Washington, D.C. - Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) today announced that he has secured $500,000 for a Bioscience Education Center at the Germantown campus of Montgomery College. The funding was included in the FY 2006 Energy and Water Development Bill (H.R.2419).
“This Bioscience Education Center will help boost our region’s reputation as an epicenter for biotechnology and serve as an important magnet to bring more bio-tech companies to our region,” said Congressman Van Hollen. “This Center will help provide our next generation of researchers and scientists with a world-class education. In this era of global competition, we must remain at the cutting edge of discovery and innovation. The Bioscience Education Center is vital to that endeavor.”
The Bioscience Education Center is part of a collaboration between the State of Maryland, Montgomery County, and Montgomery College called the Germantown Biotechnology Project. The Bioscience Education Center will be the College's new academic center. The 127,000 square foot facility will feature state-of-the art laboratories and facilities that will house a unique and innovative education program – the Bioscience Education and Training Continuum – to provide bioscience education opportunities from middle school through post-doctoral work.
Through a partnership with the University of Maryland College Park (UMCP), the Education Center will bring upper division courses to the Germantown Campus and offer a UMCP baccalaureate degree in biotechnology. At the same time, there will be a partnership with the Montgomery County Public Schools to provide for middle school teacher education and to allow young people interested in the biosciences an opportunity to pursue this educational track through high school biotechnology academies and summer camps.