The 26th Annual Johnson College Open will be held on Friday, May 18, 2018 at Blue Ridge Trail Golf Club in Mountaintop, PA (rain or shine).  Proceeds from this annual golf tournament support the Johnson College Presidential Scholarship Fund. Each academic year, Presidential Scholarships are awarded to four qualified and deserving full-time students.

Sponsors of the 26th Annual Johnson College Open to date include:

Presenting Sponsor: Gerrity’s Supermarkets

Advertising Sponsor: Lamar Advertising

Platinum: Shop Rite of Daleville & Mount Pocono

Platinum Marketing Sponsors: Sweda Advertising

Gold Print Sponsor: Sprint Print

Gold Sponsors: Bill’s Ace Hardware, Highland Associates, L.R. Costanzo Company, PNC Bank, Simplex Homes, NAPA Auto Parts of Daleville & Mount Pocono, Reilly Associates, Shea Industries

Silver Sponsor: Sordoni Construction Services

Cart Sponsor: Kane Is Able

Lunch Sponsor: Christiano Welding Supply

Dinner Sponsor: Stevens & Lee

Gift Sponsor: Action Lift

“Crossroads” Snack Bar Sponsor: Troy Mechanical

Mulligan Sponsor: McCarthy Tire & Automotive Centers

Hole in One Sponsor: Gibbons Ford

Exclusive Tee Sponsors: Brucelli Advertising Company, Constantino’s Catering and Events, Franko Law Offices, Knowles Associates, Metz Culinary Management, MotorWorld, Oliver, Price & Rhodes, Posture Interactive, Snow Management, T.E. Spall & Son

Presidential Scholarship Sponsors: Ability Recovery Services, Fiorelli’s, Genetti Manor, The Green Scene, IBEW-NECA Local #81, Mohegan Sun Pocono, Powell Law, R.J. Walker Co.

Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available. Golfer registration deadline is May 7^th. To obtain more information or to register to play in the tournament, visit www.johnson.edu/golf or contact Tracey Pratt, Manager of Development at 570-702-8908 or tpratt@johnson.edu.

Johnson College’s Carpentry & Cabinetmaking Technology program hosted an auction to benefit the Children’s Advocacy Center of NEPA. The items up for auction were all created by students in the Carpentry & Cabinetmaking program, and the event was organized by Project Management student Warren Gary Lahr, ’18. More than 40 items were auctioned off including cutting boards, guitars, benches, tables, cabinets, wine racks and a toy box.  Most of the items were made from re-purposed wood. The auction raised over $3,100 for the local non-profit and brought together a group of faculty, staff, and parents to showcase the wonderful creations the students work on every day.

For information about the two-year Carpentry & Cabinetmaking Technology program, please visit, www.johnson.edu/carpentry.

Johnson College has chosen LaTida Smith, President &CEO of the Moses Taylor Foundation to give their 2018 commencement address to graduates on Saturday, May 12th, 2018 at 10 a.m.

As the President & CEO, she provides leadership and oversight for the Foundation’s grantmaking and administration to advance its mission to improve the health and wellness of residents and communities in Northeast Pennsylvania.

Prior to joining Moses Taylor, Ms. Smith spent 12 years with Saint Luke’s Foundation of Cleveland, Ohio. At Saint Luke’s, LaTida led the implementation of the Foundation’s program strategy approach, streamlined the community grantmaking process to expand partnerships with grantees and led the implementation of program logic models for outcome measurement. Prior to Saint Luke’s, LaTida oversaw the City of Cleveland’s HIV/AIDS Unit and served as a Community Educator for Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland.

She serves as the Board Chair of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and previously chaired the board of Funders Concerned About AIDS. She was selected as an American Marshall Memorial Fellow and the Association for Black Foundation Executives Connecting Leaders Fellow.

Ms. Smith earned a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and master’s degrees in English and Women’s Studies from The Ohio State University.

She resides in Clarks Summit with her husband, Walter and their children Walter and Clarke.

Johnson College announced today that it has earned the 2018 Military Friendly® School designation. First published in 2009, Military Friendly® Schools is the most comprehensive, powerful resource for veterans today. Each year, the list of Military Friendly® Schools is provided to service members and their families, helping them select the best college, university, or trade school to receive the education and training needed to pursue a civilian career.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from Victory Media’s proprietary survey. For the first time, student data was taken into consideration for the designation. More than 1,300 schools participated in the 2017-18 survey with 849 awarded with the designation.

