Aug. 6, 2025 9p
(WGTD)---A new field of study at Carthage College dovetails a small but growing segment of the Kenosha area's economy.
Beginning this fall, Carthage students can choose either a major or a minor in biotechnology, one of the faster-growing areas in scientific research, according to a news release from the college.
The new program offers pathways into genetic engineering, personalized medicine, cell and gene therapy, soil and water remediation, sustainable agriculture and other careers, the release says.
The new major will fall under the school's Division of Natural and Social Sciences, led by Dean Robert Nagel. "These new offerings provide students with the opportunity to study in a cutting-edge field with immediate and growing demand in local and national industries," Nagel said in the release.
The new program is expected to equip students with the skills to be hired for positions at Eli Lilly, an Indiana-based company that's investing $4 billion in acquiring and expanding a drug-manufacturing plant in Pleasant Prairie. The company plans to add over 700 jobs.
In addition, an innovative life sciences startup is expected to be among the first tenants at the Kenosha Innovation Center, the cornerstone building in the Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood, a site where auto manufacturing once took place.
The release also notes that Carthage sits on the edge of a Chicago market that experts consider one of the nation's top biotechnology clusters.
Word of the biotechnology program comes on the heels of an announcement in July that Carthage is creating a "School of Health."
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