On September 29, Rattler Nation reported that FAMU had received a $1,477,722 stimulus grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to establish a Center for Public Computing and Workforce Development. One week later, FAMU held a press conference to share further details about the project.FAMU will set up the computer center in the M.S. Thomas Industrial Arts Lab across from the Wahnish Way parking garage. The money will help FAMU renovate the facility. Right now, the facility only has one classroom that is operational.
“There's no internet in here, there's- the infrastructure is intact but it needs some work. And this broadband grant is going to rehaul the building, which is a win-win situation for the university,” FAMU professor David White told WCTV-6. White teaches a technology class in the building.
The facility was constructed during the 1920s as a laundry building. It was named after the late professor M.S. Thomas in 1987. Before it fell into a state of disrepair, it held a photography lab and darkroom, industrial arts lab, graphic arts shop, offices, and classrooms.
The new public computer center housed in M.S. Thomas will serve Leon, Gadsden, and Jefferson Counties for three years. This three-county region has poverty and unemployment rates well above the state and national averages. Many residents lack the 21st century skills necessary for industry certifications and job preparation.
The new Center for Public Computing and Workforce Development will have 65 workstations and will train as many as 14,500 residents with approximately 87,000 hours of teacher-led training annually. The project’s training and broadband programs will include specific disciplines important to North Florida. These include: public administration, education services, healthcare, social assistance, agriculture, forestry, and fishing and hunting.
Vice-President for Enterprise Information Technology Robert Seniors is the principle investigator for the project. The co-principle investigator is Dawn Holley-Dennis, associate professor and chair of the Department of Workforce Education and Development in the FAMU College of Education.