CENTER VALLEY, Pa. \u2014 Providing continuing education and workforce development opportunities for learners of all ages is more than just a job for Audree Chase, Penn State Lehigh Valley\u2019s director of continuing education and workforce development. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an area I feel passionate about,\u201d Chase said. <\/p>\n
Learning doesn\u2019t \u2014 or shouldn\u2019t \u2014 stop the moment students receive a diploma and turn their tassels. In fact, Penn State Lehigh Valley believes education is an ongoing process. Through the Office of Continuing Education and Outreach<\/a>, the Lehigh Valley campus offers numerous programs for adult learners who want to hone new skills, build upon existing skills, or simply explore a topic in greater depth. <\/p>\n Chase has spent most of her career in the field, coming to Penn State from Northampton Community College where she served as associate dean for community education, and at Lehigh University\u2019s College of Education before that. She stresses that the \u201cworkforce development\u201d component of her job title is an important one. <\/p>\n \u201cIt broadly encompasses continuing education, whether it\u2019s up-skilling or re-skilling, whether on a personal or professional level,” Chase said. “As an education institution, Penn State should be concerned with learners at all levels and all stages.\u201d <\/p>\n The commitment to learning opportunities for all aligns with Penn State\u2019s mission as a land-grant university, and in her director role, Chase said she plans to build new partnerships while strengthening existing relationships to broaden the scope of the Lehigh Valley campus’ continuing education offerings. <\/p>\n \u201cContinuing education is a vital expression of Penn State\u2019s land-grant mission,\u201d said Chancellor Tina Q. Richardson. \u201cOur responsibility extends well beyond traditional degree programs. We are committed to serving learners at every stage of life<\/a> by providing accessible educational opportunities that strengthen individuals, support employers and contribute to the economic vitality of the Lehigh Valley.\u201d <\/p>\n Senior Adults Gaining Enrichment (SAGE) and the Arts Project<\/p>\n Senior Adults Gaining Enrichment (SAGE<\/a>) and the Arts Project<\/a> are just two Lehigh Valley programs aimed at the 55+ population that allow adults to learn more about various topics and, in the case of the Arts Project, tap into their creative side.<\/p>\n SAGE is a lecture series about a wide range of topics, from cultural trends and evolving technologies to food, wine, politics, religion, economics, history, and much more. Lectures are held in room 135 on the Lehigh Valley campus; attendees are invited to socialize with peers and presenters prior to and following each presentation. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s an incredibly vibrant senior population in the Lehigh Valley and beyond who have a tremendous need and interest in learning about social and international policy issues. They\u2019re also very interested in discovering or rekindling hobbies they used to do pre-retirement,\u201d Chase said. \u201cThey now have the time and monetary resources to devote to lifelong learning in ways they weren\u2019t able to do when they were working and\/or raising families.\u201d <\/p>\n The Arts Project allows adult learners to take non-credit arts classes in various mediums at various levels, from beginners who have never made a piece of art, to advanced creatives who have worked in the medium for some time. Chase cites a jewelry-making class taught by Ann Lalik, lecturer, arts coordinator and director of the Ronald K. DeLong Art Gallery, as one of the most popular offerings. <\/p>\n \u201cAnn is a renowned arts professional, and her jewelry-making class is practically full for the fall,\u201d Chase said. Other courses have included ceramics, photography and metal-smithing. <\/p>\n \u201cArt has always been a way for people to continue growing throughout their lives,\u201d said Ann Lalik. \u201cOur classes welcome learners at every experience level, whether they\u2019re discovering a new creative outlet or returning to a passion they haven\u2019t explored in years. It\u2019s exciting to see the confidence and sense of community that develops in these classes.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CENTER VALLEY, Pa. \u2014 Providing continuing education and workforce development opportunities for learners of all ages is more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-259144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259144","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=259144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}