Press Release — For Immediate Release

Lea Ann Erickson , Director of Community Relations
Phone: (978) 630-9322
Fax: (978) 630-956
Email: l_erickson@mwcc.mass.edu

ROBERT D. WETMORE CENTER UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT MWCC

 

 
   

(GARDNER)--Construction is underway for Mount Wachusett Community College’s Robert D. Wetmore Center for Innovation in Design, Technology and Resource Development. The 12,000 square foot facility will include classrooms and offices with the latest in wireless technology. “It is our vision to serve as an economic engine for the cities and towns we serve,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino. “By providing education and training to meet the specific needs of employers in our region, we aim to help individual students achieve their dreams and help employers attain their goals.” The center, located between the college’s main building and the Fitness and Wellness Center, is slated to open in Spring, 2004. “As the college continues to grow, this center will address a critical space need,” said Asquino. “By aggressively pursuing grant funds, we were able to build the center with very limited impact on our budget during these tough fiscal times.”

According to MWCC Executive Vice President Edward R. Terceiro, Jr. the center will provide a continuum of training that will include entry level training, skill enhancement/upgrading, retraining and specialized training. The center was designed to meet a demonstrated need in North Central Massachusetts for an Applied Technology Center. The center will build on the success of the college’s Forest and Wood Products Institute, which has provided a variety of educational and training programs throughout, not only Massachusetts, but all of New England.

The Robert D. Wetmore Center for Innovation in Design, Technology and Resource Development will:

  • Provide a balance of practical and theoretical education that will give employers a productive employee who possess a conceptual framework sufficient to handle future developments in industrial applications;
  • prepare workers to integrate advanced equipment and production processes;
  • provide learning laboratories that will simulate the most technologically advanced work environments; and,
  • assist managers and supervisors to function in new technological and organizational environments.

The center is named for Massachusetts Senator Robert D. Wetmore who served the Commonwealth for over thirty years as both a representative and senator. During his long and distinguished career, Senator Wetmore authored an amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution, which was adopted in 1972, known as the “Environmental Bill of Rights.” As House chair and founder of the Growth Policy Commission, Wetmore promoted state and local planning to balance growth and development. As chair of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee and the Special Commission on the Future of Mature Industries, Wetmore promoted economic development as well as measures to establish special programs for dislocated workers.

“ We are very grateful to Senator Wetmore, not only for his years of public service, but for his continuing relationship with Mount Wachusett Community College,” said President Asquino. “We are very fortunate to have him as a friend and proud to be building a center in his name.”