Harrisburg Academy, located on Harrisburg’s west shore, is a private coeducational institution that emphasizes a college preparatory curriculum in a small intimate setting. The institution’s grades run from junior kindergarten through Grade 12. The academy is committed to fostering academic virtue, promoting the value of the fine and performing arts, community service and physical education.

LIBRARIES

Major libraries in Harrisburg include:

• State Library of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Law Library (Forum Building, Walnut St. and Commonwealth Ave.)
• Dauphin County Library System (Downtown branch and administrative offices, Front and Walnut St.; city branches at 29th St. and the Uptown Plaza)
• McCormick Library (HACC)
• Dauphin County Law Library (Dauphin County Courthouse, Front and Market Sts.).