Schumer, Morelle Announce $5.3+ Million to Boost Monroe Community College as One of America’s Only Community College Optics & Photonics Training Centers

Schumer And Morelle Have Long Supported Department Of Defense’s Manufacturing Engineering Education Program (MEEP), Which Has Now Delivered $10+ Million For Monroe Community College Schumer Fought To Secure Boosts In FY26 Federal Budget For Critical DoD Program To Strengthen MCC’s World-Class Optics & Photonics Engineering Programs, Giving Workers The Skills They Need For Good-Paying, Hi-Tech Local Jobs Schumer, Morelle: New Fed $$ Is A Win-Win For Rochester-Finger Lakes Workforce, Local Businesses & America’s National Security U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and U.S. Congressman Joe Morelle today announced a $5,383,256 three-year grant award for Monroe Community College’s (MCC) optics program from the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Manufacturing Engineering Education Program (MEEP). The lawmakers, in the federal Fiscal Year 2026 Defense Appropriations Bill, secured a critical increase for this program, and then personally advocated with DoD to push for MCC to compete for, and ultimately secure, this funding award to help grow its program. Schumer and Morelle explained that this major multi-year grant will provide critical support for MCC’s Optical Systems Technology program, boosting the pipeline of skilled talent for Rochester optics and photonics companies that are vital to U.S. national security and the regional economy. Today’s award follows a similar $5.1 million DoD MEEP grant that the lawmakers secured in 2023 to fund MCC’s optics program through 2026. “This substantial $5 million in federal funding is a win-win for our top-notch workforce and local businesses critical to our national security. The Rochester-Finger Lakes region has a proud history of excellence and innovation in optics and photonics. This federal award will support Monroe Community College’s associate degree program in optics engineering, one of the first and only of its kind in the country,” said Senator Schumer. “Three years ago, I was proud to secure a critical increase in the federal budget to keep MCC’s optics training program running to train the next generation of optics technicians needed to support the high-tech manufacturing and semiconductor businesses that we are bringing to Upstate New York. Today, we are building on that success by connecting local students to good-paying jobs in Rochester.” “A strong workforce is the foundation of a strong economy, and Monroe Community College is helping prepare the next generation of skilled workers for success,” said Congressman Joe Morelle. “This $5.3 million investment will open doors to good-paying careers, strengthen our local Optics, Photonics, Imaging, and Lasers ecosystem, and bolster our national security. I’m proud to have secured this critical funding and continue building a stronger future for Rochester.” “Monroe Community College is deeply grateful to Senator Schumer and Congressman Morelle for their continued advocacy and investment in our students, our institution, and the economic future of our region. This $5.3 million investment will help MCC expand access to high-quality education, hands-on training, and apprenticeship opportunities in the rapidly growing optics and photonics industries. Our optics program is a cornerstone of the Sydor Optics Advanced Technology Center, which was also made possible through previous federal funding championed by our federal delegation. We are especially grateful for their sustained commitment to building MCC's capacity to educate and train the next generation of skilled professionals. As a national leader in precision optics education, MCC is uniquely positioned to connect talented students with meaningful, family-sustaining careers while helping employers meet critical workforce needs. This latest investment builds upon that strong foundation and further reinforces Rochester's position as a national center for optics innovation and advanced manufacturing,” said Dr. DeAnna R. Burt-Nanna, President of Monroe Community College. Schumer and Morelle explained that the DoD’s MEEP invests in programs that better position the current and next-generation manufacturing workforce vital for our nation’s defense innovation ecosystem and components that assure defense technological superiority. This is the third time MCC has been awarded funding through the MEEP program, as the nation’s first community college to administer associate degrees in precision optics. With this latest round of funding, MCC will be able to strengthen its existing program to grow the national workforce for the optics industry and give workers the skills they need for careers with major local employers in the region in the optics, photonics, and semiconductor industries. Specifically, MCC seeks to grow enrollment for this program for the in-demand optics industry and establish new training and apprenticeship opportunities. Schumer and Morelle have been longtime advocates for Monroe Community College’s