New Location is Home to Three High-Demand Majors
Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology formally opened the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology Greiner Advanced Manufacturing Center, located at 599 Chesapeake Street in Lancaster, PA, on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. The educational complex is named in recognition of the $1 million lead gift from Frank and Sharon Greiner of Greiner Industries.
“The new Center is a model of collaboration between bi-partisan government, industry, and the community coming together to address an urgent and growing need to meet a labor skills gap in technology, advanced manufacturing and construction in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and across the country,” according to Dr. William Griscom. “Thaddeus Stevens College also has an obligation as part of our mission to provide access to an education to individuals who are be under-resourced. We can change the circumstances of their lives through an education that will result in a career at a family-sustaining wage.”
The Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology Greiner Advanced Manufacturing Center is a 60,000 square foot facility comprising two buildings on the site of the former National Guard Armory, a short distance from the College’s main campus on the eastern side of Lancaster City. The Center was built through the Pennsylvania Department of General Services at a cost of more than $20 million, and the College raised $2.4 million through a capital campaign. An additional $1 million grant from Gene Haas Foundation sponsored the Computer Integrated Machining Lab. Burnham Holdings, Inc. and US Boiler Company donated to equip the HVAC/R Lab. More than 20 regional companies, private foundations, and individuals gave cash and equipment to support the complex.
The Center was developed to increase capacity and access to three in-demand manufacturing majors: HVAC/R (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration), Computer Integrated Machining (CIM) and Metals Fabrication and Welding Technology. The south building, situated along Chesapeake Street, provides greatly expanded classroom space for the HVAC/R and CIM programs and includes dedicated computer laboratories and flex space for training and industry-based conferences. It also houses the Gene Haas Laboratory for Computer Integrated Machining and the Burnham Holdings Center for HVAC Technology. The building opened to students in the Fall 2018 semester.
The north building will open to students in the Fall 2019 semester, and provides greatly expanded space for the Metals Fabrication & Welding Technology program, including classrooms, laboratory space, computer labs, a drafting room, flex space, and a spacious area to host industry demonstrations.
Thaddeus Stevens College is also continuing to work with community organizations to transform the property adjacent to its Greiner Advanced Manufacturing Center into a community resource and education center, which will be called The Steinman Community Learning Center.
“We are appreciative of the efforts of Governor Wolf and our state and local elected officials who have provided support to Thaddeus Stevens College’s efforts to expand access,” says Dr. Griscom. “With more than 1,400 employers seeking to hire our 400 graduates for over 3,000 family sustaining jobs last year, the College’s greatest challenge is to increase its capacity. As a direct result of Governor Wolf’s efforts and support we have been able to triple the size of three our most in-demand programs. This will have a significant and long term impact on this region’s economy. Concurrently, it will improve the lives of countless deserving citizens of Pennsylvania.”