RUNNING, PHILLY STYLE - Bloomsburg University

Two presidents sign the early childhood/elementary education
articulation agreement – David Soltz of BU, left, and Donald
Snyder of Lehigh Carbon Community College.
In Agreement
BU FIRST IN PASSHE TO FORGE BLOCK TRANSFER
S
TUDENTS WHO EARN AN
associate’s degree in early
childhood and elementary
education at one of three community
colleges will soon be able to
seamlessly transition to BU’s bachelor’s
degree program.
A program-to-program articulation
agreement between Lehigh
Carbon Community College and BU
was formalized earlier this year,
quickly followed by similar agreements
with Luzerne County
Community College and
Northampton Community College.
These agreements are the first of
their kind in Pennsylvania, says
Tom Fletcher, director of Corporate
and Continuing Education at BU.
“The courses approved for articulation
are not based on a courseto-course
transfer, as is typically the
case,” Fletcher says. “Instead, the
agreement is a block transfer based
on outcomes and competencies. Of
4 BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
aroundTHEquad
the 60 transfer credits, a total of 31
credits in early childhood education
are part of the overall agreement.”
The agreements apply to students
who began their associate’s
degree programs in fall 2009. The
agreements stipulate that the community
college student must graduate
with a minimum GPA of 3.0 or
higher and successfully complete
the Praxis I examination. The final
60 credits for a bachelor’s degree in
elementary education will be earned
from Bloomsburg University.
Many students will be able to
complete their bachelor’s degrees
close to their hometown. In addition
to Bloomsburg’s main campus, students
will be able to take the classes
needed to complete the bachelor’s
programs at Lehigh Carbon County
Community College’s Morgan
Center in Tamaqua and at Luzerne
County Community College’s main
campus in Nanticoke. •
PHOTO: ERIC FOSTER
Performer at
Heart
DEAF STUDENT APPEARS
IN BTE’S HAMLET
MOST PEOPLE do not fall in love with
a future career at 7 years old, but
that’s exactly what
happened when
Eddie Buck, a deaf
theatre arts major
from Collegeville,
Buck
played his first role
in a school produc-
tion of Jack and the Beanstalk.
Buck recently performed his
first roles with a professional company
in the Bloomsburg Theatre
Ensemble’s production of Hamlet.
He executed roles as a pantomime
player in the “play within a play,” a
courtier, servants and a pallbearer.
An interpreter backstage assisted
with stage cues and many of the
other actors helped him onstage.
“I was nervous, but everyone
involved with the production was
very friendly,” says Buck. “They
enjoyed having me around. I feel
more confident. I didn’t feel like I
was alone.”
Buck attended day programs at
the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf
from the ages of 2 to 16. He transferred
to a mainstream high school,
graduated and enrolled at Rochester
Institute of Technology (RIT).
Initially, Buck was a business major,
but took theatre course as electives.
“That’s really when it hit me
that I did not like business and I
wanted to do theatre,” says Buck.
He left RIT and after a brief
break decided to major in theatre
at BU. “The faculty is wonderful. I
feel comfortable with them, and I
realized I made the best choices.”
Buck’s goals are to act with a
deaf theatre troupe and work in
television and film. “I am very
happy and doing something I want
to do,” he says. •