Alvernia University has been awarded 120 laptops as part of the COVID-19 ARPA Digital Connectivity Technology Program, a $20 million statewide initiative administered by the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority to expand equitable access to digital resources. Laptops are available at no cost to undergraduate, graduate and adult students through the Media Suite and Seniors College as well as to community members through the O\u2019Pake Institute for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n
Alvernia is one of five recipients and the only university in Berks County to receive devices through the program. The university\u2019s participation is part of its ongoing work with the Berks County Digital Coalition (BCDC), a regional network of education, workforce and nonprofit organizations focused on closing the digital divide established by Wyomissing Foundation President Pat Giles, an Alvernia University trustee.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis partnership exemplifies what can be accomplished for our community when multiple sectors unite around a shared goal,\u201d said President Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D. \u201cBy working alongside our fellow coalition members \u2013 including libraries, workforce agencies and county organizations \u2013 we are helping to build a stronger, more inclusive digital ecosystem in Berks County.\u201d<\/p>\n
90 laptops will be distributed to students through Alvernia\u2019s Media Suite. 25 laptops will be distributed through the O\u2019Pake Institute for graduate and undergraduate students in the Fellows Program as well as the SPARK Business Incubator for clients and tenants. Five laptops will also be available for drop-in workshops offered through the Seniors College.<\/p>\n
\u201cBridging the technical divide is essential for our students and neighbors to thrive academically, professionally and personally,\u201d said Senior Vice President and Provost Leamor Kahanov, Ed.D. \u201cWith these devices, we are advancing equitable access to technology and promoting long-term digital inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The initiative aligns with Alvernia\u2019s strategic focus of surrounding students with a culture of care through its SOLAR initiative and supporting nontraditional learners through innovative, flexible services that eliminate barriers to higher education.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis grant has tremendous impact for our adult students, many of whom balance work, family and school,\u201d said Vice President for Graduate and Adult Education Gaetan T. Giannini, Ed.D. \u201cReliable access to technology ensures they can participate fully in their courses and succeed on their academic journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additional Berks County grantees include the Reading Public Library, Berks Latino Workforce Development Corporation, Helping Harvest and Centro Hispano. Together with Alvernia, the five organizations are working through the BCDC to ensure device distribution; digital literacy training and community access are available to those most in need.<\/p>\n
This Project was financed in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alvernia University has been awarded 120 laptops as part of the COVID-19 ARPA Digital Connectivity Technology Program, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":{"0":"post-89067","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reading","8":"tag-reading-city","9":"tag-reading-city-headlines","10":"tag-reading-city-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89067","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=89067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}