La Roche College:
Rooted in the Region, Reaching Out to the World

By Kathleen N. Bishop

For almost 50 years, La Roche College in McCandless Township, has been a leader in the region. Founded in 1963 by the Sisters of Divine Providence, the college started small with 184 students, all Roman Catholic nuns, and in 1965, graduated its first class of five students.

Today, the college has record enrollment, programming to address the changing needs of our nation, a strong international presence, and a renewed commitment to the city that is its foundation.

Two years ago, Sister Candace Introcaso, CDP, Ph.D., accepted the challenge of identifying and leading the college into its next phase of development when she became president of the college. This phase, according to Ken Service, vice president for Institutional Relations, is to continue being a global contributor, but with a stronger focus on serving the needs of the North Hills and the Pittsburgh region.

“We envision ourselves as an international educational resource with deep roots in the local community,” Sister Candace said.

In the short time Sister Candace has been president, the college has accepted two of its largest classes of new students: 400 freshmen and transfer students in the fall of 2005 and 2006, which is approximately 100 students more than previous record enrollment numbers.

According to Service, this increase can be attributed to both international recruitment of students separate from the Pacem in Terris international scholarship program and to Sister Candace’s renewed emphasis on local, regional, and national recruitment efforts.

“We have increased our recruitment throughout the state and country,” Sister Candace said. “For example, this past year we welcomed more than 400 high school admission counselors from across the country and as far away as Hawaii to our campus. It was a great opportunity to showcase La Roche and the city of Pittsburgh.”

The college has also joined forces with 12 other Pennsylvania educational institutions to offer programming at the Regional Learning Alliance in Cranberry Township.

“This is a state-supported facility where each institution offers programming in their area of expertise. La Roche offers master’s degree classes in Human Resources Management and undergraduate business degree completion programs so that students can go to the Cranberry location to complete their degree from La Roche,” Service said.

According to Service, classes are also being offered in Lawrence County at the Lawrence County Learning Center.

In addition to the satellite locations, the college has entered into partnerships with the Carnegie Science Center, which teamed-up with the Interior Design Department to present the Design Dialogue series, and the University of Pittsburgh, which hosted the 2006 Global Problems/Global Solutions conference.

“This student-initiated project began at La Roche and is based on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals project. The conference site will alternate yearly between La Roche and Pitt and is open to local college and high school students,” Service said.

La Roche’s dance program made its downtown debut last year at the Byham Theatre on Penn Avenue. According to Service, the program offered a mix of traditional ballet and original choreography by the Artistic Director, Gerard Holt. The next production will be on Tuesday, April 10, at the Byham. For tickets call 412-456-6666.

New programs have been added in the areas of National Security Studies, which will graduate its first class in 2009; Film, Video and Media in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Filmmakers; and a Human Resources Management Certificate program.

In the world of academia, Middle States re-accreditation is everything. Not only did La Roche receive overall Middle States re-accreditation, it also received re-accreditation from national organizations in the fields of Graphic Design, Interior Design, Nursing, Business, and Education.

La Roche’s Board of Trustees has also changed over the past two years, and in 2006, Kathy Kozdemba was elected its first lay-woman chairperson. Kozdemba, former publisher of the North Hills News Record, served as Director of Readership Services for Gannett Co. Inc. in Washington D.C. before her retirement.

Funding is another area that has changed for the college. Over the past two years, La Roche has received $1.1 million in federal funding for the Pacem in Terris program and the Chemistry Department.

“The Pacem in Terris program has been reduced in size from a high of more than 300 students in 2002 to 46 students currently, all fully funded,” Service said. “Also, the Chemistry Department is now developing a program that incorporates elements NASA believes are important for students to master to be competitive in this field.”

All this alone would have made for two excellent years for La Roche, but the highest praise of all came when the college was included in the Princeton Review’s Best Colleges in the Northeastern United States for the past two years. This yearly publication, printed by a private company not associated with Princeton University, uses student reviews to critique colleges.

“There are certainly many good reasons for people to be impressed with La Roche, including our high quality academic programs, our state-of-the-art facilities, and our dedicated faculty and staff,” said Sister Candace.

For more information on La Roche College, call 1-800-838-4LRC or visit them on the web at www.laroche.edu.

La Roche College, located at 9000 Babcock Boulevard in McCandless Township, is hosting a Spring 2007 Open House from 9a.m. to 2p.m. on Sunday, April 15, at the Main Campus.

There will be campus tours, opportunities to meet the faculty, and a question-and-answer session on admissions and financial aid.

Register on-line at www.laroche.edu or call 412-536-1272 (toll-free at 1-800-838-4LRC).