Tri-C looking to develop relationships with Medina County community leaders to expand opportunities at its Brunswick University Center

BRUNSWICK — Cuyahoga Community College is working toward enhancing its presence in Medina County through its Brunswick University Center. Brunswick University Center Chief Administrative Officer Cameron Redden provided an update on Tri-C's vision for the future of the location at Brunswick City Council's goal-setting session on Monday. It's called a university center because it was originally created as a partnership between Tri-C and other universities, Redden said. Once the pandemic hit, the other universities pulled out except for Tri-C. "We're not pulling out," Redden said. "We're saying, 'How can we partner with you? What can we do to partner with you to ensure that our students have a viable outcome in Medina County?'" Redden said the Brunswick University Center is considered a funnel site where students ultimately transition to other campuses. "You tell a student, you start off in Medina County and now all of a sudden you have to go somewhere else," he said. "Why does somebody have to leave their home in order to complete their educational opportunities?" Brunswick's location will never be a full-fledged campus because it lacks the infrastructure, but there is an opportunity to develop flagship programs in fields like health care and manufacturing, Redden said. "When we identify those flagship programs that will make that ability for that student to sustain, persist, graduate and then obviously remain in the Medina economic ecosystem to be able to contribute to that long term," he said. Redden is working with Brunswick Economic Development Director Grant Aungst to build a Medina County advisory council, which would include educators, superintendents and other community members. "The point of the advisory council, we call it the board of visitors, is to ensure that as we are downtown in Cleveland and we're making these decisions about Brunswick, we're actually bringing your voice into the conversation," he said. Redden is also meeting with Medina County superintendents to help ensure that Tri-C's programming aligns with what is offered at the high school level and what students are interested in. "This sounds very simple, but that it aligns with their bell schedule," he said. "If you're not having programming that aligns with their bell schedule, students can't participate." There is a focus on alternative credentialing as well, Redden said. Tri-C is looking at ways to partner with businesses to ensure students are getting the information and relationships they need for future success. "One of the things that I'm going to be focusing on this spring, summer and fall is continuing to build out different programs," he said. "I keep bringing up manufacturing and healthcare because those are the two dominant programs that we've heard. Within those programs, it's working with area business partners to ensure that students are getting real-life experience outside of just the theoretical." Redden said he has seen support for the idea of Tri-C being a flagship institution in Medina County. "This is not Tri-C coming to Medina County saying this is what it's going to be," he said. "This is us working collaboratively together to try to figure it out collectively. There's already an ecosystem here with the library, the high school, the rec center, and of course, we're there too. So, how might we be able to contribute to the larger goal and vision that you all have?" Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.