Learn More About MCCC At Fall Open Houses

Blue Bell/Pottstown/Lansdale, PA—Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) will hold three open houses this fall to provide prospective students and their families with information about the College’s programs, campuses and activities. To register, visithttp://www.mc3.edu/fallopenhouse or call 215-628-2969 for Central Campus, 610-427-4984 for West Campus or 267-646-5970 for The Culinary Arts Institute.

The College’s Central Campus, located at 340 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell, will host an open house on Saturday, Oct. 22, from 9 to 11 a.m.

The College’s West Campus, located at 101 College Drive in Pottstown, will host an open house on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 9 to 11 a.m.

The Culinary Arts Institute of Montgomery County Community College, located at 1400 Forty Foot Road in Lansdale, will host an open house on Saturday, Nov. 12, from 10 a.m.-noon.

Both the Central and West Campus open houses will provide information about the College’s 100+ associate degree and certificate programs, as well as information about the admissions process, paying for college, academic support, transfer opportunities, the Virtual Campus, the University Center, intercollegiate athletics and student organizations and clubs, among other topics. Tours will be given and alumni will be on hand to speak with students and families.

At The Culinary Arts Institute’s open house in the Towamencin Town Square complex, attendees will have the opportunity to tour the kitchens and classrooms while learning about Culinary Arts, Baking and Pastry Arts and Hospitality associate degree programs, as well as Culinary Enthusiast classes and other non-credit offerings. Representatives will be on hand to answer questions about the admissions process, financial aid, scholarships, and the transfer partnership with Johnson & Wales University, among other topics.

To learn more about all that Montgomery County Community College has to offer, visit http://www.mc3.edu.

Pa. Labor & Industry Secretary Visits Montgomery County Community College, Learns About Job Opportunities Created Through Education

PHOTO: Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Secretary Kathy Manderino (center) is pictured with Montgomery County Community College Biotechnology students (left) during her visit to the institution’s Central Campus in Blue Bell on Aug. 17. Also pictured from MCCC are Assistant Professor of Biotechnology Dr. Margaret Bryans and Interim President Dr. James Linksz, along with Dr. Karin Abarca Heidemann (far right), director of research and development at Rockland Immunochemical, Inc., which is one of the College’s industry partners.

Blue Bell/Lansdale, Pa.— Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Secretary Kathy Manderino met with students and faculty at Montgomery County Community College’s (MCCC) Central Campus in Blue Bell and Culinary Arts Institute (CAI) in Lansdale on Aug. 17 as part of Governor Tom Wolf’s “Jobs That Pay” tour.

At the Central Campus, Secretary Manderino toured MCCC’s Biotechnology, Dental Hygiene and Nursing laboratories to learn about how the state’s investment in those programs and students benefits workforce and economic development in the Commonwealth. At the CAI, she met with students and faculty chefs before engaging in a round table discussion with MCCC leaders.

“The associate’s degree is a valuable credential for community college graduates in Pennsylvania. In fact, most of our students in career-track programs like Dental Hygiene, Biotechnology and Culinary Arts have jobs lined up before they graduate,” explained Dr. James Linksz, interim president, MCCC. “Our graduates also provide much-needed human resources to the region. According to a recent graduate survey, 68 percent of alumni are employed in Montgomery County and 97 percent are employed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

During her visit to MCCC, Secretary Manderino had the opportunity to talk with some of the college’s industry partners who benefit from student interns and graduates. For example, while touring the Biotechnology lab, she met Dr. Karin Abarca Heidemann, director of research and development from Rockland Immunochemical, Inc. in Limerick, Pa., which employs three recent MCCC graduates and offers internship opportunities to current students.

She also met Dr. Mark Schafer, president and COO of PhotoSonix Medical, Inc., a start-up company that rents a workstation in MCCC’s Biotech lab and provides the program’s students with valuable internship experience.

“Biopharmaceuticals is the fastest growing segment of the pharmaceutical industry, and there is a growing need for trained technicians to manufacture these drugs, especially as generic versions start to be produced,” explained Dr. Margaret Bryans, assistant professor of Biotechnology at MCCC. “In addition to the four major pharmaceutical companies in Southeastern Pennsylvania, there are more than 100 small biotechnology companies in the Greater Philadelphia Region, offering exceptional career opportunities to our graduates.”

MCCC offers a two-year Associate in Applied Science degree in Biotechnology, as well as a 16-credit Certificate of Completion, designed to provide hands-on, industry-relevant training to students who already hold associate’s or bachelor’s degrees and who wish to retrain for careers in the biotech field.

Before arriving at MCCC for the day, Secretary Manderino and her team toured VideoRay, a Pottstown-based manufacturer of underwater remotely operated vehicles, which is another of the College’s key industry partners.

MCCC Needs Your Vote In National Sustainability Contest

Lansdale, PA — Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) is a finalist for Second Nature’s 2014 Climate Leadership Award and needs the community’s help!

While the award itself is based on a formal application and supporting data, Second Nature is  hosting a supplemental popular vote video contest, for which MCCC is one of 15 contestants nationally, and is the only one from Pennsylvania. Individuals can vote daily (one vote daily per IP address) through April 15. Winning videos will receive national media play throughout the year.

To view and vote for MCCC’s video, visit http://www.planetforward.org/idea/cooking-green-cuisine.

MCCC’s video, “Cooking Green Cuisine,” focuses on the Landfill-Free initiative at its new Culinary Arts Institute in Lansdale. The Culinary Arts Institute partners with Sustainable Waste Solutions (SWS), of Souderton, to convert all waste—trash, recycling and food trimmings—into energy or materials.

To learn more about this, and other green initiatives at the College, visit http://www.mc3green.wordpress.com.

MCCC Culinary Students Learn Revolutionary Era Baking For Presidents’ Day Event

Valley Forge, Pa.— Pastry Arts students from the Culinary Arts Institute (CAI) at Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) got an historical lesson in baking as they partnered with Valley Forge National Historical Park to celebrate the 282nd birthday of first U.S. President George Washington on Feb. 17.

The CAI was tapped to recreate Martha Washington’s cake recipe, which 25 students, under the guidance of adjunct instructor and Chef Julia Quay, used to create one large birthday cake and 500 patriotically-decorated cupcakes for hundreds of children and families in attendance.

The Park’s annual Presidents’ Day celebration also included arts and crafts, singing, dancing and a formal cake-cutting ceremony by General Washington himself.

The creation of Washington’s birthday cake is one of MCCC’s “50 Acts of Kindness” as part of the College’s 50th anniversary celebration. Throughout 2014, MCCC students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters are committed organizing 50 acts of community service – one for every year of the College’s existence. To learn more at the College’s 50th anniversary activities, visit mc3.edu/50.

To learn more about the Culinary Arts Institute at Montgomery County Community College, visit mc3.edu/culinary, or stop by the CAI’s spring open house, 1400 Forty Foot Road, Lansdale, on April 26 from 10 a.m.-noon.

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 PHOTO: General George Washington prepares to cut his birthday cake, which was prepared by students from the Culinary Arts Institute at Montgomery County Community College. He is joined by CAI student and faculty representatives, as well as by his wife, Martha, on Feb. 17 at Valley Forge National Historical Park. Photo by Sandi Yanisko