Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

HARRISBURG) – The Pennsylvania Department of Education has taken steps to establish Pennsylvania’s first Rural Regional Community College, announced Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-25), Senator Bob Robbins (R-50) and Senator Scott Hutchinson (R-21). According to the legislators, the newly created community college is being established with the goal of offering two-year associate degrees, as well as training and certificate programs to underserved areas of the Commonwealth. Curriculum of the college will be determined by the Board of Trustees, based upon the future workforce needs of the designated region of Cameron, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, McKean, Potter, Venango and Warren counties. “I am very excited that groundwork for launching the Rural Regional Community College is now in place,” Senator Scarnati stated. “This will be the first community college to offer greatly needed higher educational opportunities to northwestern Pennsylvania. Thanks to input by edu...

A book chronicling the rich 50-year history of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has been published, and current president Dr. Livingston Alexander and former president Dr. Richard E. McDowell will autograph copies at a book signing next week on campus. The book-signing event, being held to mark the release of the book, “A History of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford,” will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. Friday, April 25, in the Frame-Westerberg Commons. The event will begin with brief remarks by Alexander and McDowell in the Commons’ first-floor lobby. Following the remarks, Alexander and McDowell will move to the Panther Shop, where they will sign books. The book is currently available for pre-order at the Panther Shop’s online store at http://thepanthershop.com . Anyone pre-ordering the book will receive a 10 percent discount. Books also will be available for purchase beginning April 25 at the Panther Shop. The book signing, which is b...

(News Release) HARRISBURG – Appearing before the House Education Committee on Wednesday, Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) and Dr. Richard McDowell made their case for creating a rural regional community college pilot program to serve the 11-county northwest/north central Pennsylvania region. “This really is a fairness issue. Students in rural Pennsylvania need affordable access to the types of programs and services provided by community colleges in other areas of the state,” Causer said. “And from an economic standpoint, rural Pennsylvania as a whole needs this vital economic development tool to help jump start our struggling economy.” McDowell, who is president emeritus and associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, also chairs the Upper Allegheny Education Consortium, which has been working toward bringing community college services to the region for a number of years. “Community colleges provide low-cost, open admission education opportunities, as w...

Pitt-Bradford President Emeritus Dick McDowell and State Rep. Marty Causer will appear before the House Education Committee tomorrow, during a briefing about bills that would create a rural community college pilot program. McDowell and Causer will be discussing House Bill 1701. Its sister bill, Senate Bill 1000, sponsored by Senator Joe Scarnati, proposed creation of the program in the 11-county area of northwest and north central Pennsylvania. The bills were introduced in response to a 2011 study of community college services by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The Bradford Family YMCA recognized nine area individuals and one organization for their commitment to the community at its 2013 Bradford Community Awards Breakfast on Tuesday, May 7 at 7:30 a.m. at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. The “George G. Blaisdell YMCA Community Service Awards” were presented to Dr. Richard McDowell, by Judge John Cleland and to BCPAC, by Patty Colosimo. The annual award recognizes one or more individuals, businesses, or organizations in Bradford and the surrounding area for continual commitment to the improvement of the community by his/her actions, words, and deeds that exemplify the YMCA mission of building “spirit, mind, and body for all.” McDowell has been a lifelong resident of Bradford who holds a BS in biology from High Point University and a Ph. D. in biology from St. Louis University. He completed his pre-doctoral fellowship at Argonne National Laboratories in Chicago, and then returned to Bradford in 1970 as the assistant professor...

Former Bradford Era Social Page Editor dies at age 92 Mary Ann Levis Lyons, 92 of 48 Sherman Street, Bradford, passed away Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at the Pavilion at BRMC. Born on November 16, 1920, in Erie, she was a daughter of Ernest Lewis and Ann (Rich) Levis. She was a 1938 graduate of St. Bernard High School. Free spirited, Mary Ann left Bradford to join the USO and served for a time in St. Marys. Later she began a successful career with Kaiser Frazer Automobile distributorship in New York City and worked her way up to become the first female general director for the distributorship. She was greatly admired in the industry. Mary Ann enjoyed a spirited life in New York City where she met and married Gerry Lyons and they resided there for 25 years. Mary Ann spoke often of her apartment life on Madison Ave. "Everything was dazzling", she would say. "I had no time to learn how to cook'. During that time, she and her husband also lived in Florida where Ma...

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will name its sport and fitness center in honor of President Emeritus Dr. Richard McDowell and his wife, Ruth. The University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees approved the naming of the Dr. Richard and Ruth McDowell Sport and Fitness Center at its meeting today in Pittsburgh. The sport and fitness center opened in the fall of 2002 and includes the KOA Arena, the Kenneth M. Jadlowiec Fitness Center, an exercise studio, the Tom L. McDowell Fieldhouse (named in honor of McDowell’s father), the Paul C. Duke III Aquatic Center, offices, classrooms and athletic training facilities. “I am tremendously pleased that one of the most vibrant buildings on campus will carry the name of a vibrant leader,” said Dr. Livingston Alexander, Pitt-Bradford’s president. “Dr. McDowell’s unrelenting enthusiasm, optimism and dedication carried Pitt-Bradford into the 21st century, well poised for the national recognition we’re seeing...

