NORFOLK – Northeast Community College is the recipient of a significant donation by the corporation that provides natural gas to much of the College’s 20-county-service area. Representatives of Black Hills Energy have presented College officials with a $50,000 gift to be used to purchase equipment in Northeast’s new Applied Technology building. The presentation took place Thursday during a news conference prior to the regular monthly meeting of the Northeast Board of Governors.

“Northeast Community College is an integral part of the Black Hills Energy service territory,” said Jeff Sylvester, vice president of Nebraska gas operations. “We currently have eight Northeast graduates in the Black Hills Energy workforce in the Norfolk area alone, providing us talent and an ongoing relationship with the College. We believe that helping to provide equipment will support the energy industry and employees of the future.”

Sylvester said the funds will be used to purchase additional equipment in the new $9.1 million Applied Technology building. The 66,613 square foot facility will house the Building Construction, Electrical Construction and Control, Electromechanical, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), and some classes in the Wind Energy Technology and Diversified Manufacturing Technology programs. The programs are now housed in four separate buildings on Northeast’s Norfolk campus.

“On behalf of the Board of Governors and the college community, I extend our gratitude to Black Hills Energy for this generous gift. This gift will provide for highly technical equipment that gives the faculty and students the opportunity to advance their knowledge levels at now a world-class education and training facility,” said Dr. Michael Chipps, Northeast president. “It will expand the entry-level skill sets provided on behalf of our technical students, and increase the ability to recruit more students to these programs. We appreciate that Black Hills Energy recognizes the extraordinary value that this new facility will have in training the next generation of high technology employees in these important fields.”

The new Applied Technology building will include multipurpose classrooms, labs for hands-on-training and lab support areas including a fabrication/tool room. Labs will be large enough to allow for adequate space for equipment so students may work in a safe environment.

The building will also include expanded storage areas, faculty offices and a student lounge/study area to serve over 200 students.

The building is scheduled to open in Fall 2015.