MCCS Board of Trustees votes to name new academic building at YCCC in recognition of aerospace innovator, longtime community supporter

January 12, 2017

News Release

Contact: Helen Pelletier
207-767-0116, Ext 3

AUGUSTA, ME  – The Maine Community College System Board of Trustees has approved a request from York County Community College (YCCC) to name its new academic building in Wells for Pratt & Whitney. The naming recognizes the company’s long-term support of the college, including $700,000 in gifts to The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges to support construction of the new building.

Pratt & Whitney has also donated more than $300,000 in equipment to YCCC’s precision machining technology program, bringing its latest contributions to the college to more than $1 million, the most ever received by the college from a single donor.

In announcing the Board vote, Jean Ginn Marvin, the Board’s chair, said: “Pratt & Whitney has long recognized the critical role that YCCC plays in ensuring a skilled workforce. The company has been a strong and generous supporter of expanded educational and economic opportunities for the citizens of York County. We are pleased to recognize its contributions to the college and the wider community.”

“This new building demonstrates the Maine Community College System and Pratt & Whitney’s joint commitment to inspiring the next generation,” said Mike Papp, Pratt & Whitney vice president, Manufacturing & Module Center Operations. “This is a natural extension of our work with YCCC to attract and train a highly-skilled manufacturing workforce in the 21st century.”

When it is completed in 2017, YCCC’s new 18,000-square-foot academic building will provide much-needed instructional space that will include eight classrooms, independent and group study areas, and a developmental mathematics and English lab. The Pratt & Whitney Building will also house a 140-seat lecture/performance hall.

Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Company, is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. Its plant in North Berwick, eight miles from the YCCC campus in Wells, is the largest manufacturing facility in Maine under one roof and employs approximately 1,600 individuals.

York County Community College currently enrolls over 1,800 students in its certificate and associate degree programs. It also serves some 1,200 individuals each year through continuing education, career & professional development, and business training programs.

The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges is dedicated to ensuring that the state’s community colleges have the resources they need to provide a high quality, affordable, and accessible college education for Maine people.

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Note: B-roll is available at https://we.tl/YEVw3HNfPi and includes the following:

  • Aerial view of YCCC campus with new building under construction (0:08-0:14)
  • Exterior of Pratt & Whitney’s North Berwick facility (0:15-0:17)
  • New YCCC building under construction (0:18-0:21)
  • Dr. Barbara Finkelstein, YCCC President (0:22-0:28)
  • Interior of YCCC’s instructional site/technology center in Sanford, home to the YCCC precision machining program (0:29-0:40)
  • Mike Papp, Pratt & Whitney Vice President, Manufacturing & Module Center Operations, (0:41-0:51)
  • Aerial view of YCCC campus with new building under construction (0:51-0:55)
  • YCCC’s instructional site/technology center in Sanford, home to the YCCC precision machining program (0:56-1:20)
  • Dr. Finkelstein (1:21-1:29)
  • Interior of YCCC’s instructional site/technology center in Sanford, home to the YCCC precision machining programs (1:30-1:43)
  • Mike Papp (1:44-1:49)
  • YCCC campus with new building under construction (1:50-2:22)
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