New Leadership for Continuing and Professional Education

It was a new setting and different faces, but many familiar challenges and opportunities greeted Mark Bernhard when he arrived at Virginia Tech several months ago. As the director of Continuing and Professional Education (CPE), Bernhard has been focusing on expansion and diversification of programs and services.

Bernhard, formerly with Penn State's Conferences and Institutes, brings solid experience in developing continuing professional education programs that spring from the core of the land-grant university's commitment to disseminate university knowledge for the public good. He has vast experience in the area of economic and workforce development and formerly served as project director for the Pennsylvania Career Link Academy, a $2.3 million workforce development project funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

In his new position, Bernhard leads a team in aligning continuing education activities with the university's strategic plan to meet the workforce needs of businesses, government, and community organizations throughout the commonwealth and beyond.

CPE collaborates with academic faculty in Virginia Tech's colleges, centers, and institutes and last year returned more than $1 million in program revenue to those areas for essential expenditures such as graduate assistants, travel, and equipment purchases.

Mark Bernhard, director of Continuing and Professional Education