Moves Magazine - Louisiana Community and Technical College ...

as PartIt was the largestdonation received yet by the Foundation for Louisiana’sCommunity and Technical Colleges. In February 2011,the Dow Chemical Company announced a $1 milliondonation toward construction of a new technical collegecampus in Plaquemine, La.The Capital Area Technical College Westside Campus willbe built on 10 acres of land adjacent to Plaquemine HighSchool, creating a seamless transition between secondaryand post-secondary education in Iberville Parish. TheWestside Campus will feature an expanded industrialmaintenance curriculum along with other relevantacademic programs that strengthen the workforce pipelineto economic driver firms like Dow.“We are excited to play a major role inthe construction and development of thisfacility, which will transform the livesof Iberville families by providing thetechnical training necessary for residentsto get quality jobs right here,” said SharonCole, site director of Dow’s Louisiana Operations site inPlaquemine. “The Industrial Maintenance curriculum willeducate and train students and residents for jobs with thelocal chemical industry, where they will be needed in thecoming years.”Louisiana Community and Technical College SystemPresident Dr. Joe May said the project exemplifiesstrong coordination between higher education and theprivate sector.new campus demonstrates what happens when the needsof education and industry are truly aligned.”The project also exemplifies how to effectively leverageresources, added May. Dow’s contribution joins $3.45million in public construction funds for the Westsidecampus authorized by the Louisiana Legislature in 2007along with 22 other construction projects intendedto modernize antiquated campuses. Prior to Dow’sinvolvement, the project would have renovated the currentcampus on Bayou Road in Plaquemine.“When we started looking at the project years ago, it wasonly about repairing, but with Dow’s help, we began talkingabout what we could do to propel this into something witha much bigger impact,” said May. “The question was couldwe work collaboratively to make something great happen,and the answer was yes.”“This is a phenomenal project because it shows howemployers and our System work together on findingsolutions to community problems,” said May. “The8 | Moves Magazine