Greenville Technical College’s Center for Manufacturing Innovation Campus was recently named for the college’s second president, Dr. Keith Miller.
Officials with the college say that President Emeritus Keith Miller envisioned an industry-focused center that puts education on display, inviting visitors into the learning process and showcasing the robotics and electronics used in highly skilled jobs.
“As CMI supports the talent requirements of the Upstate’s advanced manufacturing employers while placing its graduates on a path to career success, it will carry the name of the man who saw what could be and then made it happen,” Dr. Larry Miller, president of GTC said. “The college and the community are grateful to Dr. Keith Miller for the vision and drive that created this innovative solution to workforce needs.”
CMI opened its doors in 2016 as a new approach to advanced manufacturing education. The goal of the center is to bring research and education together in one facility, bridging the gap between the training of the technician and that of the engineer through a partnership with Clemson University. Student teams made up of members from both institutions work together to solve real-world manufacturing challenges.
Since 2019, CMI has served as home to the state’s only bachelor’s degree at the two-year college level, a degree in advanced manufacturing. Before this degree was developed, someone with an associate degree in an advanced manufacturing field who wanted to move into management had to start over if they wanted to earn a bachelor’s degree. Now, students can use their two-year degree as a stepping stone to a bachelor’s degree. The bachelor’s degree program has grown tremendously since its inception, almost 2,000% since it was first offered.
Enrollment in the programs offered at CMI has also shown strong growth over the past decade. When the facility opened in 2016, 130 students were taking Mechatronics classes, and 57 students were enrolled in the CNC/Machine Tool program. Since that time, the number of students served has grown by 200%.
“CMI continues to spark progress. In fact, its impact has been greater than I could possibly have imagined at the outset,” Miller said. “I am grateful to the Greenville Technical College Area Commission for their decision to allow this center to bear my name. The 17 years I spent as president of GTC were the highlight of my career, and this recognition puts an exclamation point on that very wonderful sentence.”
