Richard Allison named first dean of Washington County Center

February 7, 2002 (PITTSBURGH) - The Community College of Allegheny County has appointed Richard L. Allison as the first dean of the Washington Center – CCAC’s newest site serving Washington County. 

The center, located in the Washington Crown Center in North Franklin Township, offers classes seven days a week and during evening hours.

Allison’s responsibilities will include working with Washington County citizens, as well as local business and industry, to ensure that the workforce needs of the region are met with appropriate CCAC education and training programs.

Allison said he expects the center to expand and offer certificate and associate degree programs in addition to the transfer credit classes it currently provides. He will officially begin his new position Feb. 11.

"I'm honored to be the first dean there," Allison said. "We're very excited about the possibilities for the center. This is CCAC's latest initiative in meeting its mission to make quality education affordable and accessible to the community. We will strive to provide leadership in workforce training and in supporting the economic development of the region."

Allison first came to CCAC in 1981 as a consultant and soon after as a professor and program director of occupational therapy at Boyce Campus in Monroeville.

Other positions at Boyce included department head of allied health, assistant dean and academic dean.

He remained at Boyce until 1996, when he was appointed to college-wide dean of allied health and moved to Allegheny Campus, North Shore. During this time, CCAC rose to being the largest producer of associate- level health professional graduates in the nation. In 1999, he was appointed dean of occupational technologies at Allegheny. 

During his tenure with CCAC, Allison has proven instrumental in developing and maintaining programs pivotal to CCAC’s role as a workforce-training provider. He lead the development and implementation of the occupational therapy assistant and physical therapist assistant programs at Boyce; the massage therapy program at Allegheny; and most recently CCAC’s landmark electrical construction technology program, a partnership with the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No. 5. This associate in science degree program is the first of its kind and has received both national and international attention.

Allison earned his master’s degree in health-related professions education from the University of Pittsburgh, his bachelor’s degree and certificate in occupational therapy from the University of St. Thomas and the College of St. Catherine both in St. Paul, Minn. He has also done doctoral work at both Pitt and Penn State University.