The ribbon has been cut, and learning is already underway.
Today’s ribbon cutting at the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce and Innovation Hub (AM Hub) marked an important milestone for Butler County, but the impact of this project is not waiting to begin. Even as community leaders, educators, industry partners, and workforce representatives gathered to celebrate, students are already inside the building, learning, training, and working in the space designed to prepare them for real careers.
The AM Hub was built on a clear responsibility: expanding access to opportunity for students.
During the ceremony, Butler Tech Board President Brett Guido emphasized that the significance of the AM Hub extends far beyond the facility itself. “What makes the AM Hub different is not just the building itself, but what happens inside it,” Guido said. That student-centered focus guided the project from its earliest planning stages and continues to define its purpose.
High school and college students are actively learning side by side in a shared environment designed to reflect modern manufacturing settings. Students are working with industry-grade equipment, applying rigorous academics through hands-on experiences, earning credentials and college credit, and developing skills aligned directly to regional workforce needs. This is not a future promise. It is a working model already preparing learners for what comes next.
Throughout the event, Butler Tech Superintendent William Sprankles reinforced that the AM Hub exists because partners chose collaboration over competition. He spoke about the importance of aligning systems, sharing ownership, and intentionally setting ego aside in order to build something that truly serves students and the region. That shared mindset allowed the project to move from concept to reality.
That focus on partnership was echoed by Miami University President Gregory Crawford, who pointed to the AM Hub as an example of what is possible when institutions work together around a common purpose. “What you see today represents a bold vision, a vision for a growing Butler County and a more powerful Ohio,” Crawford said, reinforcing the role collaboration plays in strengthening education and the regional workforce.
The AM Hub reflects the combined strengths of Butler Tech, Miami University, OhioMeansJobs, and industry partners, each contributing what they do best to a shared vision. Together, those efforts created something no single organization could have built alone.
While the transformation of the facility is impressive, the true measure of the AM Hub is already visible in its labs. Students are not learning about manufacturing in theory. They are doing the work. They are building confidence, gaining clarity about career pathways, and connecting education directly to opportunity.
At Butler Tech, being student-centered is not a slogan. It is a commitment that begins at the board level and carries into every classroom. The AM Hub reflects that commitment in action, demonstrating what is possible when access, opportunity, and outcomes remain the focus.
Today’s ribbon cutting marked an important milestone, but it did not mark the starting line. The work is already happening. In the years ahead, the impact of the AM Hub will be measured not by the ribbon that was cut, but by the students whose lives and careers are transformed inside its walls.
