{"id":106402,"date":"2026-02-05T22:42:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T22:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/106402\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T22:42:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T22:42:33","slug":"penn-state-lehigh-valley-campus-well-poised-for-local-emerging-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/106402\/","title":{"rendered":"Penn State Lehigh Valley campus well-poised for local, emerging opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. \u2014\u00a0According to a report from Axios<\/a>, Pennsylvania is the only state in the Northeast with a growing economy, making well-qualified job seekers in high demand. In response, Penn State Lehigh Valley is focusing on giving students the tools they need to stand out in a competitive job market.<\/p>\n

Students can complete 12 four-year degree programs at Penn State Lehigh Valley, and many graduates are expected to find full-time job opportunities just miles from campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the coming months, we will fully build out our work-based learning initiative<\/a> that helps our students translate their skills and experiences into compelling job applications,\u201d said Lehigh Valley Chancellor Tina Richardson. \u201cOur students are working while completing their degrees. They are helping at home. They have internships. They are volunteering and engaging in the community. They understand what it takes to keep this community growing and strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campus well-positioned for local opportunity<\/p>\n

Richardson said the campus is strategically positioned to capitalize on emerging opportunities in the region. One example is the recent announcement by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro \u00a0to build a new manufacturing facility in the Lehigh Valley.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLilly\u2019s commitment to the Lehigh Valley and to Pennsylvania will bring billions of dollars of investment and hundreds of good-paying jobs,\u201d Shapiro said in the announcement, \u201csolidifying our position as a leader in the growing life sciences industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Located in Upper Macungie Township, the new facility will produce Lilly\u2019s weight-loss drugs and is expected to create more than 850 permanent jobs when it opens in 2031.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re creating high-quality jobs and collaborating across the region \u2014 with suppliers, educators and workforce development partners \u2014 to make critical medicines in the U.S.,\u201d said David A. Ricks, Lilly chair and CEO.<\/p>\n

Lehigh Valley faculty looking forward<\/p>\n

Mark M. Capofari<\/a>, assistant teaching professor of project supply chain management, spent decades in the pharmaceutical industry and now brings his real-world experiences to the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cProjects of this magnitude [like the new manufacturing facility] elevate the importance of advanced logistics infrastructure and project-management planning,\u201d said Capofari . \u201cPharmaceutical manufacturing requires precision, redundancy and visibility across every stage of the network. Penn State\u2019s emphasis on supply-chain education and applied research is helping the region build the workforce and infrastructure needed for long-term growth in this sector.”<\/p>\n

Tracey Carbonetto<\/a>, associate teaching professor and program coordinator of Penn State Lehigh Valley\u2019s new four-year engineering degree program, emphasized that faculty members\u2019 extensive regional industry experience helps prepare graduates with the applied knowledge and competencies needed to meet current workforce demands.<\/p>\n

\u201cPenn State Lehigh Valley established its on-campus, four-year engineering degree program in direct response to the region\u2019s economic growth,\u201d Carbonetto said. \u201cStudents gain hands-on experience through internships and work-based learning, rigorous academic preparation, and a strong foundation in artificial intelligence as it applies to modern manufacturing. Graduates are well positioned to become the next generation of engineering leaders in the Lehigh Valley.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rapid advances in artificial intelligence and data-driven systems are creating new workforce demands across the Lehigh Valley, according to Penn State Lehigh Valley faculty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe advent of transformative new technologies such as artificial intelligence and large language models underscores the need for a highly skilled IT workforce in the Lehigh Valley,\u201d said Jeffrey A. Stone<\/a>, associate professor of information sciences and technology. \u201cThe use of these tools, coupled with the large datasets and data centers they require, means that the integrity and security of data have never been more important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stone emphasized that need is already apparent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis importance crosses all industrial sectors, including the pharmaceutical industry,\u201d he said. \u201cAt Penn State Lehigh Valley, our Information Technology and Cybersecurity Analytics & Operations students are learning essential skills to face these challenges, combining technical competence with ethical, critical and contextual thinking skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penn State investing in the Lehigh Valley<\/p>\n

In 2026, Penn State Lehigh Valley will expand into Downtown Allentown with an 8,500-square-foot space at the Hamilton at Grand Plaza. Home to the Lehigh Valley LaunchBox<\/a>, the facility will serve as a resource hub for the local entrepreneurial community.<\/p>\n

The space will also support local veterans, the Allentown School District and community partners seeking to engage in the revitalization of the city\u2019s core.<\/p>\n

Community-focused initiatives like this are central to the Lehigh Valley campus\u2019 strategic plan and closely aligned with the University\u2019s land-grant mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to remain accessible to students, deeply engaged with the community and to strengthen Pennsylvania\u2019s economy by graduating workforce-ready professionals,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cWe are proud to be located in one of the commonwealth\u2019s most dynamic and rapidly growing regions.\u201d<\/p>\n

About Penn State Lehigh Valley<\/p>\n

Founded in 1912, Penn State Lehigh Valley<\/a> combines more than a century of academic excellence with personalized instruction delivered by industry-connected faculty. The campus serves students from Bucks County, Lehigh County, Northampton County and surrounding regions, as well as students from across the country and around the world.\u00a0 Penn State Lehigh Valley offers 12 bachelor\u2019s degree programs that can be completed entirely on campus and provides pathways into more than 275 Penn State majors through the University\u2019s 2+2 program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CENTER VALLEY, Pa. \u2014\u00a0According to a report from Axios, Pennsylvania is the only state in the Northeast with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102860,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-106402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}