Stark State College Akron has finished construction on the final phase of its building in time to welcome students for the fall semester.
Educators and officials hosted an event marking completion of the upper and lower floors of the community college. The top floor of the 68,000-square-foot building offers students access to specially designed labs, classrooms and offices for training for a variety of medical fields.
Demand is high for medical education and for local workers who can fill medical positions.
“These programs in health all have to be accredited. Our students sit for licensure exams and do very well on those exams,” said Stark State President Para Jones. “That’s the kind of quality that (Akron) Children’s and Summa and our partners throughout healthcare look for.”
That demand has Stark State Akron already looking at ways to expand course offerings, she said.
“Every one of our anatomy and physiology and human structure and function classes here are filled, filled to capacity, so we’re already figuring out how do we open more, how do we use other days and times to do this,” Jones said. “But the point I’m making is the community and the students have been waiting and need what we have to offer.”
The new lower level of the college houses electrical, CAD and computer networking labs, and a testing area.
An outside seating space for students and faculty to enjoy was created through a Knight Foundation grant and is designed to tie the campus together with the nearby University of Akron and downtown.
