Alvernia’s brand new Reading CollegeTowne reconstruction at 401 North Penn Street in downtown Reading nears completion and awaits the arrival of students in August 2021. This exciting extension of Alvernia’s campus is designed as a strategic champion of economic redevelopment, partnering with the City of Reading and local businesses and organizations.
Local market demand and community workforce needs will be met with Alvernia’s three new Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering starting Fall 2021. The engineering program will be housed at the university’s new downtown location and will include state of the art labs and research facilities. “These engineering programs and the programs that follow will offer experience that rival programs at much larger schools because of the partnerships we have established with some of the largest businesses in the region,” said Alvernia President John R. Loyack.
A new trading floor and business lab will be used for a variety of learning experiences over a wide range of upper-level business courses, lending to the growth of the enhanced Business majors. The lab will support simulations, research and a wide variety of other business applications. It will also support granting the Microsoft Certification for Excel.
The expanded Communication major will have new experiential learning opportunities through a collaboration with Berks Community Television (BCTV), one of the oldest and longest-serving cable access managers in the country. BCTV will be moving their operations to a new studio and office setting at the Reading CollegeTowne campus and will work with the Communication Department and the O’Pake Institute developing experiential learning opportunities for Alvernia students and local businesses in the student-powered entrepreneurial lab.
Reading CollegeTowne has been designed to provide not only state-of-the-art learning facilities, but also community gathering space and lounge area, modern student residences, and high-tech space to serve the new esports program. “This building is designed to be a superior teaching and learning space with flexible, modular classrooms integrated with the latest technology,” said Alvenia University Senior Vice President and Provost Glynis Fitzgerald. “Students will benefit greatly from the collaboration with faculty members in these new learning spaces including the trading floor, a state-of-the-art media studio, podcasting stations, the internationally recognized student literary journal, Zephyrus, and the university’s student-run newspaper, The Alvernian.”
