|
The first new building constructed at Western Carolina
University in more than 17 years opened for business Saturday
(Nov. 1), as U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor joined university officials
to cut the ribbon on the Center for Applied Technology, a high-technology
training facility built with nearly $8 million in federal funds.
The new building - equipped with a variety of high-tech tools
for Western's programs in engineering, technology, music, communication
and business - is a big part of the university's efforts to prepare
the region's workforce for the emerging knowledge-based industries
of the 21st century, Chancellor John Bardo said.
"We are here today to celebrate the opening of this building,
and to celebrate an elected official who has been willing to help
a small university b- able to provide the children of the mountains
with a first-class education so they might also have a first-class
life in the mountains," Bardo said, referring to Taylor's
role in securing funding.
From
left, Phil Walker, chairman of the Western Carolina University
board of trustees; U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor; Heather List, president
of the WCU Student Government Association; and John Bardo, WCU
chancellor, cut the ribbon on the university's new Center for
Applied Technology.
Taylor praised the university for taking an active
role in attempting to stem the tide of lost jobs throughout the
mountain region, especially in the textile industry, by preparing
students for careers in such high-tech fields as biotechnology,
optoelectronics, photonics, engineering, and digital audio and
video production.
"This has been a team effort by John Bardo, by the trustees
of this university, both former and serving today, and by the
faculty and staff, who have all worked together for this accomplishment.
This building is just one part of what the university is doing
to help build the economy of Western North Carolina," Taylor
said.
"Our young people have to have jobs so that they can stay
and help this region prosper," he said. "They have to
have jobs that will challenge their academic achievements. We
don't want them going to a fine institution such as Western and
have to settle for a job that is beneath their abilities."
Russ Lea, vice president for research for The University
of North Carolina system, said the new building and the high-tech
equipment located inside give Western a head start over most universities
and colleges in the nation.
"When someone asks you, 'What did you do today,' tell them
you were at a tent revival," Lea said, referring to the large
canopy over the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "This is about reviving
a new academic spirit at Western.
This is about a revival of the economic underpinnings of Western
North Carolina. I travel all over the country, and I can tell
you that these are the kind of facilities that every institution
in the United States is praying for.
You are getting a jump on 95 percent of the institutions in the
country with this facility."
Adelaide Key, former chairman of Western's board of trustees who
now serves on the UNC Board of Governors, said the Center for
Applied Technology fits with several long-range goals established
by the state board - including economic development and community
outreach, expansion of creative activities for faculty and students,
promotion of technology transfer, and cooperation with industry,
government and other partners.
"The new programs in this remarkable building should certainly
strengthen students' knowledge and academic skill development
that will improve their chances of being successful in the workplace
- a workplace that is far different than the one all of us prepared
for, and a workplace that is continually changing and evolving,"
Key said. "These are high-quality, professional programs
that will develop an educated citizenry that will enable North
Carolina to flourish."
Heather List, WCU Student Government Association president, thanked
Taylor on behalf of the student body for his role in obtaining
funding for the new center.
"This facility is going to better prepare our students for
the real world and continue to make a Western education the best
education a student can get," List said. "It will open
the door to many majors not provided before, and more students
will be making Western their No. 1 choice."
The official opening of the center is "a significant occasion
in the life of our university," said Phil Walker, chairman
of Western's board of trustees. "As you may know, the Center
for Applied Technology is the first new building to be constructed
on the Western campus since the Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity
Center, which was officially dedicated in April 1986, more than
17 years ago," Walker said.
Encompassing 28,000 square feet, the Center for Applied Technology
(formerly called the Workforce Leadership Development Center)
houses engineering laboratories for technology-based manufacturing,
state-of-the-art commercial audio and video recording studios,
and a center for the study of business-to-business sales.
|
