At a glance
Alfred State College has announced
that it has raised $1,043,000 for the building of its new Construction Industry
Workforce Development
Center in Wellsville,
surpassing its original goal of $1 million.
Alfred State College has announced
that it has raised $1,043,000 for the building of its new Construction Industry
Workforce Development
Center in Wellsville,
surpassing its original goal of $1 million.
The project was made possible by
donations from the Alfred State Educational Foundation, Inc., that owns the
campus, a federal HUD grant sponsored by Congressman John "Randy" Kuhl, Jr.,
(R-Hammondsport); an Empire State Development grant sponsored by NYS Sen. Cathy
Young, R-Olean; and many private donations including The LC Whitford Co.,
Wellsville; AL Blades & Sons, Hornell; Otis Eastern Service, Inc., Wellsville;
LeChase Construction, Rochester, and the Builders Exchange of Rochester.
"Reaching the goal of $1 million
will allow the construction to start in 2008. It has been a real pleasure
working with government, alumni, and businesses that support Alfred State
College and the vision of a new Construction
Workforce Development
Center in Wellsville,"
said Craig Clark, executive director
of the Wellsville Campus and interim vice president of academic affairs. "This
is how government, business, and education need to lead in developing the
workforce of tomorrow."
"This success will allow us to
train graduates in some of the most-needed workforce skills in New York State," said Dr. Ronald R. Rosati,
Provost and Officer in Charge of Alfred State College.
"The Construction
Industry Workforce
Development Center
will provide education and training leading to job opportunities for local--rural
and urban--youth and will address a workforce shortage in the regional and
national construction industry."
Alfred State College, in
partnership with members of the region's construction industry, is developing
the Construction Industry Workforce
Development Center
to increase economic development opportunities through job creation in rural
and urban Western New York. The need for
construction workers in Western New York and nationally is well documented, with nearly one million new
construction jobs to be added by 2012, an increase of 15 percent. The
construction industry is one of the top 10 largest sources of job growth in the
United States.
The Center is one of the
fundraising projects contained in Alfred
State's Centennial
Campaign, which has an overall goal of $3,427,000.
"The support
for this project is indicative of the value that Alfred State College has for
the region," said Rosati. "Overall, we expect this to be a highly successful
campaign, and our staff and volunteer boards have worked hard to reach this
first milestone."