Lackawanna College

Lackawanna College (formerly Lackawanna Junior College, originally Scranton Business College) is a college in Scranton, Pennsylvania, with satellite centers in the towns of Hazleton, Hawley, Towanda, and New Milford.

The college began as a proprietary institution with a full academic program under the direction of H.D. Buck and A.R. Whitmore. John H. Seeley, a noted regional educator, purchased it in 1912. Seeley, who also owned the Lackawanna Business College, merged his two institutions into the Scranton Lackawanna Business College and built a new campus in the city's downtown.

The word "business" was eventually dropped from the school's name because it was judged to be too restrictive and civil service courses were added to prepare students for governmental positions. The college met with continued success because of its ability to change with the times. With the coming of World War II, the school made a concerted effort to train women for positions in business and industry. After the war, the college adapted its programs once more to meet the needs of returning veterans.

In 1957, the college was incorporated as a non-profit institution under a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees. Chartered as Lackawanna Junior College, course offerings were expanded to include the humanities and the social and behavioral sciences. The Pennsylvania Department of Education granted Lackawanna the right to award associate degrees. The college officially changed its name to Lackawanna College in 2001.

The college was donated to The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by the Seeley Family, effective 1974 upon the retirement of Hoyle G. Seeley (John H. Seeley's Son, President and Chairman of the board until his Death in 1976). In 1982, it acquired the former Bishop Klonowski High School as a campus. The College purchased the former Scranton Central High School located at 501 Vine Street and refurbished the vacant building. It was named Angeli Hall in 2012, after former College president Raymond Angeli. The campus now includes six other buildings: McKinnie Hall (Named for former Lackawanna College and current NFL football player Bryant McKinnie), Seeley Hall, Healey Academic Center, Student Union, Tobin Hall and the Alumni Fitness Center.

The private two-year college has evolved with an open admissions policy and enrolls approximately 1,500 students. Most academic programs are centered on vocations, such as law enforcement, early childhood education, computer information systems, and accounting. However, the College also now offers some unique programs including Vascular Technology, Cardiac Sonography and Natural Gas Technology, which was created to fill the demand of the Marcellus Shale career opportunities in the work force. Physical Therapist Assistant, Hospitality, Culinary and Ecological Sustainability are new programs that were added recently at the Lake Region Center.

Lackawanna's president is Mark Volk. The college is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

* Description and images provided by Wikipedia under CC-BY-SA 3.0 license .