Ratings methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined by Victory Media with input from the Military Friendly® Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for Student Retention, Graduation, Job Placement, Loan Repayment, Persistence (Degree Advancement or Transfer) and Loan Default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.

Johnson College’s President & CEO, Katie Leonard said, “Johnson College is proud to receive the Military Friendly® School designation and the gold #8 spot in the Online/Technical category. It is important to us that we go above and beyond for current and former service members to ensure that they can get a degree and pursue their next professional path. Our institution has a wonderful reputation in our community and beyond for being the best trade and technical school that can assure a successful student that they will earn not only a job, but also a rewarding career. ”

Chief Product Officer at Victory Media Daniel Nichols stated, “Our ability to apply a clear, consistent standard to the majority of colleges gives veterans a comprehensive view of which schools are striving to provide the best opportunities and conditions for our nation’s student veterans. Military Friendly ® helps veterans make the best use of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and other federal benefits while allowing us to further our goal of assisting them in finding success in their chosen career fields.”

For more information about Johnson College’s commitment to attracting and supporting military students, visit Johnson College’s website at www.johnson.edu/veterans. Johnson College will be showcased along with other 2018 Military Friendly® Schools in the annual Guide to Military Friendly® Schools, special education issues of G.I. Jobs® and Military Spouse Magazine, and on militaryfriendly.com.

 

Katie Leonard, M.A. to begin her tenure as President & CEO early

At a recent meeting of the Johnson College Board of Directors, Dr. Ann L. Pipinski was named President Emeritus of the College.  This is the first time in the College’s history that an individual in the role of President has received such a distinction.  The Board of Directors may grant President Emeritus status to a president who is retiring or has retired from the position. President Emeritus status is reserved to honor a Johnson College president who has provided outstanding and distinguished service to Johnson College; and has served as President for at least ten years.

Dr. Pipinski has decided to retire early from the College with Katie Leonard, M.A. assuming the role of President & CEO effective February 12, 2018.  As President Emeritus, Dr. Pipinski will continue to serve the College as an advisor to the President & CEO and Board of Directors as needed.

Johnson College received an $8,991.00 grant from The Robert Y. Moffat Family Charitable Trust to be used for a STEM Outreach Expansion Project. The goal of the project is to bring science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts to school-aged children in Northeast Pennsylvania.

The College hosted a workshop at McNichols Plaza Elementary on Wednesday, January 10^th to utilize a portion of the STEM materials they were able to purchase through the grant. As a part of the McNichols Plaza STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) Night series, Johnson College staff facilitated the use of littleBits with children in 3rd to 5th grade and their parents.

The inventive kits are explained on their website as, “Kits composed of electronic building blocks that are color-coded, magnetic, and make complex technology simple and fun. Together they’re interchangeable in millions of different ways to empower kids to invent anything.” Using directional cards, and guidance from staff and parents, students created circuits similar to flipping a light switch, ringing a doorbell and controlling volume on a radio. Each combination of circuits produces a different outcome and has a real-world application for young children to understand. All of the directions and pieces to the kits are kid friendly with bright colors and describing words to guide the activity.

Amanda Montoro, a teacher at McNichols Plaza, was excited to welcome Johnson College to the school. The elementary school recently received a grant from Race to the Top for Education that focuses on parent involvement, which inspired STEAM Night. “Our love of STEAM education led us to develop a plan of having 4 STEAM Nights this year where parents could come out with their children and experience STEAM for themselves.  Any time we can collaborate with families, the children always benefit.” She emphasized the importance for STEAM experiences for elementary aged children and how the school will incorporate all grades through this programming this year. “STEAM programming is important for children of all ages.  The reason we have divided the grades this month is that students in grades 3-5 are a bit more independent and can handle different types of activities than students in the younger grades.  We plan to have another STEAM night for grades PreK-2nd in a couple weeks. STEAM programming promotes problem solving skills and higher levels of thinking for all students.  Our hope is that with more STEAM programs, our students will become independent thinkers and will not rely on others to tell them what to do or how to solve problems in their everyday lives. ”

“STEM careers are in-demand, and students can learn about the newest technology with help from Johnson College staff and the support of the Robert Y. Moffat Family Charitable Trust,” said Tracey Pratt, Manager of Development at Johnson College. “Our goal is to have local students become familiar with STEM at a young age and find value in these principles so they can better understand career opportunities and goals throughout elementary and into high school. Of course, we also want students and teachers to become aware of the technical education opportunities available at Johnson College.”

