By Eric J. Greene
Chief Communications Officer
Excitement is afoot at Kellogg Community College, where we are relentlessly pursuing opportunities for our Bruins and enhancements for our community.
This fall, new and returning students will enjoy several new degree and program options as well as newly renovated facilities, all of which give KCC students advantages as they learn, study and prepare to transfer to a university or enter their chosen careers.
Here are just a few highlights of what’s new at KCC:
KCC and Michigan State University have expanded a joint agricultural program to offer students a brand new KCC associate degree and two certificates from MSU. The institutions’ new Agricultural Science Program includes options for students to earn their Associate in Agricultural Science degree at KCC and either an Agricultural Operations Certificate or a Food Processing, Technology and Safety Certificate from MSU at the same time, with all coursework completed entirely at KCC. (The Food Processing, Technology and Safety Program is pending final approval by the Higher Learning Commission.)
Also starting this fall, KCC students can choose from five associate degrees that can be completed almost entirely online. New online degree programs include:
- Associate in Arts
- Associate in Applied Science in Accounting
- Associate in Applied Science in Administrative Assistant
- Associate in Applied Science in Business Management
- Associate in Applied Science in Early Childhood Education
Students in each program will have the opportunity to complete all coursework online for the duration of the program, with the exception of the fieldwork requirements that are part of the ECE Program.
Students and visitors who walk into KCC’s Regional Manufacturing Technology Center, 405 Hill Brady Road, will surely be pleased with the major renovation completed there this summer. The RMTC is a 48,400-square-foot facility where KCC provides hands-on training in the areas of robotics, mechatronics, heating, cooling, machining, pipefitting, welding, renewable energy and other trades. KCC opened the RMTC in 1990, then expanded it in 1992, 1999 and 2015 before completing a major renovation this year.
The renovation finished in June was a $4.3 million upgrade designed to prolong the life of the facility. It included a reconfiguration of classrooms and offices to serve local employers, dedicated space for Michigan Works! personnel, replacement of the building’s heating and cooling system, replacement of electrical infrastructure, expansion of instructional space and repaving of drives and parking lots. Funding for the renovation included $2.15 million from the State of Michigan, $1.07 million from the Battle Creek Tax Increment Finance Authority, $250,000 from the W.K Kellogg Foundation and $830,000 from KCC’s voter-approved capital millage.
Meanwhile, as our Bruins become acclimated to all that is new at KCC, our Board of Trustees will continue the momentous work of selecting a new KCC president to succeed President Mark O’Connell, who announced this spring that he plans to retire as of Dec. 31, 2019, after 29 years of service at the College. At KCC, the president is the institution’s top administrative employee and reports directly to the Board. The next president will be the College’s sixth in its 63-year history.
Follow along with the Board’s presidential search on our KCC Presidential Transition web page.
As you can see, KCC is a college that never sleeps. We are always working and always refining for the benefit of our students and partners. This is precisely why we hope that when people in Barry, Branch and Calhoun counties make the decision to attend college, they make it KCC.
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the August 2019 “Back to School” edition of Scene Magazine. Click here to read the issue online.