Special Editorial Focus: Introduction

|CONNECTIONS|————————————— Local colleges pivot for the future, new ways to serve community

By Ken Mammarella Contributing Wrtier

Valuable lessons to make you a more desirable worker and a better person are just a short drive away, thanks to the area’s vibrant colleges and universities. They offer plenty of classes online, as well.

“We want readers to see that there are exciting and convenient opportunities and programs all around,” Cheryl Kuhn, president of the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce, said in explaining the theme of this issue of Connections magazine.

These institutions, like those in every business sector, quickly pivoted at the start of the pandemic last year, and their plans for this school year may change again, depending on the spread of the virus.

They have been transforming their educational offerings while also initiating new ways to serve and enrich their communities. The chamber asked these institutions to share stories about some of their innovations. Here are highlights of the essays that follow.

Delaware County Community College has seven campuses in Chester and Delaware counties, including Pennocks Bridge Campus, in the Chester County Technical College High School in West Grove, with courses in early childhood education, information technology and science. One innovation is online:

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Spanish for the Professions, a certification based on two courses. The courses can be used as supplementary preparation for paralegal, early childhood education, business and many other careers.

“Perhaps you are an adult student who wants or needs to re-skill and train for an exciting new career,” president Dr. L. Joy Gates Black said. “Wherever you are in your journey, we are here to help you achieve your goals.”

Lincoln University’s Center for the Study of the Underground Railroad and Voices Underground will host its inaugural conference next spring. “Considering that the Mid-Atlantic was a major hub used to get enslaved Blacks to freedom, this will be a historic conference,” said Dr. Nafeesa Muhammad, assistant professor of history.

The university and the Square Roots Collective also founded Voices Underground, a coalition whose members are united by their commitment to a thriving Kennett Square.

“Voices Underground’s mission is to promote the African American cultural heritage of the Chester County area by creating a world-class public monument and ongoing creative programming in celebration of the Underground Railroad,” said Gregory Thompson, executive director of Voices Underground.

Penn State Extension is dedicated to delivering sciencebased information to people, businesses and communities. Pennsylvania leads the nation in the number of farms that sell directly to the consumer, so the PA Farm Market Finder is an interactive map to more than a thousand of them.

“We can help everyone from business owners to farmers to individuals,” said Carla J. Snyder, an Extension Educator and Associate State Program Leader of the Energy, Business and Community Vitality team.

Other foresighted programs include Under the Ground, a retail coaching program that uses secret shoppers; Food for Profit, for aspiring and growing food businesses; and The Latinx Agricultural Network, which connects educators, students, faculty, administrators and grassroots advisors to the important Latino community statewide. Latinos and Hispanics make up 75 percent of the agricultural workforce in the U.S., and in some Pennsylvania industries, such mushrooms, about 90 percent workers are Latinos.

Penn State College of Agriculture instructors went out to a dairy farm and outfitted a garage with an irrigation system while their students stayed at home. In another class, students were safely assigned to go on a scavenger hunt for fungi near their homes.

The University of Delaware Division of Professional and Continuing Studies has helped businesses chart post-pandemic futures with programs like Business Analysis, Project Management and Social Media Marketing to guide organization.

West Chester University’s

Continuing Professional Education customizes seminars and courses for companies to up-skill their staff and maintain their competitive edge. The university, with 17,000 students, is the largest institution in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

Widener University’s Small Business Development Center provided nocost consulting services to help turn the site of the former Community Hospital of Chester into the Silvercare Health Center. The project will create 300 jobs.

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