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Pine Technical and Community College president thanks county for trail connection, outlines $25M expansion and program growth
Summary
Joel Mulford, president of Pine Technical and Community College, thanked Pine County for a recently completed trail expansion, described a $25 million state-funded building expansion adding roughly 24,000 sq ft and new labs, and said the college is expanding enrollment and program capacity.
Joel Mulford, president of Pine Technical and Community College, told the Pine County Board of Commissioners the college is already seeing benefits from a trail expansion south of campus and from a recent $25,000,000 state-funded building expansion that added roughly 24,000 square feet.
Mulford described new lab space that allowed the college to bring back and expand technical programs. "It was a $25,000,000 state-funded bonding project," Mulford said, noting new auto, gunsmithing and welding labs and a planned welding curriculum expansion from a one-year to a full two-year sequence. He said the additional space also enabled more nursing students and new simulation and automation labs.
Mulford said student housing at Lakeside Medical Center, converted to dorm-style housing, increases the college—s ability to offer alternative scheduling and short-format programs. He reported that roughly 70% of students come from within about a 45-mile radius and said the college is focused on retaining graduates in the region.
The board acknowledged the college—s 60th anniversary and discussed regional connections and workforce-development benefits tied to the trail and the campus improvements. Commissioners and the president discussed how new lab layouts (glass-fronted labs) were designed to improve public exposure to technical programs and help recruitment from high schools.
