At the first Mississippi regional conference for machining instructors and industry professionals sponsored by Haas Technical Education Center Meridian Community College received a check for $15,000 as a scholarship grant from the Gene Haas Foundation.

The money is earmarked for scholarships that will be awarded to current and future students enrolled in the Precision Machining and Manufacturing Program at MCC to help train students in an industry that is in need of highly skilled workers.

Gene Haas is the owner of Haas Automation, Inc., a billion dollar company and America’s leading builder of computer numeric control (CNC) machine tools. Sixteen years after he started his company, he founded the Gene Haas Foundation. Haas’ commitment to the importance of U.S. manufacturing has incited him to grow his personal foundation and direct his foundation board to focus on manufacturing education in the form of scholarships for CNC machinist training. To date, more than 4,000 charitable (501 C 3) organizations and schools have received funds totaling over 50 million dollars from the Gene Haas Foundation.

“We are honored and grateful for this generous grant from the Gene Haas Foundation. The funds will be used to implement NIMS (National Institute of Metalworking Skills) credentialing for our program students so that they will not only leave with an associate of applied science degree, but also a nationally recognized industry certification,” said Brian Warren, MCC Precision Machining and Manufacturing Program coordinator and instructor.

“We also plan to offer scholarships to outstanding area high school graduates. With this program already known for high technology and high paying CNC jobs for all that graduate, we are very excited to add even more to offer our community,” Warren said.

 

Dr. Richie McAlister, MCC associate vice president for workforce education echoed Warren’s words. “The Gene Haas Foundation through this scholarship recognizes Meridian Community College Precision Manufacturing and Machining Technology as an exemplary program.

 

“This generous scholarship grant will help MCC’s students focus on CNC machinist training and advance manufacturing education in Meridian and the surrounding area,” McAlister said.

The conference offered machining instructors and industry professionals the opportunity to share best practices and learn about future needs of the industry.