Ivy Tech Community College’s South Bend-Elkhart campus hosted the grand opening of the Larry and Judy Garatoni Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Automation with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Ivy Tech completed the construction of the center last fall but delayed the ribbon cutting ceremony due to COVID-19.
Community members, business leaders and students gathered to hear remarks from various leaders in the Ivy Tech community, including Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann, Ivy Tech South Bend-Elkhart Interim Chancellor Andy Williams and Ivy Tech Community College Trustee Larry Garatoni.
The Larry & Judy Garatoni Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Automation is the newest addition to the Ivy Tech Community College’s Elkhart County location. The center will allow Ivy Tech to offer training to local manufacturers and those seeking a career in advanced manufacturing with the following pathways: Mechatronics, Automation/Robotics, Industrial Maintenance, CAD Design, and Engineering.
“This building was designed to meet the local demand for training in automation and robotics,” said Dr. Ellspermann. “We heard what local businesses needed, and we knew this was what Ivy Tech was created to do: help meet the demands of employers for a trained workforce.”
The space will also allow Ivy Tech to evolve over the coming years to keep pace with changing technologies, particularly as Industry 4.0 and Internet of Things expands nationally, regionally, and locally.
This new training facility was made possible through the support of several entities and individuals including the Elkhart County Council, the Elkhart County Redevelopment Commission, the Elkhart County Commissioners, the Labs for Industry Futures and Transformation (LIFT) Network, Larry and Judy Garatoni, the Lung family, and the many friends of Ivy Tech South Bend-Elkhart.
