MCC Daily Tribune

Governor Hochul Visits MCC for Announcement of FWD Center's Grand Opening

Governor Kathy Hochul attended and announced the grand opening of the Finger Lakes Workforce Development (FWD, pronounced “Forward”) Center on MCC’s Downtown Campus on Monday, May 23. The 50,000-square-foot regional FWD Center focuses on short-term and accelerated, technology-oriented training programs that place individuals in high-demand jobs within advanced manufacturing, information technology, skilled trades, apprenticeship-related instruction, and professional services.

In addition to MCC President Burt-Nanna, special guests delivering remarks at the ceremony included Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, SUNY Interim Chancellor Dr. Deborah Stanley, and Susan Dundon, director for Young Adult and Working Families with The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. Other guests at the event included project partners as well as leaders in industry and the community.

Here are highlights from each speaker:

Gov. Hochul on the FWD Center: “It can launch people in so many different directions. It's not just one industry, one job, one career. It connects people with stackable credentials -- they get the skills they need quickly to step into the jobs that our employers are just begging for.”
MCC President Burt-Nanna: “Together, we have achieved, under one roof, a regional hub for education, innovation, collaboration and excellence -- a much-needed resource for residents across all ZIP codes throughout the Finger Lakes region who want a job that is less vulnerable to future displacement; a family-sustaining career waiting for them upon completion of their training; and flexible, short-term training options that prepare them for high-demand, technology-oriented careers not in one or two years but in quicker timeframes.”
Interim Chancellor Stanley on the FWD Center and MCC: “Facilities like this are becoming a new front door. We keep our doors wide open. This is the way to access not only this institution and what this institution can so beautifully do -- wait till you see some of the equipment and all of these rooms; it is just remarkable. It’s also bringing in a horizontal and a vertical integration of public and private higher education across the spectrum.”
County Executive Bello: “We need to train individuals to connect them with quality employers. It's about connecting those boxes -- people who are looking for work, the training that we're doing and the jobs that exist -- and streamlining that process here. We're going to deliver the workforce needed for those jobs of today and, also just as importantly, those jobs for tomorrow.”

“With advanced process controls, artificial intelligence, augmented/virtual reality, think of these jobs of the future -- jobs we don't even know exist yet. We're training our young people for jobs that we don't even know what they're going to be. The technology is changing so quickly. And that's also why facilities like this that can move and be flexible with the changing economics that we have is so important.”
Susan Dundon with The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation: “I'm especially pleased to announce that the foundation has made a $3.2 million grant to Monroe Community College to support the startup operations and equipment at the FWD Center. This is an investment in truly innovative workforce development … a model that will lead directly to high-quality jobs for Rochester residents and that we believe will be a model for success across Western New York and beyond.”

“Postsecondary education and training is now the most reliable pathway to economic mobility. We look to lift up programs that offer the technical and critical thinking skills as well as hands-on training and experience that people need to grow and adapt throughout their lives and careers -- exactly the type of training and skills that they'll find here at the FWD Center.”

A recording of the grand opening ceremony is available from MCC on YouTube. The full news release is available on the governor’s website.

Photo captions:

FWD Center-7: Marking the FWD Center's grand opening with a ribbon-cutting were, from left, MCC Board of Trustees Chair Allen Williams; City of Rochester’s Department of Recreation and Human Services Commissioner Dr. Shirley Green; Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Bob Duffy; SUNY Interim Chancellor Dr. Deborah Stanley; Monroe County Executive Adam Bello; MCC President DeAnna R. Burt-Nanna; Governor Kathy Hochul; MCC Vice President of Economic Development, Workforce and Career Technical Education Dr. Robin Cole Jr.; The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation’s Director for Young Adult and Working Families Susan Dundon; and Greater Rochester Enterprise President and CEO Matt Hurlbutt.

FWD Center-3: A grand opening ceremony was held in the FWD Center, on the sixth floor of the Downtown Campus.

FWD Center-8: Following a ribbon-cutting by humans, a robot prepares to cut a ribbon symbolizing how the regional workforce will remain innovative and at the forefront of ever-changing technology.

FWD Center-10: John Troy (second from right), director of skilled trades and industrial technology programs at MCC, describes how the high-tech equipment works in one of the labs of the FWD Center. Foreground from left are MCC President DeAnna R. Burt-Nanna, SUNY Interim Chancellor Dr. Deborah Stanley, and MCC Vice President of Economic Development, Workforce and Career Technical Education Dr. Robin Cole Jr.

Attached Files:
FWDCenter-7 web.jpg
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FWDCenter-8 web.jpg
FWDCenter-10 web.jpg

Hency Yuen-Eng
Community Relations
05/24/2022