Training, Certifications Diversifying Workforce Knowledge at Tobyhanna Army Depot Internationally-recognized professional certifications are helping Tobyhanna Army Depot employees take their skill sets to the next level. The depot recently expanded its in-house access to training that prepares employees for the Certified Electronics Technician (CET) professional certification. Managed by the Electronics Technicians Association – International (ETA-I), the various forms of CET are recognized worldwide and validate that an individual has the skills and training to perform electronics work to an industry standard. There are four stacking certifications under the CET umbrella. The Associate Level certification, CETa, confirms that employees with less than two years professional experience/training in electronics meet ETA-I expectations. CETj builds on the entry-level CETa certification and requires additional hands-on experience as well as training in advanced electronics theories such as photonics, optics and telecommunications. Personnel who desire to further their credentials can then pursue the CETsr certification, which requires more than six years of education/experience, an active CETa certification, and high marks on the Journeyman level examination. The final CET designation is the CETma – noting an individual’s mastery in many different fields of the ever-evolving electronics field. The decision to pursue CET training for employees was an easy one, according to George Salitsky, the deputy director of the C4ISR directorate. “Just as our AS 9100/9110 certification puts Tobyhanna on par with the best of private industry, CET credentialed employees give the depot a competitive advantage. Gaining these important certifications shows that Tobyhanna employees are committed to keeping their skills sharp. The certification assures a measurable level of expertise, knowledge and quality against our electronics competitors,” he said. Personnel from the Employee Development Division (EDD) have hosted four iterations of the “Associate CET Review and Exam Prep Course” for depot electronics personnel. The course reviews CET training materials and provides a refresher on electronics basics. It also covers tactical strategies for taking a professional certification exam. By design, students have the opportunity to take the CET exam immediately after completing the course. “Taking the test right away ensures the course materials are fresh in a student’s mind,” said James Ashton, an EDD training administrator from the Resource Management Directorate. “We are focused on setting our students up for success.” Carlos Marques is an electronics mechanic helper in the C4ISR directorate who joined Team Tobyhanna in 2019. He voluntarily pursued the CET certification to expand his skill set. “I’m competitive by nature, and I knew the CET training would help me with my future career goals.” On top of his existing electronics knowledge, Marques’ preparation for the exam included the taking the depot CET prep course as well as several months of intense independent study. “After taking the prep course and the practice exams, I was able to identify the gaps in my knowledge and develop a study plan. The books and digital resources were a huge help. I even used YouTube tutorials to help me master the materials,” adding that he believes the rest of Team Tobyhanna’s electronics personnel are also up to the challenge. “While the exam was difficult, I believe it can be done by focusing on small portions of material at a time.” Patrick Connolly, chief of the Command Post Systems Branch, lauded Marques’ accomplishment and noted the importance of industry-standard accreditations such as CET. “Carlos is an analytical self-starter, and it is no surprise to me that he was able to pass the CET exam. The CET certification helps our workforce expand their knowledge in the vast field of electronics and grow themselves, benefitting both themselves and our mission. Workforce agility is key to ensuring we can support any requirement for the joint warfighter.” The CET initiative is directly aligned with Tobyhanna’s long-range strategic plan, TOBY2028, particularly the Invest in Our People, Shaping the Future and C5ISR Readiness lines of effort. Depot training personnel are currently piloting an expanded CET preparation course. Employees interested in the CET certification should review Employee Bulletin #33 or contact EDD at X56492. Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for C5ISR systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna’s Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C5ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners. Tobyhanna’s unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum logistics support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, post production software support, technology insertion, modification, foreign military sales and global field support to our joint warfighters. About 3,700 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the command’s mission is to empower the Soldier with winning C5ISR capabilities.
Johnson College Signs Articulation Agreement for Veterinary Nursing Program with University of Missouri Johnson College has signed an articulation agreement with the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, for the College’s Veterinary Nursing program. The agreement provides students who earn a two-year Veterinary Nursing associate degree at Johnson College with the opportunity to transfer all 74 credits earned through the program into the University of Missouri’s Bachelor of Science in Veterinary Technology program. Qualifying students will graduate from Johnson College’s Veterinary Nursing program with at least a 2.5 GPA. Students transferring through the articulation agreement must pass the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE) to earn their national certified veterinarian technician license. They must receive a score of at least 425. Graduates of the Veterinary Nursing program at Johnson College enter the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine with a junior-year standing in the Veterinary Technology Bachelor of Science program. “Creating this agreement gives our Veterinary Nursing students a new pathway to a bachelor’s of science degree to help them advance in their careers,” said Dr. Katie Leonard, President & CEO of Johnson College. “Our students will use the strong values and hands-on training they received at Johnson College as they continue on their academic journey at the University of Missouri.” “We began developing our bachelor’s degree in veterinary technology program more than two years ago to help remediate the national shortage of veterinary technicians,” said University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Carolyn J. Henry, DVM, MS. “It’s gratifying to now be able to form partnerships with institutions like Johnson College, which share our vision of providing an opportunity for skilled, experienced technicians to further their education while continuing to work.”
