HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges (PACCC) recently announced the 26th Annual All-Pennsylvania Academic Team. The honor recognizes an exceptional group of community college students who have achieved academic excellence and demonstrated a commitment to their colleges and communities. 

The 2020 awardees include three Reading Area Community College outstanding transfer scholars. Transfer students must have completed at least 36 credits at a community college and must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher to be considered for these awards. Workforce students must have a minimum of 12 college-level credit hours at a community college and a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. 

The three Reading Area Community College scholarship winners are Ms. Valerie Mackey, Ms. Afaf Maslah (Coca-Cola New Century Workforce Pathway Scholar), and Ms. Emma Wright.

“We at Reading Area Community College applaud these outstanding student scholars on their terrific academic achievements,” says Dr. Susan D. Looney, president of Reading Area Community College. “By enrolling in high-quality educational programs, these students are building a foundation for a successful career while furthering their postsecondary study.”  

Pennsylvania’s community colleges partner with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) universities to provide scholarships to eligible All-PA Transfer Team members at PASSHE institutions, providing two years of tuition at any PASSHE school. 

Students nominated to the national All-USA Community College Academic Team are automatically named to the All-State Community College Academic Teams. The programs share common eligibility criteria, which includes enrollment at a community college, a minimum 3.5 grade point average, completion of a minimum of 36 college-level credits and being on track to receive an associate or bachelor’s degree. 

In Berks County, a grassroots effort is providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to workers who can’t stay home during the COVID19 pandemic. The Berks PPE Resource Network is a consortium of people at area organizations including hobbyists and engineers working to 3D print face shields. Reading Area Community College (RACC) is one of the organizations participating.

Working closely with the PPE Resource Network and American Polarizers, a Reading-based precision engineered optics company, the Schmidt Training and Technology Center (STTC) on the RACC campus, has been transformed into a temporary face shield manufacturing and assembly hub. Led by STTC Director Bonnie Spayed, the facility has been producing full face protective shields and 3D printed face shield brackets as quickly as they can. “We will shortly have produced close to 3,000 face shields that will immediately be used in the field by police and emergency responders. I am so proud to be a part of this group of people who have come together to get this done for our community. Our STTC staff has been very creative and resourceful in pulling all the pieces together and producing and assembling this gear for our local heroes who are working hard to keep us safe during this pandemic,” says Spayd.

According to PPE Resource Network organizer Ellen Albright, director of talent and workforce development at Greater Reading Chamber Alliance, the partners were wondering how to harness existing 3D-printing resources to produce PPE for front-line workers.

 “Instead of getting stuck in those questions — ‘How do we do that?’ or ‘What happens next?’ — we kept tapping this ad hoc committee that we had,” says Albright. “Take your piece of this and let’s run. Build the plane while you’re flying, because it’s not anything any of us had done before.”

It’s not only hospital workers who need the shields, though their PPE needs have understandably gotten the spotlight. According to Adelle Schade, a Network organizer and founder of the nonprofit Albright Science Research Institute, people like police officers, firefighters, Game Commission staffers, postal workers, grocery-store clerks, and even private-practice physicians have been going without face-shields while doing their essential jobs. The PPE Resource Network is fixing that.

Please visit our Online Learning page to answer any questions you may have about the transition to online classes.

Reading, PA –December 12, 2019 – Reading Area Community College (RACC) Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the promotion of Jodi Corbett to the newly created position of associate vice president of community and academic partnerships. Ms. Corbett has held several positions at RACC since 2007, most recently serving as director of academic partnerships since 2014.

In her enhanced leadership role, Ms. Corbett will oversee the development and strengthening of educational partnerships, and develop and oversee college and university transfer partnerships. She will also seek and secure grant opportunities for scholarships and innovative academic projects. She will continue to work collaboratively with faculty and staff to build seamless academic pathways from early college programs to bachelor’s degree programs through the college.

"I am delighted to have Jodi in this new role at the college," says RACC President Dr. Susan D. Looney. "Her exceptional record of success in developing and maintaining key educational and community partnerships, combined with her passion for higher education, will continue to increase the value of our efforts as we expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education in Berks County."

Ms. Corbett led National Endowment for the Humanities professional and curricular development programs focused on increasing content knowledge and infusion of Latino history and culture into curriculum. RACC is Pennsylvania’s only Hispanic Serving Institution in higher education. As an administrator, she completed the Presidents’ Leadership Institute (PLI) in 2017, and is currently co-coordinating the 2019-2020 cohort.

She serves as a member of multiple Chapter 339 school counselor advisory councils, Berks Career & Technology Advisory Council, CareerReadyBerks Pathway Alliance leadership team, and the Reading Science Center Board.

Ms. Corbett is an alumna of Reading Area Community College and Kutztown University.

To learn more about community and academic partnership opportunities with RACC, call 610.607.6219.

Reading, PA – Fifteen staff and faculty members of Reading Area Community College are being honored for creating and implementing innovative programs, practices, partnerships, policies, and activities that improve the institution’s ability to serve students and their communities.

“I could not be more proud of the RACC staff and faculty members who have worked so hard to achieve this award. Their dedication to student success and their abilities to motivate and support students in the development of valuable learning experiences continues to inspire me every day,” says RACC President Dr. Susan D. Looney.

Faculty and staff members receiving the award are: Pamela Blakely, Professor, Social Sciences/Human Services; Danelle Bower, Associate Professor, Social Sciences/Human Services; Jodi Corbett, Director of Academic Partnerships and Special Assistant to the President; Robin Eckert, Associate Dean, Social Sciences/Human Services and Foundational Studies; Teri Floyd-Brumm, Associate Professor, Foundational Studies; Michael Gregory, Director of Teaching and Learning; Mary Ellen Heckman, Associate Dean, Library; David Hessen, Director of Marketing and Communications; Nancy Jackson, Associate Professor, Social Sciences/Human Services; Alexis Jardine, Professor, Foundational Studies; Kay Litman, Vice President of Enrollment Management; Maria Mitchell, Dean of Student Affairs; Dolores Peterson, Associate Vice President for  Finance and Administrative Services/Controller; Benjamin Rosenberger, Director of Financial Aid/Registrar and Bonnie Spayd, Executive Director of Workforce and Economic Development.
 
The winning members will be honored at the League for Innovation Conference in March 2020, in Seattle, Washington.

The League’s Innovation of the Year Award was devised as a way to nationally recognize significant innovations at community colleges. These innovations reflect capstone achievements and the continuing renewal of the spirit of innovation and experimentation upon which the League was founded. The award honors faculty, staff, and administrators at member colleges who have created and implemented innovative programs, practices, partnerships, policies, and activities that improve the institution’s ability to serve students and the community.

To learn more about the instructional innovation and student success models at RACC, call 610.607.6224.