President's Biography
John T. Yudichak, President
John Yudichak is the eighth President of Luzerne County Community College, the largest and most accessible institution of higher education in northeastern Pennsylvania. He began his tenure on July 1, 2024.
As a former state lawmaker who represented northeastern Pennsylvania, he has extensive leadership, business and educational experience which, along with his knowledge of the needs of the area, will help LCCC continue its mission of providing a high-quality education to the community.
Prior to his service at LCCC, President Yudichak served as a Senior Advisor to GSL Public Strategies Group, a government consulting and communications firm that serves corporate and non-profit clients throughout the United States.
President Yudichak also devoted 24 years to the public sector serving as a Pennsylvania lawmaker. He served for 12 years as the State Senator for the 14th Senate District in Carbon and Luzerne Counties. As a State Senator, President Yudichak earned a reputation as an effective consensus builder who accomplished notable community and economic development projects that propelled northeastern Pennsylvania to be named the number one region for job creation and private business investment by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. He was Chairman of the Senate Community and Economic Development Committee, Vice Chairman of the Aging and Youth Committee, and minority Chairman of the Senate Environmental and Energy Resource Committee.
Prior to his election to the Senate, President Yudichak served the 119th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for 12 years. He worked on many notable projects for Luzerne County Community College, including the Public Safety Training Institute, the LCCC Walk of Honor, the Joseph A. Paginate Culinary Institute, and the Francis S. & Mary Gill Carrozza, R.N. Health Science Center.
Over the course of his 24-year public service career, he advanced major legislative efforts to improve the quality of life and economic competitiveness of the state. President Yudichak forged coalitions with organized labor groups, such as the Pennsylvania State Building and Construction Trades Council, and business groups, including the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association and the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce, to advance the Local Resource Manufacturing Tax Credit, the Pennsylvania EDGE Tax Credit, and the Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Computer Data Centers.
President Yudichak worked with local organizations like the Earth Conservancy to reclaim thousands of acres of mine-scarred lands. He also advocated for the construction of the $90 million South Valley Parkway that set the stage for national developers like NorthPoint Development to invest $1 billion in private capital and create 10,000 new jobs in the South Valley of Luzerne County.
Throughout his public service career, President Yudichak sought to build bipartisan partnerships that helped him shape new laws to support veterans with the Sargent Sherwood Baker Act, to protect senior citizens with the Senior Citizens Full Benefits Act, to support law enforcement with the Officer John Wilding Law, to improve the environment with the Coal Refuse Energy and Reclamation Tax Credit, and to expand educational opportunities for children with the SHINE Afterschool Program.
President Yudichak is a former board member of the Luzerne Foundation, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Earth Conservancy, the Wyoming Seminary Board of Trustees, and is a member of the Pennsylvania Treasury Tuition Account Program Advisory Board.
He has been recognized for his public service and philanthropy with the following honors: Wyoming Seminary's Joseph Donchess Distinguished Service Award, Pennsylvania Citizens for Better Libraries Elected State Official of the Year, Children's Service Center Commitment to Children Award, North Branch Land Trust Community Stewardship Award, and the Pennsylvania Health Care Association Legislative Champion.
President Yudichak is the founder of the Yudichak Family Fund of the Luzerne Foundation, a charitable fund that has supported public libraries, college scholarships, and youth programs throughout northeastern Pennsylvania for the past 25 years.
A graduate of Greater Nanticoke Area High School and Wyoming Seminary Preparatory School, President Yudichak earned a master's degree in American Studies and a bachelor's degree in English from Penn State University.
He is the proud father of four daughters: Sarah, Anna, Evelyn, and Grace.