Executives at Pennsylvania State University's Shenango Campus in Sharon want the community to know they're here and improving every day.

"We are a part of downtown. As far as I can see, that's been ignored for decades," campus Chief Executive Officer Dr. Thomas Rookey told members of the Hermitage Economic Development Commission Thursday morning.

Rookey gave the commission an update of the "Campus Exterior Architecture Plan" that is in progress.

"We think there are some very exciting things to benefit the economic development of the Shenango Valley," Gary Gulla, community development administrator and assistant city manager, said.

Rookey said the exteriors of several buildings on campus -- including Chadderton Lab and McDowell Hall -- are being updated and are designed to match revitalization plans for downtown Sharon. The campus will look like it's part of the city instead of a rural campus that is hiding, he said.

New signs, lighting and benches will have a turn-of-the-century look, Rookey said. The look will coordinate with the 100th anniversary of the lecture hall, he said.

There are plans to add a courtyard and a quad and a display of the traditional "Nittany Lion."

Parking lots will be landscaped, and overhead wires will be changed, Rookey said.

Rookey said he would like to talk to Sharon city officials to encourage truck drivers to follow designated routes so there is less truck traffic on the streets that run through the campus. There are also plans, if the city agrees, to turn part of Reno Street into a pedestrian walkway, though motor traffic would still be allowed.

Penn State has contributed $300,000 to the project so far, and the first phase of work -- which is already in progress -- will cost about $250,000, Rookey said.

"It isn't all bricks and mortar," he added. He said the school has added a number of new degrees, including associates in hotel and restaurant management and dietetics. The campus also has a liberal arts degree and a gerontology minor.

Rookey said the campus is adding a business administration certificate and is working on adding an administration of justice and communication marketing or media bachelor of science degrees.

There are also plans on the horizon to send some local high school students to a nanotechnology camp at University Park, Rookey said.

The changes to the campus and the additions to the curriculum are going to benefit the entire valley, Rookey said. He said students are being educated in this area, and then they leave. "We don't want to educate them and send them out to work somewhere else," he said.

Rookey said he's hoping that growing businesses and industry, such as Hermitage's LindenPointe, will work in partnership with the campus.

"We really want to be a part of the future of this community," Rookey said.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Kristen Garrett at
kgarrett@sharonherald.com