The president of Ranken Technical College says their new multi-million dollar campus in fast-growing Ashland will be industry-driven. Ranken president Don Pohl spoke at Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony:
“You know I mentioned those three components: technological education, general education and work ethic. How we determine what to teach is all about industry. We do what industry wants. If we’re not meeting the needs of industry, then we’re not performing our mission,” Pohl says.
Audio is courtesy of 939 the Eagle’s Stephanie Bell. The new facility is a workforce development center and will focus on construction, IT, nursing and manufacturing. Ranken also plans to incorporate life skills into its curriculum. Mr. Pohl says Ranken could expand their programs in Ashland:
“As you walk through here and look at some of the programming that we’re doing right now, just because we’re not doing it doesn’t mean we won’t do it. It just means we haven’t been asked to do it yet, right. So we’re anxious to talk to industry, to find out exactly what the needs are,” says Pohl.
Mr. Pohl has said several times that Ranken didn’t choose Ashland, and that Ashland chose Ranken.