www.cloud.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 12, 2007
Contact: Kim Krull, (800) 729-5101, ext. 249
State technical education grant to help fund wind turbine at Cloud County Community College’s Concordia campus
(CONCORDIA, KS) -- Cloud County Community College has been awarded a $300,000 state technical education grant to be used toward the purchase of a wind turbine for the Concordia campus.
The grant is from the Kansas Legislature Omnibus Appropriation Bill for Technical Education Technology and Equipment, channeled through the Board of Regents.
A competitive Request for Proposal process determined the distribution of funds and any public technical school, technical college or community college delivering eligible technical educational programs could apply for the funds, said CCCC Vice President of Academic Affairs Kim Krull.
Twenty-nine Kansas post secondary institutions were eligible to apply for the funds. Twenty-two requests were funded. Grant recipients are required to provide a $1 match for each $2 of state funds awarded. Cloud County’s grant application indicated the match could come from three potential sources including federal funds and through partnerships with Horizon Wind, LLC and Vestas American, two private companies.
“This state grant is an important step in our mission to bring a commercial wind turbine to our campus to enhance not only our wind energy technology program but also our energy needs on campus,” said CCCC President Dr. Richard Underbakke. “Kim Krull and her staff submitted a comprehensive grant application that netted the fifth largest allocation from the pool.”
Grant funds must be
used to purchase new technology and equipment to enhance technical programs.
Priority was given to proposals that focused on high skill, high wage or high
demand occupations, targeted industry sectors such as aviation and advanced
manufacturing, health care, conventional and renewable energy, bioscience and
communications, collaborations with business and industry and other
postsecondary educational institutions and program expansion.
Cloud County Community College, in a partnership with Manhattan Area Technical College, offers the only wind energy technology program in the state. Students may complete either a certificate or associate degree program to pursue jobs in high demand in the growing wind energy industry.
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