HCC Center for Life Sciences Hosting Grand Opening, Ribbon Cutting

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College is hosting a grand-opening celebration and ribbon cutting for the 13,000-square-foot, $4.55 million Center for Life Sciences today, Oct. 24.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and state Secretary of Education James Peyser will be the featured speakers at the event, which runs from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the Center for Life Sciences, located on the lower level of HCC’s Marieb Building.

The facility features a suite of biotechnology labs and classrooms and what is believed to be the only ISO-certified cleanroom at any Massachusetts community college and one of very few at any college or university in Western Mass.

“These state-of-the-art facilities and new equipment will allow us to train our students in laboratory settings similar to what they will experience in industry, making them more competitive for the biotech job market,” said HCC Professor Emily Rabinsky, Biotechnology program coordinator.

The celebration will include tours of the facility, lab demonstrations by HCC faculty and their students, refreshments, and a ceremonial ribbon cutting at about 10:45 a.m. Among the others expected to attend are state Sen. Donald Humason; state Reps. Aaron Vega, Brian Ashe, and Angelo Puppolo; as well as officials from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, which awarded HCC a $3.8 million grant for the project.