National Publishing Innovation Center Dedicated

MONTGOMERY, W.Va. _ With the simultaneous snip of multiple scissors, the long-awaited National Publishing Innovation Center was dedicated here Friday by community, state and industry leaders.

The $4 million center, a joint project of the Community and Technical College at West Virginia University Institute of Technology and West Virginia University Institute of Technology, will serve the industry in education, training and research and serve the community in economic development.

"We saw here an opportunity to do three things for our business," said Sharon Hite, chair of the Newspaper Operations Advisory Committee and president and CEO of Media Procurement Services Inc., a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based E.W. Scripps Co. "We needed to find a way to attract bright new graduates to our industry. We needed to send our employees somewhere so they can take the next step in their career, and we needed the opportunity for research collaboration with our suppliers.

"We now have a place where we know the best and the brightest will be," she said.

James Skidmore, chancellor of the West Virginia Community and Technical College System lauded the Printing Department, which operates the center, as a "bright star" among community and technical colleges in the state. He said he often cites the school as an example of collaboration with industry. He further challenged the department to continue to grow in its use of simulation to help in workforce development and training.

The center, housed at the Upper Kanawha Valley Technology Community Building on Third Street in Montgomery, "is an economic boost for our region," said Beverly Jo Harris, president of the CTC @ WVU Tech. "It will make a difference in revitalizing our community."

Mayor James Higgins agreed, saying, "This center means a lot to Montgomery and means a lot to the citizens."

The PIC is a nine-year dream of Jack Nuckols, chair of the printing department, and was made possible through grants and gifts from industry and government.

WVU Tech President Charles Bayless praised Nuckols for his dream, and his efforts to make the center a reality. "This shows want can be done by one person," he said.

The PIC will house the Press Operation Computer Simulation Lab, sponsored by the Gannett Foundation; the Ink Testing and Research Lab, sponsored by Flint Ink; the Scripps Howard Distance Learning Auditorium; and the Randall Family Trust Newspaper Web Press Training Laboratory.

Other donors who have contributed to the more than $1 million already raised include the Dow Jones Foundation. The center has also received state and federal grants as well as awards from the Benedum Foundation.

Students in both the two-year and four-year printing programs will use from the center, as will the many training programs which draw students from around the world to Montgomery for continuing education. The center is has the latest technology available to conduct distance learning programs.

--WVU Tech/CTC@WVU Tech

Contact:
Kathleen Dubois
304.444.9505