October Events Planned at The University of Scranton Note: Access to the campus is currently limited to members of the University community, invited guests, spectators at athletic events and others as listed in the Royals Back Together plan. Campus access and other health and safety information will be updated throughout the semester and can be seen on the Royals Back Together webpage. Oct. 7 Noon. Schemel Forum’s Munley Law World Affairs Luncheon Series: “Jane Jacobs’ First City: What Comes Next?” presented by Paige Cognetti, mayor, City of Scranton. Rose Room, Brennan Hall. Registration required. Fees vary. Call 570-941-6206 or email alicen.morrison@scranton.edu. Note: Access to the campus is currently limited to members of the University community, invited guests, spectators at athletic events and others as listed in the Royals Back Together plan. Campus access and other health and safety information will be updated throughout the semester and can be seen on the Royals Back Together webpage. Oct. 14 8:30 a.m. 20th Annual U.S. Conference on disABILITY “Exploring Autism Across the Spectrum: Building Inclusive Communities. Year III.” This virtual conference will include daylong live events as well as pre-recorded session offerings. Free. Registration opens mid-September. Call 570-941-7819 or visit www.scranton.edu/disabilityconference. Oct. 15 Noon. Schemel Forum’s Munley Law World Affairs Luncheon Series: “Democracy in America? An Outsider’s View” presented by Fintan O’Toole, columnist for The Irish Times and the Leonard L. Milberg Lecturer in Irish Letters, Princeton. Rose Room, Brennan Hall. Registration required. Fees vary. Call 570-941-6206 or email alicen.morrison@scranton.edu. Note: Access to the campus is currently limited to members of the University community, invited guests, spectators at athletic events and others as listed in the Royals Back Together plan. Campus access and other health and safety information will be updated throughout the semester and can be seen on the Royals Back Together webpage. Oct. 15 7:30 p.m. Performance Music: “In Recital” featuring Alexander Pattavina, organ. Houlihan-McLean Center. Free. Call 570-941-7624 or email music@scranton.edu. Note: Access to the campus is currently limited to members of the University community, invited guests, spectators at athletic events and others as listed in the Royals Back Together plan. Campus access and other health and safety information will be updated throughout the semester and can be seen on the Royals Back Together webpage. Oct. 20 4:30 p.m. Asian Studies Lecture: “Moral Psychology of Confucian Shame: Shame of Shamelessness” presented by Bongrae Seok, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, Alvernia University. Pearn Auditorium, Brennan Hall. No registration required. Free. Call 570-941-6312 or email ann.pang-white@scranton.edu. Note: Access to the campus is currently limited to members of the University community, invited guests, spectators at athletic events and others as listed in the Royals Back Together plan. Campus access and other health and safety information will be updated throughout the semester and can be seen on the Royals Back Together webpage. Oct. 23 7:45 a.m. Schemel Forum bus trip “Back to Gotham! NYC!” $150. Registration required to reserve a spot by Oct. 1 as spaces are limited. Call 570-941-6206 or email alicen.morrison@scranton.edu. Note: Access to the campus is currently limited to members of the University community, invited guests, spectators at athletic events and others as listed in the Royals Back Together plan. Campus access and other health and safety information will be updated throughout the semester and can be seen on the Royals Back Together webpage. Oct. 24 9 a.m. Open House for prospective students and their families. Various locations on campus. Registration required. Free. Call 888-SCRANTON or email admissions@scranton.edu. Oct. 24 7:30 p.m. Performance Music: “Bach for Humanity” featuring Mark Kosower, cello. Houlihan-McLean Center. Free. Call 570-941-7624 or email music@scranton.edu. Note: Access to the campus is currently limited to members of the University community, invited guests, spectators at athletic events and others as listed in the Royals Back Together plan. Campus access and other health and safety information will be updated throughout the semester and can be seen on the Royals Back Together webpage. Oct. 26 Noon. Schemel Forum’s Munley Law World Affairs Luncheon Series: “The Holocaust and Jewish-Christian Relations” presented by Dr. Carol Rittner, RSM, distinguished professor emerita of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Dr. Marsha