The expertise and contacts of a MentorLinks mentor within the geospatial technology (GST) community invigorated Kaskaskia College to build an up-to-date GST program that meets employers’ needs.
The college in Centralia, Ill., plans to expand the GST certificate program it started during MentorLinks into an associate of applied science degree with the $196,342 Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grant it got this fall from the National Science Foundation.
Among a group of community colleges recently concluding their two-year partnership with MentorLinks are two colleges that focused on “space” programs—one on geospatial technology, and the other the space industry. Those colleges are featured today as part of a CC Daily series this week on MentorLinks.
David Carty, program director and process technology instructor at South Arkansas Community College (SouthArk), teaches process technology students using a new $300,000 trainer and distillation unit that the city bought for the college.
Editor’s note: This article is part of a weeklong series on MentorLinks.
In addition to advice from a mentor who is an expert in the targeted STEM field, each MentorLinks college receives technical support; professional development support and travel stipends over a two-year period.
David Carty, program director and process technology instructor at South Arkansas Community College(SouthArk) in El Dorado, Ark., got choked up as he finished his summary of all the changes enabled by MentorLinks at the program’s annual meeting in October.
“We appreciate very much what you’ve done for SouthArk,” he said.
Carty said the process technology program that mentor Tom Deits helped SouthArk develop has been transformative for the college. South Ark adopted the process technology (PTEC) curriculum that the Center for Advanced Process Technology (CAPT) developed several years ago with National Science Foundation support and industry input. Deits chaired the science department at Lansing Community College in Lansing, Mich., prior to retiring and becoming a consultant.
The expertise and contacts of a MentorLinks mentor within the geospatial technology (GST) community invigorated Kaskaskia College to build an up-to-date GST program that meets employers’ needs.
choked up as he finished his summary of all the changes enabled by