Photo by Volkmar Kuntz, PTC marketing department.
the past graduates felt for their alma mater. He feels that the transition will be smooth because the new name preserves the college’ s emphasis on preparing students for specific careers.
PTC was founded in 1946 and since then it has grown to include 23 associate degree programs and eight certificate programs. About 2,000 students attend classes at the 130-acre campus in North Fayette as well as online. Gary Lasser, a supervisor at Westinghouse Nuclear, spoke at the renaming ceremony and recalled that, when he graduated in 1977, there were only 80 students and two majors they could select.
A number of state and local officials also attended the renaming ceremony, including Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. He issued a proclamation praising PTC as an integral part of the region’ s education system. The college will help provide trained graduates who are attractive to local employers, Fitzgerald said.
PTC will also offer students the ability to enroll in two bachelor’ s degree programs starting this fall— business administration and information systems and technology. DeFeo says PTC decided to offer the programs because students, alumni and employers had all requested them. The announcement has already generated a lot of interest from alumni who are eager to enroll. DeFeo says the first cohort will enter the programs this fall and the first degrees could be awarded within the next 15 to 18 months.
It took about a year to complete the necessary paperwork for establishing the new bachelor’ s degree programs. PTC hired additional faculty because about 25 new classes will be offered as part of the business administration and information systems degrees.
DeFeo says PTC hopes to offer additional bachelor’ s degrees in the next five years, including nursing. The college’ s strategic
PTC President Gregory DeFeo( right) and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.
plan also includes provisions for additional residence halls and a gymnasium. PTC currently has housing for about 900 students, and will consider adding more extracurricular activities and sports. It already offers several intramural sports clubs, including softball and a flag football league.
However, according to DeFeo, PTC’ s leaders will only do what they can afford to accomplish without major tuition increases.
He adds,“ The transition from a commuter campus to a residential campus seven years ago was one of our biggest institutional changes. It provided a lot of opportunities for students to gain social skills and leadership opportunities they didn’ t have before.”
If growth continues, PTC could even become a technologyoriented university at some point, although it would be after DeFeo’ s tenure.
“ We are happy where we are today,” he says. n
Photo by Chris Bombardo, PTC graduate.
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