Reading, PA – Reading Area Community College, in partnership with Tower Health, is proud to announce a new 15 week Pharmacy Technician Program beginning in the spring of 2020. The program, designed by administrators from both institutions, will prepare students to take the national certification examination administered by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB). Students who complete the pharmacy technician program can seek employment in a hospital or retail pharmacy setting.

“We are very excited about this partnership with Tower Health. For students who want to enter the pharmacy technician field, enrolling in this program is the fastest way to get great training and enter the workforce. Because of the shorter time to completion, the courses will be quite focused. The curriculum is designed to teach students the exact skills they will need to work as a pharmacy technician,” says RACC president Dr. Susan Looney.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, employment of pharmacy technicians is projected to grow almost ten percent from 2018 to 2028, faster than the average for all occupations. To prepare students for this career, the program will provide classroom content lectures, hands-on lab training, and practicum experience in a hospital setting.

“RACC is a wonderful educational institution in the community,” says William M. Jennings, president and CEO, Reading Hospital. We are pleased to partner with them to offer a Pharmacy Technician training program that will provide students the hands-on experience needed for a successful career as a Pharmacy Technician. We are privileged to provide the students the opportunity to shadow Reading Hospital pharmacists and technicians in different areas of the facility to fulfill their training.”  

The Pharmacy Technician Program will be held from 5:30-9:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The program start date is January 13, 2020 and ends April 16, 2020. Learn more or call 610.375.8188.
 

READING, Oct. 31 – State Reps. Tom Caltagirone and Mark Rozzi and Sen. Judy Schwank announced Reading Area Community College will receive almost $43,000 in state funding from a Preschool Development Grant as part of a $1.5 million investment from the state to improve the quality of early childcare education.

“This grant will ultimately help provide a seamless pathway for students attending Reading Area Community College to pursue a Bachelor of Science in education at Kutztown University,” said Caltagirone, D-Berks. “The program will not only benefit college students by helping them earn teacher certification, but it has the potential to have a great impact on our region by improving the quality of the education our future teachers receive.” 

Reading Area Community College will receive a grant totaling $42,947.

“This grant will help provide a stronger relationship between a local college and local university, developing project partners that will ultimately benefit all of the students in our region,” Rozzi said.

The grants will allow the universities and colleges to design specific courses related to Pennsylvania’s Learning Standards for Early Childhood Infant and Toddlers and Pre-Kindergarten.

“We are fortunate in Berks to have institutions of higher learning that are willing to work together for the benefit of students,” Schwank said. “Well-educated early childhood teachers are a necessity if we are to properly prepare future generations of learners, and this grant will help pave the way for those teachers.”

The grant is a partnership between the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Human Services Office of Child Development and Early Learning and the Pennsylvania Department of Education Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education.

Reading, PA – Seventeen local mental health agencies attended the 4th Annual Mental Health Fair held in the Zogas Student Union Building on Wednesday, October 16.  The purpose of the event was to reduce the stigma of mental health issues, raise awareness of mental health treatment, and to inform the RACC community of the many local resources available.
 
Approximately 25 representatives from the agencies brought literature and talked with students, staff, and faculty from 10:00 until 2:00.  Students attending were given “passports” to “travel” among the agencies to learn of the services offered.  The passports earned door prize tickets for those attending. 
 
Phi Theta Kappa is the Honor Society for two-year colleges.  The Mental Health Fair originated with Kristy Whitekettle, RACC alum who previously served as President of Phi Theta Kappa’s local chapter.  She also served as an officer in Psi Beta, the Psychology Honor Society, and engaged Psi Beta and RACC’s Student Affairs Department to co-sponsor the event.  Although Whitekettle graduated, she is committed to continuing to hold the Mental Health Fair and returns to organize the annual event.  A post-fair survey revealed that the agencies attending were positively impressed with the diversity of agencies present and the wealth of knowledge those agency representatives shared with the RACC community. 
 
For more information about Phi Theta Kappa or the Mental Health Fair, contact Chapter President Leann Woolf or Advisors Dr. Danelle Bower and Dr. Donna Singleton.

Washington DC - On Wednesday, October 9th, President Donald Trump announced that RACC Board of Trustees Chair, Mr. Guido M. Pichini will be appointed to the Commission on Presidential Scholars, a group of distinguished citizens charged with selecting and honoring the nation’s top graduating high school seniors. 

Established in 1964, the Presidential Scholars Program recognizes and honors the nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. A panel selects scholars who demonstrate exceptional accomplishments in academics, the arts and an outstanding commitment to public service.

Pichini will join more than a dozen other commissioners who work in education, medicine, law, social services, business and other professions. 

“I am honored to be able to provide this public service, especially because of the role the Presidential Scholars play in the development of leadership for our nation’s future,” says Pichini.

During a decades-long career of public service and educational capacities, Mr. Pichini has served as councilman in the Borough of Wyomissing Hills, and four terms as Mayor. As a member of the President’s Council at Alvernia University, and presently as a member of Alvernia University’s Board of Trustees. Mr. Pichini has served as a member of the Council of Trustees of Kutztown University (serving three terms as Chair). He served on the Board of Directors of the Kutztown University Foundation, and as President of the Pennsylvania Association of Councils of Trustees. He presently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Reading Area Community College, on the Reading Area Community College Foundation Board, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the PA Commission for Community Colleges. Mr. Pichini served twelve years as a Governor of the PA State System of Higher Education, serving five terms as Chairman of the Board. In 2016, Mr. Pichini was honored by being named Chairman Emeritus of the PA State System of Higher Education Board of Governors. Guido served as a member of the executive committee and co-chair of the education committee of the PA Workforce Investment Board. Mr. Pichini also served as a commissioner on the PA Post-Secondary Education Commission.

Learn more about the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program

Reading, PA – On Thursday, October 3, 2019, the Schmidt Training and Technology Center on the Reading Area Community College campus hosted over 125 local and regional manufacturing leaders and vendors for a SMART Automation Summit. Working with the business strategy and consulting firm Nimble Leader, the summit featured keynote speakers Craig McAtee, executive director at the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers, Nimble Leader Managing Directors, Steve Van Valin, founder and CEO of Culturology and T. Brett Wilmotte, director of cyber security for Enterprise Ventures Corporation.

“Smart Manufacturing is the 4th Industrial Revolution that uses the internet of things to create interconnected manufacturing systems that communicate, analyze and use this information to drive intelligent decisions/ actions back to physical equipment and processes.  As an educational institution, our goal is to provide learning and resources for both employers and students to improve manufacturing technology and talent readiness as we transition into a SMART Automation era,” says Bonnie Spayd the Reading Area Community College executive director of workforce & economic development.

The event also highlighted state-of-the-art technology demonstrations on electronic sensors, cloud and robot integration, networking and cloud-based manufacturing.  

“The Automation Summit serves as a great platform to exchange ideas around the impact of technology in the manufacturing markets, and explore new technologies for current and future manufacturing,” says Mike Salute, Reading Area Community College director of workforce development.

In additional to guest speakers and demonstrations, breakout workshops were held during the afternoon. Workshops ranged in topic from sales lead generation, optimization and conversion, to corporate branding and robotics automation.

For more information about programs at the Schmidt Training and Technology Center, call 610.372.4721.