
Gateway Opens Cutting Edge Instructional Center As Part of Urban Metro Campus Expansion
Cool computer labs. Collaborative classrooms. Open and airy student study nooks and
lounges. Its the demise of the old sit and get lectures and the birth of a 21st century
instructional facility.
It is the newly opened Center for Technology, Innovation and Enterprise at Gateway
Community & Technical Colleges Urban Metro Campus in Covington. Gateway will put the
four floors of the active learning center on display today at 4 p.m. with a high-tech
ribbon-cutting and grand opening.
The grand opening is the culmination of years of planning and teamwork by a dedicated
group of community leaders, faculty, staff, students and Gateway supporters, all of
whom worked tirelessly to transform a vision into a reality, said Ed Hughes, Gateway
president/CEO.
Today, we dedicate this building to the future future students, future business and
community leaders who will prepare here, and the vibrant economic future they in turn
will build, Hughes added.
Lee Flischel, chair of the Gateway Foundation which owns the facility, said, This
afternoon marks the most exciting 60 minutes in Covington in recent memory. Its not
often that the city celebrates the opening of a new college classroom building on
one corner a mere half-hour after breaking ground for another Gateway facility less
than a block away. Covington's renaissance took a giant step forward today, and the
Gateway Foundation is proud to play a pivotal role in the process.
Earlier in the afternoon, Foundation, college and local officials broke ground for
the renovation Center for Professional Services at 440 Scott Boulevard. The building
will re-open next spring and house the colleges cosmetology and massage therapy training
programs.
Today's dedication ceremony for the Center for Technology, Innovation and Enterprise
at 516 Madison highlighted the facility's high-tech aura as dignitaries navigated
tablet computers to perform a virtual ribbon-cutting. The building houses Gateway's
computer and information technologies, instructional design and learning technology,
and visual communication programs, as well as programs in business administration
systems, criminal justice, education, and interdisciplinary early childhood education.
The facility's active learning environments are specifically designed to enhance
student success and are a key part of Gateway's Flexible Learning and Exploration
space (FLEXspace) project, which garnered a $3.6 million, four-year First in the World
program grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Brain science indicates learning spaces should be designed to support the ways the
brain works, Hughes said. Evidence also suggests that environments impact behavior
and are often barriers to behavioral change. In the Center for Technology, Innovation
and Enterprise, we are partnering with Steelcase Education Solutions to implement
Steelcase's active learning ecosystem.
The active learning ecosystem emphasizes a multi-sensory approach to teaching and
learning that has been shown to increase engagement, promote deeper participation
and maximize student achievement.
The 21st century classroom must nurture collaboration and hands-on learning, Hughes
said, and this facility is specifically designed to achieve that. He added that the
FLEXspace grant will enable the college to transform classrooms at the Boone and Edgewood
campuses into similar active learning environments.
The Gateway Foundation purchased the space at 516 Madison in November 2012. Renovation
began in July 2013, and the Center for Technology, Innovation and Enterprise opened
for instruction in August 2014. Century Construction served as general contractor
to implement plans designed by EOP Architects. Many Covingtonians remember the site
as the former Marx Furniture Store.
Since 2002, Gateway has been working with a broad coalition of community organizations,
entities, and business, government and community leaders to develop a comprehensive
Urban Metro Campus with these goals:
To provide easy access to higher education for residents of Northern Kentucky's urban
communities;
To serve as a catalyst for economic development; and
To provide a new source of talent for the regions employers.
The center dedicated today is the second building in Gateway's Urban Metro Campus
plan. The first, the former Two Rivers Middle School, was leased in 2009, acquired
in 2010 and has been serving students since 2009.