Richard Albrecht has dedicated his professional career to serving the needs of individuals and communities.
A member of the Temple University University College staff since 2015, he will now be guiding a new multi-campus unit designed to best serve the needs of students, professions, organizations and lifelong learners throughout the state and well beyond.
Albrecht has been appointed Executive Director of Continuing Education and Program Development for University College and Director of Temple University Harrisburg.
“University College has long had numerous continuing education, professional development, instructional design and training units that served the local communities near each of its campuses — Temple University Ambler, Temple Center City and Temple Harrisburg,” said Dr. Vicki Lewis McGarvey, Vice Provost for University College and Director of Temple University Ambler. “Technology has allowed us to realign those programs and services into a single consolidated continuing education and program development unit within University College. Richard will be leading this cross-campus unit in addition to guiding the future of the Harrisburg Campus.”
According to Dr. McGarvey, Continuing Education and Program Development combines the efforts of the various University College initiatives to provide quality educational and training programs with University College’s instructional design and multimedia units at Temple Main Campus.
“This new unit combines the unique talents of University College staff located at all of our campuses into a cohesive whole,” she said. “It will help create efficiency between departments and position us to grow our programs in ways that best meet the needs of the communities we serve.”
Albrecht said he is “very humbled by the opportunity to lead so many dedicated staff that work on meaningful projects and programs.”
“I'm very excited for the opportunities that lie ahead of us and very grateful for the strong foundation that I get to step into,” he said. “This new unit is the culmination of at least 10 years of work — there has been a lot of groundwork laid. I'm very fortunate to step in at a time where there is a lot of momentum and a lot of opportunity. It’s very exciting to be able to step into this role and harness that motivation and work to expand the programs that we offer.”
While at Temple, Albrecht he has served University College as a Program Manager in the Institute on Protective Services at the Harrisburg Campus. He was promoted to Assistant Director of Training and Curriculum Development and then to Associate Director. He was appointed Acting Director of Temple Harrisburg in fall 2023.
Short term goals for Continuing Education and Program Development, Albrecht said, include “continuing to meet with staff so that I can better understand the operations of their programs and their areas of expertise, identifying opportunities for growth and enjoying the networking with units across the university, particularly in the academic space, to look for areas for collaboration.”
“It's about getting to know the program staff, identifying their skill sets and areas of expertise, and being able to leverage that,” he said. “We’ll be looking for opportunities to grow the programs and the participant pool, and who we're able to serve by the programs we offer.”
Across the various programs and departments, Albrecht will be overseeing about 50 staff members, most of whom work on sponsored projects or in other revenue generating programs.
“There are a lot of moving parts, but I have always enjoyed the staff development opportunities which are ingrained in leadership positions,” he said. “I find them to be very valuable and I look forward to working with staff to identify what I call the keys that they need to unlock their potential and be successful in their professional growth.”
Regarding continuing education and non-credit programs, “I am a firm believer that learning should be a lifelong endeavor,” Albrecht said.
“I think that is really what encompasses the non-credit programs that we offer,” he said. “Non-credit and continuing education programs expand the opportunities for students to engage in knowledge creation across their lifespan.”
University College offers adolescent and youth programming that focuses on positive youth development, “which hopefully leads to a pathway for future success,” Albrecht said.
“We also offer certificate programs that are available to current students and to the community which afford an opportunity to highlight employment skills which are necessary in today's workforce. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute provides access to educational opportunities for individuals that are toward the end of their careers or looking for educational programs post-retirement,” he said. “Our programs are designed to meet people where they are in their lives. We want to provide them with every opportunity to explore educational experiences to help them achieve success or pursue a personal interest.”