ACC opens $16M Advanced Applied Technology Center - Burlington Times News

Jessica Williams jessicawtn

GRAHAM — Alamance Community College celebrated National Manufacturing Day on Friday, Oct. 6, by cutting the ribbon on its $16 million Advanced Applied Technology Center.

The 55,000-square-foot center houses five programs: Mechatronics Engineering, Computer-Integrated Machining, Welding, Automotive Systems, and Air Conditioning-Heating-Refrigeration, which were previously spread out in dated buildings across campus.

But, as ACC President Algie Gatewood pointed out, the building will do much more than unite and expand those programs.

“This center represents more than just brick and mortar. It represents our role in addressing the skills gap,” Gatewood said. “That skill gap continues to affect this county and this is how we keep our industry here. This is how we help our businesses and industry to grow. This is how we attract new industry to Alamance County and, by doing so, this is how we ensure that we have a strong economy. Through this facility, Alamance Community College will enlarge, enhance and fill a pipeline with skilled workers desperately needed by employers.”

Funded by a $15 million bond that the Alamance County Board of Commissioners approved unanimously in 2014, the long-awaited center has been in the making since 2008.

Rocky Mount’s Golden LEAF Foundation, which awards grants to rural and tobacco-dependent communities to increase economic opportunity in North Carolina, donated $200,000 on top of that.

It compliments a $1.5 million donation to Graham High School that funded the remodeling of four laboratories and two classrooms, including the purchase of state-of-the-art lab equipment, and the construction of an outdoor learning environment in the courtyard.

Golden LEAF President Dan Gerlach commended Gatewood on his ongoing partnership with Alamance-Burlington Schools Superintendent Bill Harrison and the public school system — a partnership that’s creating the school-to-career pipeline the county needs to fill current and future positions.

“This training doesn’t start with community colleges. … It starts in middle school, in high school, gaining those skills,” Gerlach said.

Miranda Kotarba, a welding technology student, and Zachary Uzodimma, a mechatronics engineering technology student, both thanked the county for investing in their education.

Kotarba emphasized that baby boomers are retiring, in mass, from many trade careers and a new generation is eager to step up.

Other honored guests were Sen. Rick Gunn, Rep. Steve Ross and U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, who says he receives regular updates about ACC from his district director, ACC trustee Julie Scott Emmons.

“Over the next few years, most economists and most prognosticators will tell you manufacturing jobs will add 3.5 million more jobs to our community, so what better time [is there] to do the ribbon-cutting on this building? … This, today, brings hope. It brings hope to our community, it brings the future to our community for students like Miranda and Zachary. This is opportunity. This is the next wave of our future,” Walker said.

Reporter Jessica Williams can be reached at jessica.williams@thetimesnews.com or at 336-506-3046. Follow her on Twitter at @jessicawtn.

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