Meridian Community College’s Precision Machining Engineering Technology Program has received a post-secondary grant of $42,000 from the Gene Haas Foundation. 

This gift marks the eighth year Haas has presented a grant to the MCC program.  

The donation will help scholarship students who do not qualify for total federal aid and assist with other non-covered scholarships. In addition, the grant can also be used to purchase small tools for students as gifts from the Gene Haas Foundation. 

“There are many students in the program who do not qualify for financial aid who would not be able to attend if not for Haas Foundation Scholarships,” said Brian Warren, program coordinator and instructor of the Precision Machining Engineering Technology Program.

In 2020, the Gene Haas Foundation awarded a $250,000 grant to MCC to complete funding of the all-new CNC lab for the college’s Precision Machining Engineering Technology Program.

Haas Automation Inc., started in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools and is now a billion-dollar company. The primary mission of its Gene Haas Foundation is to partner with schools and organizations to expose students to careers in manufacturing and provide the means for them to pursue those opportunities.

MCC’s CNC lab is named the Gene Haas Advanced Manufacturing Center. 

“We’re very proud to be a Gene Haas namesake program, and we consider it a privilege to train some of the best CNC operators and machinists in Mississippi,” Warren said.

College officials are grateful for the latest gift and consider the Gene Haas Foundation an industry ally. 

MCC President Tom Huebner emphasized the value of the collaboration with Haas in enhancing the program.

“These resources, along with our exceptional facility, talented faculty, and strong employment opportunities for graduates, make us a standout program,” Huebner said. “We’re deeply thankful for those who support and invest in MCC.”

MCC’s Precision Machining Engineering Technology Program offers one-year and two-year study opportunities with three levels of completion, including an associate of applied science degree.