About Manchester Bidwell Corporation's
National
Center for Arts & Technology (NCAT)
The National Center for
Arts & Technology (NCAT) is the MBC affiliate that works with cities to
replicate the Manchester Bidwell Education Model. Replication refers to
the process by which a community works collaboratively with the NCAT
team to create and open a Center for Arts & Technology. By using the
replication model, a community seeks to develop arts education for high
school age youth and career training for adults 18 years and older.
The final and most important aspect of
replication is to create the physical and philosophical environment
among the staff and students based on MBC’s core values: Respect, Listen
Shape, Embrace and Influence.
Manchester Bidwell Corporation
Manchester Bidwell Corporation is the parent company
of the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, Bidwell Training Center, and the
National Center for Arts & Technology.
Manchester Bidwell Corporation (MBC) has a simple, three-part philosophy
1. Every human being is an asset and every
life is valuable;
2. Environment shapes people’s lives; and
3. Creativity fuels innovation
By constructing an empowering atmosphere of art, light, music and
recruiting a staff that strives to realize the genius in everyone, MBC
helps people of all ages to become productive members of society. MBC’s
philosophy originated when, as a high-school student, MBC founder Bill
Strickland met Pittsburgh Public High School art teacher Frank Ross.
Ross mentored Strickland and helped to impress upon Strickland the power
of art, education and community. Importantly, Ross also assisted
Strickland in obtaining entrance to the University of Pittsburgh.
While still in college in 1968, Strickland founded Manchester
Craftsmen’s Guild to bring arts education and mentorship to inner-city
youth in his neighborhood on Pittsburgh’s North Side. The MCG Youth &
Arts program, as it is now called, serves students, many of whom are at
risk for dropping out, by offering studio-based courses in ceramics,
design, digital arts and photography.
In 1972, Strickland assumed leadership of a struggling building trade
school, located near Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild. Over the years,
Bidwell Training Center (BTC) evolved to offer programs in seven majors,
including Chemical Laboratory Technician, Horticulture Technician,
Culinary Arts, Pharmacy Technician, Medical Claims Processing, Medical
Coder and Electronic Record Medical Assistant. BTC is a nationally
recognized and accredited, state-licensed adult career-training
institution that assists people who are unemployed, underemployed or in
transition with the education, training and professional skills needed
to find employment in the local job market. In 2012, BTC was one of only
17 out of 800 schools to be named a School of Excellence, the highest
distinction of its accrediting body the Accrediting Commission for
Career Schools and Colleges.
Founded in 2006, National Center for Arts and Technology (NCAT) is a
nonprofit affiliate of Manchester Bidwell Corporation in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. The mission of the National Center for Arts and Technology
is to impart the Manchester Bidwell Educational Model by catalyzing the
creation of Center for Arts and Technology in communities nationally and
internationally. The vision of NCAT is to continuously increase the
number of communities that support underserved populations to produce
outstanding outcomes.
To Obtain More Information Contact:
Manchester
Bidwell Corporation
Maria D. Anderson
Vice President of Operations
National Center for Arts and Technology (NCAT)
c/o Manchester Bidwell Corporation
1815 Metropolitan Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15233
412-323-4000 extension 276
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