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Penn State Fayette dedicates Eberly Corporate Center By Melanie D. Thomas
Dr. Gregory Gray, Penn State Fayette campus executive officer, welcomes participants to the dedication of the Eberly Corporate Center in the Eberly Building. Among the corporate boardrooms, classrooms and computers labs in the newly remodeled Eberly Building at Penn State Fayette is Frank Melega’s renowned mural depicting the region’s coke and coal era. The mural has been restored and is a key component of the Eberly Corporate Center.	One of the most economically depressed regions in Pennsylvania is getting a major economic and educational shot in the arm. The Eberly Corporate Center on the Penn State Fayette campus sets a high standard for southwestern Pennsylvania in the application of state-of-the-art technology linking the classroom to the community.   Campus Executive Officer Dr. Gregory Gray reported, “The Eberly Building has a modern technological capability that is unique and unparalleled in Fayette County and the surrounding region. The facilities will support not only our educational objectives, but also the needs of area businesses and communities.”   The campus’s first building has been completely remodeled, thanks to more than $6 million in support from the Eberly Foundation and Penn State. The Corporate Center, which seats 55 and serves as the centerpiece of the building on the first floor, houses the latest in audiovisual, digital projection equipment, television monitors and international satellite teleconferencing devices.   Outreach Director Joseph Segilia explained, “The Corporate Center is intended primarily for community outreach serving a wide range of area residents, from technicians to professionals and from businessmen to governmental officials. The center will also provide a valuable bridge by bringing together people from the work world and students from our campus.”   Private corporate boardrooms and classrooms provide leather seating for about 30, with audiovisual and digital equipment tucked into the paneled walls. Additional meeting space is located just down the hall in the Continuing Education and Outreach offices.   Frank Melega’s renowned mural depicting the region’s coke and coal era is displayed prominently in the center. The large work of art was restored, and the campus is now responsible for ownership and maintenance.   The building will continue to serve as a primary location for classrooms and office space. In addition, office and lab space is being used to develop defense weaponry and software through a partnership effort between the U.S. Navy, University Research Laboratories, Advanced Acoustic Concepts and Penn State Fayette.   “The project gathered all the tools available today and some from tomorrow and culminated in an ideal resource for businesses and their workforce training, enhancement and development needs,” Segilia added.   During the grand opening and rededication of the building, Gray thanked Robert E. Eberly of the Eberly Foundation and all those who participated in “making this creative dream come true.”   President Graham Spanier addressed the crowd by live teleconference. Robert Eberly also spoke during the ceremony, as did Dr. Joan Clites, Penn State Fayette Faculty Senate chair; Seth Myers, student government president; and P. Richard Rittelmann of Burt Hill Rittelmann Associates. James Broadhurst, chairman of Penn State’s Grand Destiny Campaign, and Dr. Diane Disney, dean of the Commonwealth College, visited the campus.