SPRING 2021 FEATURING EMMA C. CHAPPELL, IN MEMORY PAGE 8 KATHY W. HUMPHREY, CARLOW PRESIDENT PAGE 7 ROBERT JAMES, HIGHMARK HEALTH PAGE 20 The College IssueTransform the Quality of Healthcare with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing . Daniel J. Wukich School of Nursing Nursing Scholarship Beginning Fall 2021! NEW! Apply Now: setonhill.edu/nursingRepresentation Experience Justice YourImpact StartsHere VoteEarly in-personorbymail www.votesPA.com www.JudgeDumas2021.com It'sabouttimePennsylvania's CommonwealthCourtrepresentedthe people.VoteforJudgeLoriA.Dumas fortheCommonwealthCourtinthe May18thPrimaryElectionandyou'll geta19-yearjudicialveteranwhocares aboutthecommunity. PaidForByFriendsofJudgeDumas forCommonwealthCourtofPA4 | TALK MAGAZINE • SPRING 2021 INSIDE TALK PUBLISHER’S NOTES In this issue of Talk Magazine, you will find a dialogue around race, inclusion, and diversity. We invited community leaders and corporate leaders to identify important questions on what corporations are working on to improve diversity, inclusion, and equity in our state. In Dr. Martin Luther King’s book, on page 131 he stated, “what more does the Negro want?” ‘When we say that the Negro wants absolute and immediate freedom and equality, not in Africa or some imaginary state, but right here in this land today, the answer is disturbingly terse to people who are not certain they wish to believe it. Yet this is a fact, Negroes no longer are tolerant of or interested in compromise.” In this issue of Talk, we feature candidates for this primary election, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King in the same book on page 148, “political power may well, in days to come, be the most eff ective new tool of the Negro’s liberation.” We want everyone who reads this issue of Talk Magazine to remember the magnitude of the importance of Voting in this significant election cycle. Your Vote means the diff erence between equality, equity, and freedom for All People in America. Please Vote on May 18, 2021. Th e LJS Group / Talk Magazine / TMAG Luther J. Sewell, Jr. / Publisher Roxanne N. Sewell / President & Editor theLULAdesigns / Graphic Design & Layout Tené Croom / Contributing Writer Fiordaliza White / Contributing Writer PO Box 143 Monroeville, PA 15146-0143 (P) 412.823.4007 info@talkmagazineonline.com www.talkmagazineonline.com 06College News 08Talk Across PA 10Business News 12Latino News 16 Health News 20Robert James 22Thiel 26 Financial Aid for College Spring 2021 Must be 21 years of age or older to be on Rivers Casino property. NOW OPEN WEDNESDAY–SUNDAY AT 5PMFOUNDED 18 666 | TALK MAGAZINE • SPRING 2021 COLLEGE NEWS UNIVERSITIES OF PA by Chelsea Swift Th e Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Daniel Greenstein’s plan to merge state universities could gut the schools and their host communities, according to critics. Th is would directly impact the Edinboro community. Matthew Girton, a professor from Lock Haven University, has voiced his concerns. “Th e chancellor’s office has tried to say that retrenchment, which is basically terminating faculty lines and consolidation are separate, but they’re running parallel, in fact.” Girton said. Many coaching and faculty jobs could be eliminated across the six universities that are impacted. Th e current plan would group three schools in the east and another three in the west, including California, Pa., Clarion University, and Edinboro University. CCAC Th e Community College of Allegheny County is one of more than 200 campuses in 37 states and the District of Columbia designated as a “Voter Friendly Campus.” Th e initiative, led by two national nonpartisan organizations—the Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project and NASPA, Student Aff airs Administrators in Higher Education—held participating institu- tions accountable for planning and implement- ing practices that encouraged their students to register and vote in the 2020 elections as well as in the coming years. Th e mission of the Voter Friendly Campus designation is to bolster eff orts that help students overcome barriers to participating in the political process. CCAC was evaluated based on the col- lege’s plan to facilitate voter engagement eff orts on its campuses, including registering, educating and turning out student voters in 2020, as well as a final analysis of the college’s eff orts—all in the midst of the upheaval caused by a global pandemic. Th e designation is valid through December 2022. Th e college is also honored to announce that CCAC Democracy Fellow Madysen Kelly has been invited by the Campus Vote Project to lead the discussion with community college students at the Pennsylvania Youth Voting Summit in April. CCAC’s commitment to student voter engagement was strengthened by the eff orts of CCAC students Kelly and Sabrina Ukasik, who were selected by the Campus Vote Project to serve as Democracy Fellows. As such, they assisted CCAC’s Civic Engagement Coordinator and History Professor Jacqueline Cavalier with student voter registration and education eff orts throughout the election season. CARNEGIE MELLON by Rob Taylor Alaine