Montco Community College Gets $3M Gift For New Workforce Center

BLUE BELL, PA — The largest gift in the history of Montgomery County Community College was announced on Monday, and is being hailed as a boon for the region's economic development.

The $3 million donation from an area CEO will create a new workforce development center to support regional businesses and growth and training opportunities for employees.

“The Baker Center of Excellence will be a driving force in business transformation and will help boost the economic recovery in Montgomery County and across the region, as it benefits and strengthens our area’s workforce,” the college's president, Victoria L. Bastecki-Perez, said Monday.

The donation comes from Kenneth D. Baker, a longtime supporter of the college, guest lecturer, and member of the college's Foundation Board of Directors. He's also the CEO of a Southampton-based plastic tubing manufacturer, NewAge Industries. Baker's business offers employee stock ownership plans — partnerships which allow employees to become part owners and potentially give them greater agency — and he's hopeful the new center will help facilitate similar models elsewhere. It was described as his "legacy and passion."

“ESOPs are advantageous for both employees, who gain ownership in the business, and employers, who will be able to attract and retain talented employees, develop a succession plan and see tax benefits as well,” Baker said.

The new Baker Center will feature an open resource library, including a wide variety of educational resources for employees, businesses, and other universities.

In addition to courses teaching essential workforce skills and business leadership, the Center will also offer certificate programs, workshops, and events promoting employee stock ownership plans, which the school says can be leveraged as a "mechanism of upward mobility, equity, and inclusion."