October 25, 2022
Tallahassee Community College has been selected to join the inaugural cohort of the MakerUSA Learning Network. The MakerUSA Learning Network is a national community of practice designed to facilitate the exchange of resources and ideas, develop new regional collaborations, and strengthen social capital across institutions and organizations taking community-driven approaches to support maker education and pathways to “making” industries. The model highlights best practices for the wider fields of maker education and workforce development innovation, including entrepreneurship.
“TCC is thrilled to be joining this exciting new network,” said Dr. Jim Murdaugh, President of TCC. “We don’t just produce graduates here at the College, we are educating the next generation of business and community leaders, of makers and innovators. We produce talent. The MakerUSA Learning Network will help us further our efforts in creating the best possible learning environment for our students.”
“Making” includes industries ranging from advanced manufacturing and biotechnology to computer science and the skilled trades. Maker education uniquely empowers students to explore and improve their world. It enables students to create by building, prototyping, coding, digitally fabricating, and experimenting, and puts the student at the center of the learning experience. It is interdisciplinary, fusing arts and design with science, technology, engineering, and math.
“We are extremely honored to have been selected as one of just a handful of organizations across the nation to join this MakerUSA Learning Network inaugural group,” said Dr. Kimberly A. Moore, Vice President for Workforce Innovation at TCC. “It goes without saying that TCC is committed to being a leader in our state and nation when it comes to education and workforce innovation.”
The full list of institutions selected for the inaugural cohort can be found here.
About MakerUSA
MakerUSA’s mission is to partner with the communities that have been most marginalized by unequal access and opportunity and support their goals to leverage maker education to drive community-led innovation and maker career pathways. MakerUSA is a new organization (founded in 2021) that is incubated within the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE). MakerUSA is made possible by the generous support of founding sponsors Arconic Foundation and Genentech.