Butler Tech, Miami introduce Advanced Manufacturing Hub
The ribbon-cutting for the new $31 million facility at the former Vora Technology Park campus was hosted nearly a month after students began classes.
Miami University and Butler Tech, the career technical education center in Butler County, introduced their new $31 million Advanced Manufacturing Hub, located at the former Vora Technology Park in Hamilton, to the public nearly a month after students began classes.
The partnership between the two schools began nearly three years ago as a way to grow programs at each, but also connect students with professional opportunities, putting them on a track into higher education or the workforce.
According to Butler Tech Superintendent and CEO, William Sprankles, it took a year to request funding from the Butler County Commissioners, for which they awarded $20 million, and two more years of designing and construction.
Finally, the 375,000-square-foot Hub opened its doors to Butler Tech and Miami students in January following their winter break.
Tiffany Schatzle, 20, is a senior at Miami in electromechanical engineering technology and is pictured on a banner in the atrium of the new Hub advertising the “future of advanced manufacturing.”
Schatzle said she went into her field of study because she wanted to do something hands-on where she could learn “how things work.”
When she returned to class in late January with the rest of Miami, she said she noticed a lot of new equipment and the industry partners which have been introduced at the new location to provide more opportunities for students like her.
“I swear they make new partners every day,” Schatzle said. “It’s incredible, I mean, it’s a great opportunity to be here.”
Miami President Gregory P. Crawford told the Oxford Free Press the new facility is a “full-on integration,” wherein Butler Tech and Miami are cohabitating and sharing equipment, and Butler Tech students are provided pathways to Miami.
For example, Sprankles said engineering students as early as tenth grade will be able to take college-credit courses with Miami at the Hub so they can get a head start on earning an associate or bachelor’s degree from Miami. He said Butler Tech is also hoping to expand this opportunity to ninth-graders.
Sparankles said adults in engineering may enroll in the program at the Hub post-high school if they don’t have a college degree and earn industry-recognized credentials to enter the workforce.
Miami and Butler Tech are also attempting to develop internship and cooperative education programs for students through some of their industry partners, Sprankles said.
Meanwhile, OhioMeansJobs, which facilitates employment opportunities for adults, moved into an office on the first floor of the Hub to help students onboard with local companies.
The ribbon-cutting for the new $31 million facility at the former Vora Technology Park campus was hosted nearly a month after students began classes. Photos by Aidan Cornue.
J.P. Nauseef, president and CEO of JobsOhio, said during the ceremony the state is facing a projected workforce gap of more than 540,000 by the end of 2030 for engineers, technicians, operators and hybrid roles that blend manufacturing and technology.
Crawford said of training and employing students in-state, “This Hub is more than just a building. It is a launch pad for manufacturing dominance in Ohio and to train a future workforce in this high tech and growing area.”
Sprankles said Miami relocated its regional College of Engineering program and most of its advanced manufacturing equipment to the Hub, and Butler Tech brought some of its engineering equipment, as well. But over $1 million worth of equipment from multiple companies was given to the Hub, and both schools received significant grants for new equipment.
Butler Tech was given a $1.4 million grant two years ago for equipment scattered throughout the over 10 labs in the facility, Sprankles said.
Sprankles said the Hub is one of three of Butler Tech’s expansion projects, including its $12.1 million 25,000-square-foot extension of its Bioscience Center in West Chester and the new Aviation Education Hangar at the Middletown Regional Airport.
Each of these projects, he said, allowed the school to take on an additional 200 to 300 students, allowing for around 700 new students altogether.
According to Crawford, the Hub was part of Miami’s larger strategic plan, Miami Thrive, in which it hopes to provide a polytechnic education in Hamilton.
While its Hamilton campus transitions to providing a polytechnic education, Crawford said the Hub is a significant part of providing an education in engineering technology.
“Our ambition is to lead the nation in manufacturing education right here in Butler County and the great state of Ohio,” Crawford said. “In partnership with Butler Tech, we are answering that call together.”
