Ivy Tech Announces New Focus for Princeton Site

Ivy Tech Community College’s Princeton site has a re-directed focus and a new name, it was announced by Chancellor Jonathan Weinzapfel, at a news conference today (Sept. 19).

Its new name, Ivy Tech Community College Princeton Career and Technology Center, will better reflect Ivy Tech’s commitment to serving the workforce development needs of Gibson and surrounding counties, Weinzapfel said.

In 2014, Ivy Tech asked for and received $600,000 in Tax Increment Funds from the County Redevelopment Commission and County Council. These funds are designed to be used for the purpose of subsidizing re-development, infrastructure and other community-improvement projects; and at Princeton, the funding was earmarked for two new classrooms and the equipment needed. Now, the site has a state-of-the-art environmentally friendly welding classroom and a mechatronics classroom – which directly benefit area industry.

Weinzapfel said that those classrooms have spurred a surge in both non-credit and credit classes at the site. “What we have seen at Princeton is a change in emphasis in classes being offered from nearly all for-credit classes like English and Psychology, to more of an emphasis on workforce development classes like welding and industrial maintenance,” he said. “Ivy Tech offers dual credit courses in all area high schools, which has created less of a need for this type of class at our site.”

Ivy Tech is also experiencing an exponential increase in non-credit courses through Ivy Tech Corporate College. Corporate College offers customized training for individuals, business, and industry. Companies such as Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Inc., Indianapolis Power & Light, Indiana Department of Education, Toyota Boshoku, and others are among the list of area industry benefiting from classes offered at the site and the additional classrooms added through TIF funds.

“The name change of our site will help to reinforce and reflect Ivy Tech’s desire to be responsive to the workforce and career development needs of the Gibson County area,” Weinzapfel said. And, through the Corporate College leadership of Bo Drake, area business and industry will see a very responsive Ivy Tech, with the new Center, he indicated. Kyla Krieg, manager of the site, will be arranging visits to determine the types of courses that are necessary to grow the skills of area employees and meet the employer’s needs. “This will provide us with more opportunities to sit down and have conversations with our local industries,” he said.