High-tech manufacturing jobs are hard to fill in northern Colorado. Front Range Community College hopes to change that with new program. Kelly Ragan, kragan@coloradoan.com
A $1 million donation — the largest ever received by Front Range Community College — will fund new scholarships and equipment for the college’s new Center for Integrated Manufacturing in Longmont.
FRCC announced the donation to its foundation from Colorado philanthropists Suzanne and David Hooper in a news release sent Thursday. The donation, which will be made over the next five years, will direct $500,000 to equipment for the center that opened in August.
The other half of the gift will establish the Hoover Family Endowment to fund scholarships for FRCC students.
“Community colleges help train skilled workers for area businesses — but we also give thousands of students a path to college degrees and good jobs,” FRCC President Andy Dorsey said. “Partners like David and Suzanne Hoover play a critical role in supporting our work.”
Inside the facility:Center aims to equip high-tech manufacturing job seekers
Machines purchased through the gift will be used in the Longmont facility’s Hoover Family Automation and Engineering Technology Lab.
“My husband was involved with Ball Corp. for his whole career, so we’re very aware of the needs companies have for well-trained future employees,” Suzanne Hoover said in a written release from the college. “FRCC students need this type of specialized equipment for hands-on training so they can be ready for jobs in advanced manufacturing.”
FRCC has been expanding to help train people to meet Colorado’s unmet workforce needs. In May, it broke ground on its 61,000-square-foot Health Care Careers Center in Fort Collins. The building, expected to open in fall 2020, will house the college’s health and nursing programs while providing room for expansion.
Learn more about FRCC at www.frontrange.edu.
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