In fulfillment of an RFP requirement as the Beneficiary for the 2022 Tucson Classics Car Show, Kathy Prather, CEO/Superintendent of Joint Technical Education District (JTED), has submitted the following update on JTED’s new Mel and Enid Zuckerman Center for Health and Medical Careers, the second building constructed at the JTED @ The Bridges Campus at 3300 S. Park Ave. The new Center houses JTED’s Licensed Nursing Assistant, Medical Assistant, Health Care Foundations, Pharmacy Technician, Social and Mental Health Technician, and Veterinary Assisting programs. I offer our profound thanks to the Rotary Club of Tucson for sparking the development of the Innovation Learning Center and now for the support of the new Zuckerman Center for Health and Medical Careers.- The two-story, 55,000 square foot building also features The Connie Hillman Family Foundation Community Health and Wellness Center and the Potoff Private Philanthropy Veterinary Sciences Center, home of the student-run Class Pet Pima JTED Veterinary Clinic.
- Pima JTED's health professions students are learning advanced patient treatment and life-saving skills on high-fidelity mannequins in the TMC Health Simulation Lab.
- The building was built through a joint LLC partnership with Bourn Properties, BFL Construction Companies and Pima JTED for the construction process. The project has received approximately $17 million in private donations and Federal appropriations.
- Pima JTED serves approximately 27,000 high school students at nine central campuses and 39 satellite public school locations in an area covering more than 12,000 square miles of Pima, Santa Cruz, and Pinal counties.
- The JTED @ The Bridges Campus serves nearly 1000 students who attend late afternoon and early evening classes. Employing a novel approach to potentially serve the needs of the 52,000 high school high school students who live within 25 minutes or less of the JTED @ Bridges campus, Pima JTED partners with the Tucson Unified School District to offer core high school classes during the day. Approximately 365 students are attending TUSD's newest high school, Innovation Tech.
- Pima JTED students earn industry certifications and state licenses which lead to direct employment. Research proves that Pima JTED's Career and Technical Education programs also help students achieve greater success in post-secondary education and in their chosen careers.
- A $5 million gift from the Zuckerman family was Mel Zuckerman’s last act to advance Public Health, Education, and Medicine in our community before his death in March of 2023. He was the founder of Canyon Ranch, namesake of the University of Arizona’s College of Public Health, and an early promoter of holistic wellness practices.
- The Mel and Enid Zuckerman Center for Health and Medical Careers was designed by the same local team that designed JTED’s Innovative Learning Center on the same campus, ShiveHattery Architecture + Engineering.
This JTED project helps address the fact that the U.S. faces a shortage of 6.5 million skilled workers over the next decade in key industries, according to the Association of Career and Technical Education.
