[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 20340-20341]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           PENN STATE FAYETTE CELEBRATES ITS 40TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN P. MURTHA

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 14, 2005

  Mr. MURTHA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize Penn State 
Fayette, The Eberly Campus as it celebrates its 40th anniversary in 
2005-2006. From its humble beginnings to its present status, Penn State 
Fayette had played a key role in the social, cultural, and economic 
development of Fayette County.
  Penn State first came to scenic Southwestern Pennsylvania following 
the establishment of the Pennsylvania Cooperative Extension Service and 
its county agricultural agents in 1907. In 1934, Penn State established 
an Undergraduate Center in Uniontown that provided the first two years 
of a college education to area residents ``location bound'' and/or 
unable to afford studies at the University Park

[[Page 20341]]

campus. This Center closed in 1940 as the nation turned its attention 
to the approaching war. However, Penn State returned to Southwestern 
Pennsylvania with undergraduate educational programming on June 1, 
1965, when it opened the Fayette campus to serve the residents of 
Fayette, Greene, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties. Penn 
State Fayette began by first offering classes in several buildings in 
downtown Uniontown. Then, in 1968 the Fayette Campus Advisory Board 
acquired 27 acres of the Garner Farm, located between Uniontown and 
Connellsville.
  Since that time, the campus has grown to about 100 acres and 10 
buildings: the renovated Eberly Building (named for Orville S. Eberly), 
the University House (once the Garner home), the Williams Building (the 
redesigned student center named for J. Lewis Williams), a state-of-the-
art library, a gymnasium, an engineering building, the Biomedical 
Technology Building, and several other farm and maintenance buildings.
  Penn State Fayette now has five baccalaureate degrees in 
Administration of Justice; Nursing; Human Development and Family 
Studies; Letters, Arts, and Sciences; and Business Administration. Penn 
State Fayette also offers nine associate degrees: Architectural 
Engineering Technology; Electrical Engineering Technology; Business 
Administration; Human Development and Family Studies; Letters, Arts, 
and Sciences; Information, Sciences, and Technology; Nanofabrication 
Manufacturing Technology, Science, and Nursing.
  Responding to urgent statewide needs in 1987, Penn State Fayette 
established a training and certification program for emergency medical 
technicians. Today the Continuing Education Department offers credit, 
non-credit, and management development courses both on campus and off 
campus at the Uniontown Mall, United Parcel Services in New Stanton, 
and Somerset Hospital, Uniontown Hospital and Frick Hospital.
  The faculty at Penn State Fayette fulfill two roles for the student 
body with their commitment not only to teaching but also to advising. 
The faculty have received national and University awards for teaching, 
research, community outreach, and performance in English, art, 
philosophy, history, physics, chemistry, administration of justice, and 
engineering technology. The size of the student population allows for 
personal interaction between instructors and students, and the 
dedication of the faculty makes this interaction a tremendous aid to 
learning.
  The many campus activities and events contribute to an atmosphere of 
unity. Over twenty-five clubs and organizations match the interests of 
almost every student. The intramural organizations include eight 
different sports occurring year round. Students have access to a large, 
well-equipped library, a state-of-the-art engineering building with a 
CAD lab, new computer labs, a student activity and cafeteria facility, 
multimedia rooms, and a fully equipped gymnasium. For various 
activities and events, the campus possesses video-conferencing 
capabilities, Internet connectivity, and satellite communications. In 
addition, the campus' Coal and Coke Heritage Center preserves coal-
mining related artifacts, interviews and other memorabilia from the 
area.
  Many campus enhancements have marked the last few years at Fayette. 
Fayette opened the BioMedical Technology Building, housing the science 
and nursing programs, in July of 1999. During the fall of 2001, the 
University reopened Eberly Building, which had been shut down for one 
year to transform it into one of the most technological state-of-the-
art learning environments in the world. The renovations have proven to 
be a great success and feature many new technologically advanced 
facilities, including a Corporate Training Center, a new Information, 
Sciences and Technology (IST) lab, a technology center, a new 
Administration of Justice (ADMJ) crime lab, art facilities and a child-
care center, the Cub's Den. In the fall of 2002, the theater in the 
Williams Building was remodeled and renamed Swimmer Hall.
  In August 2005, a new community center was opened. This 52,000 sq. 
ft. addition to the campus includes a 1,500-seat NCAA gymnasium, 
racquetball courts in the center and an auxiliary gym. In addition, a 
450-seat auditorium and the new cafeteria are housed in the community 
center. This center promises to provide top facilities for athletic, 
cultural and civic events. The 2004-2005 school year saw the dedication 
of our new Cultural Center as well as the new Student Center.
  Again I offer my congratulations to Penn State Fayette for reaching 
the milestone of its 40th anniversary and I am confident that with such 
excellent programs the campus will continue to be a vital asset to the 
region for another 40 years and beyond.

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