Hughesville, MD – There are times in every community’s history after which they can look back and say, “That’s where things turned around.”

The groundbreaking for the College of Southern Maryland’s Regional Hughesville Campus held Tuesday, Oct. 27 may well be one such event.

Southern Maryland leaders have longed for economic development, and with the establishment of Center for Trades and Energy Training, hope to create the work force to fuel that dream.

College of Southern Maryland (CSM) President Dr. Bradley Gottfried said the new college campus will provide opportunities for citizens throughout Southern Maryland to train in fields where future workers will be needed.

Aspects of CSM, such as the fine arts center and athletic fields, will eventually relocate to the new site.

The current Center for Trades and Energy Training in Waldorf is too small at 18,000 square feet, he said.

The new facility will provide 30,000-square-feet of lab space, classrooms and offices.

Health sciences will also be located at the new facility.

The centralized location makes education accessible to citizens in all three Southern Maryland counties, Gottfried pointed out.

“This campus has programs that are highly specialized we cannot afford to replicate in our  other campuses,” Gottfried stated. “We’ve put up many buildings but we’ve never put up an entire campus before.”

“This has been a fulfilling process,” said CSM Board of Trustees Chair Dorothea Smith, calling the centralized campus “the ideal location.”

Dr. Jennie C. Hunter-Cevera, acting secretary for the Maryland Higher Education Commission, called the new center “a bridge to economic development” and “a model to be replicated.

“The College of Southern Maryland has 120 programs of study,” she said. “It’s a vibrant hub of aspiration. You’re right on target. This is what the economy needs.”

Delegate Sally Jameson, a graduate of the former Charles County Community College, said the future work force “More than likely will come from within this college.”

“CSM continues to be a catalyst for partnerships promoting economic growth, continuing education to the personal enhancement for all of our residents,” said Charles County Commissioner President Peter Murphy. “Here we have an opportunity to expand our college’s legacy. This creates a workforce opportunity for all of our residents. They will be educated here, they will be employed here and they will live here.”

Charles County Commissioner Vice President Ken Robinson said there is hope that the new campus will revitalize Hughesville, which initially suffered in the wake of the bypass.

Now the bypass becomes, much like the new campus, a gateway for the future.

“This is a big deal,” he said, quoting United States Vice President Joe Biden.

Gottfried, however, in addition to thanking delegates and state senators and giving county leaders accolades for their help and support in funding the new facility (Maryland will pay 75 percent of the cost, Charles County the other 25 percent), the CSM president said the project might not have happened if not for the Charles County commissioner vice president.

“If it were not for Ken Robinson, we would not be here today,” Gottfried stressed.

Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com