On February 24, college officials joined community leaders in Wautoma to break ground on a new regional center.

This was no ordinary groundbreaking ceremony. It involved the christening of the new center’s location from the air as well in the form of smoke, and lots of it. The site of the Fox Valley Technical College facility will be housed on the Wautoma High School campus where the school district’s administrative office stood for decades. On Saturday, it came down in an orange blaze by way of a controlled burn as part of the event.

See photo gallery below

The groundbreaking ceremony welcomed about 80 attendees representing local government, the school district, high school, college administration, faculty, and staff, and other advocates of higher education. Following the shovels hitting the dirt to commemorate the site of the new center, a ceremonial burn of the school district building ensued, led by faculty and students of FVTC’s Fire Protection Technician program, along with regional firefighters.

For 40 years, FVTC has held a regional presence in Wautoma in the CAPsell building downtown. The time came when the college needed to adapt to increased demands for educational and training services unique to the region. The new 12,000 square-foot facility will open this fall with expanded program offerings.

These new programs includes truck driving, industrial maintenance, and nursing assistant, in addition to continued offerings in adult basic education, agriculture, welding, business, and personal enrichment. The project characterizes an innovative K-14-like concept between FVTC and Wautoma High School. One of the state’s best dual credit partnerships already exists between the two institutions in welding and metal fabrication.

The facility will also include a new welding bay, industrial maintenance lab, and flexible learning classrooms with added computers. The Wautoma School District office and Workforce Development Job Center will also be housed in the new building.

Learn more about FVTC in Wautoma >>

In the News:

Ceremonial Burn Expands Wautoma School Partnership (Channel 7, Wausau) >>

Fox Valley Tech Celebrates Expansion in Wautoma (Fox 11) >>