Dan Fitzgerald has been a mainstay in the Penn State Abington continuing education department for the last 25 years. He began his career with Penn State in 1984 as a part-time counselor/adviser. Throughout the quarter-of-a-century that he dedicated to the school, he filled the roles of sales representative and acting director of continuing education before concluding his career as the assistant director of continuing education in July 2009.
Many of his days were spent in Philadelphia at Frankford Hospital (Aria Health), developing and maintaining Penn State’s credit courses for nurses. The program began as a few noncredit nursing courses but developed into a program where nurses can now earn their bachelor of science in nursing degree through Penn State's World Campus.
Fitzgerald also helped develop the continuing education programs at two local vo-tech schools: Eastern School of Technology in Montgomery County and Middle Bucks Institute of Technology, as well as at Montgomery and Bucks County Head Start.
Jane Owens, director of continuing education at Penn State Abington, had this to say about Fitzgerald's tenure at the school: "Dan provided our clients and students with excellent customer service. His steady program management was a source of strength throughout the ever-changing marketplace."
According to Fitzgerald, retirement is "bittersweet." "I worked with so many good people. I miss the association with my colleagues. Working on these projects for such a long time--well, you feel ownership. I watched them grow…I continue to check their progress on campus."
In retirement Fitzgerald plans to tackle the unending household projects' list, travel to warmer weather locations, and spend more time with his family.