Lone Star College System Breaks Ground on First Center of Excellence

HUMBLE, TX -- Officials with the Lone Star College System and Generation Park broke ground on the college district’s Process Technology Training Center

The Process Technology Center, which is one of several Center of Excellence training centers planned throughout the college district, will be 40,200 square feet facility complete with an instructional classroom, computer labs, a simulation lab, corporate computer classroom space for industry, as well an instrumentation lab and cutaway lab specific for process technology.

In addition, the program will be supported by a fully functional pilot plant that will provide the students with the hands-on experience required to be successful in industry.

The facility, will be part of the Lone Star College-Kingwood campus, and be located on the Generation Park campus in Humble.

Generation Park is a 4,000 acres master-planned mixed-use development that combines office, residential, retail, industrial and higher education together in one place, delivering an unparalleled quality of life.

“I have learned a lot about what the Lone Star College system does and 100 percent agree with the role that you play in a very dynamic landscape,” said Ryan McCord, president of McCord Development and Generation Park. “I feel the community college systems are on the front lines dealing with the tens of thousands of high school graduates each year who are trying to figure out what comes next. I am so pleased and thrilled to have a process technology center in Generation Park to answer that question.”

The goal of the Process Technology Center will be to prepare students for a career in petrochemical plants and refineries as process technicians and operators, research technicians, or laboratory technicians.

“We remain committed in our mission of providing optimal workforce and academic programs to the thousands of students we serve every year,” said David Baty, vice president of instruction of instruction at LSC-Kingwood. “We take our role as educators very seriously and we want to provide numerous pathways for students to earn first or second-level degrees in whatever programs they seek.”

This new Center of Excellence is one of several planned throughout the Lone Star College System that will be constructed by 2018, and help provide workforce development throughout the Greater Houston Area.

The Lone Star College System also plans to construct and Oil and Gas Training Center near the LSC-Tomball campus, and an IT Training Center near LSC-CyFair.

“As I’ve said before, as our student population increases, so does the need for new facilities,” said Dr. Stephen Head, Chancellor of Lone Star College. “I’m proud to state that Lone Star College is committed to student success and providing the highest quality education with outstanding academic facilities, advanced equipment and world-class faculty and staff.”

Image: Lone Star College System