HARCUM COMMUNITY NEWS

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LEFT: Early Childhood Education students work on their portfolios in Dr. Joanne Ricevuto’s class. Harcum’s program was reaccredited through 2026.

ECE Program Receives Reaccreditation

The Early Childhood Education program under the leadership of Dr. Joanne Ricevuto and Assistant Director Christine Carlson received official notice of reaccredition for a full seven-year term through 2026 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) on February 2, 2022. The notification letter recognized the program for the alignment of assessments such as student instructions and rubrics with 2020 Professional Standards and Competencies among other strengths. The reaccreditation comes at an ideal time for the program which has expanded to add an evening cohort.

PHLEBOTOMY AND MED LAB TECH PROGRAMS REACCREDITED Harcum’s Phlebotomy program received a 5-year accreditation award from the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS), the highest award granted. MLT received a 10-year accreditation award from NAACLS, also the highest award granted to MLT programs. Both programs are under the leadership of Dr. Donna Broderick, Laboratory Sciences Program Director.

NEW EVENING NURSING PROGRAM LAUNCHES With a full cohort of 18 students, a new evening nursing program began in January 2022, following approval from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN,) the program’s accreditor.

“Evening Nursing has been one of the most requested programs by our prospective students, so we are so excited that it has returned,” said Rachel Bowen, Vice President for Enrollment Management. “This format really sets us apart. We are truly thankful to our Nursing Department for making this happen.”

The Evening Program begins once a year each January. It is a two-year, part-time program for four semesters with classes, three times a week, well-designed and highly convenient. The lectures and labs will be offered during evening hours on weekdays; and clinical rotations will only be on weekends.

Nursing Program Director Dr. Tanya Johnson-Coleman is overseeing the new program and was instrumental in its roll out.

HARCUM ADDS ANOTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM The Communications & Marketing Department established a new TikTok account last semester using videos shot across campus or using existing video footage. According to MediaCross, TikTok now has 130 million users in the United States and the average user opens TikTok 10 times/day, using the platform one hour per day. It was the number one downloaded app worldwide in 2020 and 2021.

And it’s not just for teens. Forty-two percent of adults, non-traditional age students, are on TikTok. Currently Harcum has posted 22 videos on their account with more in the works. A video featuring Heidi Techner and the Interior Design program has the most views thus far with 1,022. The account name is @harcumcollege, and followers are welcomed.

HARCUM EXCELS IN “GREAT COLLEGES TO WORK FOR” SURVEY A 2021 survey of Harcum College employees revealed 86% percent of employees believe Harcum College strongly values a sense of institutional “Mission and Pride” while 87% felt the College values “Faculty and Staff Well-being.”

These and other responses to 55 questions asked employees to evaluate the College across a range of organizational dynamics and managerial competencies identified in the 2021 Great Colleges to Work For® program annual survey of college and university employees.

Harcum received Good to Excellent scores in “Collaboration” (75%) and “Job Satisfaction & Support” (76%), exceeding the national average of participating institutions. Other top scores included “Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging,” at 86% while ”Supervisor/Department Chair Effectiveness” at 84%.

HARCUM WELCOMES TWO NEW TRUSTEES Two trustees joined the board in Fall of 2021. The Board of Trustees is a governing body, drawn from the community and from the ranks of Harcum alumni, and provides policy direction for Harcum College.

Daniel Hirschfeld

is a renowned expert in the healthcare industry. He spent 23 years as president of a number of divisions of Genesis Healthcare, including Genesis Rehab Services (GRS), the largest physical therapy organization in the United States at one time; Genesis Physician Services (GPS); and other ancillary divisions. He went on to serve as CEO of Chronic Care Management (CCM), one of the largest companies providing full service and software services to over 26,000 patients living in independent living centers, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes. This is his second tour of duty on the board.

T. Anthony Jones is a principal in IS Partners, and has more than 30 years of experience working with a variety of industries, including insurance companies, financial services, manufacturing, not-for-profit organizations, and service companies. He is a highly credentialed IT professional, and a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Systems Manager (CISM), Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), and a Certified ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor designation holder with expert ability to accurately determine needs, understand risk tolerances, offer alternatives to current situations, develop action plans, and cultivate longstanding client relationships.

WELCOMING A NEW PROGRAM VETERINARIAN Alison Whiter, DVM, has been named the new Program Veterinarian for Veterinary Nursing, moving into the position held by Dr. Craig Wooter for 36 years. She has taught as an adjunct at Harcum, is a veterinarian in private practice at Art City Vets where she has worked since 2004, and volunteers for the Philly chapter of a nonprofit organization called Street Dog Coalition, providing free veterinary care to the pets of homeless and severely underprivileged.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware, received her DVM from Oklahoma State University, and belongs to several professional organizations such as the AVMA, PVMA, and AALAS.