optics and photonics degree programs. In 2017, following their relentless advocacy , the lawmakers secured over $550,000 from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Advanced Technology Foundation’s Education program for MCC to expand its optics and photonics degree programs, purchase new equipment, as well as develop a new curriculum and expand student outreach. In 2023, the lawmakers secured more than $5 million over three years for the program, made possible by their work securing $15 million in federal funding in FY23 for the DoD’s Manufacturing Engineering Education Program (MEEP), allowing MCC to apply for the funding they received in 2023. Similarly, this year, the lawmakers secured a $15 million boost in the MEEP program in the federal Fiscal Year 2026 Defense Appropriations Bill, and then personally advocated with DoD to push for MCC to compete and ultimately secure this new $5.3 million funding award to grow its training program. This over $10M in MEEP funding has been instrumental in enabling MCC to supercharge its optics training program to significantly expand its program, create new skilled jobs, and provide local optics manufacturers with the vital workers they need. Specifically, thanks to this MEEP funding, the MCC optics program has been able to increase its student enrollment by 3,520 percent since 2015. This first-of-its-kind in the nation two-year training program provides a direct path to employment for hundreds of students and supports the lawmakers’ success in growing the semiconductor industry across Upstate New York. A copy of the lawmakers’ letter in support of this MCC grant award to Dr. Jagadeesh Pamulapati, Principal Director for Science and Technology (S&T) Foundations, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering is below: We are pleased to write in support of Monroe Community College’s (MCC) pursuit to successfully apply and secure an award from the Department of Defense’s Manufacturing Engineering Education Program (MEEP) for MCC’s proposal, FOCUS-D: Fortifying Optics Capabilities for U.S. Security & Defense. Such funding will enable MCC to build on the success of MCC’s previous 2023 MEEP award, DEEPER OPS, to strengthen and expand educational training to prepare even more technicians for defense-relevant manufacturing and the domestic defense supply chain while helping to reverse the current nationwide shortage of these skilled optics workers who are in high demand with defense-relevant employers to support the nation’s domestic supply chain. Monroe Community College is uniquely positioned to carry out this important work. Located in Rochester, New York, MCC is the nation’s first college to award associate degrees in precision optics and has built a strong foundation for technician education, workforce development, and employer-connected training. The Finger Lakes region is a nationally significant hub for optics, photonics, imaging, advanced manufacturing, and semiconductor activity, with more than 150 related companies and continued demand for skilled optics workers. We were pleased to help secure additional FY26 MEEP funding in order to provide continued support for the vital work done by MEEP grantees, including Monroe Community College to train workers to fill the jobs needed across the defense industrial domestic supply chain. By leveraging MCC’s nationally recognized optics workforce training programs, MCC’s FOCUS-D proposal will not only build on its proven successes of turning out well-prepared technicians to enter the defense supply chain workforce, but will accelerate and increase these training and career placement results with a stronger alignment to military, defense, and space applications, and deeper employer-connected pathways. MCC has already demonstrated strong results through its Optical Systems Technology program and prior federal support, including increased enrollment, expanded credential attainment, dual-enrollment pathways for high school students, and direct engagement with employers across the defense supply chain. MCC has long been one of Rochester’s great engines of opportunity, translating local talent into nationally significant skill. With funding, MCC will enhance and expand its optics technician curriculum, accelerate flexible pathways into the field, modernize defense-relevant laboratory instruction, and deepen partnerships with defense employers through paid internships, apprenticeships, and employer-connected training. The project will support apprentices, incumbent workers, veterans, adult learners, career changers, and students entering the workforce, while expanding training in areas critical to military, defense, and space applications, including optical coatings, metrology, contamination control, infrared materials, high-energy optics, and directed energy systems. By growing a stronger pipeline of skilled technicians, MCC’s proposal will create a win-win for students and businesses in the optics supply chain: workers gain access to high-quality careers, while employers gain the trained talent needed to meet defense manufacturing need. ###