Harrisburg University feeds area businesses, bolsters economy

Dauphin COUNTY

Building a university based in Harrisburg was part of a plan to help engage businesses and drive the area's economy, according to a community report from more than a decade ago.

Six years of enrollment and more than 100 graduates later, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is well on its way to fulfilling those goals, community leaders and college staff said.

The school was designed to meet the needs of the emerging workforce and economy, focusing on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, said Stephen R. Reed, CEO of Reed Strategic Advisors in Harrisburg, university board member and former Harrisburg mayor.

The university is designed around a competency-based learning model with hands-on career training required through internships and business projects, and classroom study taught in part by local industry professionals.

"Harrisburg University has broken down and reformulated the kind of higher education that will make students ready for high-tech manufacturing jobs," said Emily Stover DeRocco, president of The Manufacturing Institute based in Washington, D.C., the nonprofit affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers. She also serves on the school's board. "(The university) aligns the skills and academics that we desperately need in order for our companies to remain competitive."

The idea for a higher education institute was formulated in the late 1990s as part of a study by government, business and community leaders to identify measures for achieving the success of the Harrisburg region.

The school incorporated in 2001 as the Harrisburg Polytechnic Development Corp., or Harrisburg Polytechnic Institute. In 2003, the school reincorporated as Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. It received state approval for operations in February of 2005, and the following summer the university began offering classes for 70 students. Harrisburg University received accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in 2009.

The university held classes in various locations on Market Street until it opened a $73 million academic facility at Fourth and Market streets in 2009. Earlier this year, the school opened its first student housing building downtown owned by a private developer. The university offers 24 undergraduate and 35 graduate programs of study, and has more than 1,000 students enrolled in full- or part-time programs.

Around the time the school was opening its doors for classes, GeoDecisions, a division of Gannett Fleming Inc., was struggling to find qualified graduates as employees, Gannett Fleming President and Chief Operating Officer Robert Scaer said. Scaer is a university board member.

The idea arose to work with Harrisburg University to create a curriculum specifically for the company's needs in geospatial software, he said.

"The university has a strong desire to reach out to the corporate world and say what's your need? What's coming up? How can we help you be competitive? How can we steer a curriculum that will produce graduates to help you be more successful?" Scaer said.

Employees of East Pennsboro Township-based Gannett Fleming teach some of the geospatial courses at Harrisburg University, and the company provides internship placement, some of which have resulted in hires.

Harrisburg University has partnerships with about a dozen local companies, President and CEO Mel Schiavelli said. Faculty and students assist with research projects in the Food Science and Technology Center for area companies, including Hershey Foods Corp., New World Pasta and McCormick & Co. Inc., he said.

Businesses that aren't considered technical also connect with Harrisburg University, said Christopher Markley, vice president of corporate communications with Harrisburg-based Penn National Insurance.

The company's corporate information technology department, supporting its business in nine states, includes sophisticated Web development, programming and systems support, he said.

The school is feeding qualified graduates directly into local companies with information technology needs, including Penn National, he said.

Harrisburg University programs such as forensic science and integrated sciences are gaining recognition for the experience they offer, said Robert Dolan, the university's board chairman, and consulting actuary and board chairman for Conrad M. Siegel Inc., which does business as Conrad Siegel Actuaries and is in Susquehanna Township.

"We're preparing students for jobs that are currently available," Dolan said. "More than 90 percent of our graduates start out in jobs related to their area of study."

The business community has benefitted from Harrisburg University in more ways than getting qualified graduates, Schiavelli said.

Studies have estimated the school's economic impact on the area is more than $30 million per year, based on jobs created, goods and services the school purchases, construction projects and its operating budget, he said.

Rehabilitating the academic and student housing buildings raised property values in the downtown area, Executive Vice President and Provost Eric Darr said. About 150 students reside downtown and bring disposable income to vendors, about $3,000 to $4,000 per student each year, he said.

The school hopes to increase the variety of STEM programs and grow to about 2,000 students, but not much larger to retain the interactive teaching model, Schiavelli said.

The university also will focus on creating a business accelerator system, clustering startup companies in industries aligned with the school's curriculum, Darr said.

"As long as (Harrisburg University) keeps its true focus on its founding purposes of staying relevant and responsive to the ever-evolving domestic and global economies and workforce development associated with that, it will have a profound impact on the economy," Reed said.

[Sidebar]

Rusty Green, left, and Dimitri Mokpidie, right, began as interns from Harrisburg University of Science and Technology before becoming full-time employees at GeoDecisions, a division of Gannett Fleming Inc. in East Pennsboro Township. Christopher Bley, center, is an intern in his last semester at the university and will come on board as a full-time employee after graduation.

[Author Affiliation]

By Holly White

hollyw@journalpub.com