RethinkErie

News Archives

07/13/10

Michael MacDowell, president of Misericordia University in Dallas, Pa, submitted a guest column to the Erie Times-News on the value of community colleges. Click here to read his column. More.

07/02/10

Mary Bula, vice president of the Growth Partnership division for the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, contributed an editorial to the Erie Times-News reflecting on the REthink Erie's leadership on the community college initiative.  Click here to read the full editorial. More.

06/18/10

Erie City Council members sent a letter of support to Erie County Council urging members and the Grossman administration to "continue work[ing] together to finalize the details needed to see that a community college becomes a reality."  Click here to read a copy of the letter. More.

06/13/10

"If Erie County Council rejects college, we'll all be poorer" is the title of a powerful "Our View" editorial in Sunday's Erie Times-News.  The newspaper clearly understands the economic benefit of a community college, not to mention the profound impact it will have on our community's most important resource: people.  It's now up to County Council to do the right thing.  Click here to read the full editorial. More.

06/12/10

Pat Howard's column in Sunday's Erie Times-News points to the importance of GE's (our region's largest employer and property taxpayer) support of the community college "in order to stay competitive in the 21st century — as a business and as a community."  Click here to read the full article. More.

06/10/10

The Erie Times-News today published an editorial urging County Council to "seize this opportunity to invest in Erie's future" and vote "yes" on the proposed community college.  Click here to read the full editorial. More.

06/08/10

The campaign to establish a local community college got another boost Monday with a $1 million fund created by the Erie Community Foundation.  Click here to read the full story in Tuesday's Erie Times-News. More.

06/07/10

The Erie Community Foundation today announced the creation of a new fund at the Foundation for the benefit of the proposed community college for Erie County, providing an initial gift into this fund in the amount of $1 million. More.

06/04/10

The Erie Community Foundation will make a major announcement regarding the planned community college on Monday, June 7th at 10 a.m. on the front steps of The Erie Community Foundation, 459 West 6th Street. The public is invited to join ECF Monday morning to learn more. More.

04/18/10

REthink Erie and the proposed community college were featured in the 2010 Annual Economic Report in the today's Erie Times-News.  Click here to read the article. More.

03/28/10

After reviewing the detailed pro forma financial statements and research on other schools in the Commonwealth, the Erie Times-News published an editorial on March 28 titled "Erie can't afford to pass up community college."  Click here to read the article.  More.

03/25/10

The Erie Times-News Thursday reported on a recent study by Malin, Bergquist & Company that showed local taxpayer cost for Erie community college could be $0.  The story details expense and revenue projections for the proposed college.  Click here to read the article. More.

03/23/10

The boards of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership and VisitErie have passed resolutions in support of creating a community college in Erie County.  These two nonprofits now join the Erie Community Foundation and the United Way, who endorsed the initiative previously.  Click here to read more from the Erie Times-News. More.

02/27/10

The Erie Times-News featured a follow-up article on the Feb. 26 REthink Erie informational meeting with Erie School District and Erie County leaders.  Click here to read the full story. More.

02/26/10

The Erie Times-News featured an article on the Erie School District's desire to learn more about community college plans and what's needed to implement them.  Click here to read the full story. More.

02/07/10

The Erie Times-News Agenda 2010 stresses that "our region's future success depends on cooperation, collaboration" and highlights the community college as a way to reinvest in Erie.  It's true.  Our region has acute work-force needs and an eroding tax base combined with an increased demand for social services – all of which would benefit and improve from a low-cost and accessible postsecondary and job-focused option.  Click here to read the article. More.

01/29/10

William Jeffress, executive director of the Booker T. Washington Center in Erie, called on leaders to continue supporting a community college for the region in a January 29 column in the Erie Times-News.  Click here to read the full article. More.

01/26/10

Mary Bula, member of the REthink Erie leadership team, conducted an interview with "Community Issues" on WEFR-FM 88.1 (Family Radio) this month to discuss the REthink Erie initiative.  Click here to listen to the full interview (14 min, 5 seconds) online. More.

01/15/10

The Erie Times-News published a January 15 "Our View" op-ed calling the table games legislation directing two percent for the establishment of a community college "brilliant."  According to the newspaper, Erie has a "fresh chance to create a community college, with enough money to pay for it and sufficient time to do it right." More.

01/12/10

A brief update on the REthink Erie project from Dr. Judy Miller, project coordinator. More.

01/08/10

Erie Times-News reporter Kevin Flowers detailed the impact of table games legislation on the region's community college effort and REthink's next steps in a January 8 story.  Click here to read the full story. More.

01/07/10

Both the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives have passed table games legislation which directs 2% of local table games revenue to establish and maintain a community college in our area. Early estimates are that the 2% will generate approximately $1.5 million. More.

10/16/09

The Pennsylvania Senate passed an amended bill last week that would use a proposed 2 percent local share from gross table games revenue to establish and maintain a community college in Erie County.  The bill now moves to the state House.  Erie Times-News reporter John Guerriero detailed the legislation in an article published Friday, October 16. More.

09/20/09

PARADE Magazine published a Q&A with J. Noah Brown, president and CEO of the Association of Community College Trustees, on Sept. 20 titled, "Can Education Boost The Economy?"  Mr. Brown points out that community colleges are uniquely focused on workforce needs, so they can respond and get people trained.  Click here to read the Q&A. More.

09/01/09

The REthink Erie project team has released its latest update on the prospective community college initiative with information on local sponsors, service area, research, governance, facilities, programs, enrollment, timetable and financing.  Click here to download Inside REthink. More.