Tech College Cuts Ribbon on New Biology Labs

St. CLOUD -- With a reported health sciences job placement rate nearing 100 percent, it's not surprising St. Cloud Technical & Community College is investing in state-of-the-art biology facilities.

The college cut the ribbon on their newly renovated biology labs Monday afternoon.

Melissa Lindsey, SCTCC's Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences, says the new labs strengthen the college's general biology and human physiology classes, part of the curriculum for degrees such as nursing, sonography, paramedicine and health information science.

"These are courses that lay the foundation for our programs," Lindsey says.

Lindsey says the labs include overhead camera systems which allow faculty to perform demonstrations for students and cast them to high-definition monitors throughout the room.

Another is called an anatomage table, or virtual dissection table. With it, Lindsey says, students will be able to perform dissections on a realistic simulation of a human body.

The renovations were made possible by a $500,000 donation from CentraCare, and Lindsey says they had a hand in designing the space and technological features.

"Many of our health science students go to work directly within the CentraCare system," Lindsey says. "So, their involvement helps us prepare these students for those careers."

St. Cloud Technical & Community College offers 11 health sciences and biology transfer programs. They estimate 99 percent of students find work in their fields.