Angelina College had an official ribbon cutting for its new Industrial Technology Center on Friday, including an open house and luncheon to show off the new building, which has been in use the fall semester.
The center is used for Welding, Automotive and Diesel technology classes.
Contributed photo |
Angelina College's new 11,000-square-foot Industrial Technology Center has adjacent work areas and a big, turnaround drive for the auto and diesel classes, and features new state-of-the-art welding fume/smoke collectors and an overhead crane so that both instructors and students can more closely approximate 'shop work' projects.
|
Contributed photo |
|
"We opened it for classes at the beginning of this semester," Angelina College President Dr. Larry Phillips said. "We got in it so quickly that we didn't have an official opening before classes started."
According to an Angelina College press release, the Industrial Technology Center, constructed for an estimated $1.8 million, currently houses AC's Auto Technology program, headed by Bryan Nabbs; the Diesel Technology program, headed by Gary White; and the Welding Technology program, headed by Troy Edwards Sr. and Troy Edwards Jr.
Phillips said the welding program has day and night classes and they are full, with more than 150 students attending.
The automotive class is a day class and offers a one-year certification program and has 11 students enrolled, Phillips said. The diesel class is a night-only class with 17 to 20 students enrolled.
Phillips said there's been a lot of positive feedback about the new center from administration, students and instructors.
"It came at the right time, especially for welding since this is our heaviest enrollment," Phillips said.
"The building that was being used for these programs was the oldest one on campus and this gives us a more modern, spacious building and gets us up to date technology-wise with these three programs."
Phillips said the 11,000-square-feet building, that was made possible through a 2007 bond election, has adjacent work areas and a big, turnaround drive for the auto and diesel classes.
According to Dr. Cecil Brewer, director of AC's Technology/Workforce Division, the building features new state-of-the-art welding fume/smoke collectors, and with its overhead crane both instructors and students can more closely approximate "shop work" projects in Welding Technology, an Angelina College press release stated. Other features include an electric lift for extended wheelbase light trucks and a four-wheel alignment system using the newest Hunter laser alignment system for Automotive Technology. The Diesel Technology program now has its own dedicated classroom and a larger shop area.
All three programs currently boast classes, and the employment demand is high, according to Workforce Solutions and other informal sources, the release stated.
