August 25, 2008
Reading, Pa.- The Center for Community Leadership (CCL), founded in 1994 by Albright College as the “Local Government Program,” has operated since 1999 under the sponsorship of the Higher Education Council of Berks County (HECBC), a consortium of the five Berks County colleges and universities. HECBC recently endorsed a proposal to have CCL once again become a department of Albright College. Albright has always been CCL’s administrative agent, housing the Center with its staff Albright employees.
CCL works to provides education and training of local officials; foster cooperative initiatives among municipalities to help meet the growing demand for services and to reduce operating costs; and enhance citizen understanding of local government operations, the community decision-making process, and policy choices for addressing public issues. More than 7,000 officials have attended CCL training programs. In addition to program fees, CCL is supported financially by 66 municipal sponsors and 29 private sector sponsors, grants and contracts.
According to John Kramer, CCL director, CCL will maintain its collaborative relationship with the other colleges and universities, but having Albright as its full “parent” again will facilitate growth in programming and opportunities to seek new grant funding.
“We are grateful for the support of HECBC over many years, and we will continue to work closely with the Berks colleges and universities on programs that benefit the community. Although CCL has always been largely self-supporting, being an Albright-sponsored and supported program makes our day-to-day operations much easier, for example, for insurance requirements, administration of grants and so on,” he said.
According to Albright president Lex O. McMillan III, clarifying the relationship between the College and the CCL was a logical move.
“We are enormously proud of the role that the Center for Community Leadership has played in the welfare of our community, and we are delighted to have it fully integrated into Albright once again. It will make Center operations more efficient and afford greater opportunities for increasing its effectiveness in the community, which is its main goal,” McMillan said.
James Boscov, chair of the CCL board, noted, “We know that the education and training of municipal officials translates into better local government which benefits us all, and we believe that our connection with Albright will enhance our ability to provide services to local municipal leaders."
In 2007-08, CCL successes included:
Upcoming programs and initiatives include: workshops on changes in the PA Open Records Act, legal issues affecting municipalities, grant writing, zoning, and municipal management; Master Planner Certification Program with the Berks County Planning Commission (more than 100 individuals have completed certification requirements); Hosting the Pennsylvania Land Use Institute, focusing on land-use court decisions and planning tools and techniques; and continuing the Economic Development Series for Municipal Officials in cooperation with the Berks Economic Partnership.
Founded in 1856, Albright College is a nationally ranked, private college with a rigorous liberal arts curriculum with an interdisciplinary focus. The College’s hallmarks are connecting fields of learning, collaborative teaching and learning, and a flexible curriculum that allows students to create an individualized education. Albright College enrolls more than 1,650 undergraduates in traditional programs, another 500 adult students in accelerated degree programs, and 100 students in the master’s program in education. Albright College is located in Reading, Pennsylvania, about 60 miles west of Philadelphia .