News from Mount Aloysius College

Mount Cyber Lab Receives $100K Grant

Mount Aloysius College, nationally recognized as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, has received a $100,000 grant from the George I. Alden Trust for computer equipment to enhance the new cybersecurity lab. Twenty five cutting-edge computers and monitors will bolster a state-of-the-art learning experience for cybersecurity and information technology students. The College launched the new lab at the start of the spring 2024 semester.

Justin Williams, chair of the information technology department at Mount Aloysius, says that this grant will help provide students with a hands-on learning experience in a growing department.

“As the program expands, it’s important that our lab can accommodate all of our students robustly,” Williams said. “Newer equipment in a larger space will allow our students to do more with digital forensics, cybersecurity, computer hardware, and programming, and the classroom’s dedicated server room will give our students a unique hands-on experience that few colleges can provide.”

Mount Adds Two Academic Honors Societies

Mount Aloysius College education and biology students can now take advantage of two new honors societies available at the College. Tri Beta, the biology academic honors society, and Kappa Delta Pi, for education majors, both now have chapters for Mount students.

General honors societies focus on GPA requirements, whereas an honors society focused on a particular major is often geared toward successes in the classroom as well as a student’s related work outside of class.

“Kappa Delta Pi allows our students to develop professionally as future teachers,” said Dr. Sara Rutledge, chair of the Mount Aloysius Education Department and advisor to the Alpha Lambda Zeta Chapter of KDP.

Dr. Crystal Goldyn, associate professor in the science and mathematics department, says that Tri Beta will also be hugely beneficial to students. “The list of benefits is long, and I am excited to build a robust Lambda Delta Gamma chapter that participates in research and attends conferences.”

Eleanor “Honey” Corbin ’83 won second prize in the annual members juried Arts Clayton Gallery (Jonesboro, GA) show. Corbin has been juried into several Arts Clayton Gallery shows, as well as juried shows in the Booth Western Art Museum (an affiliate of the Smithsonian Museum family), the Downton Gallery (Booth Artist Guild juried show), Newnan-Coweta Art Association annual juried exhibit, Tubac Art Museum, and more.

Mount Celebrates Experiential Learning Week

Experiential Learning Week, an annual event held each spring, is a chance for students to show off their research and experiential learning opportunities. For the 2023-2024 academic year, the celebration was a combination of two events, the Student Research Symposium and the Career-Based & Service Learning Showcase. The Career-Based & Service Learning Showcase was held in Bertschi on April 23, while the Student Research Symposium was April 25 in the College’s Athletic Convocation and Wellness Center (ACWC).

Students from a variety of disciplines presented their topics at these events. There were presentations in areas such as education, biology, medical imaging, nursing, and psychology. Members of the Mountie community were invited to attend both showcases to discuss with students the work they have completed and to connect for future opportunities.

Mount Aloysius Adds Post-Baccalaureate Secondary Education Certificate

Mount Aloysius is launching a hybrid certificate pathway for individuals who have a bachelor’s degree and are looking for a streamlined path to become a teacher starting in Fall 2024. In this new accelerated certificate program, students will use their degrees in English, biology, history, or political science and become certified to teach those topics to grades 7-12 in just four semesters.

The new secondary education certification will prepare students for the modern classroom by offering Google for Education certification, smartboard training, classroom website development, portfolio training, and much more. The hybrid model of instruction allows students to fit classes into their schedule for the first two semesters, then complete their student-teaching requirements for the final two semesters.

The new post-baccalaureate certificate program is accredited by the PA Department of Education.

Mount Introduces “Mental Health Professional” Tuition Reduction; Unveils New Online Master’s Program

In response to the region’s shortage of mental health counseling professionals, Mount Aloysius College is launching a new, fully-online Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC), and offering discounted tuition for all students in the program by more than 25 percent.

In addition to the tuition discount, students in the Mount’s psychology undergraduate program who are in good standing with at least a 3.0 GPA at graduation will be automatically admitted into the program.

The Clinical Mental Health master of science degree will include 18 synchronous and two asynchronous classes, where students will prepare to counsel diverse individuals using evidenced-based and holistic interventions to ultimately promote wellbeing, and prepare students for professional certification exams as part of the process to become Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs).

Mount Once Again a Great College to Work For

For the third consecutive year, Mount Aloysius College has been recognized by ModernThink as a Great College to Work For. The College achieved exceptional workplace status based on its rankings in mission and pride, confidence in senior leadership, shared governance, and, new this year, professional development, and compensation and benefits. Only 53 four-year institutions nationally received the Great College to Work For designation this year.

The Great Colleges to Work For program assesses institutions in two steps. The first is a survey sent to faculty and staff asking them to rank a variety of aspects of working at an institution. Over 60 percent of Mount Aloysius employees participated in this year’s survey. The second step is a questionnaire that captures employment data and workplace policies and practices. Feedback from employees is the principal factor in determining whether an institution is considered a Great College to Work For.

216 total colleges and universities, including 139 four-year institutions, participated in the Great Colleges to Work For program in 2024.