PCC Receives $100,000 From Oregon Community Foundation To Help Launch OMIC Training Center -06/23/21

SCAPPOOSE, Ore. – The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) recently awarded the Portland Community College Foundation a $100,000 Leadership Grant to help launch the Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center (OMIC) Training Center, which is slated to open in the fall. 

The OCF funds will be used to purchase capital equipment for the new facility and provide students with scholarships and financial assistance while supporting science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) community and education programs.

“Not only will this lead grant from OCF provide the OMIC Training Center with critical financial resources as we prepare to open our doors to students in the fall, but it will serve as a catalyst to engage additional corporate- and private-sector philanthropy beyond OMIC’s industry partners,” said Andrew Lattanner, director of the OMIC Training Center. “These investments will ensure that we are ready to outfit the training center with the equipment and technology to support real-world industry education and innovation that is critical to both the success of the manufacturing sector as well as to our students.”

 When the center opens, it will support both traditional and work-based learning models like registered apprenticeship and internships, while providing introductory, intermediate and advanced training in machining, computer numerically controlled (CNC) lathe operation, CNC mill operation, welding and fabrication and other areas of advanced manufacturing. The 32,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing training facility is specifically designed to inspire and train students from Columbia County and across the region for high-demand jobs in manufacturing and other STEM fields. 

“We are honored and delighted to receive OCF’s support and investment as PCC prepares to launch the training center,” said Christina Kline, interim executive director for the PCC Foundation. “OCF’s vision and leadership is greatly appreciated, helping to make a central strategic partner in our philanthropic efforts.”

The OMIC Training Center will complement the nearby OMIC Research and Development Center (OMIC R&D), strengthening industry-driven applied manufacturing research and workforce development. Other key partners in the collaboration include the Northwest STEM Hub, Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Northwest Oregon Works, and advanced manufacturers such as Rightline, EVRAZ and Vigor Industrial.

 “The cross-sector partnerships among education, research, and workforce development to support both traditional and work-based learning around advanced manufacturing in Columbia County is an exciting prospect,” said Belle Cantor, senior program officer for education at OCF. “By providing training in a rural community that directly supports jobs in Oregon’s industrial and manufacturing sectors, the OMIC Training Center is ideally positioned to make a difference for communities that experience the opportunity gap.”

About the Oregon Community Foundation: OCF puts donated money to work in Oregon — more than $100 million in grants and scholarships annually. Since 1973, OCF grantmaking, research, advocacy and community-advised solutions have helped individuals, families, businesses, and organizations create charitable funds to improve lives for all Oregonians. Impactful giving — time, talent, and resources from many generous Oregonians — creates measurable change. Throughout 2020, OCF responded quickly and urgently — distributing a record-setting $220 million in charitable dollars to more than 3,000 nonprofits throughout Oregon working to address urgent needs, stabilize communities and prepare for long-term recovery in Oregon. OCF donors responded to the magnitude of need, as reflected in a 44% increase in donor advised fund grantmaking from the previous year.

For more information, please visit: oregoncf.org.

 

About the PCC Foundation: The PCC Foundation is a nonprofit organization that enriches lives and strengthens the region through support of education at PCC. The Foundation’s vision is that all students in the region have access to an excellent education at PCC and the support needed to succeed, regardless of their ability to pay. A tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the PCC Foundation mobilizes private support for student scholarships and educational programs.

To find out more, call (971) 722-4382 or visit pcc.edu/foundation.

 

About Portland Community College: Portland Community College is the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon and provides training, degree and certificate completion, and lifelong learning to more than 60,000 full- and part-time students in Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Columbia counties. PCC has four comprehensive campuses, eight education centers or areas served, and approximately 200 community locations in the Portland metropolitan area. The PCC district encompasses a 1,500-square-mile area in northwest Oregon and offers two-year degrees, one-year certificate programs, short-term training, alternative education, pre-college courses and life-long learning.

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