P
orreco Promise scholarships will
be available to any student from
Erie County who is enrolled fulltime in a two-year associate degree or
certificate program offered at Porreco
College. Nathan Ritchey, Ph.D., dean
of Edinboro’s College of Science and
Health Professions, said the offerings this
fall will include five programs:
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n
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n
n
Certificate in Customer
Relations Management
Associate of Applied Science
Degree in Applied Technology
Associate of Arts Degree in
Human Services – Social Services
Associate of Arts Degree in
Liberal Studies
Associate of Science Degree
in Business Administration
“The facilities all will be developed
within the footprint of existing
structures and the rural charm of
the property will be retained."
Additional programs are being
developed based on the Associate of
Applied Science degree model, which is
unique in the region in offering college
credit for approved technical or on-thejob training, Ritchey said. AAS degrees
in aeronautics and public safety are
planned for fall 2015, and others are
being explored, along with partnerships
with manufacturers and the region’s large
agriculture and food industries.
Ritchey, who led the effort to launch
Porreco College after spending two
years working on a similar effort at
Youngstown State University in Ohio,
praised the potential of the 26-acre
former estate and working farm, which
also was a gift to the university from
Louis Porreco in 1986.
A
bout 300 students now attend
classes there, with most facilities
located in the renovated ground
floor of the main barn. Ritchey said
there is capacity for about 150 additional
students this fall.
He shared plans for additional
renovations in the barn and other
buildings to accommodate an enrollment
of up to 1,500 students. The facilities all
will be developed within the footprint of
existing structures, he said, and the rural
charm of the property will be retained.
Ritchey said full development of
the property’s considerable potential
will take place over several years. The
addition of classrooms on the main floor
of the barn, where the announcement
event took place, will begin in 2015 using
a $2.8 million state grant, he said.
The schedule for further construction
will be determined by need and funding,
which will come from private donations.
“I’m personally delighted that
the university has given me a role in
developing the full potential of this
exceptional property for the benefit of
the community,” he said.
Applications for fall semester
enrollment are now being accepted,
and a Porreco College Open House for
prospective students was held Saturday,
May 3, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Additional information, including
answers to frequently asked
questions, is available on the Porreco
College web pages at porreco.
edinboro.edu. Call the college at
814.836.1955 to learn more. ■
West County | Summer 2014 | icmags.com 23