For more information, or to inquire about having a STEM activity at your school, please contact:

Tracey Pratt
Manager of Development
tpratt@johnson.edu

The Board of Directors of Johnson College have selected Katie Leonard to be the next President & CEO of Johnson College, effective July 1, 2018.

Ms. Leonard currently serves as the Executive Vice President of the College and began her tenure in January of 2007 as the College’s Coordinator of Grants and Annual Fund. From there, she had continued success in the areas of fundraising and community outreach which led her to become the Director of Development, Director of Institutional Advancement, and then on to Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Senior Vice President of College Advancement. Over the last ten years, Ms. Leonard’s contributions to the College have been innumerable. In her time with the College, Ms. Leonard formed industry relationships, reestablished the alumni program, increased annual giving, and initiated the College’s rebranding in 2011. She executed the College’s first-ever capital campaign in 2013 which raised, comprehensively, over $5 million to build the new Health Science Technology Center on campus, the largest building project to date.

At an all-college meeting on Thursday with faculty and staff of the institution, Ms. Leonard expressed her excitement to her peers: “My vision for Johnson College is one with a significantly larger and more diverse student body that will be immersed in industry from day-one, preparing for the jobs of the future. As a campus community, we have laid the foundation for the Johnson College we wish to see in the future and together, we will continue to work on bringing that vision into focus. We have started down this path together and we will forge new paths together. We will set high expectations, be willing to hold each other accountable and never, ever settle for the status quo. I look forward to leading us as we evolve into the Johnson College we are envisioning.”

Additionally, David Boniello, alumnus of the class of 1984 and chair of the Board of Directors said: “We [administration, Search Committee, and Board of Directors] have spent the last nine months preparing for new leadership at Johnson College by seeking the best candidate to hold the position of President and Chief Executive Officer. As a graduate, community member, and representative of this institution, this decision was very important to me – and something myself and the rest of the Search Committee have taken very seriously. We have come to a decision as a committee and have the support from the entire Board of Directors. The President and CEO is a person who must be a fearless leader, a champion for positive change, and someone who holds our Johnson College values true. Katie embodies these qualities and we look forward to working with her as we move Johnson College forward.”

Ms. Leonard holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from York College of Pennsylvania, a Master of Arts degree in organizational leadership from Mansfield University, and is pursuing her doctor of education through Capella University.

Before bringing her talents to Johnson College, Ms. Leonard held multiple positions in York, PA, working with government officials and non-profit organizations. In York, she was the Executive Director of Downtown Inc., York’s Main Street Program. Ms. Leonard has also made great contributions to the community outside of her roles with Johnson College. She serves on the board of directors of NeighborWorks of Northeastern Pennsylvania, The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce’s LIFE Board, and is a past board member of the Lackawanna Home Builders Association.

 

 

 

Johnson College student organization, Social Force, collected presents for over 50 children in the Scranton area. The students sponsored a giving tree in the Moffat Student Center with the names of local children in need. Students, faculty, staff and alumni donated gifts to fulfill the wishes of every child. The donations went to two North Scranton Head Start locations as well as families identified by students. Under the supervision of Ms. Emily Holmes, Counselor & Manager of Disability Services, the giving tree at Johnson College has provided local children with presents for the last thirteen years.

Dr. Ann L. Pipinski, President & CEO of Johnson College, has announced the President’s List of students who have completed the Fall 2017 semester with a grade point average of 3.90 or higher.

Brandon Butler, Automotive Technology

Sarah Carey, Architectural Drafting & Design Technology

Jerry Coyle, Computer Information Technology

James Davis, Computer Information Technology

Brandon Emmett, Biomedical Equipment Technology

Marsha Geiser, Veterinary Technology

Andrew Giardina, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Technology

Adrian Gonzalez, Radiologic Technology

Jordan Hoinsky, Electrical Construction & Maintenance Technology

Brandon Hudacko, Heating Ventilation & Air Conditioning

Clinton Kramer, Electrical Construction & Maintenance Technology

Ryan Molloy,  Radiologic Technology

Jovanne Morales, Veterinary Technology

Brandon Perini ,  Architectural Drafting & Design Technology

Matthew Robinson,  Computer Information Technology

Natalie Serrano,  Heating Ventilation & Air Conditioning

Heather Smith,  Physical Therapist Assistant

Maura Speicher,  Physical Therapist Assistant

Benjamin Terry, Electronic Engineering Technology

Walter Tompkins,  Automotive Technology

Luke Zalewski,  Electronic Engineering Technology