Gannon Announces New Provost and Vice President for Student Experience
Gannon University announced the appointment of Sarah Ewing, Ph.D., as the institution’s next Provost and Vice President for Student Experience following an intensive national search. Ewing will be responsible for all academic matters and academic support services. She will work with both academic and student experience division leadership to integrate curriculum and co-curriculum initiatives and strategic planning. She will work closely with the President and Leadership Team on achieving the university’s mission, vision and strategic goals and promoting Gannon’s Catholic identity. Ewing will succeed Walter Iwanenko, Ph.D., in the role as he transitions to serving as Gannon’s eighth president effective July 1, 2023.
Jarecki House First of Three to Begin Renovations
The Frederick Jarecki House at 221 W. Sixth St. is the first of three West Sixth Street houses to begin restorations this year. It will be used as the university’s alumni house, with offices and community spaces for welcoming Gannon alums back home to campus and Erie. The Olds-Normal House, currently located at 216 W. Seventh St., will be relocated after Gannon’s Wehrle Hall is taken down in summer 2024 and will become a bed-and-breakfast-style residence for university use. The Carter-Shannon House at 203 W. Sixth St. will be used for student apartments. This transformation of Erie’s West Sixth Street houses is a product of a partnership between Gannon University, Thomas B. Hagen and the Historic Erie Preservation Trust.
I-HACK Continues Building with Phase Three
Momentum continues to build in I-HACK as development on the Center for Manufacturing and Technology is underway. This sixth floor space will hold Gannon’s high-tech and versatile MakerSpace to advance traditional manufacturing into a new age of technology with expertise in 3D printing, metal fabrication, woodworking, electronics assembly, and analytics and management. Construction is expected to be completed for the Fall 2023 semester.
Gannon is Preparing for the 2024 Total Eclipse
On April 8, 2024, Erie, Pa. will be in the path of totality for a total solar eclipse, an event that won’t come around again until 2099. For nearly four minutes, the afternoon sky will go dark as the moon passes between the sun and the Earth. With less than a year to go, Gannon is already preparing. David Horne, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics, is working to obtain special glasses that will allow observers to safely view the eclipse. Additionally, NASA’s Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP) selected Gannon University’s High Altitude Ballooning Team, led by Wookwon Lee, Ph.D., professor of electrical and cyber engineering, and Nick Conklin, Ph.D., professor of physics, to participate as one of more than 80 teams in the country to conduct balloon flights to near space during the eclipse.
Gannon’s ABST Program Traveled to Five Destinations this Spring
Through Gannon’s Alternative Break Service Trips, 38 student participants, 11 accompaniers and 11 student leaders traveled to five destinations in Arizona (Tucson and Navajo Nation), Mexico (Merida and Queretaro) and Guatemala. The groups served with a purpose surrounding Gannon’s four pillars: Service, Community, Simplicity and Reflection. Rooted in Catholic Social Teaching, all ABSTs seek to create intentionally inclusive, diverse communities through their group formation and trip experiences. ABSTs are co-curricular, student-led, and accompanied by trained employees from all divisions of the university.
Click here to read a firsthand account from student Carine Uwase Munezero of her trip to the Arizona border.