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PA Community Colleges Launch ADVANCEPA Tech and Trades Consortium
Berwick, PA – Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced on June 9 that Amazon is planning to invest at least $20 billion to establish multiple high-tech cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) innovation campuses across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Amazon’s investment will create at least 1,250 high-paying, high-tech jobs. The first communities identified as sites for these future campuses are Salem Township, Luzerne County, and Falls Township, Bucks County. Several additional Pennsylvania communities are under consideration for data center development.
Represented by Bucks County Community College President & CEO Dr. Patrick Jones at the June 9 announcement, President Jones also stressed a vision as more hyperscale data centers are planned.
"Through a unique, consortium approach, we will be able to better focus on the needs of data centers and help ensure students are prepared with the knowledge and skills required for this unique sector," Dr. Jones said. "We will collaborate to determine industry needs and share expertise and resources so that no matter where someone lives, one of our colleges will be able to help them attain the skills they need for success in this growing industry."
Under the lead of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges (PACCC), Luzerne County Community College, Lehigh Carbon Community College, Northampton Community College and Bucks County Community College are joining forces to partner on a Technology and Trades Workforce Consortium in an expanded Northeast Region of Pennsylvania.
The PACCC collaboration will bring together these four community colleges to address workforce needs during the construction of hyperscale data centers and the jobs needed once they are built. As more hyperscale data centers are constructed, other community colleges across the Commonwealth will join to expand the ADVANCEPA Technology & Trade Workforce Consortium.
"There is no sector of higher educator better equipped to adeptly respond to the changing workforce development demands of the technological revolution that is driving historic economic growth than Pennsylvania's community colleges," said John Yudichak, President of Luzerne County Community College.
Three pillars planned by the Technology and Trades Workforce Consortium are:
A Career & Technology Academy
An innovative regional partnership formed by community colleges and career and technical center high schools to create new pathways for career and technical center students to earn post-secondary credentials in technology and the skilled construction trades. The goal of a Career & Technology Academy is to serve underserved student populations in career and technical center high schools to build a consistent workforce pipeline of entry level technicians and skilled trade workers.
A MicroCredential Academy
The MicroCredential Academy will rapidly develop post-secondary credential programing that makes upskilling career credentials for Pennsylvania workers efficient, cost-effective, and accessible. The goal of the MicroCredential Academy is to serve Pennsylvania workers where they live and work by identifying high demand industry clusters and providing online, mobile, and campus based microcrendential programing that empowers workers to advance to a high wage, high demand career.
A Construction & Trade Pre-Apprenticeship Academy
The Construction & Trade Pre-Apprenticeship Academy will forge a strategic partnership the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trade Unions is to build a pre-apprenticeship pipeline of students who will learn from a foundational curriculum that will prepare them to enter union registered apprenticeship programs and secure employment in the skilled building and construction trade industry. The goal of the Construction & Trade PreApprenticeship Academy is to promote, educate, and drive interest in students pursuing union apprenticeship programs to meet the growing demand for skilled trade workers in the Pennsylvania economy.
"This approach, under the direction of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, speaks to how our sector is lockstep with the Governor and General Assembly in moving the Commonwealth forward," PACCC President Dr. Tuesday Stanley said. "This effort speaks for our larger strategy of Advancing PA though its community colleges."
Pennsylvania's 15 community colleges collectively serve nearly 240,000 students annually through academic programing and workforce development training programs that focus on high demand and high wage jobs. Pennsylvania community colleges fuel regional economic growth and serve as the central workforce development pipeline in the Commonwealth with 90% of community college graduates going on to live and work in Pennsylvania after graduation.
Pennsylvania's community colleges partner with over 2,000 industries in the Commonwealth to align their academic and workforce development programing with a rapidly changing economy driven by technological innovation.
"We are so honored to advance Pennsylvania in economic development, workforce development, and even quality of life," said Lehigh Carbon Community College President Dr. Ann Bieber. "The community college sector is pleased to serve in this capacity."
