Connecticut’s State Bond Commission last week approved more than $30 million in capital funding for the state”™s 12 community colleges.
Included in the funds is $18 million for new instruction, research and lab equipment for the colleges, as well as $10 million for IT equipment and further IT system development between the colleges and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system office.
Several individual colleges received funding for separate projects, including Norwalk Community College (NCC). The college is scheduled to receive $3.7 million to design a pedestrian bridge, student center, classrooms and for additional renovations as a part of the school”™s master plan, which was developed in 2000.
“Those are the key areas that we”™ve been waiting for bonding money for,” said Rose Ellis, NCC dean of administration. “For years we”™ve been attempting to get a pedestrian bridge so students can cross safely.”
NCC, which is split into two campuses by Richards Avenue, has had numerous accidents on the street as students have attempted to go to class. With the new funding, Ellis said the school will likely be able to finish a bridge within five years, which will allow students to cross over the traffic.
The funding will also help NCC to create a student center for the campus by adding 12,000 square feet to the existing cafeteria. Another building, which Ellis described as archaic and not up to code, will be renovated and used as a classroom in the summer with a new air conditioner.
“Our state”™s community and state colleges play an integral role in our effort to train the workforce of tomorrow,” said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in a statement before the commission”™s meeting. “The investments we are announcing today will help our state and community colleges update and modernize their facilities, so that our students can compete in the global economy.”
With certificates and associate degrees, Ellis said community colleges can put people into the workforce more quickly than a four-year university. People can go back to school for a second career or to refine their skills at a community college, she said.
“We need people to get into the workforce,” Ellis said. “They can come to us and do that.”
Ellis said she was surprised to hear the colleges would receive additional funding this year, given the state”™s challenges in balancing its biennial budget. NCC”™s projects are years behind schedule, and Ellis said she wasn”™t sure why Malloy choose this year to fund the school, other than his dedication to education.
At the Bond Commission meeting, state Sen. Andrea Stillman thanked Malloy for his focus on education and the community colleges. Stillman, a Democrat, represents parts of New London County, including the city of New London.
“The community colleges have been waiting for quite some time for these upgrades. I want to thank you very much for recognizing the need there so we can get more folks into the job force,” she said. “You know what an important role they play in job creation.”
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