October 9, 2018/Written by David Mekeel/Reading, PA

A few weeks ago, someone asked Dr. Susan D. Looney where she saw Reading Area Community College being five years down the road.

She responded that she saw it as being much the way it already is, with all the great things that have been going on simply being taken even further.

Looney relayed the story to a crowd gathered Monday afternoon inside RACC's Miller Center for the Arts. She said she sees students of all ages learning and succeeding. She said sees a welcoming environment that's also nimble and aggressive, able to quickly meet workforce needs.

She said she sees supportive faculty and staff, an administration that truly leads, a schoolwide ethos of never settling for the status quo. She sees graduates ready to continue their education or enter the workforce.

She said she sees herself healthy and active - still doing her 5 a.m. workouts and still leading, honored to be the steward of a great institution.

"I see myself always being #RACCProud," she concluded.

Looney will have a unique ability to make all that happen. She is, after all, the woman in charge.

Although she has been on the job since July, the 50-year-old officially took the reins as RACC's sixth president during an inauguration ceremony Monday afternoon.

Dressed in a black gown with gold piping, a purple sash around her neck and a black cap on her head, she raised her right hand and repeated her oath of office. Then, with a medallion placed around her neck and a wooden mace in her right hand, she turned to face a crowd on its feet and applauding wildly.

Looney replaced Dr. Anna D. Weitz, who retired after serving as RACC's president for 11 years.

'The Four Agreements'
During her inauguration speech, Looney said that she will lead based on four principles developed from the book "The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom," by Don Miguel Ruiz.

She said that she will be impeccable with her word.

"There will be no empty promises," Looney said.

Second, she said she won't take things personally, that when she has a disagreement she won't let it poison relationships or cloud decisions.

Third, she said she won't make assumptions, instead always striving to dig deeper and learn more.

Finally, she said she will always strive to do her best.

Those principles, Looney said, will help her focus on what she calls the four hallmarks of a community college - the things by which she will measure RACC's success.

Those hallmarks are access, opportunity, excellence and hope.

Prior to her own remarks, Looney got a chance to hear what some others had to say about her. She listened to glowing reviews from the likes of state Sen. Judy Schwank and Berks County commissioners Chairman Christian Y. Leinbach. She heard from faculty and board members and a current RACC student.

Each spoke of Looney's unique path, about how she went from a high school dropout to a successful harness racer to a nervous community college student to a teacher and administrator.

Leinbach said that very few take a straight line from high school to their ultimate career destination, and Looney knows that well. He said her path makes her the perfect person to understand the often nontraditional tracks upon which RACC students find themselves.

Pair from her past
The most poignant words about Looney came from two people from her past. The first was Trudy Rich.

Twenty years ago, Rich was an introverted mother of a small child. She ended up taking a temporary job in accounts payable at a manufacturing plant and decided she could do the job better with a little more understanding. She signed up for night classes at her local community college.

"My first class was taught by the great Dr. Looney," she said.

She said Looney was endlessly supportive and encouraging, the type of teacher who would do anything for her students.

"Her office door was always open," Rich said.

Looney pushed Rich, first as a teacher and later as a mentor. With her support, Rich thrived, and today owns her own accounting business.

"Thank you, Dr. Looney, for changing my life," she said.

Similarly, Looney pushed Jan Clapp, not as a student but as an employee. Looney told Clapp that there was a job opening at Delaware Technical Community College, where Looney was then an assistant to the campus director and the director of corporate and communication programs, that was perfect for Clapp.

It was a job Clapp had no intention of taking.

"I'll see you Monday morning at 8:30 a.m.," she recalls Looney telling her, saying that Looney ended up convincing her to take the job.

"Susan Looney doesn't take no for an answer," Clapp said.

Of course, Clapp said, Looney was right. Clapp loved working at the community college, even after Looney pushed her to take over handling federal grants just two months into her tenure.

"Susan had complete faith in my abilities," she said. "She was always there to support and encourage me."

Clapp said that Looney was always a leader, not a boss. She sees the best in people, and recognizes potential and knows how to nurture and use it.

"She created a culture of 'I can; I will,' " she said.

Monday's inauguration ceremony followed a week of celebration that included, among other things, a costume parade, a flash mob dance party, a fun run, a concert and an inaugural reception.

Written by: Reading Eagle/October 5, 2018/Reading, PA

Reading Area Community College students and staff boogied in the quad Thursday, part of the school's ongoing celebration of the upcoming inauguration of its new president, Dr. Susan D. Looney.

The college this week marked Smile Week, which featured events like creating a smile postcard to give to fellow students, staff members or family members; painting smiley rocks; and a scavenger hunt.

Thursday, there was a smile parade through campus with participants dressed in smiley costumes, followed by a flash mob. Students and staff also had an opportunity to decorate smile cupcakes.

Looney's inauguration will take place Monday at 2 p.m. in the Miller Center for the Arts.

October 1, 2018 | by: Berks County Living

Suzanne Christie: Director of the Tutoring Centers at RACC | Age: 74 | Wyomissing 

According to Suzanne’s daughter Heather, “While most seniors are slowing down as they enter their golden years, my mom zips around Berks creating goodwill wherever she travels.” During her tenure at Reading Area Community College (RACC), Suzanne has turned the school’s tutoring centers into “a resort-like oasis,” and that’s just her day job. 

Preparing for the Future
As director of RACC’s tutoring centers, Suzanne not only coordinates the tutors and programming for all four of the college’s tutoring centers, she’s also the Campus Academic Coach, working one-on-one with students to share strategies that promote academic excellence. 