The Technology and Trades Workforce Consortium will strategically coordinate resources, avoid duplicative investments in equipment, and foster innovative college and industry collaborations that will streamline a fragmented workforce development system to deliver the highest quality workforce in Pennsylvania history. The Consortium will work with the State Board of Higher Education, federal and state agencies, Career and Technical Centers, high schools, Pennsylvania Construction & Trade Unions, and employers to ensure that curricula remain current and aligned with workforce needs to establish clear educational and career pathways for students.
"Our long history as a sector of partnering and collaborating is key to this Consortium," said Northampton Community College President Dr. David Ruth. "Pennsylvania’s community college sector has a long history of collaboration and educating our citizenry in various ways."
Media Contact:Dr. Nick Neupauernneupauer@pacommunitycolleges.org
Bucks County Community College Professor Pens Poetry Book
Dr. Ethel Rackin will sign copies of “In Time,” her fourth collection of poems, at the Doylestown Bookshop Friday, June 13 For Bucks County Community College Professor Ethel Rackin, it all began with a seventh-grade writing prompt.
“When I told my teacher I didn’t know how to write poems, he said, ‘just try to compare yourself to something else using like or as,’" Rackin recalled about her class at Germantown Friends School. “So, I think I compared myself to a tree, and then he encouraged us to develop our comparison. And from then on, I was hooked on writing poetry.”
Now, Rackin has published her fourth poetry collection, “In Time” (Word Works Books, 2025). She describes the collection as poems of grief and discovery, of connection, and the strange time travel that is the life we each lead.
“I took to poetry because it offered me a space to say things that would otherwise have been difficult or impossible to say," said Rackin. “I also think that the associations that you can make between one thing and another in a poem was something that really spoke to me. The ability to use dream-like logic, associative meaning, visual clues—all of that was the right language for me.”
Rackin, who grew up in Philadelphia, earned her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, her MFA from Bard College, and her Ph.D. from Princeton University. She has taught at Bucks County Community College for 14 years, where she is also the director of the Bucks County Poet Laureate Program and the Wordsmiths Reading Series.
She says her work as a published author helps her students by making their studies feel more relevant.
“I think it makes me more empathetic towards their struggles, because writing for all of us, even for published writers, is really challenging,” said Rackin. “I think it also puts me in touch with what's happening right now in the culture in terms of writing, and I hope to bring that to my students through the Wordsmiths Reading Series and through the selections that I teach in class, so that they can get a better understanding of writing as a living art, and writers as real people just like them with the same kinds of struggles and situations that we all deal with.”
Rackin launched “In Time” this spring when she appeared at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference and Book Fair in Los Angeles with other authors from her publishing house. The local launch takes place at 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 13, at the Doylestown Bookshop, 16 S. Main St., Doylestown, PA, 18901. Free registration for the event is available on the Doylestown Bookshop website.
In addition to her books of poems, Rackin is the author of the text “Crafting Poems and Stories: A Guide to Creative Writing” (Broadview Press, 2022). To learn more, visit Ethel Rackin's website.
Professor Rackin returns to the classroom this fall to teach English Composition, Creative Writing, and other courses in the School of Language and Literature.
Nearly 900 Graduates Are Poised to Make a Difference
Bucks County Community College celebrated the Class of 2025 at its 59th annual commencement on Thursday, May 22 Bucks County Community College, which has been in the business of changing lives for more than 60 years, celebrated the Class of 2025 at two ceremonies Thursday, May 22, marking the college’s 59th annual commencement.
The public, two-year college conferred a total of 882 associate degrees and certificates for the 2024-2025 academic year. Hundreds of students took part in two ceremonies on the Newtown Campus, with family members, friends, faculty, and other supporters cheering them on.
At each ceremony, graduates heard from one of their own. At the 10 a.m. event, the student speaker was Chemistry major and honors graduate Kateryna Maksymenko of Warrington, who immigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine at age 8. She completed a research internship on Alzheimer’s disease at the University of Pennsylvania and will transfer to the University of Pittsburgh to study neuroscience.
At 2 p.m., graduates heard from Nursing graduate Gerald Gwambuga of Sellersville, who immigrated from Uganda in 2017, leaving behind a 15-year career as a teacher. He will continue to change lives here in the United States as a nurse. One of his four daughters is following in his footsteps and is pursuing a nursing degree at Bucks.
