Community College of Aurora receives congressional funding for STEM center in Colorado
Parts of Colorado are getting a financial boost thanks in part to Congressman Jason Crow. Last month, he secured $12.2 million for Colorado's 6th Congressional District to fund critical services like infrastructure improvements, community revitalization and student support.
Among the projects receiving the generous funds is a new workforce training and education space in Aurora.
"This is going to be a state-of-the-art facility, over 50,000 square feet," said Dr. Mordecai Brownlee, President of the Community College of Aurora (CCA). "The Center for STEM, Power Mechanics and Applied Technology – I'm super excited for what this means for the college, super excited for what this means for the community."
Brownlee said the $850,000 in congressional funding will help the school "close the gap" for the multi-million-dollar project.
"We're very grateful to Congressman Jason Crow as well as the support of Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper for securing this funding," he told CBS News Colorado. "Because of their help, this is helping us close the gap not only for our college but for our students and our community as a whole because we're seeking to advance social and economic mobility."
After first breaking ground in September 2022 and construction beginning in November 2023, CCA is now on a path to breaking barriers with its new facility. The center will merge the college's two campuses which are now miles apart, providing hands-on learning for college and high school students.
"We will be working with Aurora Public Schools to have a P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools) in construction management," explained Brownlee. "This will house and give the ability to students to be bussed in to have that education, so it's going to remove the barrier of transportation."
From the fields of construction, power mechanics and engineering to the ever-evolving world of technology, the workforce training programs aim to enhance education and career connections.
"Over 55% of our students are first generation," said Brownlee. "Many of the jobs we're training these students for, there is no one in their family who's done this job before. So, it's more than first-generation college students, it's also a first-generation professional."
Just ask Leslie Cordova.
"Some of the classes I took directly related to my job now that I have, so that was super helpful," she said.
Cordova recently graduated from CCA, and now works at the school in IT as a computer technician. She said the college and its workforce training programs changed her life.
"I think it says a lot about how education is moving forward to get students employed that are in high school and to get them the skills they need for the workforce," she said.
Brownlee said that the education shift has been a long time coming – from drops in school enrollment to the changing workforce.
"We're seeing a reduction in the workforce participation rate," he said. "That in combination with the increased levels of poverty has really wreaked havoc on a prepared workforce. So, it's really so important now to look at jobs that are integrating the new aspects of technology…and what do we need to do to raise the level of skill to ensure social and economic mobility?"
That's a driving force of CCA's in-the-works education center that will also partner with local companies, like Wagner Equipment. Together making sure Colorado students have equitable access to training programs and in-demand job opportunities.
"Colorado, as educated as it is, has a lot of transplants and they're able to secure these high-wage, high-demand opportunities. We need to do something for the children of Aurora and surrounding areas to give them that opportunity, too," Brownlee said. "Now, as a college, we have the ability to be responsive and for the business industry to look at us and say, 'Okay, we have not only a viable partner,' but also the local community to say, 'We have wanted these kinds of jobs yet haven't known when or where to receive the training, and now there's an answer.'"
And, he said, the future STEM center is bound to benefit Aurora students for decades to come.
"I'm super excited because the state has approved us to start a new nursing school for 2025, so this is an opportunity of significant growth for the Community College of Aurora," he said.
If all goes as planned, the new facility will open in Fall 2025.
