Tech college moves to Everett

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, November 3, 2005

Everett has a new college.

It may not be the four-year university that government leaders would like to see come to Snohomish County, but ITT Technical Institute has moved its Bothell campus and nearly 300 students to Everett near the Boeing plant.

The move was announced on Thursday.

The college’s new location in an office building at 1615 75th St. SW puts it close to Boeing and the Fluke Corp.’s plastics division, said Shelly Lisoskie, dean of academic affairs. The college works with those companies and others to find jobs for graduates, she said.

“We’re a lot closer to the clients we work with as business partners, and a lot more visible as well,” Lisoskie said.

The college’s former location in an industrial park in Bothell was more obscure, she said.

The college is part of a national chain of 80 campuses that average about 200 students each, Lisoskie said. It offers bachelor degrees in data communication, systems technology, information systems security, electronics and communications engineering technology.

It also offers associate degrees in computer and electronics engineering technology, and information technology.

Snohomish and Skagit counties have a growing need for education in technical fields, college officials said.

“We believe that the area’s expanding high-technology industrial base and increasing need for educated, skilled workers should serve our graduates well as they begin their careers,” college director Dean Kempter said in a statement.

The college is sharing a building with the Everett branch of Agilent Technologies, which makes products and provides services in electronics, communications, sciences and chemical analysis.

ITT moved its campus the week of Oct. 11, and the move went smoothly, Lisoskie said.

“We did not have a break in classes at all,” she said.

Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.