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College to expand welding facility

The expansion of the Metal Trades Center at Pennsylvania College of Technology will allow the school to meet a greater demand for students seeking careers in welding.

“We have outgrown our space,” Dave Cotner, dean of Industrial, Computing and Engineering, told the board of trustees at their meeting Thursday.

The present facility, he noted, has restricted the program from enrolling more students.

He said the expansion wlll allow for 60 additional students who can learn in lab settings.

The college offers a bachelor’s degree in welding and fabrication engineering technology, as well as associate degrees in welding technology and metal fabrication technology and certification in welding.

Cotner said there are planned changes in the curriculum.

“We have established the welding program for the foreseeable future,” Penn College President Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour said.

More students are looking to attain four-year degrees.

The project is expected to go out for bid in January.

“Our plan is to have it finished by the following year,” Gilmour said.

A $2 million U.S. Department of Commerce grant, along with a $3 million in matching funds from the college are funding the expansion.

Elliott Strickland, vice president of student affairs, told the board the college’s affiliation with the NCAA has brought improvement to athletic programs.

Since 2014, the school’s athletic budget has increased and the number of student athletes has risen 26 percent.

Strickland said the number one reason for the affiliation was to provide students with a better quality athletic experience.

Overall, the affiliation has helped with recruitment, competition and funding.

In personnel matters, the board re-elected the following officers to one-year terms:

• State Sen. Gene Yaw, chairman.

• Dr. Robert N. Pangborn, vice chairman.

• Joseph J. Doncsecz, treasurer.

• Suzanne Stopper, assistant treasurer.

• Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour, secretary.

• Valerie Baier, assistant secretary.

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