Raticoff Grossman Professor Emerita of Holocaust Studies at Stockton University, New Jersey. Rose Room, Brennan Hall. Registration required. Fees vary. Call 570-941-6206 or email alicen.morrison@scranton.edu. Note: Access to the campus is currently limited to members of the University community, invited guests, spectators at athletic events and others as listed in the Royals Back Together plan. Campus access and other health and safety information will be updated throughout the semester and can be seen on the Royals Back Together webpage. Oct. 30 7:30 p.m. Performance Music: “In Concert” featuring The University of Scranton String Orchestra with guest artist John-Morgan Bush, horn. Houlihan-McLean Center. Free. Call 570-941-7624 or email music@scranton.edu. Note: Access to the campus is currently limited to members of the University community, invited guests, spectators at athletic events and others as listed in the Royals Back Together plan. Campus access and other health and safety information will be updated throughout the semester and can be seen on the Royals Back Together webpage. Nov. 7 9 a.m. Open House for prospective students and their families. Various locations on campus. Registration required. Free. Call 888-SCRANTON or email admissions@scranton.edu. Wednesdays: Oct. 6, 13, 20, 27 and Nov. 3, 10 6 p.m. Schemel Forum Course: “Social and Moral Issues in Information Technology” presented by Kevin Nordberg, Ph.D., professor emeritus, philosophy and Latin American studies, The University of Scranton. Room 305, Weinberg Memorial Library. Registration required. Fees vary. Call 570-941-6206 or email alicen.morrison@scranton.edu. Note: Access to the campus is currently limited to members of the University community, invited guests, spectators at athletic events and others as listed in the Royals Back Together plan. Campus access and other health and safety information will be updated throughout the semester and can be seen on the Royals Back Together webpage.
U.S. News Ranks Scranton No. 5 in 2022 Guidebook U.S. News & World Report ranked Scranton No. 5 among the “Best Regional Universities in the North” in the 2022 edition of the “Best Colleges” guidebook, which became available online today. U.S. News has ranked Scranton among the top 10 universities in its category for 28 consecutive years. U.S. News also ranked Scranton No. 14 in its category in its “Best Undergraduate Teaching” listing of the top colleges in the nation expressing “a strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.” In addition, Scranton was ranked No. 45 as a “Best Value Regional University in the North,” which compares academic quality of programs to cost of attendance. This is the ninth consecutive year U.S. News has recognized Scranton as a “Best Value” school. Scranton was ranked No. 138 in its category in “Top Performers on Social Mobility,” which looks at schools that enroll and graduate “large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants.” In national rankings, as opposed to listings by category, U.S. News included Scranton among America’s “Best Undergraduate Business Programs,” ranking Scranton at No. 166 in the U.S., “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs” at No. 185 (where doctorate is not offered); and among the nation’s “Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs,” ranking Scranton No. 148 in the nation. U.S. News uses data on 17 measures of academic quality to rank 1,466 bachelor’s degree colleges in the America. For its rankings, U.S. News considers a range of quality indicators that include an “outcomes” measurement” (40 percent), which assesses graduation rates; freshman retention; a social mobility score; graduate indebtedness; and graduation performance rates, which compares a school’s actual graduation rates with predicted graduation rates based on characteristics of the incoming class. U.S. News ranking analysis also includes a peer assessment of academic excellence (20 percent); faculty resources (20 percent), which includes class size and regional cost-of-living adjustments to faculty pay and benefits; student excellence (7 percent), as measured by SAT or ACT scores and high school ranking of students in the top 25 percent of their class; financial resources (10 percent); and alumni giving (3 percent). U.S. News categorizes colleges for their rankings based on the official Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classification of universities. The 2022 U.S. News “Best Colleges” rankings became available online Sept. 13. The printed edition of the guidebook will be available in bookstores Nov. 2.
