University Times

Pitt’s Bradford campus has been named the 2004 Large Business of the Year by the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce for the progress the regional has made in several areas, including service to the community and investment/expansion.
The award was presented to Pitt-Bradford President Livingston Alexander during the chamber’s annual meeting and awards dinner April 14.
Alexander credited the campus’s faculty and staff as well as his predecessor Richard E. McDowell, who served as Pitt-Bradford’s president for 29 years, for recognizing the importance of the connection between the campus and the community and fostering that relationship.
“It’s a mutually beneficial relationship we will continue,” Alexander said. “The community has been extremely generous. I’ve never seen a community embrace a university as Bradford embraces this university.”
The chamber’s business awards are based on the strides an organization has made in four areas: community service, investment and expansion, economic stability and job creation, and product and service development.
Regarding community service, Pitt-Bradford provides programs, most of which are free, to enlighten, entertain and educate. Additionally, faculty, staff and students volunteer their time to various worthwhile endeavors in the community, from serving meals to needy residents at a local soup kitchen and reading to elementary schoolchildren on Dr. Seuss Day to repairing neighbors’ houses and delivering free Christmas trees to senior citizens. In the area of investment and expansion, Pitt-Bradford has undergone more than $33 million worth of construction in the past two years, including a newly renovated and expanded Sport and Fitness Center, UPB’s new communication arts and fine arts building, and the expanded and renovated Frame-Westerberg Commons, the student center.
The campus’s reach regarding economic stability and job creation includes the Allegheny Research and Development Center, which, as the economic development arm of Pitt-Bradford, assists businesses in the area, and has resulted in new businesses, new jobs and employee training.
Concerning product and service development, UPB offers 25 majors, more than 40 minors and concentrations, and two master’s degree programs, and campus officials are eyeing a number of new two- and four-year programs and certificate programs. Additionally, the campus provides credit, half-credit and non-credit courses along with customized industry training in Bradford and at educational centers in Warren, Potter and Elk counties.