Lycoming College Report, March 1984

              LYCOMING COLLEGE REPORT March, 1984
Charter nursing
class presented
Wearing for the first time uniforms selected by them and
clutching long-stemmed roses, sophomore nursing
students at Lycoming were presented at a special ceremony
in Clarke Chapel on Feb. 1°
The sophomores, Lycoming's charter class in the B.S.N.
degree program, also were the guests of honor at a
reception and the official opening of the nursing skills
laboratory that followed the ceremony.
Hundreds of parents, spouses, children, friends,
freshmen nursing students, invited guests, faculty, and
administrators filled the chapel for the ceremony. It
included comments by Lycoming President Dr Frederick
E. Blumer and Dr. Janet A. Rodgers, chairman of the
nursing department The sophomores also recited a
nursing pledge
The reception was held in Pennington Lounge of the
Academic Center. The skills laboratory is located on the
lower level of the same building. There was a steady flow
of traffic between the two throughout the afternoon, as
hundreds of guests and visitors toured the focal point of
Lycoming's rapidly expanding four-year nursing program
The nursing skills laboratory is a replica of a state-of-the-
art hospital ward It includes 10 simulated work
stations equipped with hospital beds, bedside tables, blood
pressure-testing equipment, and anatomical models that
serve as patients. The lab also includes a complete nurses
station, an office, a waiting room, and storage areas for
all the equipment and supplies used on a modem hospital
floor,
Among the guests attending the ceremonies were
Lycoming's trustees, representatives of the various health
agencies and organizations at which the nursing students
will gain clinical experience, and public officials, including
State Assemblyman Anthony J Cimini, of South
Williamsport He played a key role in helping to secure
government funding for the start-up of the program
.
(Additional photos on Page 5)
Hundreds of persons gathered in Clarke Chapel for the presentation of Lycoming's sophomore nursing class.
After the ceremony (lower photo), they toured the nursing skills laboratory in the Academic Center.
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New director of athletics named
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Frank L. Girardi
Frank L. Girardi. head football coach for the past 12
years, has been named Lycoming's new director of
athletics He will assume his new post July 1.
Girardi. a physical education teacher at Williamsport
Area High School since 1969, replaces Clarence W,
(Dutch) Burch. Director of athletics since 1976, Burch
announced his resignation from that post last October
although he has been serving as director during the search
for his successor. He will continue to serve as head
basketball coach and associate professor of physical
education.
In making the appointment. President Dr. Frederick E.
Blumer said: Trank Girardi is recognized as one of the
leaders of the physical education program at Williamsport
Area High School and as a successful coach He has served
Lycoming College well for 15 years, and we are very
fortunate that he is willing to accept this new
responsibility."
Commenting on his appointment, Girardi said: "I
consider this position both an opportunity and a
challenge, and I am looking forward to beginning my new
duties and working with the people of Lycoming College
to have the best possible athletic program that we can have
— within the Division III philosophy,''
A 1961 graduate of the now West Chester University,
Girardi has produced a steady stream of winning teams at
Lycoming as a part-time coach. Since 1972. his teams have
compiled a 71-36-3 record (.664 winning percentage),
including a 64-18-3 mark ( 780 percentage) over the last
nine years, Girardi is Lycoming's all-time winningest
football coach. Under his direction, Lycoming has become
a small-college power, winning several Middle Atlantic
Conference championships while regularly ranking among
the nation's leaders in a variety of statistical categories.
Solid defense has been a hallmark of his squads.
Girardi joined the Lycoming staff in 1969 as offensive
line coach. He came to Lycoming from Jersey Shore High
School, where he was head coach from 1963-©8 and
assistant coach from 1961-63.
Girardi went to Jersey Shore from West Chester, where
he was a standout halfback and a member of their 1960
state championship team. The Williamsport native also
played running back for Williamsport High from 1954-56
Girardi will serve as full-time director of athletics and
head football coach He also may teach part time.