Delaware Tech Partners with Four Community Colleges to Form National Energy Center

DELAWARE — Delaware Technical Community College is partnering with four community colleges across the country to form the CREATE National Energy Center thanks to a $7.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Madison Area Technical College in Wisconsin is the lead college on the grant and will work with Delaware Tech, Central Carolina Community College in North Carolina, and Indian River State College in Florida to establish the Center. NSF expects it to become “the preeminent source of faculty professional development and instructional materials for energy educators.”

“The U.S. is in the midst of a once-in-a-century transformation of our energy infrastructure,” said Ken Walz, director of the CREATE Energy Center. “CREATE Energy Center colleges are national educational leaders, providing a skilled technical workforce to implement this paradigm change. Delaware Technical Community College has been a champion of both solar photovoltaic and energy management technology and is leading efforts to help more people launch careers in this fast-growing field.”

The CREATE Energy Center’s goal is to expand the country’s advance energy technology workforce through supporting community college faculty and energy technology programs, offering a venue for more than 900 national STEM educators to network and share innovations. Delaware Tech’s role in that effort is primarily focused on faculty professional development, mainly targeting high school teachers in the state, said Dr. Jennifer Clemons, who will lead this work as department chair for energy technologies at the College’s Terry Campus in Dover.

Read the full article, Delaware Tech Partners with Four Community Colleges to Form National Energy Center, at Delaware Tech Community College.