Allen, Ed.D, describes herself as a “collaborative, strategic, and results-oriented leader with a commitment to equity and justice.” Apparently, Carnegie Mellon University con- curs. Dr. Allen is joining Carnegie Mellon Uni- versity’s College of Engineering as the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Dr. Allen formerly was the director of educa- tional outreach and community engagement for Kindergarteners through twelfth graders at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering. She also served as director of pre-college and undergraduate diversity programs at the Swanson School of Engineering, where she built a team of professionals to develop stu- dent-focused, nationally recognized diversity and inclusion programs for college and pre-college students. At the helm, Dr. Allen helped increase the percentage of minority engineering students at Pitt with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher from 36 percent in 2011, to 62 percent in 2018. LINCOLN Lincoln University, the nation's first de- gree-granting Historically Black College and University, announced today that it has received a generous $20 million gift from author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Scott's gift is the largest from a single donor in Lincoln's 167- year history. "I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Ms. MacKenzie Scott for her investment in the Lincoln University legacy, which has been Dr. Alaine Allen continued on page 28 continued on page 28WWW.TALKMAGAZINEONLINE.COM | 7 COLLEGE NEWS transforming the lives of African Americans since 1854, more than 10 years before the emancipation of the race," said President Brenda A. Allen. "This transformational gift will allow us to sustain that legacy, reimagine the future of our University, and deepen our investments in students, who will, in turn, make positive impacts in their communities and society at large." SETON HILL by Andrew Goldstein Th e Allegheny Intermediate Unit announced that it had hired a “a committed agent of change” for its new position of director of diversity, equi- ty and inclusion. Michael Jones, who performs recruiting and diversity management activities for BNY Mellon, will start at the AIU on March 22. Th e AIU said the newly created position was part of a larger eff ort to provide leadership in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion. “As a public education organization, the AIU must be able to assist school districts and organiza- tions in our region as we work together to overcome overt and systemic forms of racism and discrimina- tion,” said Robert Scherrer, AIU executive direc- tor. “I believe that the creation of this new position will allow us to provide leadership and support in this area.” He earned a bachelor’s degree in music thera- py from Seton Hill University and a master’s de- gree in social work from California University of Pennsylvania. KUTZTOWN An academic year that began with an out- break of COVID-19 among Kutztown Univer- sity students will end with plenty of pomp and circumstance on the Berks County campus. K.U. President Kenneth Hawkinson an- nounced Wednesday that the university will hold in-person commencement ceremonies for its spring 2021 and spring and fall 2020 graduates. Multiple ceremonies are planned for the weekend of May 7-9 at O'Pake Fieldhouse, with each graduate being off ered up to two guest tick- ets for his or her respective ceremony, Hawkin- son said in a letter to the K.U. community. All attendees will be required to wear a mask and maintain a physical distance from one another. "We are so happy that we will be able to honor you with an in-person commencement ceremony this spring," Hawkinson said in his letter. "It is so truly deserved after all you have endured over the past year." Hawkinson warned that if the pandemic worsens in the coming weeks that the university will fall back on a virtual commencement. CARLOW Kathy W. Humphrey, Ph.D., was announced on March 12 by the university as its next president, the 11th in school history. Dr. Humphrey will begin her tenure as Car- low president on July 1. Dr. Humphrey comes to Carlow jam-packed with higher education experience, as she’s currently Senior Vice Chancellor for Student Engagement and Secretary to the Board at the University of Pittsburgh. She also serves there as an Associate Professor of Education. Overall, Dr. Humphrey has 30 years of leadership experience in higher education. Current Carlow President Suzanne K. Mellon, Ph.D., is retiring on June 30 after eight years as leader of the Catholic university nestled in Oakland. Dr. Mellon said in a release that Dr. Humphrey is the right person at the right time to lead Carlow forward. “She understands the important role Carlow plays in the Pittsburgh region and will continue to build upon this progressive, innovative institution rooted in the values of our founders,” Dr. Mellon said. IN- - Person campus VISITS TO REGISTER: laroche.edu/visit Offered Daily! 844-838-4578 | 412-536-1272 admissions@laroche.edu | laroche.edu Dr. Kenneth S. Hawkinson continued on page 28 Kathy W. Humphrey, Ph.D. continued on page 28Next >