Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) and Sen. Joe Scarnati (R-25th District) announced Wednesday that the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford received $2 million in state funding for the development of facilities for engineering and technology.
“This project has the potential to breathe new life into our economy,” Causer said. “It gives area students the opportunity to pursue rapidly growing career fields, especially in engineering and information systems and it gives local employers peace of mind that a supply of highly trained and qualified workers will be available to meet their needs. This is certainly a win-win for northwest and northcentral Pennsylvania.”
The lawmakers noted that area employers have consistently expressed their need for engineers and that the university has been working to establish engineering programs to meet these needs.
The university will use the grant funding for the development of a building that will house engineering labs, engineering shops, computer labs and other spaces to support new programs as well as classrooms, offices and storage space.
“We are very grateful to our state legislators, especially Sen. Scarnati and Rep. Causer, as well as to Gov. Wolf for their support,” Lawrence Feick, president of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, said. “This grant will be critical to us in developing the facilities which will make it possible for us to offer new academic programs and expand existing ones. This is an investment that will provide benefits for many years to multiple generations of Pitt students, as well as to the companies in the region who will hire our graduates.”
Lawmakers authorized funding for the project in the Capital Budget Project Itemization Act, and the funding was released by Gov. Tom Wolf.