Chamber Music Festival at Marywood University Marywood University’s music, theatre, and dance department will present a three-day Chamber Music Festival, September 24, 25,and 26. This festival, given by professional chamber musicians, is being presented as a “Welcome back to live performances festival” for the greater Scranton community. All concerts will be held in the Marian Chapel, Swartz Center, at Marywood University and are free and open to the public. The festival will include a weekend of outstanding chamber music, featuring Marywood music faculty and guest artists, including: Sophie Till and Jennifer Reuning Myers, violin; Christiane Appenheimner Vaida, cello; and Ron Stabinsky and Eun Sil Suh, piano. Sophie Till – ViolinJennifer Reuning Myers – ViolinChristiane Appenheimer Vaida – CelloRon Stabinsky – PianoEun Sil Sih – Piano The Chamber Music Festival’s featured concerts include: An Evening of Violin Duos (Friday, September 24, at 7 p.m.); An Evening of Trios by Women Composers (Saturday, September 25, at 7 p.m.); and Violin and Piano Duos (Sunday, September 26, at 1 p.m.). For additional about the Chamber Music Festival and other performances at Marywood University, please visit marywood.edu/mtd/events, or call (570) 348-6268.
Duryea at Dusk Raises $4,000 for Northeast Regional Cancer Institute The Duryea at Dusk committee hosted their fifth Duryea at Dusk 5K and 1-mile walk as a virtual race again this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Participants were encouraged to complete their 5K or 1-mile safely around their neighborhood, on a treadmill, track or at a park between June 5-12. All runners and walkers received a customizable Duryea at Dusk virtual bib and had the opportunity to post their finisher photos on Duryea at Dusk’s Facebook page. Awards were given to top runners. Through personal experience with a family member battling cancer, Duryea native sisters, Katie Brudzinski and Allison Brudzinski wanted to be part of something bigger that would involve their entire community. Duryea at Dusk was created from that idea. This is the fifth year of this event. It will impact the local community and support a local organization, the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute, whose mission is to ease the burden of cancer in northeastern Pennsylvania. Since inception, Duryea at Dusk has raised $44,261 for the Cancer Institute.Individuals or businesses looking for future information can reach out to Duryea at Dusk committee by email at duryeaatdusk@gmail.com. From left to right: Eddie Klein, Karen M. Saunders, President, Northeast Regional Cancer Institute, Amanda E. Marchegiani, Community Relations Coordinator, Northeast Regional Cancer Institute, Aimee Balchune, Katie Brudzinski, Duryea at Dusk co-founder, and Kristen Kabacinski. Absent from the photo: Duryea at Dusk committee members-Allison Brudzinski, co-founder, David Tighe, and Krista Gromelski.
Marywood Communication Sciences & Disorders Students Attend Career Day Students in Marywood University Communication Sciences and Disorders Program recently attended a Career Day at the Outreach Center for Community Resources. Highlighting various aspects of the speech-language pathology and audiology professions such as AAC, phonetics, language, and hearing, Marywood students engaged participants in hands-on learning activities during the event. Seated left to Right: Jackson LaBelle; Makenzie Reinhard; Marla Kovatch, Marywood University Assistant Professor of Practice; James Nehlig; and Katherine Yochim.
PennDOT Accepting Applications For 2022-23 Improvements Under Multimodal Transportation Fund The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) today announced that applications will be accepted to fund new transportation improvement projects under the Multimodal Transportation Fund (MTF) through November 5, 2021. “The Multimodal Transportation Fund continues to enhance connectivity across our state,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian said. “Projects are selected based on regional economic conditions, technical and financial feasibility, safety benefits, energy efficiency, operational sustainability and job creation.” Eligible applicants include municipalities, council of governments, business/non-profit organizations, economic development organizations, public transportation agencies, public airports, airport authorities, and ports and rail entities. Projects that will be considered should coordinate local land use with transportation assets to enhance existing communities; improve streetscape, lighting, sidewalk facilities, and pedestrian safety; improve connectivity or utilization of existing transportation assets; or advance transit-oriented-development. To submit a 2022-23 state fiscal year Multimodal Transportation Fund application, visit PennDOT’s “Multimodal Program” page and click on the currently “Accepting Applications” link. Grant recipients are expected to be announced next year, and funding will become available in July 2022. In fiscal year 2021-2022, 43 projects were awarded $45.9 million in MTF funding throughout 21 counties, including construction of a pedestrian route with ADA curb cuts connecting existing sidewalk in Patterson Township, Beaver County; reconstruction of a collapsed portion of Wagontown Road in Valley Township, Chester County; replacement of Bridge No. 31, which has been poor condition since 1991 in Greene County; and the replacement of traffic signal and safety improvements at four intersections along 15th Street in the City of Allentown. Act 89 of 2013 established a dedicated Multimodal Transportation Fund that stabilizes funding for ports and rail freight, increases aviation investments, establishes dedicated funding for bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and allows targeted funding for priority investments in any mode. For more information about the program and previous years’ applications and awards, visit the Multimodal Program page.
