Pennsylvania College of Technology is working with the School District of Philadelphia and the Community College of Philadelphia to create a technical curriculum for Philadelphia public high schools and at the same time establish a resource for teachers across the nation. "The administration at the high school level (in Philadelphia) has really put a focus on upgrading and rejuvenating the career and technical programs in the school district," said Jeannette L. Fraser, director of outreach for K-12 at Penn College. Penn College is in the second year of a three-year consulting contract with the Philadelphia Tech Prep Consortium to write curricula for 10th- to 12th-grade students in seven career and technical areas, each of which has an associate-degree match at the Community College of Philadelphia. The goal is to help prepare high school students to pursue associate's degrees in the seven technical areas. Faculty from the School District of Philadelphia and the Community College of Philadelphia are writing the curricula, with assistance from a limited number of teachers outside the Philadelphia area.

Pennsylvania College of Technology is inviting the public to share in celebrating the completion of extensive renovation project at the Klump Academic Center (formerly the Williamsport High School) with a video that will air on local cable television in Williamsport throughout February and an open house that will be held on March 19. The open house will follow immediately after the college's Spring Visitation Day, which is being held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Henryk R. Marcinkiewicz, associate vice president for academic affairs at Pennsylvania College of Technology, has co-written a book, "New Faculty Professional Development: Planning an Ideal Program," that was published recently by New Forums Press Inc. Marcinkiewicz also had an article on online learning published in the December 2004 issue of a professional journal.

A team of Pennsylvania College of Technology students in two-year construction majors finished first for the second consecutive year in a competition at the recent National Association of Home Builders' international convention in Florida. A team of Penn College students in four-year construction majors finished 10th in a strong, 28-school field, and one of its members received individual honors.

More than 600 high school students and chapter advisers from 13 area junior and senior high schools competed at Pennsylvania College of Technology recently in the Region 7 Future Business Leaders of America Conference. The Future Business Leaders of America/Phi Beta Lambda is a national association of intermediate, high school, vocational, junior college, college and university students interested in business and allied careers. Nearly 20 members of the school faculty proctored more than 30 competitive events ranging from accounting and economics to network design and business law. Eight faculty members also judged the four major competitive events for the day: emerging business issues, impromptu speaking, job interview and Mr./Ms. Future Business Leader. Regional winners advance to compete at the 2005 State Leadership Conference hosted by Seven Springs Mountain Resort from April 13-15, with aspirations toward competing June 22 to 28 at the 2005 National Leadership Conference at the Convention and Visitors Bureau in Orlando, Fla.

Reynolds Construction Management Inc. of Harrisburg has started a scholarship fund for construction management students at Pennsylvania College of Technology. Initiating the scholarship effort was Jim Paschke, Reynolds' senior project manager and a member of the Construction/Carpentry Management Technology Advisory Committee in the college's School of Construction and Design Technologies. A $1,000 award will be given each year ($500 per semester) beginning this semester; preference will be given to continuing students in subsequent years. Applicants must be enrolled full-time in the construction management bachelor-degree major, sophomore status or above, and be eligible for financial aid.

The January episode of the award-winning public affairs TV series "Penn College & You" explores Pennsylvania College of Technology's commitment to the role of art in the lives of its students and employees. The new episode continues the series' 10th season and coincides with the launch of a Web site -- http://www.pct.edu/pcy -- that details the show's history, current topics, honors and programming notes. For the full story, check http://live.psu.edu/story/9580

Students and faculty from the School of Hospitality at Pennsylvania College of Technology will travel Jan. 10 to the Pennsylvania Farm Show to take part in a variety of cooking demonstrations. The students also will participate in a School Cooking Challenge, an event in which they will have just 30 minutes to create a dish using only products sold on the Farm Show floor.