In Virginia, Lord Fairfax Community College’s Hazel Hall Building project got a boost with a $250,000 gift from Joel and Patricia Barkman and their family. Joel Barkman is the founder of Golden Rule Builders.
Hazel Hall will house a nursing skills lab, several science labs, an engineering lab, a fabrication lab, classrooms, a conference center and more. In honor of the donation, the conference space will be named the Barkman Family Conference Center.
Florida
Tallahassee Community College (TCC) will be able to renovate two classrooms thanks to donations from local businesses. Mainline Information Systems and Redwire have committed to gifts of $25,000 to TCC as part of the college’s First Class project.
The updated classrooms will promote active, collaborative learning through significant technology upgrades and other enhancements to create a more accessible and engaging environment. The classroom being renovated by Redwire is used by TCC’s engineering technology program. The Mainline classroom is in the Computer Technology Building and houses courses in network security, microcomputers and open systems.
Kansas
Dodge City Community College students will benefit from a $20,000 donation to the college. The gift came from W.R. Robbins, a distinguished alumnus and owner of Farmers Bank & Trust. The funds will go toward scholarships for students interested in business, leadership or entrepreneurship.
“The foundation is excited for the opportunity to create a new scholarship fund for business majors,” said Jerad Busch, vice president of the college’s foundation.
Minnesota
Rochester Community and Technical College is on the path to growing its mass communications program after receiving a donation of furniture and equipment from Quincy Media’s WSJV-TV television station in Indiana. The station ended production, and donated furniture and a television news set worth about $140,000 to the college. Though the college already had a news set, this is an upgrade. It can be used to give real-life experience to students training to be journalists, broadcast technicians, engineering techs and stage managers.
Students from Riverland Community College in the truck driving program drove the truck trailer full of equipment up to the college.
Wisconsin
Milwaukee Area Technical College received a pledge of $500,000 to expand the MATC Promise Program. Chris Abele, Milwaukee county executive and community philanthropist, announced his personal pledge, which will help to serve more people with tuition-free college. The gift will target student scholarships and technical training for people living and working in the area.
The MATC Promise launched last fall. Private contributions cover the costs of tuition and fees, after federal and state financial aid is applied.
“With partners like Chris, MATC is redefining the future of higher education to create an affordable, accessible path to family-sustaining employment and career advancement,” said MATC President Vicki Martin. “This puts MATC on the path to be the first college in Wisconsin with an adult promise program.”
Abele was an early investor in the initial Promise Campaign. He made a personal gift of $250,000 gift in 2015.
