Keene State continues to grow! To provide better opportunities for our students, expand our programs, and meet the labor needs of high-tech manufacturers, the Adams Technology Building and the newer addition to Butterfield Hall are coming down to make way for the Technology, Design, and Safety (TDS) Center. This super-efficient building will offer zero net energy performance and LEED Platinum certification—quite a contrast to the outdated, inefficient buildings it will replace.
Engelberth Construction Company (which built the Pondside apartments, the Zorn Dining Commons, the Media Arts Center, the central heating plant, and did the Fiske and Huntress Hall renovations) started the work in July, and expects to be finished in time for the fall 2012 semester.
The TDS center will be home to three of KSC’s leading academic programs: Safety Studies, Architecture, and Sustainable Product Design and Innovation—majors that have seen a remarkable 47% growth since 2005. These unique undergraduate programs are vital to the New England region and are well positioned for growth and for meeting employment needs for manufacturing, construction, and health professionals.
The Center will also provide labs for the College’s growing chemistry program and the new nursing program and house the Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing (RCAM) and the Monadnock Biodiesel Collaborative Fuel Quality Testing Laboratory. RCAM is a collaboration among the College and the Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce, the Keene School District, and River Valley Community College to link business and educational resources in the Connecticut River Valley to offer training in important advanced manufacturing jobs to make sure local and national manufacturers have the skilled workforce they need.