ANDERSON — Following his initial visit to Purdue Polytechnic Anderson, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said similar facilities are needed throughout the state.
Holcomb visited the facility on Scatterfield Road on Monday, meeting with Anderson Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr., Elwood Mayor Todd Jones and Corey Sharp, director of Purdue Polytechnic.
“It surpassed my expectations, but I’m not surprised,” Holcomb said. “I heard a lot about the magic that happens here.
“What I want to do is make sure it’s not a secret just for this region but that we’re able to spread the word and scale this up all across the state of Indiana,” he said. “This is a special facility that has brought in local government, state investment, the community, business, and all that together is a recipe for success.”
Holcomb said Purdue Polytechnic is transforming lives and when you understand that you can connect each person with their potential.
“Give them the skills and then hope turns into reality and good things happen,” he said. “This makes stronger communities and that’s what we’re all about.”
Holcomb said although the Purdue Polytechnic facility might have had skeptics, you don’t bet against Anderson and Indiana.
“We’re in a partnership for the long haul for the whole journey,” he said. “It’s important you have the right process and, having a facility like this, it sends the word out that we mean business.”
Holcomb said Indiana has the process in place and currently his administration is evaluating all the programs.
“If something is working here and you need more of it,” he said, “we want to make sure the dollars and resources are getting here and not in another area that is dormant.”
The governor will be traveling to Washington, D.C., later this month to strengthen the partnership with the federal government.
“We want to make sure the Department of Labor knows if we have more authority, more flexibility, we can get those funds directed into places that are working right now,” he said. “We have a proven process in place that we want to highlight to show the data is driving the decisions we’re making.”
Sharp said the idea behind the Purdue Polytechnic facility in Anderson is to help Indiana go to the next level when it comes to economic development.
“All the surrounding communities are big supporters of what we’re doing,” he said. “This is a state-of-the-art facility.”
One of the goals, Sharp said, is for students to understand the theory and application of what they are learning and apply it to the workplace.
“We’re offering a number of degrees to meet industry needs,” he said. “We’re having a regional impact for an area 30 miles around Anderson.”
Sharp said 50 companies are actively engaged at Purdue Polytechnic and 93 percent of the students are finding jobs.
“This is a gem for the area and with our message we will continue to grow,” he said.