The Tower Fall 2019 - 3

Change

on the Horizon

I

n the last edition of the Tower, I provided the College's Value Proposition
which is used as evidence of our performance and documentation of the
Commonwealth's return on investment (ROI). Fortunately this resonated
with the General Assembly and the Administration. Consequently the College
received a 27 percent increase in its appropriation and the Governor committed
to releasing $25 million for the construction of a new Dining Hall/Dormitory
complex which will provide an additional 250 beds and 650 seats for food
service. In addition the Governor will maintain the College's annual $5 million
capital allocation. All of these additional resources have been provided to
increase the College's capacity to enroll and graduate more students to support
the critical technical workforce needs of Pennsylvania. The current enrollment is
at a record high of 1,342 students and with these additional resources will reach
1,850 within five years and continue to grow.

Dr. William E. Griscom
President

The acquisition of these additional resources required
a bipartisan team effort by the General Assembly, the
administration and the support of all of the College's
alumni, friends and supporters. Special commendations to
the extraordinary and continuing efforts of Mr. Alex Munro
in this area. Below is a brief description of how these funds
are being utilized.

 The College signed a lease for an additional 43,000
square feet of space at the Greenfield Corporate Center.
Significant capital modifications will be made to this
facility so that it will house our expanded Automotive
and Collision Repair Programs as well as a new Diesel
Mechanics Program. This should result in an increase of
a total 180 students.

 The College moved its Welding Program to the former
location of the Metals Fabrication Program in Greenfield
Corporate Center. The Metals Fabrication Program
is now located in the new Advanced Manufacturing
Center. Several hundred thousand dollars are being
invested to upgrade the electrical capacity at this site to
accommodate a greatly expanded Welding Program.

 The former location of the Welding Program is being
renovated by the College's faculty and staff to allow
for the relocation of the Electrical Technology Program
which will provide a better facility and provide the
capacity to add a full evening program.

 The space currently occupied by the Electrical Program
will be renovated during the coming spring and summer
to allow for the doubling of the College's ElectroMechanical Technology Program.

enrollment of 1,850 by 2025-2026 are: Analytical
Laboratory Technician; Civil Engineering Technology;
Power Plant Technology and Building Code Inspection.

 To meet the housing needs of our students, prior to the
completion of the new dormitory, the College will be
expending approximately $5 million over the next year
to complete the renovation of the Orange street (former
Osteopathic Community Hospital) facility. This will result
in an additional 121 beds and complete the utilization of
the building.

 To bridge the food service needs of our growing
enrollment prior to the completion of the new dining hall,
the College has expanded the capacity of it's a la carte
facility in the Student Center and is enclosing space for
seating behind the adjacent Learning Resources Center
that will increase capacity by over 100.

 The recently vacated Leonard Building (programs
moved to the Advanced Manufacturing Center) will
be released as a $3 million capital project for design
in October. This will allow the building to be utilized
to house all of the College's Carpentry Programs and
permit the construction of modular structures. The
College's industry partners have expressed strong
interest in assisting with funding and completing the
renovations of this facility. They have also expressed
an interest in having a training presence in the building
when completed.
You can read more about the future plans for Thaddeus
Stevens College of Technology in this issue of The Tower
magazine.

 Other Programs that will be added to achieve the
Fall 2019  3
The Tower Fall 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Tower Fall 2019
