Temple University Harrisburg celebrated this past July Fourth holiday with a bang when they opened their brand, spanking new facility in the Strawberry Square complex. The new facility, which doubles Temple Harrisburg’s former space occupies 35,000 square feet in Strawberry Square that was previously tenanted by a health club and the Cue-Nique Billiard Parlor. Dr. Kathleen R. Kramer, the Associate Director for Temple Harrisburg, is understandably quite proud of the new facility. "Temple University has always been committed to being a downtown, urban institution. We had other offers that included free parking, but we never seriously considered anything but a downtown location. We want to be part of the move to draw people back into the city after 5 p.m." The new facility has been occupied since July, although there are still some missing pieces such as the furniture, microwaves and vending machines for the student lounge. All the necessary items are in place, however, including a conference area designed to hold 110 people (which is available to rent for business functions), several classrooms, a library, a bookstore, two smart class-rooms, and two Pic-tel classrooms. The "smart class-room" allows students to gather in groups and offers them facilities to plug in their laptops. Dr. Kramer stated, "we expect students in graduate programs to work together and these classrooms give them a place in which they can meet to work on projects."

The state-of-the-art Pic-tel classroom has three large television monitors to which a lecture is broadcast from a remote location, typically the main campus. A video camera in the classroom allows the professor to see the Temple Harrisburg students just as they can see him or her. There is an audio link between the two locations that allows the Temple Harrisburg students to participate in the class discussion at will. The system has a two-second delay "which takes some getting used to," said Dr. Kramer. But, all the professors are trained in using the equipment and the Pic-tel classrooms allow Temple Harrisburg to offer courses they would not otherwise be able to due to lack of personnel or the small size of the class. "If there are only two or three students that need a particular class," stated Dr. Kramer, "the Pic-tel classrooms allow those students to attend the class via remote." Information doesn’t only flow one way, however, some classes or lectures originate at Temple Harrisburg and are sent to other locations.

Temple Harrisburg’s new technological equipment includes three computer labs, with one being a MAC lab. Dr. Kramer states that the MAC lab "is used mostly by those in the graduate Journalism programs and was requested by one of our professors." A larger library was also added to the new facility in answer to students’ comments and requests. "We tried to listen very carefully to what our students were saying when we were planning this new facility," Dr. Kramer stated. "One complaint we heard again and again was that our library was too small so now we have tripled it." Windows in the library look out upon the second floor corridors of the Strawberry Arcade. "We’ve also made an effort to integrate our space into the Strawberry Square facility. We want to be visible to the Strawberry Square crowd and vice versa."

A Scholar’s Study attached to the library gives the students direct access to the main University’s mainframe computers and library database. This will be used mostly by the graduate students to do their research. A librarian is also on staff to assist students with research.

Parking, which is generally a hassle anywhere downtown, has not proven to be a problem for Temple Harrisburg. Since all classes are evenings or Saturdays, students can park on the street since the meters are not active after five or the students can also park in the Walnut Street Garage. Through a special arrangement with Temple University Harrisburg and the Harrisburg Parking Authority, students pay only one dollar after four o’clock on weekdays or all day on weekends no matter how long they stay. Security is provided by two security guards who are on duty for the entire time classes are being held. Dr. Kramer stated that they are aware that some people are unused to being in an urban area after dark and they’ve tried to be sensitive to the fact that it may make some people nervous. "The security guards are more than willing to escort people to their cars and our students mostly leave in groups so as to avoid problems. But, overall, we’ve had very few incidents at all."

Up until the recent move, Temple University Harrisburg was strictly a graduate center, offering master’s, doctoral, and professional certificate and professional development programs. Temple Harrisburg has now instituted an undergraduate program for a Bachelor’s of Social Work degree which, according to their press release, makes Temple Harrisburg the "first institution in the City of Harrisburg to offer all three levels of higher education." The University states, "the program is designed for working people with an associate degree from Harrisburg Area Community College, or some college credit. Students will take two evening classes a week." Link Martin, the Master of Social Work Administrator, stated that Temple Harrisburg "offered the Masters of Social Work program for twenty years, but with the constant change in the Social Work field, we felt it was time to institute an undergraduate program." Dr. Kramer stated that Temple Harrisburg "tries to offer programs that are not offered by other regional institutions. We try not to have any overlap with the Main Campus or with other local institutions. In fact, there are people who travel on the train from Main Campus to take the courses here. Which is another reason why we are thrilled with our new location and its being so close to the Transportation Center."

Temple Harrisburg draws mostly non-traditional students due to the nature of its programs. They offer graduate degrees and certificate programs in Adult and Organizational Development; Educational Administration; Educational Psychology; Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising; Training and Organizational Development; Business Administration; Educational Certification; and Gerontology. There are no specific plans to add any more undergraduate programs, but Dr. Kramer stated that an undergraduate program in Organizational Development may find its way into their curriculum in the future. "We intend to expand in the area of continuing education," stated Dr. Kramer. "We feel there’s a need in this area for that and we’re hoping to fill the need with more programs."