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.
It is thanks to an engineer that Northeast Iowa Community College(NICC) created a mechanical engineering technology degree program that includes field-based experiences and hands-on practice with modern instrumentation.
Peggie Weeks, an educational consultant who previously taught engineering and engineering technology for 16 years at Corning Community College in New York, served as mentor to the college through the National Science Foundation-funded MentorLinks and helped NICC launch its first mechanical engineering courses this fall. The college then got a $200,000 ATE grant to implement career paths among secondary schools, the two-year college and four-year institutions to support enrollment in the new degree program.
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.
choked up as he finished his summary of all the changes enabled by 