August 31,
2017, Jersey City, NJ – On Tuesday, September 19 at 10 a.m., Hudson County
Community College (HCCC) will hold the official Grand Opening ceremonies for
the new 70,070 square-foot STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)
Building at 263 Academy Street in Jersey City.
Several elected officials and dignitaries from federal, state and local
government are expected to be in attendance, including U.S. Congressman Albio
Sires, Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise, and members of the New Jersey
and Hudson County educational community.
Located just
blocks from the Journal Square PATH Transit Center, construction on the $30
million, 70,070 square-foot building began more than two years ago. The HCCC
STEM Building is constructed to link to the HCCC Cundari Center, which was
renovated and reopened in September 2015 to accommodate the HCCC Nursing and Radiography
Programs. The Cundari Center includes state-of-the-art simulated rooms in
various hospital settings (pediatrics, OB/GYN, general medicine, orthopedics,
ER, and more).
As designed
by RSC Architects, the six-story, steel-frame HCCC STEM Building has floors
dedicated to Mathematics; Geology and Environmental Studies; Physics,
Engineering and Electrical Engineering; Biology, Microbiology and Histology;
and Chemistry. Each of the top five floors house lecture halls, classrooms,
science labs, prep rooms, clean rooms, dirty rooms, STEM computer labs and
stations, conference rooms, breakout rooms, suites of administrative and
faculty offices, and student lounges.
The
commanding exterior design of the HCCC STEM Building opens onto an impressive,
1,500 square-foot, first-floor lobby with terrazzo floors, stone-detailed
walls, and a coffered ceiling with light pockets. The first floor also includes
a student lounge, lecture hall and exhibit/event space.
“All of us at
the College are very proud of this new STEM Building,” states HCCC President
Glen Gabert, Ph.D. “What we are most excited about, however, are the programs
we are offering here, and the opportunities these programs provide in
benefiting men and women of Hudson County far into the future.” He notes that
the HCCC STEM programs – including the new Computer Science A.S. -
Cybersecurity Option, Biotechnology A.S., Computer Science A.S. -
Bioinformatics Option, and Construction Management A.A.S. offerings – will
allow HCCC students to prepare for careers that are in-demand now and will
remain so for decades to come. Moreover, HCCC students will now be able to
pursue these courses of study on the HCCC campus, without having to utilize
labs at other colleges and universities.
President
Gabert notes that another important aspect of the HCCC STEM Building will be
the inclusion of art from the HCCC Foundation Permanent Art Collection, which
now includes more than 1,000 works.