News at 4Cs

Cape Cod Community College Officially Opens 37,000 Square Foot Science and Engineering Center

On Thursday, September 29, Cape Cod Community College formally opened the new Frank and Maureen Wilkens Science and Engineering Center on their West Barnstable campus. The building, which has been in various stages of development for more than ten years, has been in construction for the past two years in the heart of the College’s main campus in West Barnstable. The 2-story, 37,000 square foot building joins Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math in one highly visible hub, and immediately becomes a flagship hub for STEM education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Surrounded by more than 100 faculty, staff, students, Trustees, donors, business partners, legislators, community members, and representatives from the building’s construction teams, 4Cs President John Cox presided over the ribbon cutting ceremony and reflected on the long journey that led to the building’s completion.

“Nearly a decade ago, having understood the background of this Center’s need through the work of my predecessor, President Kathy Schatzberg, and our shared introduction meeting with Mrs. Maureen Wilkens, I never truly envisioned the timeline that lied ahead,” Cox said. “This is truly a labor of love from across our community. We especially recognize the vision and transformational generosity of Mrs. Wilkens and their family commitment to this institution. It has fundamentally changed our ability to better serve our community.”

The project got off the ground in July 2018 following the allocation of $25 million to the College via a bond bill from Governor Charlie Baker. With a total price tag of $38 million, the College put $3 million towards the cost. Another $5 million was donated by Mrs. Wilkens, a longtime benefactor of the institution and one of the most significant individual donors in the history of American community colleges with gifts totaling more than $11 million to Cape Cod Community College. The College’s Educational Foundation has run a Capital Campaign to raise the remaining funds.

Joining President Cox in acknowledging the historic moment in the College’s history was Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito, who spoke to the need for modern technology and learning spaces to align with the future workforce needs of Massachusetts. Carol Gladstone, Commissioner of the Commonwealth’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), also took to the podium praising the new center as one of her personal favorite projects thanks to it’s seamless integration into the campuses landscape and efficient and creative usage of space. Kathy McNamara, Chief Executive Officer for the Cape Cod Community College Foundation, recognized Mrs. Wilkens and her four sons in attendance with a framed photo of the Center.

The building itself is designed to be LEED certified and was sustainably constructed to preserve energy. Inside students are already making use of new, state-of-the-art labs in Engineering, Anatomy and Physiology, Biology, and more. A highlight is the inclusion of the “Toilet of the Future,” the first of its kind in Massachusetts higher education. The toilet is a product of work conducted by the Gates Foundation, and operates with no sewer lines, conserving water and energy. The project, led by President Cox, partnered with Clement Cid from the California Institute of Technology to implement the system on the ground floor of the building, marking the first commercial use of Cid’s award-winning design.

With the Frank and Maureen Wilkens Science and Engineering Center complete and open for classes, the College has also set its sights on expanding STEM offerings that take advantage of the expanded and upgraded technology. Earlier this month the College received approval for the launch of a new Associates Degree in Applied Economics of Coastal and Ocean Environments – dubbed the “Blue Economy Degree” – which is now accepting students for a Fall 2023 start. The College has also launched a new Biotechnology Certificate program.