Pitt-Johnstown and Titusville: Evolving for Impact

The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and University of Pittsburgh at Titusville contribute to their campus communities through jobs, resources and—most importantly—by connecting local students to opportunities close to home.

One of the largest employers in Cambria County, Pitt-Johnstown is literally linking students to the surrounding community (and vice versa) via an ambitious web of walking and cycling trails. At a spring 2022 groundbreaking ceremony, Pennsylvania state Sen. Wayne Langerholc described the project as a great example of improving the “quality of life for all citizens.”

But Pitt-Johnstown serves as a critical connective tissue in less obvious ways, too. One example: It runs a program serving K-12 classrooms in rural areas. The college students volunteer as mentors and work to close the digital divide that still impacts many of the communities off Pennsylvania’s beaten paths.

Pitt-Johnstownʼs curriculum is similarly designed to bridge gaps—especially gaps in local talent, employment and industry opportunities. Responding to workforce demands, the campus launched civil and chemical engineering programs in 2015 and renovated its Engineering and Science Building to add a chemical engineering wing complete with lab and simulation facilities.

Tom Kurtz, president and CEO of the nearby Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine at Windber, considers Pitt-Johnstown—and its capacity to connect critical dots—an economic lifesaver. “After Johnstown lost its steel mills, without this college, there would be no Johnstown,” he says.

The campus’s value is something that Kurtz, a Pitt trustee, can count—and count on. “Over 23% of our workforce are Pitt-Johnstown graduates,” he explains. “UPJ students take many of the internships offered at the institute. In fact, the last five openings we hired were UPJ graduates.”

More than 130 miles north of Johnstown, Pitt-Titusville is filling a similar role for its community under very different circumstances.

In recent years, the campus has transformed into a multi-partner hub that prioritizes workforce education, training and upskilling. Offerings include an associate degree in nursing in conjunction with the Pitt School of Nursing and a manufacturing skills program built on a model developed by Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering.

Known as the Manufacturing Assistance Center, the Pitt-Titusville program has global connections. It stems from a precision machining training model that the University developed in Pittsburghʼs Homewood neighborhood and has since expanded to Nigeria and India.

In Titusville, MAC students learn the basics of machining—a fundamental industrial process for shaping metal—over an intensive 15-week course. Program instructor Roberto Rincon leverages local manufacturers to recruit students who can attend class in the evening while still working full time. Itʼs a rare triple win—one that benefits Pennsylvania‘s workforce, businesses and future.

Even rarer: There’s no hefty tuition bill to pay. Thanks to federal, state and local government funding as well as private scholarships, over 90% of MAC students at Pitt-Titusville have completed the program at no-cost.