Our universities support economic development across the commonwealth by preparing and graduating students in high-priority areas and partnering with businesses and industries that fuel our economy.


Success Highlights

Cheyney University and the University of New England (UNE) announced a collaboration aimed at fostering new pathways to medical education for qualified students. Cheyney’s agreement with UNE is part of its ongoing efforts to meet the growing demand for bioscience and technology majors. With 24% of the student body enrolled within these majors, the university is increasing awareness of career options for these students through its partnerships with institutions and biotech companies and expanding opportunities with external like-minded partners, providing internships and careers.
 
Two Commonwealth University-Lock Haven students gained a unique insight into game-day operations by working as event staff at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport this summer. Sport management students, Hannah Possinger, of East Stroudsburg, and Joshua Torrens, of Pottstown, worked the nearly two-week series, developing their skills in crowd management, customer service, and time management.
 
East Stroudsburg University’s College of Education held a Future Teacher Pathway Summit over the summer to bring together ESU, Northampton Community College, and a dozen local school districts to collaboratively develop framework to help solve the teacher shortage long term. The vision of this program is to educate local high school students on the benefits of the education profession and support these students from ninth grade through college and then through their first year of teaching.
 
IUP is addressing a need for trained professionals in the biosafety and biosecurity fields through its specialized Biosafety/Biorisk Management Certificate program. These professionals play a key role in protecting against the transmission or mishandling of infectious agents in laboratories and other settings where biological materials are handled. For those students and professionals interested in pursuing a career in the sciences, this profession may be unknown. However, many countries face a shortage of these professionals, and efforts are being taken through the development of educational programs such as this to ensure a sustainable workforce.  
 
Kutztown University is partnering with the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center hub to design ways to provide small business owners with the skillsets needed to improve their business operations. One element of the partnership will involve access to the Grow with Google Program, which involves a range of non-credit training programs designed by Google. This partnership aligns with Governor Shapiro’s commitment to expand workforce development efforts across the state and to prepare Pennsylvanians for skills-based hiring. KU, PASBDC, and Google will help small businesses and entrepreneurs develop the skills they need through these noncredit certificates to be successful in today’s economy.
 
Millersville University and Lampire Biological Laboratories have signed an agreement for a Life Science incubator on Millersville’s campus to give students hands-on industry experience in the laboratory and access to jobs and internships. There will also be opportunities for Millersville’s biology, chemistry, and biochemistry faculty to collaborate with Lampire scientists on education programming, such as guest lectures, site visits, and colloquium talks.
 
PennWest Edinboro has partnered with 141 FAA-approved flight schools on an accelerated 60-credit program that allows students to complete academic coursework online, as well as complete between 225 and 250 flight hours, in about two years. Upon completion, graduates will be prepared for a job as a commercial industry pilot (non-passenger), a private charter pilot, or a flight instructor.
 
In keeping with his commitment to expand workforce development efforts across the commonwealth, Governor Josh Shapiro announced a new public-private partnership between Google and Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) that makes industry-recognized Google Career Certificates available to students and the public to help them secure jobs in high-growth fields. Shippensburg University is participating in the initial phase and remains committed to finding new and innovative ways to meet the needs of Pennsylvania’s workforce and our students.
 
Slippery Rock University and three other universities from Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education recently received approval for funding of the Keystone Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation. SRU, along with East Stroudsburg, Millersville and West Chester, are collaborating to increase and retain unrepresented minority students in higher education to prepare them to graduate and work in STEM fields or progress to graduate school.
 
A collaboration between West Chester University and the University of Delaware is at the forefront of preparing a new workforce that integrates the fields of computer science, physics, chemistry, and materials science. The only bachelor’s/master’s program of its kind in the U.S., a new 3-2 dual degree program in Quantum Science and Engineering (QSE) has launched to prepare students for a technical revolution — the emerging $3.2-billion quantum-computing market. The program allows students to spend three years at WCU earning a B.S. in physics and two years at the University of Delaware earning an M.S. in quantum science and engineering.