Brighton, N.Y. -- Fresh off a State of the Union Address that praised community colleges and stressed the importance of greater resources for them, Monroe Community College President Anne Kress is heartened. Her school is among the many nationwide engaged in the type of public/private partnerships lauded by President Obama.
“What we do is have corporate partners who actually help us advise on the curriculum, what is expected out in the workplace the minute students graduate,” said Kress.
The college’s applied technologies, along with related science and tech programs, are feeding numerous local industries such as optics firm Optimax in Ontario. Of the 160 employees at Optimax, nearly 20% came from MCC, said company officials.
“I think the optics industry is pretty rich in Rochester,” said David Miller, a Rochester-area man who lost his manufacturing job last year and turned to the college for new training.
“I really needed to re-skill,” he explained.
Miller hopes to land a quality technician position at a firm involved with optics manufacturing.
MCC’s science and technology fields saw steady enrollment from in the fall of 2010, but expects a surge as it builds programs in renewable energy and health industries.
