Congressman Crow Delivers $850K for Community College of Aurora’s New Center for STEM, Power Mechanics and Applied Technologies

AURORA — On Monday, Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06) joined President of Community College of Aurora (CCA) Dr. Mordecai Brownlee, CCA Vice President of Academic Success Dr. Bobby Pace, industry partners, educators and students to present $850,000 to construct Community College of Aurora’s new Center for STEM, Power Mechanics and Applied Technologies. Currently under construction and scheduled to be completed by fall of 2025, the space will expand critical programming in high-growth career fields in Colorado to address industry workforce needs and prepare students for a wide range of careers in STEM, construction, clean energy, diesel power mechanics, and other applied technology fields. 

This project is one of 15 community projects Congressman Crow secured funding  through the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations process to directly benefit Colorado’s 6th District residents.

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Rep. Crow with CCA President Dr. Mordecai Brownlee, CCA Vice President of Academic Success Dr. Bobby Pace, CCA Foundation Executive Director John Wolfkill, and APS Superintendent Michael Giles, Jr. 

Photo courtesy of the Office of Congressman Jason Crow

"From clean energy to construction, Colorado is facing workforce shortages in high-demand sectors – a stronger economy depends on growing talent from within our communities and eliminating barriers to their success,” said Congressman Crow. “That’s why I helped secure federal funding for Community College of Aurora’s new Center for STEM, Power Mechanics, and Applied Technologies that prepares young Coloradans up to adult learners with the skills needed to meet the demand and thrive in great-paying careers. I’m grateful to work with CCA and its partners, and look forward to the impact the Center will have over the years.”   

“On behalf of the Community College of Aurora, we thank Congressman Jason Crow for his unwavering trust in our college's capacity to advance social and economic mobility within his district. Together, we strive to foster empowerment and opportunity for all. The Congressman’s belief in our institutional mission fuels our commitment to excellence,” said Dr. Mordecai Brownlee, President of the Community College of Aurora. 

“We are incredibly grateful to Congressman Crow and his continued advocacy for providing access to high quality STEM, Construction, and Diesel Technology education to the residents of Aurora. This investment will ensure our new Center will offer state of the art, industry relevant instruction to prepare our students for immediate workforce and transfer success,” said Dr. Bobby Pace, CCA Vice President of Academic Success. 

“In our district, we believe in the power of potential. We want to equip each and every student with the skills, credentials, and a plan to reach their goals – Community College of Aurora shares this belief,” said APS Superintendent Michael Giles Jr. “I want to thank Dr. Brownlee, Congressman Crow, and all of our amazing partners for helping APS take this big step forward. We hope our community will continue to support us in providing students with a direct pathway towards college and career success and make their dreams come true.” 

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Rendering of The Center for STEM, Power Mechanics and Applied Technologies

Photo courtesy of Community College of Aurora 

In partnership with BuildStrong Academy, Aurora Public Schools’ Construction Technology Early College High School (ConstrucTECH), and industry partners, including Oakwood Homes, Transwest Trucks, Trails & RVs, and Wagner Equipment Co., CCA’s new Center for STEM, Power Mechanics, and Applied Technologies, will provide an innovative learning hub with courses offered in construction, diesel power mechanics, clean energy, and applied engineering, complemented by interactive labs. This facility will modernize and expand Community College of Aurora’s diesel technology training space and offer advanced learning spaces for engineering and technology. 

Specifically, the funding Congressman Crow requested and secured will be used to construct 50,000 Gross Square Feet (GSF) on CCA’s campus that houses:

• CCA’s Construction Management program, BuildStrong Academy of Colorado’s construction boot camp programming, and Aurora Public Schools’ ConstrucTECH initiative for high school students;
• STEM classrooms, training spaces and labs for engineering, science, math, renewables, and computer digital technologies, including an Innovation and Fabrication Lab; and 
• Customized workforce training areas, student collaboration spaces, conference rooms, shared faculty workspaces, and student lounges.

This week’s Community Project Funding builds on Congressman Crow’s work from Congress to bring home meaningful federal investments in quality education, health care, critical social services and more to help Coloradans thrive. Earlier on Monday, Congressman Crow attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Aurora Mental Health & Recovery’s (AMHR) new Acute Behavioral Care Center, following Crow delivering $2 million last year for AMHR to construct new facilities and expand crisis care in Colorado’s 6th District.