Michael McLanahan, a senior at Bradford Area High School, served as the keynote speaker for the annual meeting of the CARE for Children Board of Directors held Thursday evening at the Bradford Club. The CARE for Children Board of Directors honored Zippo Manufacturing Company with the organization’s Community CARE Award and Mr. Howard Fesenmyer, Dr. Richard E. McDowell and Mr. Pete Buchheit with the CARE Volunteer Award. Mick Marshall, President of the CARE Board of Directors, presented Mr. Greg Booth, Zippo President and CEO, with the company’s award. “The board chose to honor Zippo Manufacturing Company for their long history of investing in CARE for Children, which we accept as a seal of approval,” said Marshall. “Whether it be the overall tournament sponsor for the CARE ‘fore’ Children Golf Tournament, the in-kind donations of product, the employee participation at special events and through memorial giving, or their support of the United Way, which benefits CARE.” Marshall wen...

Marilyn Horne Archive Part of Plans The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford launched a fundraising campaign Friday to raise $17.5 million by the end of its 50th anniversary year in 2014. Dr. Livingston Alexander, president, announced that 60 percent of the goal, which will benefit scholarships, academics, technology, capital projects and athletics, has already been raised. The event included a brief program to introduce the campaign’s goals, which includes $6.5 million for scholarships and $1.25 million for the emerging American Refining Group/Harry R. Halloran Jr. Energy Institute. “There is a great deal at stake,” Alexander said in his remarks to those gathered for the launch celebration in Blaisdell Hall. “We have come a long way and achieved a position of prominence in the northeast. We envision that Pitt-Bradford will become a top-of-mind institution among high school students. … Students will benefit from these … gifts for the next 50 years a...

Sandy Green, executive assistant to the president at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, will retire at the end of 2011 after 29 years of service to the university. Green came to the office from the law firm of McDowell, Wick, Daly, Gallup & Hauser. At a retirement reception held earlier this week, Dr. Livingston Alexander, president, and Dr. Richard E. McDowell, president emeritus, praised Green not only for her secretarial skill, but her organization, professionalism and dedication to the university. Alexander thanked her for helping him advance a number of critically important initiatives on behalf of the institution. He went on to praise her perfectionism and commitment to excellence. “She is very passionate about her work and about this campus.” McDowell, who worked with Green for 20 years, said that Green was one of the first people on campus to wholeheartedly make the move from the office staple IBM Selectric typewriter t...

Dr. Richard McDowell has asked for our help in completing the ECUA Survey to find out what programs would be best for our area. Just go to: http://www.ecuapa.org/survey it will only take a few minutes to complete. Thanks!

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Bradford’s newest councilmen agree that code enforcement is the number one priority of city residents. Almost all public comment council has received in the last six months has been about code enforcement, blighted properties and the historic district, said Councilman Fred Proper during Tuesday's council meeting. “The quality of life in our community is being affected by the property in the community – deteriorating property,” he said. As a council, “You got it across to us that it’s probably the number one priority in this community right now. We need to work together to handle that.” “I’ve got the message that it is the number one priority, aside from maybe some financial problems that we’re going to have to face,” he said. “This is the number one issue – blighted properties, code enforcement,” Councilman Jim Evans said. “The only reason it surpasses financial is we’re not building a budget right now.” “That message has come through loud a...

By Kimberly Marcott Weinberg Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing University of Pittsburgh at Bradford A new scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will benefit students pursuing careers in criminal justice. The Jack and Grace Knapp Fund for Forensic Education was endowed with a $5,000 gift from the Knapps’ daughter, Kathleen Knapp Holt of Victor, N.Y. The gift will be matched by funds from the Agnes L. and Lewis Lyle Scholarship Challenge as well as the Xerox Corp. Although she now lives in Victor, Holt grew up on Pleasant Street in Bradford, playing war with a little boy who would grow up to be the president of Pitt-Bradford – Dr. Richard McDowell, president emeritus – and hanging out with her brother’s best friend, Dennis Lowery, who would enroll in Pitt-Bradford’s first class and become an ardent supporter of the university. In the intervening years, she left Bradford and eventually married Charles P. “Chip” Holt, architect and implementer of Xerox’s ...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Even in today’s challenging times, the 286 people who got their diplomas from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford have at least one big thing going for them: The power of Pitt. That was one of the messages delivered by commencement speaker Dave Wannstedt, head coach of the University of Pittsburgh football team. “Do not let (the challenging times), in any way, discourage you or dampen your enthusiasm for what you want or what you can accomplish,” Wannstedt told the graduates. “There’s a reason people from this university have helped change the world in so many positive ways. That’s the power of Pitt. And you now own that power.” He said he realizes the graduates are living with quite a bit of uncertainty now, just as he was when he graduated from Pitt in 1974. He was drafted into the NFL by the Green Bay Packers, but didn’t know how long a pro football career would last. He knew he wanted to be a coach. He applied to graduate school because...