RANDOLPH — County College of Morris (CCM) will be meeting the demand to expand several popular academic areas and offer local businesses greater support in addressing their need for skilled employees through the construction of a $10 million Engineering and Manufacturing building.
The 30,000 square foot building will be constructed on the college’s Randolph campus. Construction of the building will also allow the college to double the space used by its health science programs, allowing for the addition of a state-of-the art virtual hospital and new health programs to meet area employment needs.
Funding for construction of the Engineering and Manufacturing building has been provided by the state, the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders and private donors. The college hopes to break ground on the new building by early fall.
A total of $350,000 has been donated to the CCM Foundation to expand the facilities for the health science programs.
“We are deeply grateful for the funding that has been provided so CCM can both address the need to expand its engineering, manufacturing and health science programs and respond to the workforce demand of regional manufactures and healthcare organizations,” said Anthony J. Iacono, CCM president.
“Preparing our students for the modern workplace, to provide them with skills and training and technology required by employers in Morris County is vital to the health of our businesses community and the county’s long-term economy, “said Freeholder Thomas Mastrangelo, the county governing board’s liaison to CCM and economic development.
“The new center also will offer important retraining opportunities for the county’s current workforce, to meet the demands of our business community, and give our students and re-trained workers a step-up towards employment.’’
Plans for the new facilities were developed following a series of roundtable meetings last year with engineering, manufacturing and healthcare facilities, along with the Freeholders, the Morris County Economic Development Corporation and the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, regarding workforce needs and enrollment growth.
The Mechanical Engineering Technology and Engineering Science programs at CCM have experienced significant growth in enrollment in recent years. Since 2012, there has been a 68 percent increase in students studying Mechanical Engineering and a 14 percent increase in Engineering Science.
The Engineering and Manufacturing building will house those programs and also will allow for the establishment of new areas of study in such areas as robotics and artificial intelligence.
Similarly, the expansion of the college’s healthcare facilities will allow for the development of additional professional programs to meet area demand.
