HARRISBURG, PA – HACC President Edna V. Baehre, Ph.D., heads to Europe this fall to explore international educational opportunities for the college’s students and staff.
“As the world becomes a smaller place thanks to fast-pace technological advances and global trade, international studies programs take on a more significant role in the education of our Central Pennsylvania community,” Baehre said.
Baehre is taking a six-week sabbatical to explore potential partnerships with educational institutions in Denmark, Holland, France and Germany.
A sabbatical is a paid leave from the college granted to faculty and staff in order to do research, study or participate in activities that will benefit HACC. The board of trustees approved the president’s sabbatical to further the college’s plans for a comprehensive international education program.
This is the first sabbatical for Baehre, who became college president in 1997. She returned to the classroom last spring to refresh her fluency in French “so that I could address our French educational counterparts in their native language. As a native of Germany, speaking to my German colleagues will, of course, not be a problem,” Baehre continued.
“Although more than 80 percent of HACC graduates live and work within a 25-mile radius of the campus they attended, Central Pennsylvania’s global reach makes it imperative for them to have an understanding of the world’s cultures and business environments,” she added, noting HACC’s existing international programs are in the process of being revitalized and made stronger.
Components of the college’s education plan include opportunities for semester abroad studies, curricular capstone courses or experiences, and faculty and student exchange visits. In addition, HACC has begun to initiate a language institute intended to serve Central Pennsylvania residents through credit courses and noncredit language immersion, as well as offering customized language training for businesses with overseas connections.
HACC already has had an exchange program with Minerva Business College in Randers, Denmark, near Copenhagen for the last three years. A number of Danish students are studying this fall on the Harrisburg Campus, accompanied by professors who are also teaching here. In addition, a HACC professor is teaching at Minerva this semester. Next spring, HACC students and business faculty will travel again to Randers.
For a number of years, HACC has offered Study Abroad opportunities for credit and noncredit students with tours led by experienced professors to China, Egypt, Greece, Ireland, England, Spain, France, Costa Rica and Italy.
HACC has 207 international students from 68 different countries studying this fall at one of the college’s five campuses. In addition, another 852 students are non-U.S. citizens who live in Central Pennsylvania.
HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, was established Feb. 14, 1964, as Harrisburg Area Community College. Since that time, HACC has been dedicated to the community and to the individual. The college’s devotion to the community arises from its mission to foster educational, cultural, workforce development and economic growth of HACC’s regional service area by giving each individual student the tools and environment to succeed. HACC offers nearly 200 associate and transfer degrees and certificate and diploma programs at campuses in Harrisburg, Gettysburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York. In addition, HACC offers a wide variety of courses, including degree and certificate programs, through its Virtual Campus. Nearly 20,000 students are enrolled in credit programs with another 50,000 students enrolled in workforce training and community education programs.
