WILLIAMSPORT – The Student & Administrative Services Center at Pennsylvania College of Technology will soon bear the name of retiring President Davie Jane Gilmour.
The college’s Board of Directors convened a special meeting to approve the action at a gala event honoring Gilmour’s 24-year presidency. The board also granted emeritus status to Gilmour, who retires June 30.
“It is entirely appropriate that a campus facility impacting the lives of virtually all students and employees will be named for a president who did so much to advance the status of this institution for nearly a quarter century,” said state Sen. Gene Yaw, chairman of the Penn College Board. “Davie Jane Gilmour has served with distinction, guiding the college through a period of robust growth and dynamic innovation while overseeing its development into a national leader in applied technology education. Her leadership has been integral to the college’s success.”
The Student & Administrative Services Center, known in campus shorthand as “the SASC,” houses offices for student services such as Admissions, Financial Aid, the Registrar, Veterans & Military, the LEAP Center (first-year student assistance) and more. The upper floors of the three-story facility, which opened in 2003, includes spaces for People & Culture (formerly Human Resources), Financial Operations, Information Technology Services, Public Relations & Marketing and executive offices, including the President’s Office and Academic Affairs.
Gilmour joined the college in 1977 as an instructor and curriculum developer in the Dental Hygiene Program. In 1983, she was appointed to the first of many administrative positions. In 1993, she became the college’s highest-ranking academic officer, vice president for academic affairs; in 1996, she assumed the position of vice president for academic affairs and provost. On May 4, 1998, Gilmour became president of Pennsylvania College of Technology.
The emeritus honor accorded to Gilmour is reserved for retired faculty and staff who have demonstrated a record of distinguished service to students, their department, their academic school and/or the college itself.
During Gilmour’s tenure as president, Penn College, a special mission affiliate of Penn State, has substantially increased its baccalaureate degree offerings and established its first graduate-level programs. The college is also a recognized leader in apprenticeship development through its Workforce Development department, co-administering an $8 million federal grant program to create industry-driven strategies for apprenticeships in advanced manufacturing fields and serving more than 3,200 apprentices in the process.
The college’s partnerships and support from business and industry have grown exponentially during Gilmour’s time as president, as have the number of employers (including many Fortune 500 companies) visiting campus to recruit students at Career Fairs and other events.
Gilmour oversaw a significant expansion of main campus through construction of a new main entrance, the Student & Administrative Services Center that will bear her name, the Madigan Library, College Avenue Labs, the Center for Business & Workforce Development, the Construction Masonry Building, Rose Street Commons student housing complex, the Field House, UPMC Field, and an expansion of the Welding Lab within the Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center. She has also overseen extensive renovations to a number of campus facilities, including the Klump Academic Center.
Under her leadership, and sparked by her advocacy efforts with elected officials and the state Legislature, Penn College’s appropriation funding has risen to nearly $27 million. The college’s own fundraising efforts logged record growth, as well, and student scholarship assistance has grown to the highest level in the institution’s history.
Penn College is a national leader in applied technology education.
Joseph Yoder (Penn College)
(570) 320-2400 x7218
Nick Troutman (Sen. Yaw)
(717) 787-3280