HARRISBURG – The Benjamin Olewine III Center for the Study of Culinary Arts and Food Service Management at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, is a robust program that will continue its mission as one of the College’s oldest career programs.
“We will continue to provide excellence in education to those students enrolled in the program when its current location at the C. Ted Lick Wildwood Conference Center closes on Dec. 31, 2012,” said HACC President John J. “Ski” Sygielski, Ed.D.
“The College is actively pursuing several options for a seamless transition to a temporary location that will be in place when the spring 2013 term begins Jan.14.” Sygielski said.
“I want to reassure our students, most importantly, as well as our community partners, the program will continue beyond Dec. 31, 2012,” Sygielski said. “Established in 1966, HACC’s culinary arts program will remain a vital component of the College’s educational menu.”
Culinary students using the kitchen and educational area on the second floor of Mumma Hall, which is contiguous to the Conference Center, will finish the current term at that Harrisburg Campus.
HACC’s culinary arts program recently received the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation (ACFEF) Accreditation Commission’s highest rating of “exemplary” and is worthy of a seven-year re-accreditation. The culinary arts associate degree program and the certificate in culinary arts program received the prestigious accreditation in summer 2012 from the ACFEF, the largest professional chef organization in North America, indicating the programs symbolize the highest educational standards.
“The seven-year accreditation is very significant because it shows we fulfill all their requirements and, in fact, surpass them,” said Getachew Kassahun, Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA), Certified Food and Beverage Executive (CFBE), chair of HACC’s Hospitality and Tourism Department.
“What’s exciting for students is that we have an accredited culinary arts education program that is not only excellent in quality but is also affordable,” he said.
“Culinary arts students benefit from diverse instruction techniques ranging from the classroom to labs and supervised on-the-job experiences through Bricco, a commercial restaurant venture forged by the Olewine Center and Greenwood Hospitality Group, (managing partner of The Hilton Harrisburg),” Kassahun said.
The HACC Board of Trustees voted Oct. 2 to consolidate HACC's central administrative offices into one location, the C. Ted Lick Wildwood Conference Center. Portions of Mumma Hall, which houses the Office of College Advancement, also will be renovated for the consolidation. The Office of College Advancement will temporarily relocate to the fourth floor of Campus Square at Third and Reily streets in midtown Harrisburg.
The architectural firm of Murray Associates Architects, P.C., of Harrisburg, will design the renovation, which will begin in January 2013 with occupancy expected in December 2013.
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