Other outstanding graduates include Jacqueline Lemming-Russell of Bristol, who continued her Bucks County Community College journey after a 31-year hiatus, which she says is “proof that it’s never too late.” The Psychology major, who won the President’s Cup award for her contributions to the campus and community, graduated cum laude and is transferring to Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J., with a goal of become a behavior specialist.
Another top graduate is Adrian Tyrk of Morrisville, a Chemistry major who will transfer to Swarthmore College to study biochemistry, with an ultimate goal of attending medical school. His high achievements earned him a spot on the Pennsylvania Association for Community College’s 2025 All-Pennsylvania Academic Team.
Leah Lovelace-Square also made an impact during her time at Bucks. While working full-time and raising a family, she earned an associate degree in Guided Studies, but also found time to mentor and teach underprivileged youth in Bristol and Morrisville. Such outreach earned her the College’s MLK Student Leadership Award this year.
These are just some of the Bucks County Community College graduates who are making a difference in their community and who were celebrated at the 59th annual commencement.
Bucks County Community College Graduates Volunteer Firefighters
The College’s Public Safety Training & Certification Department recognized 90 first responders who completed national certification training. Bucks County Community College graduated 90 firefighters on Tuesday, May 20, in a Newtown Campus ceremony that drew hundreds of family members, friends, and fellow first responders. The volunteers completed national certification training at the College’s Bucks County Public Safety Training Centers in Doylestown and Croydon.
Dr. Patrick M. Jones, President and CEO of the College, addressed the graduates and welcomed special guests that included Chair of the Board of Bucks County Commissioners Robert Harvie, State Senator and Middletown Fire Chief Frank Farry (R-6), and State Representatives Tim Brennan (D-29), Kristin Marcell (R-178), and Shelby Labs (R-143).
Three firefighters – one from each class – received Outstanding Student Awards. Honored were Joseph Cherone of Hilltown, a member of the Hilltown Volunteer Fire Co.; Grace Schoen of Levittown, a member of the William Penn Fire Co.; and Richard Guers of Quakertown, a member of the Quakertown Fire Dept.
Bucks County Community College is the largest provider of fire and emergency services training and certification in Pennsylvania, training about 45,000 first responders annually in all 67 counties in the Commonwealth. State Representatives Tim Brennan and Kristin Marcell are actively working to provide state funding for training of first responders.
State Senator and Middletown Fire Chief Frank Farry (R-6) delivers the keynote address to 90 graduating firefighters at Bucks County Community College May 20. Honored guests included (front row, left-right) State Representatives Shelby Labs (R-143), Kristin Marcell (R-178), and Tim Brennan (D-28), and Chair of the Board of Bucks County Commissioners Robert Harvie.
Recent graduates greet fellow firefighters gathered in the gymnasium at Bucks County Community College’s Newtown Campus. The College’s Public Safety Training and Certification Department honored 90 volunteers who completed national firefighter certification training in a May 20 ceremony.
Matt Hatrak (left), Executive Director, Public Safety Training and Certification, congratulates Outstanding Student Award winners Joseph Cherone of the Hilltown Volunteer Fire Co. and Richard Guers of the Quakertown Fire Dept., along with Dr. Patrick M. Jones (right), President and CEO of Bucks County Community College. (Not pictured: Outstanding Student Award Winner Grace Schoen of Levittown, a member of the William Penn Fire Co.) The firefighters were recognized at a May 20 graduation ceremony on the College’s Newtown Campus.
Bucks County Community College welcomed several honored guests to its spring firefighter graduation ceremony on May 20. They are (left-right) State Representative Tim Brennan (D-29); State Representative Shelby Labs (R-143); Chair of the College’s Board of Trustees Thomas J. Jennings; Matt Hatrak, Executive Director, Public Safety Training and Certification; State Representative Kristin Marcell (R-178); Dr. Patrick M. Jones, College President and CEO; and Chair of the Board of Bucks County Commissioners Robert Harvie.
