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| Osceola Municipal Light & Power presented the Arkansas Northeastern College with a check for $25,000 on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, toward the construction of the College's new Center for Allied Technologies. Pictured (L to R) Ms. Dorothy Pollock, Osceola City Council Member; Arkansas Northeastern College President Dr. James Shemwell, and Osceola Mayor Dickie Kennemore. |
Arkansas Northeastern College’s Center
for Allied Technologies project received another boost today as the Osceola
Municipal Light & Power Company’s pledge to the facility came to fruition
and Mayor Dickie Kennemore presented a check for $25,000 to ANC President Dr.
James Shemwell today.
With over 11,000 manufacturing jobs located within
Mississippi County, Arkansas, and 3,000 of those jobs in or near the City of
Osceola, city officials understand the importance of workforce training and
education. Such commitment to workforce development led OML&P to make one
of the first pledges toward the ANC Center for Allied Technologies back in
2014.
“We have major
industrial and manufacturing companies located here, and it is extremely
important for our workforce to be prepared for such jobs. Arkansas Northeastern
College has proven itself as a leader in workforce training and education. We
see an investment in ANC as an investment to not only our city, but this
region. The new ANC Center for Allied Technologies will enable our local
workforce to better train for the types of jobs we have right here at home,”
said Osceola Mayor Dickie Kennemore.
For their donation to the new facility, the Osceola
Municipal Light & Power Company will have naming rights to the electrical classroom
located in the facility.
“The support shown by the Osceola Municipal Light &
Power Company in this project represents the kind of countywide partnership
that Mississippi County needs if it is going to be successful in the future,”
said ANC President Dr. James Shemwell, adding, “Their early backing gave us a
sense of validation that what we are trying to do here is crucial to the
economic development of the entire county and more. We are so very appreciative
of their support.”
Construction of ANC Center for Allied Technologies began in
the spring and is scheduled to be completed in time for Fall classes in August
2018. The facility will provide students
with more opportunities to learn in an atmosphere that will simulate real world
work environments, where spaces and equipment are designed with the curriculum
in mind. This facility will be a focal point for not only the campus, but the
community as the 88,000 square foot building will boast beautiful architectural
lines with the highest technological advances incorporated into the plans.
The Center
for Allied Technologies, to be located on the ANC Main Campus, will actually
decrease the College’s overall facilities by 30,000 square feet by
consolidating the Burdette Center, Harry L. Crisp Center, and the Aircraft
Metals and Engineering Center—with an estimated costs savings for the College
of approximately $100,000 a year in maintenance. This new facility will
feature a headquarters for the College’s customized training force—The
Solutions Group, including general purpose classrooms, electrical classroom
& lab, mechanical classroom/lab, safety classroom/lab, Heating, Ventilation
and Air Conditioning Classroom & Laboratory, computer classroom, and large
multi-purpose room. Additionally, a world-class welding laboratory will be
available for students.
Technical-Secondary
Center students from area high schools also will be served by this facility through
classroom & laboratories for advanced manufacturing, welding, criminal
justice, education, and construction/carpentry. The design incorporates a
computer lab for the Technical-Secondary Center. Also featured is an aircraft complex,
combination non-destructive testing (NDT) & composites laboratory, and
general purpose classrooms to fully accommodate ANC’s Federal Aviation
Administration—certified Aviation Maintenance Program.
