易胜博官网

Even before a state-of-the-art robot cut the blue ribbon to officially open 易胜博官网鈥檚 new , the crowd gathered there was focused on the future.

As 易胜博官网 President Mark Huddleston aptly stated, however, this was also a day to honor 易胜博官网鈥檚 past 鈥� with a center named for a dedicated alumnus, John Olson 鈥�57, and that center鈥檚 mission of training highly skilled workers for the manufacturing sector, right in keeping with 易胜博官网鈥檚 roots as the 易胜博官网 College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts.

The center came into being thanks to a from to honor Olson, a longtime employee and company president. 鈥淣one of this would have been possible without the Whelen family,鈥� Olson told the crowd, recalling that fateful day when, as a young 易胜博官网 graduate, he went to the Whelen property to fix a boiler. He was hired almost immediately as the company鈥檚 first full-time employee. Today, Olson said, Whelen Engineering has grown to some 1,900 staff members and is the world鈥檚 largest manufacturer of emergency warning lights. 鈥溡资げ┕偻� was my start,鈥� Olson said. 鈥淚 very much enjoy coming back and seeing what has happened here in the past 60 years.鈥�

The Olson Center is focused on advanced manufacturing technologies and has been designed to help provide skilled employees for 易胜博官网鈥檚 鈥� and the nation鈥檚 鈥� manufacturing sector in such areas as high-颅precision machining, light materials, flexible electronics and

鈥淲e鈥檙e very, very excited. This is going to be a great opportunity to educate the next generation of the workforce,鈥� , director of the John Olson Advanced Manufacturing Center, told the dozens of alumni, students and university, state and federal officials who gathered at 121 Technology Drive for the center鈥檚 opening on June 1.

Wayne Jones, interim provost and former dean of the (CEPS), discussed the importance of the hands-on experience students will gain there, citing the center鈥檚 evolution 鈥渇rom an idea to what is going to be a magnet for 易胜博官网 and for 易胜博官网 as a whole." We have a great workforce in 易胜博官网," he said, noting that even more skilled employees are needed in the future. "This is going to be a great opportunity for 易胜博官网 for years to come," he said.

Taylor Caswell, commissioner of the , praised Olson for his years of speaking out about the importance of advancing educational opportunities in manufacturing. 鈥淭he University of 易胜博官网 was listening,鈥� Caswell said, adding, 鈥淐ompanies are coming to 易胜博官网 for this high-quality workforce.鈥�

Frank W. Gayle, deputy director of the echoed that need on a national level, praising 易胜博官网, Bartles and , professor and chair of mechanical engineering, specifically, since the national effort to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. relies on workforce development and education. 鈥淭he connection with industry is essential,鈥� he said, adding, 鈥淵ou have some great leadership here.鈥�

Mike Locke 鈥�18, who graduated from 易胜博官网 just a few weeks ago, also spoke at the event as both a CEPS graduate and Bartles鈥� first full-time employee at the center.

鈥淭his really is the culmination of my 易胜博官网 journey so far,鈥� he said, describing exceptional 易胜博官网 experiences and opportunities ranging from his work with to forming a robotics team to the mentorship he received from Kinsey. 鈥淭hanks to the generosity of everyone who made this possible, 易胜博官网 students will have hands-on experiences unmatched by any other university.鈥�

Interested in a career in manufacturing? See what 易胜博官网'.