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Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development

At the Grand Opening ceremony on May 19, 2006, Holyoke Community College dedicated the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Develop.  Entrepreneur Michael Kittredge '73, founder of Yankee Candle Company, provided a $1 million gift to Holyoke Community College Foundation to launch the construction of this state-of-the-art facility.  The gift is the largest individual contribution in the college's history and the largest alumni gift to a community college in the state.

Kittredge defined his hopes for the center, "Entrepreneurialism is in the soul, but colleges like HCC can release that spirit and teach the skills needed to apply it. This area needs more entrepreneurs, and I hope many of them will come from HCC."

The Kittredge Center for Business and Community at Holyoke Community College will support HCC's fast-growing student body and employers seeking workforce development and business training. The Center includes the following departments:

*HCC's Business Division,

*Business & Community Services Division

*Center for Business & Professional Development.

Workforce and Economic Development Workplace Business Solutions

*Community Services

*Cooperative Education & Career Services

*Massachusetts Export Center (W. Mass. Region)

*World Institute for Strategic Economic Research

Some of the programs and services offered through these Departments include:  Over 43 business major - Associates degree and certificates,  Customized training and business solutions for private as well as not-for-profit companies,  Management and Supervision Training Institute,  Disney Institute for Creativity,   Extended Care Center for Excellence, Leadership Institute,  State of the Art Career Center,  Cooperative Education,  Tech-Prep, MCAS Preparation, Early College High School, Adult Basic Education centers in downtown Holyoke and Ludlow, SABES Training for ABE Educators, ESOL, JUMP-Start, High-Stakes Testing, WISER Customized Export Data, Not-for-credit course offerings for business, personal enrichment, recreation and more.

The Kittredge Center and HCC's Bartley Athletic Center, Campus Center and the Forum Theater offer a number of venue options for you conference or seminar.  Facilities are available all year round and can accommodate functions from 6 to 400.  A number of the Kittredge Center amenities are described below.  For more information on programs, services or facilities, please call Holyoke Community College's Business and Community Services Division at 413-552-2500.

Kittredge Center Overview:

Location:
Adjacent to HCC's Fine and Performing Arts Building (C Building), next to the Campus Center (G Building), and connected to both by indoor walkways

Within walking distance of the businesses that will occupy HCC's professional park, now being developed along with an access road from the campus to Route 202.

Square Footage:
55,000 square feet

Special Features:

• TECHNOLOGY: High-speed and wireless Internet, videoconferencing, and state-of-the-art lighting and projection.
• TRAINING ROOMS: The Center for Business & Professional Development includeS 9 Workforce Development classrooms.
• CONFERENCE CENTER: 4,000 square feet of conference/seminar/meeting rooms for the college community and area businesses.
• HIGH-TECH CLASSROOMS: 10 "Smart" technology computer labs/classrooms for HCC's Business Division.

• HIGH-STAKES TESTING CENTER
• CAREER CENTER: One-stop location for Career Resources.
• GREEN ROOF: A flat or low-pitch roof will be planted with beautiful grasses and other ground covers. This "green" roof—the first on a public building in New England—will benefit the environment and provide research opportunities to environmental studies students.