WASHINGTON, D.C. — The chancellor for West Virginia’s Community and Technical College System is touting the Mountain State’s workforce development successes in community and technical education and encouraging U.S. senators to invest more in such programs.
On Wednesday morning, Dr. Sarah Tucker was on Capitol Hill to testify at a hearing on “STEM Education: Preparing Students for the Careers of Today and the Future,” specifically as it relates to the Every Student Succeeds Act.
“Our public community and technical colleges provide students with incredible opportunities,” Tucker told members of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies.
During her introduction, Tucker focused on a collaboration between BridgeValley Community and Technical College and Toyota, which operates a manufacturing facility in Putnam County, on a two-year associate degree program for advanced manufacturing technicians.
“This program combines cutting edge STEM curriculum with paid work experience,” Tucker explained.
“Students attend two full days of classes at BridgeValley Community College and work three full days a week at Toyota. Upon successful completion of the program, students can begin working at Toyota for about $61,000 per year plus benefits.”
It’s just one such program in West Virginia, she told lawmakers.
“We have partnerships like this across the Mountain State,” she said. “Almost all are in STEM fields because, frankly, the fastest growing industries in West Virginia — manufacturing, IT, health care and, yes, even energy — are all STEM fields.”
To support STEM training, Tucker called on lawmakers to make investments in academic preparation, paid workforce opportunities and accelerated educational programs, including those with open entry and exit policies.
“I am proud of the work that we do and proud of the work that is yet to come,” Tucker said. “On behalf of our students, I thank you for the work you have done and the work you will continue to do to move our country’s workforce forward.”
Both U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) serve on that committee and invited Tucker, a Wheeling native who has served as chancellor since 2015, to speak.
Tucker was one of four witnesses at Wednesday’s hearing.
Also on the panel were Larry Plank, director of K-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics education for Hillsborough County Public Schools in Tampa, Florida; Dr. Neil Lamb, vice president for educational outreach at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Alabama and Caroline King, chief policy and strategy officer for Washington STEM from Seattle, Washington.