Area officials were on hand at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College Friday as State Senator Matt Deneen presented ECTC President and CEO Dr. Juston Pate with the $44 million that was allocated to the college by the Kentucky General Assembly for phase two of renovations of ECTC’s Occupational Technical Building.
Pate said the renovations are not only important for keeping up with developing technology, but also for providing the best experience for both students and staff.
“Knowing what we have with our ECTC family here in this building, and knowing that the equipment, the technologies are cutting edge and up to date, but that these faculty and staff who work in this building are the best, absolutely the best at what they do, and to now be able to provide them a home that will reflect that,” Pate said.
Students attending classes in the OTB receive education and training for a wide range of careers involving speciality degrees and licenses. Pate said the only thing holding the college back to this point has been infrastructure.
“They put many round pegs into a lot of square holes to make this training work, and they’re not going to have to do that anymore, and the investment from this legislature will not only allow us to truly reach our potential as a training provider, but I think will allow us a much better path of recruiting future workforce into this field,” Pate said.
Deneen talked about how ECTC played a role in his own education, and said ensuring quality opportunities in education is critical.
“What we’re doing here, the changes and the upgrades, it will change lives,” Deneen said. “It will change generations. It will move people from poverty to success, And it’s all at the hands of you, the staff and the instructors.”
ECTC previously received about $15 million for work on the OTB. More information on development at the college can be found in the master plan available on ECTC’s website.
