NMCC Foundation awards technology grants
PRESQUE ISLE — A fund designed to provide Northern Maine Community College students with experiential learning opportunities through technology is again proving beneficial to the campus in challenging economic times.
THE NMCC FOUNDATION 
recently announced this year’s grant awards from the Investing in Innovation Fund that was created through the “Campaign for the County’s College.” Taking a moment to look at the instructional technology purchased with the funds awarded are, from left: Brian Hamel, NMCC Foundation immediate past board chair and representative on the Investing in Innovation Fund committee; Vicki Smith, NMCC Foundation board chair; Karl Jackson, business instructor and grant recipient; and Paul LaJoie, mechanical trades instructor and grant recipient.
The NMCC Foundation Investing in Innovation Fund was established in 2008 through the first ever major gifts campaign at NMCC in part to ensure area employers have a pool of highly qualified employees. The fund recently awarded grants to two faculty members. The grants are providing for purchases of new technology that might not otherwise be possible.
The first project funded was the purchase of a Fluke 1587 insulation multimeter that will benefit the automotive technology, diesel hydraulics and automotive collision repair programs.
“The vehicles of today are very sophisticated. Hybrid and electric vehicles are a main part of the advances in vehicle technology. Education and training are very important along with advanced equipment for measuring high-voltage circuits safely,” said Paul LaJoie, NMCC automotive instructor. “Numerous students in the transportation trades will benefit from using the Fluke model 1587 insulation tester.”
For the second project, the fund provided over $1,600 for the purchase of a MacBook Pro laptop for the business technology department.
“Students entering college have been using Mac computers since they started middle school and continue to use them through high school. We are now seeing an increase in the number of students that have Macs here on campus. Currently, the popularity of Apple products has increased and it seems like the right time to pursue the possibility of using a Mac computer,” said Karl Jackson, NMCC business technology instructor. “I was pleased to be able to obtain this computer to see how the MacBook could be incorporated into some classroom curriculums. Without the donation, this opportunity would not be possible.”
The Investing in Innovation Fund was developed through the “Campaign for the County’s College” in response to what area business and community leaders told NMCC officials regarding the importance of educating and training the county’s future workforce using technology that was reflective of what was being used in area businesses, as well as what technology would be needed moving forward.
The fund was also created to address the fact that budget cutbacks and the rising cost of energy have created significant challenges in the area of funding instructional technology.
