Caterpillar's contributions to Penn College exceed $2.1M after recent gifts

Affirming a nearly 20-year-old partnership, the Caterpillar Foundation and a network of regional dealers recently delivered $146,000 in support of three academic programs based at Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center.“Having Caterpillar Inc. and its dealers support our programs and students to this level each year helps affirm the fact that we are delivering an education that serves not only our students but the future of the industry, as well,” said Mary A. Sullivan, executive director of the Earth Science Center and assistant dean of transportation and natural resources technologies.A consortium of Cleveland Brothers Equipment Co. Inc., Ransome CAT, H.O. Penn Machinery Inc. and Alban Tractor Co. Inc. donated $73,000 to help students in the college’s diesel technology, heavy construction equipment technology and on-site power generation majors. An identical total in matching funds was provided through the Caterpillar Excellence Fund, comprising the Caterpillar Foundation and the dealers.“All four participating dealers greatly value the partnership with Penn College for providing an excellent training program and curriculum,” said Randy Fetterolf, Cleveland Brothers’ corporate technical recruiter. “The majority of the graduating students provide to us the qualities we seek in a superior entry-level technician that, oftentimes, is difficult for us to find. The Caterpillar dealerships of Alban Tractor, Cleveland Brothers, H.O. Penn and Ransome look forward to continued success in our partnership to create the great technicians of the future.”The funding brings to more than $2.1 million the total received since the Fall 1994 semester, a contribution that is regularly augmented by equipment donations, faculty training, technical support and student advocacy. This fall even saw Caterpillar dealer representatives joining scholarship recipients at a Career Services etiquette dinner in the college’s Le Jeune Chef Restaurant.Representatives of H.O. Penn Machinery were presented with a plaque acknowledging “15 years of participation in the Caterpillar Excellence Fund grant to provide student sponsorships, instructional materials, technical equipment, curriculum development and faculty development funds” in support of Penn College.The presentation took place during a Heavy Construction Caterpillar Equipment Emphasis Advisory Committee meeting in the college’s Thompson Professional Development Center, traditionally held in conjunction with the Fall Career Fair on main campus and at the Earth Science Center.For information about the programs offered by the School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies, visit www.pct.edu/TNRT or call 570-327-4516.For more information about Penn College, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.