READING, Pa., Feb. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The FirstEnergy
Foundation has donated $250,000 to
Alvernia University to help fund its new engineering program at
Reading CollegeTowne, a major economic development initiative to
help revitalize the Penn Street corridor.
Through the grant, the FirstEnergy Foundation will become one of
four founding members of the Alvernia University Engineering
Program, which offers tracks in electrical, mechanical and
industrial engineering. The grant will also help equip the new
FirstEnergy Foundation Engineering Lab for students to design,
develop and test electric motors, communication systems and power
generation machinery.
Located in the service area of FirstEnergy's Met-Ed utility,
Reading CollegeTowne encompasses a renovated 260,000-square-foot
building at 401 Penn Street that once housed an insurance company
headquarters and a charter school. In addition to the engineering
programs, the facility provides student housing, classrooms and a
communal workspace for start-up businesses.
"We're proud to join other community partners in supporting this
transformational $20 million
initiative that will allow 1,000 students to live and learn
downtown," said Lorna Wisham,
president of the FirstEnergy Foundation. "In addition to bringing
more than 300 permanent jobs and resources downtown, Reading
CollegeTowne will create a perpetual pipeline of college graduates
with STEM-related skills to help meet the workforce needs of area
businesses."
Alvernia University recently received the first installment of
$125,000 of the FirstEnergy
Foundation grant, with the second $125,000 installment to be allocated later in
2022. The FirstEnergy Foundation Engineering Lab is expected to be
completed in time for the 2022 fall semester.
"Partnerships have been and will continue to be the cornerstone
of the CollegeTowne strategy, and we are deeply grateful for the
FirstEnergy Foundation's partnership," said Alvernia University
President John R. Loyack. "The
Foundation's support will develop the labs that train future
engineers who will help to grow our businesses and the regional
economy."
Alvernia University is a Catholic comprehensive university with
a liberal arts foundation founded by the Bernardine Franciscan
Sisters in 1958. The university serves over 3,000 students in
Reading, Pottsville and Philadelphia with a unique blend of rigorous
liberal arts education, strong technical training in many high
demand majors, ever-expanding experiential learning opportunities
through study abroad and internship experiences and community
engagement through its Franciscan-based community service
model.
The FirstEnergy Foundation is funded solely by FirstEnergy Corp.
(NYSE: FE) and provides support to non-profit, tax-exempt health
and human services agencies; educational organizations; cultural
and arts programs and institutions; and civic groups in areas
served by FirstEnergy's 10 electric operating companies and in
areas where the company conducts business.
Met-Ed serves approximately 580,000 customers within 3,300
square miles of eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania. Follow Met-Ed on Twitter @Met
Ed and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MetEdElectric.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and
operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form
one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems,
serving customers in Ohio,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West
Virginia, Maryland and
New York. The company's
transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of
transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at
www.firstenergycorp.com and on
Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: A rendering of the engineering lab
the FirstEnergy Foundation's $250,000
grant will furnish and equip with tools at Alvernia University's
new Reading CollegeTowne campus, along with a presentation of the
check, are available for download on Flickr.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.