STERLING, COLO. – August 19, 2019 – Northeastern Junior College is launching an aggressive campaign to raise $6.7 million to fund construction that will expand and improve its Applied Technology Campus in Sterling. Nearly two thirds of the college’s staff and faculty pledged or donated more than $26,000 last week in support of the expansion, which is scheduled to begin in summer of 2020.
The project will add more than 39,000 square feet to about 54,000 square feet of existing campus buildings that provide needed space for Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs such as welding, automobile service and repair, diesel vehicle service and repair, wind turbine maintenance and precision agriculture. Professional development programs for practitioners of skilled trades such as electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) are also planned as part of the project.
“The goal of this expansion is to create necessary space for CTE programs that can’t grow without more room,” said Lisa LeFevre, Northeastern’s vice president of administration. “Besides addressing demand for these workforce-ready programs, it’s also designed to improve student engagement, and interactions with faculty and peers—factors that contribute to academic success.”
Maintaining a full pipeline of skilled, workforce-ready graduates of such programs has become increasingly important to meet the needs of private companies and public institutions in rural regions such as Eastern Colorado.
“This level of support coming from our Northeastern family of employees is nothing short of amazing,” said Jay A. Lee, president of Northeastern Junior College. “It underscores how important we consider this expansion to be for the local community as well as the college. Northeastern is positioning itself as the school of choice for many of the in-demand, workforce-ready occupations of today and tomorrow.”
The fundraising effort of the ATC Capital Campaign is managed by the NJC Foundation, which has received pledges totaling $2M from private donors to date. Individual and institutional donors can visit the ATC Expansion web pages at www.njc.edu/applied-technology-campus to learn more about the design and expected community impacts. Donations to the campaign can be made at www.njc.edu/atc-giving. Mobile device users may text “NJC2ATC” to 44-321 to make a donation as well.
About the NJC Foundation
On behalf of Northeastern, the Northeastern Junior College Foundation endows and promotes the future of the college, its students and faculty through solicitation of funds, management of investments, recognition of donations and provision of scholarships.
About Northeastern
Northeastern Junior College is Colorado’s premier two-year college, part of the Colorado Community College System and HLC accredited. Northeastern offers a wide variety of degree and certificate programs, along with career and technical education (CTE) training and community classes. Northeastern offers four-year degree programs through participating four-year colleges.