Luzerne County Community College President Thomas Leary, left, and Wilkes University President Greg Cant sign an expanded dual admission agreement between the two schools Tuesday morning.
Mark Guydish | Times Leader
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With the COVID-19 pandemic eliminating traditional contact, Luzerne County Community College President Thomas Leary, left, and Wilkes University President Greg Cant share an elbow bump — “the COVID handshake,” Cant called it — after signing an expanded dual admission agreement at Wilkes Tuesday.
Mark Guydish | Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE — They wore masks as they signed the new agreements designed to make four-year degrees more accessible to local students, but they insisted they were smiling.
Then Wilkes University President Greg Cant glanced at Luzerne County Community College President Thomas Leary and insisted “I’m smiling better than you are.”
The two presidents got together Tuesday morning in person for the first time since Cant took the helm at Wilkes in June, though both noted they have talked plenty of times, discussions that helped lead to the new agreements that increase available scholarships and streamline transfer of credits for students moving from LCCC to Wilkes.
“We want to supercharge the relationship,” Cant said in opening remarks prior to the formal signing ceremony in Weckesser Hall at Wilkes. “We think these partnerships between two- and four-year universities” will be a big part of the future of higher education growth.
Leary said “There is no better or effective way for students to succeed than being able to see a clear path, a journey to what they want to achieve.” The agreement, he said, is “about accessibility and affordability.”
Under affordability, Leary said the agreement significantly expands scholarships available to LCCC students who transfer to Wilkes. They can qualify for merit scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $18,000 annually. LCCC Presidential Scholars with an associate degree and at least a 3.5 Grade Point Average will get the Presidential Scholarship, worth a minimum of $21,000.
Scholarships of $2,000 are available to LCCC students who are members of Phi Theta Kappa honor society. Students getting the Francis S. & Mary Gill Carrozza Registered Nurse Health Sciences Endowed Scholarship at LCCC can get a Leaders in Science Scholarship from Wilkes if they maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher and enter a science program upon admission at Wilkes.
The agreements signed Tuesday also “create seamless transfer pathways for community college students entering programs in the Sidhu School of Business,” according to a media release.
Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish