Waukesha County Technical College and the WCTC Foundation announced today that they have reached their fundraising goal to build a new $4.5 million Integrated Manufacturing Center at the college’s Pewaukee Campus.
The college plans to break ground for the project in April 2015.
“We are thrilled to have reached this goal in order to provide our students and Waukesha County employers with this advanced facility to produce skilled workers in our region,” said WCTC interim president Kaylen Betzig. “We are especially grateful to the Waukesha County Business Alliance and its Manufacturing Executive Council for their efforts on behalf of this campaign.”
After the WCTC Foundation’s IMC campaign began in spring 2014, WCTC announced in late August a $1 million pledge from an anonymous donor toward the WCTC Foundation’s fundraising campaign for the IMC. The pledge was made with the caveat that the college secured an additional $2 million in private funds for the project. The college plans to spend $1.5 million on the project–in accordance with the state’s limit on capital spending.
WCTC and the WCTC Foundation missed three previous fundraising deadlines in the fall and later announced in late October that they would continue fundraising while moving ahead with their building plans. They had hoped to secure the additional funds by January in order to keep the college’s overall master facilities plan on target. If the funds were not raised by then, the project may have been delayed, to break ground in the fall of 2015.
“Now that the $2 million has been realized, the WCTC Foundation will receive the anonymous challenge gift of $1 million,” said WCTC Foundation president Ellen Phillips. “The WCTC Foundation is grateful for the overwhelming support of area manufacturers, businesses and individuals who stepped up to make this happen for our students.”
The 24,000-square-foot center will be connected to the college’s existing Industrial Building and will be home to several programs within the School of Applied Technologies. The building will include two Automated Systems Technology (AST) labs and an AST classroom, an integrated manufacturing and engineering lab, industrial maintenance technician lab, two electronics labs, an electronics fabrication lab, a technology lab, an engineering lecture hall, two engineering classrooms and two conference rooms.
