The HU Story

The Harrisburg University of Science and Technology was incorporated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on December 12, 2001, making it the first independent science and technology-focused, non-profit, university to be established in Pennsylvania in more than 100 years. Harrisburg University was created to address the Capital Region’s need for increased educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers, and it represents a major step to attract, educate, and retain Pennsylvania’s diverse 21st century knowledge-based workforce.

The idea for the University was championed by business leaders, government officials, and the regional news media and it was built from concept to reality in less than a decade. The Pennsylvania Department of Education granted the University its charter in 2005, and the inaugural class of 113 students arrived in August of that same year.

Harrisburg University aligns traditional undergraduate degrees with science and technology-based workforce development. This educational model will help stimulate the growth of a knowledge-based economy in central Pennsylvania, position the region’s workforce to participate successfully in the 21st century’s knowledge-based economy.

The University is a model of public-private partnership. The University receives external support from the corporate sector, private individuals, and state and federal government. Fortune 500 companies and other leading companies such as Hershey Company, Select Medical Corporation, PPL, Gannett Fleming, Cleveland Brothers Equipment Company, Tyco Electronics and Penn National Insurance have all supported the University.

The University’s experiential learning model, coupled with career preparation and development, has led to partnerships aligned with the University’s mission and vision. The National Science Foundation, for example, funds the Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) program housed within the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement at the University.

Partners from across industry, academia, and government are providing students on-site internships, mentoring, and advanced learning opportunities connected to the latest trends, discoveries, and developments in biotechnology through the DCED-funded Capital Area Biotechnology Partnership. Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh is partnering to create advanced gaming and data-visualization lab space within the University.

Similarly, government officials at all levels have hailed HU. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Ray Simon lauded the idea as a “model for the rest of the nation.” Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell noted that “twenty years from now” the University will be “viewed as the most important strategic economic development effort ever undertaken in Harrisburg,” and Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed has called the curriculum “critical to the nation and the region in meeting the demands of high skill jobs in the 21st Century.”

Another indicator of its importance to the region is found in the success of its inaugural comprehensive fundraising campaign, CONNECT: The Campaign for Harrisburg University, publicly launched at the Groundbreaking Gala Celebration in November 2006. The University’s fundraising campaign has enjoyed widespread support from across the Capital Region. The Ortenzio Family Foundation and the Robert and Angela Ortenzio Family Foundation committed a combined $2.65 million to the University--the largest private gift commitment in the institution’s history. Select Medical Corporation made a $2.6-million gift, which is the largest corporate gift to the University.

Several hundred individuals and organizations have made supporting Harrisburg University one of their top philanthropic investments, bringing the current total of commitments to approximately $31-million or 80 percent toward the overall goal of $40-million. Support of this magnitude, coupled with early public- and private-sector investments, will ensure the continued fast-paced rise of Harrisburg University as a prominent institution of higher education in the Commonwealth. Gifts of all levels and from all corners of the region demonstrate the sense of ownership that Central Pennsylvanians have for Harrisburg University.

With a visionary Board of Trustees and an experienced management team, led by Dr. Melvyn D. Schiavelli, former Provost and Acting President of the nation’s second oldest institution of higher education—The College of William and Mary—Harrisburg University is well positioned to grow, prosper, and answer the Capital Region’s call for a STEM-based workforce.