Published: January 19, 2007 11:39 pm         

Ivy Tech capital campaign to expand manufacturing program

TERRE HAUTE — Advanced manufacturing industries are a major employer in the Wabash Valley, and Ivy Tech Community College wants to do its part to help train prospective employees.

As a result, Ivy Tech is preparing for a capital campaign to, in part, upgrade its manufacturing equipment. It would be housed in the Center for Workforce Development in the Vigo County Industrial Park.

On Friday, the Wabash Valley regional board agreed to allow the college to conduct a feasibility study to see if the community would support a $3 million to $4 million capital campaign for the equipment and other needs. The college will use TeMon Consulting to do the study at a cost of $25,000.

“We want an advanced manufacturing center in the building,” said Jeff Pittman, chancellor of Ivy Tech, Wabash Valley region. “We are fully aware of West Central Indiana’s efforts to attract high-tech manufacturing to this community.”

Ivy Tech has responded by purchasing the industrial park building and renovating it, Pittman said. The next step is to upgrade equipment so that students will be prepared for today’s high-tech jobs at companies such as DADC and Pfizer.

Pittman said he recently visited one of the companies and saw the type of equipment they are using. He realized Ivy Tech must upgrade what it has.

“We’re making quite an investment on the college side in the building. I think the community will be willing to invest on equipment,” Pittman said.

Ivy Tech spent $2 million on the facility, the former Brentlinger building, and it also is spending $2.8 million for Phase 1 renovation.

In the proposed capital campaign, the goal would be to raise $1 million for new, upgraded equipment; $1 million to establish an equipment endowment in which interest would be used to keep equipment current; $1 million would be for a faculty endowment to be used for faculty development and to hire more faculty; and $1 million would be used for Phase 2 renovation of the Center for Workforce Development. Next week, companies that are part of the Advanced Manufacturing Cluster will tour the Center for Workforce Development to see what Ivy Tech has and to offer feedback on what is needed.

One goal is for those companies to potentially invest in the capital campaign, particularly since they would benefit from the equipment upgrades, said Ken Baker, chairman of the regional board of trustees.

Baker also is corporate director of human resources for AET, which is part of the Advanced Manufacturing Cluster.

“Given Ivy Tech’s commitment, it behooves us as manufacturers to see what we can do to take advantage of this,” Baker said.

Manufacturers must stay current because of competition, he said. “There is no status quo.”

The philosophy used to be that you didn’t fix something unless it broke. “That’s not true anymore,” Baker said.

Pittman said Phase 1 renovation at the CWD will be completed in March. The feasibility study for a capital campaign should take about two to three months, and hopefully the campaign could begin this summer, Pittman said.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.