Among the many programs she has implemented, perhaps the most successful have been Finals De-Stress Week, Math and Writing Awareness Months, and Poets and Writers’ Teas. She is also in the midst of implementing a peer mentoring program that pairs successful upperclassmen with incoming freshmen. “I have so many students tell me they wished they had someone to go to for help navigating their first year, so we’ve started the mentoring program. I’m really excited about it,” Suzanne says.

Preserving the Past
It was her passion for helping students that also launched Suzanne’s side hustle, Suzanne Christie Antiques. She bought her first vintage dresses to use in fashion shows to benefit children at risk. Twenty years later, Suzanne is a premier source for vintage clothing and antiques. 

She spends her weekends searching for treasures at auctions and sells her discoveries at Adams Antiques, Denver, Pa.. “It’s been really fun. You never know who is going to come looking for something,” she says. And she has had some interesting customers. Her wares have appeared on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, on the television movie The Life of Lizzie Borden, and in photoshoots for Ralph Lauren. New York designers seek her out to buy clothing and props, and she has had customers visit her stand from all over the world. 

Embracing the Present
Despite her busy work schedule, Suzanne always makes time for her family. She regularly babysits her eight grandchildren and attends as many of their soccer games, lacrosse matches and dance recitals as possible. 

Her focus on family is so important that she has taken on yet another project. With the help of her daughter and granddaughter, Suzanne is bringing the grassroots phenomenon “Listen to Your Mother” to Berks. On Mother’s Day 2019 they will host local writers at Wilson High School to share their stories about motherhood. “It’s three generations working on the project, and it’s to give a microphone to motherhood,” Suzanne explains. “We think it’s going to be a great platform for writers to showcase their talents.” 

With more projects on her plate than ever, Suzanne shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, she says, “There’s nothing I want to give up, and I feel like RACC’s my second home! I’m probably going to be 100 and they’ll be asking me when I’m going to retire.” Until then, she is simply grateful for her health, her family, and her ability to do it all. 

Republished from Safe Berks NEWS, Summer 2018
 
The students, faculty and staff of Reading Area Community College (RACC) worked throughout the 2017-18 school year to raise funds to help Safe Berks. All their hard work came together as students gathered on campus to celebrate the annual RACCy Olympics, where they competed in fun games, including a hula hoop contest.
 
The RACCy Olympics culminated in the presentation of a huge check to Safe Berks. When the real check arrived at Safe Berks soon after the event, the staff felt a combination of gratitude and awe. The check was for $11,156! Those funds will be used to help renovate the Safe Berks Playground. The students raised the funds by completing a series of fundraisers, including selling candy bars, selling tickets to a bus trip to Washington D.C., and selling ads in a RACCy Olympics program book. Each year, students vote to decide which local non-profit to help.
 
“At RACC we feel that it is important to teach our students to become future leaders in our community,” said Kimberly Uphold, Student Life Coordinator at RACC. “One of the ways we chose to encourage that growth is through RACCy Olympics. We all truly care about our community and hope to teach our students that the best way to help and change things is by taking action. Our staff and faculty chose to participate because RACC is a community and we feel it is important for us, as leaders of RACC, to also set the example for our students. Our students understood the need for the children at Safe Berks to have a nice safe environment. When they found out that the funds they were raising were going to build the playground, they were very excited.”

PHOTO CAPTION: From left, Francine Scoboria of Safe Berks, and Daniel Faudree, Kathy Torres, and Kim Upland, of RACC.

August 2018 | berkscountyliving.com

Chris Celmer started his Reading Area Community College (RACC) journey as a student, but RACC provided him with much more than an associate's degree. "Going to RACC was the best decision I ever made," explains Celmer. "It was a turning point in my life and put me on track for long term success," says Chris.

Chris was drawn to RACC for the economic perspective and the ease of being able to juggle his full-time job and course load. He enrolled in RACC as a Business Management major. He continued his education at Alvernia University, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in Business Administration and later got his master's degree at Wilkes University. Chris credits RACC for laying the groundwork for his success. He says, "The foundation that I was given at RACC in the business division allowed me to have a successful journey in school and in the working world."

While working in a prospering manufacturing position, Chris was given the opportunity to teach an adult education course at RACC. Teaching the program helped him to transition his career to work full-time in education. "I realized that education was going to be my gateway to attaining my career goals, and RACC is where I found my passion for leadership and for education," he says. Chris segued to a position at the Berks County Intermediate Unit, which ultimately led him to where he is today, Assistant Superintendent at Reading School District.

Chris attributes his success to the guidance he received from professors Dr. Sandy Kern and Mary Lou Kline. At RACC, both Sandy and Mary Lou were his go-to professors not only for guidance in his studies, but also for counsel with his career.

"I wouldn't be where I am today without the two of them," he asserts. "They both had a phenomenal impact on my life." Chris stayed in contact with Dr. Kern while on a Programming Advisory Board in the Business Division at RACC. And recently, Dr. Kern asked Chris to teach an Operation Management course. "To keep in contact with Sandy over the years has been a real blessing, and now being able to come back to RACC to teach under her is very exciting," he says.

As an administrator in the public school system, Chris feels that RACC is a phenomenal option for students. He believes the bigger universities lack the personal interaction that RACC offers. "The faculty and staff want to do what's right by their students, especially those coming out of high school that need more guidance and support," he says. Chris's recommendation to attend RACC comes both professionally and personally, since his daughter Rayanna is starting classes in the Early Childhood program next year. "I would absolutely recommend RACC to anyone if they are looking at furthering their education."

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