Almost 80 people recently gathered to celebrate the official opening of the new Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Wing at Delaware County Community College’s Downingtown Campus.

“By offering affordable, quality STEM education closer to home, more people will be encouraged to pursue these professional paths, which are essential to keeping Pennsylvania and the country competitive in the world,” said State Rep. Becky Corbin, one of the speakers at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The 16,000-square-foot STEM Wing addition to the existing Downingtown Campus includes state-of-the-art biology, chemistry, and earth and space science laboratories, as well as eight new classrooms and newly renovated computer and physics labs located in the existing 46,000-square-foot main building.

“Through this $9.6 million investment, Delaware County Community College is demonstrating its commitment to Chester County,” said President Dr. L. Joy Gates Black.

Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Kevin Scott noted that, of the college’s eight locations, five are in Chester County, including the college’s Downingtown and Brandywine campuses in Downingtown, the Exton Center, the Phoenixville Campus, and the Pennocks Bridge Campus in West Grove.

“Thanks to the expert instruction of our full- and part-time faculty, the new Downingtown STEM Wing will offer a full complement of courses in biology, chemistry, and mathematics, as well as introductory astronomy, physics, geology, and engineering,” said Monica Parrish Trent, provost and vice president of Academic and Student Affairs. “Our expanded course offerings will permit students who earn associate degrees and certificates in STEM disciplines to seamlessly transfer, enter into the workforce, or advance their careers.”

Corbin, who majored in chemistry in college and was a chemist before becoming a state representative, said that today is a much more opportune time for women to pursue STEM careers than when she studied to be a chemist in the 1970s.

“Science and math were thought of as male subjects,” she said. “I really did not have many female role models to look to for inspiration,” she said. “Congratulations to the college on this monumental step in encouraging STEM education for our young people.”

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