SALISBURY — Craig Lamb, vice president of corporate and continuing education at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, has been named president of the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers (NCATC), an Affiliated Council of the American Association of Community Colleges, which brings together a network of higher education and industry-led strategic partners.

The organization provides resources to help advance emerging technologies, workforce development programs, and awareness of advanced technology centers and their impact on economic growth.

As the 2023 president, Lamb will lead the NCATC board of directors and work with the CEO and executive director to serve the member institutions by continuing to provide innovative programs and approaches to close critical skill gaps in Industry 4.0 and cybersecurity, implement credential and competency-based education, facilitate meaningful work-based learning, and address gaps in diversity, equity, access and inclusion for students.

In September 2022, Rowan-Cabarrus hosted the NCATC fall conference, which drew attendees from its network of 170 community colleges and strategic partners to learn the latest practices in supporting manufacturing employers. The conference highlighted the NCATC’s four pillars of focus: the future of work and industry, work-based learning and apprenticeships, competency-based education with industry-recognized credentials, and diversity, equity and inclusion in adult education.

“We congratulate Craig on being named president of the NCATC,” said Dr. Carol Spalding, president of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. “His expertise, skills and leadership will be invaluable to the organization as it continues its work of carrying the banner for the importance of advanced technology centers and their significant impact on economic growth, as well as staying apprised of workforce and industry developments.”

Lamb’s responsibilities at RCCC include training and education projects in support of community, economic and workforce development. Worker selection, workplace certification and process improvement are areas of special interest.  He has committed his professional career to assisting individuals and organizations to improve productivity and quality of life through training. He earlier served as executive director of Ivy Tech Corporate College for 17 years and served 14 years as director of operations for Tecumseh Area Partnership, Inc., the Workforce Investment Operator for the North Central Indiana region.

During his tenure at Rowan-Cabarrus, Lamb oversaw the planning of the Dr. Carol S. Spalding Advanced Technology Center with Vice President of Academic Programs Dr. Michael Quillen. Several of the College’s most popular programs are housed at the Center – engineering, mechatronics, advanced manufacturing, cyber-physical security and logistics. The Center also is home to two innovative corporate partnerships – the Okuma Machine Tool Academy, which supports Okuma’s customers, distributors and employees from across the Western Hemisphere, and the RJG Plastic Injection Molding Center, which helps manufacturers from across North America improve technicians’ skills to optimize quality and efficiency in injecting molding operations.

Lamb earned a bachelor’s degree in organizational communication from Purdue University and a master’s degree in adult and community education from Ball State University.

He is the founder of numerous workforce training initiatives and collaborative efforts, including the North Carolina Manufacturing Institute, Ivy Tech Six Sigma Institute, and the SafeWork Indiana program. He has facilitated the development of employer-based learning networks including the Rowan Education Collaborative, the Wabash Valley Workforce Consortium, Advancing Manufacturing and the Charlotte Collaborative for a Global Workforce.