Penn State Shenango to Update Lab Building

SHARON, Pa. – Penn State University and Penn State Shenango will together develop a five-year strategic plan in 2020 that will identify initiatives and goals for the next five years.

The campus strategic plan coincides with the city of Sharon’s strategic planning process, providing an opportunity to support common goals, says Jo Ann Carrick, campus director and chief academic officer.

One goal of the campus in downtown Sharon, Pa., will be to expand civic engagement of faculty, staff and students to increase talent retention in the Shenango Valley.

The campus is also expanding its athletics programs, Carrick says, and will add women’s basketball in the fall of 2021. 

A major renovation of the Forker Laboratory Building is expected to begin this spring. It will transform learning spaces into state-of-the-art classrooms and labs, Carrick says.

Meanwhile, Penn State Shenango continues to fill the shortage of nurses in the region through its partnership with Sharon Regional School of Nursing.

“In May, we will graduate our first cohort of nurse practitioner students who entered the master’s program in fall of 2018,” Carrick says. 

The Shenango campus tailors its academic offerings to address the needs of the community, she continues. Programs that are most in demand include health care, STEM, entrepreneurship and business.

Carrick says a baccalaureate program in health policy and administration will begin in the fall. It will focus on business administration and government policies that impact the delivery and affordability of health care. Two other degree programs are under consideration: computer science with a focus on cybersecurity and biobehavioral health. 

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