Monroe Community College will receive a three-year, $5,383,256 Defense Department grant to expand enrollment and optics training while strengthening the workforce serving Rochester's optics and photonics industry.
The award comes through the Manufacturing Engineering Education Program, according to Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Joe Morelle. It follows a $5.1 million grant awarded in 2023 to support MCC's program through 2026.
MCC plans to grow enrollment in its Optical Systems Technology program and add training and apprenticeship opportunities. The work is intended to prepare technicians for regional optics, photonics and semiconductor employers, including companies supplying national defense needs.
The college's proposal, called FOCUS-D ā Fortifying Optics Capabilities for U.S. Security & Defense ā would expand its curriculum, modernize laboratory instruction and strengthen paid internships, apprenticeships and employer partnerships.
Training for defense manufacturing
In a letter supporting the application, Schumer and Morelle said the project would serve apprentices, current workers, veterans, adult learners, career changers and students entering the workforce.
Training would cover optical coatings, measurement techniques known as metrology, contamination control, infrared materials, high-energy optics and directed-energy systems. The proposal builds on MCC's earlier federally supported DEEPER OPS program.
The lawmakers said the Finger Lakes region has more than 150 companies connected to optics, photonics, imaging, advanced manufacturing and semiconductors, with continued demand for skilled optics workers.
MCC was the nation's first community college to award associate degrees in precision optics, according to the announcement. This is its third award through the Defense Department program.
Building on earlier federal support
Schumer and Morelle said they secured a $15 million increase for the manufacturing education program in the fiscal 2026 defense appropriations bill, then advocated for MCC's application.
They previously helped secure more than $550,000 from the National Science Foundation in 2017 for equipment, curriculum and outreach. The 2023 Defense Department award followed $15 million in fiscal 2023 funding for the federal program.
Together, the 2023 and newly announced grants exceed $10 million. The lawmakers said earlier support helped MCC increase optics enrollment by 3,520% since 2015.
MCC President DeAnna Burt-Nanna said the latest award will expand access to hands-on education and apprenticeships. She said the optics program is part of the Sydor Optics Advanced Technology Center, which also benefited from earlier federal funding.
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