Alessandro DeBrevi
Staff reporter
adebrevi@jccc.edu
A year from now, the college will open a brand new Career and Technology Education (CTE) building where the tennis courts once existed. The new structure will contain five programs: automotive technology, electrical technology, HVAC technology, automation technology engineering, as well as Continuing Education.
Along with a new building comes new technology, which is set to improve the programs located within the building.
Richard Fort, interim dean, Industrial Technology Division, explained that one of the new features will be having TV screens in all of the labs.
“A lot of the things that we work on in these areas you’re working on a very small area,” Fort said. “Well, I’ve got eighteen students in class. They can’t see me doing that. Now we’ll be able to work on it but maybe have a GoPro on my head showing it that can go up on the screen.”
Charlie Randazzo, associate professor and chair, Electrical Technology, said there will be energy efficient lighting options and an integrated solar laboratory on the roof that will add to the experiences of students.
There will also be some perks that apply to specific programs.
“For us it’s largely about access,” said Jack Ireland, associate professor and department chair, Automotive Technology. “For vehicles to move inside a space, not only does it have to be conducive for productivity, as far as being able to move the vehicle in and out, it also has to be productive in the sense that, you know, we might have fifteen or eighteen students gathering around one car so we can show a concept. That’s something really that you only deal with in education.”
The building will first be used in the summer of 2019, in preparation for the first fall semester that it will be open.
Professors in the technology programs believe that the new building will make it to attracted students to the program. Right now, even some of the local high schools have superior facilities, but they believe that this will change upon the opening of the CTE building.
“This will make it much easier to recruit students, as we will not only have an updated and cleaner facility to showcase on tours, but also the space to accommodate the influx of students that are interested in these programs,” Randazzo said.
The modern, see-through design will also make everyone on campus aware of where and what the CTE building is.
“When you walk by the outside of it, you’re going to know exactly what’s going on in this building,” Fort said. “When you walk down the hallway you’ll be able to look into the labs. The building itself will be positioned on the front door of the college now. Very, very accessible.”
Having more students, better technology and modern architecture will not only benefit the college, it will improve the local community as well.
“That’s our hope and desire,” Ireland said. “We can turn out students all day long and, as it is right now, we can’t meet the demand of the community. There is just such a thirst for technicians, particularly in our area. I think that would be the case up and down the hall with the other programs also.”
For students, instructors and employers, this project will be more than just the construction of a new building on campus.
“I think that it’s going to increase learning,” Fort said. “I think that our students are going to be better prepared for the jobs that they get.”