CCCC trustees accept $1.5M gift from Foundation

Moving forward with an effort to construct a technical education facility on the Concordia campus, the Cloud County Community College board of trustees approved accepting a gift of $1.5 million from the Cloud County Community College Foundation during its regular meeting on Tuesday night.
The Foundation board of directors, during its quarterly meeting on September 16, approved gifting the money to the college to put towards the construction of a 33,750-square-foot facility on College Drive that would house the renewable energy, nursing and agriculture and industry program.
“It was really neat to hear the discussion and the support of the Foundation board in the college's effort. And it was really great that everyone was supportive in gifting this amount to the college, which is the biggest amount the Foundation has ever given the college,” college president Amber Knoettgen said. “Before they made the motion to approve, Rob Rosenbaum, the chair, said that this was an exciting time, and he said that, really, what he wants this to be is a huge stamp and statement of Foundation support of the college, in the efforts that we have. What a momentous occasion that was. So I just want to thank the Foundation board for believing in our efforts for the technical education building and believing in our college overall.”
During its August meeting, the college board approved a request to apply for a $1 million American Rescue Plan Economic Adjustment Assistance grant to assist in the construction of the technical education facility.
The college would provide a match of $600,000 from the board of trustees fund.
Following the August meeting, the board met in a study session with Matt Cortez, president of GLMV Architects, Wichita, to discuss the technical education building.
Cortez provided a site play for the facility.
Cloud County currently utilizes two privately owned buildings for the renewable energy program and pays $5,000 per month in rent.
Prior to voting to approve accepting the gift from the Foundation, the board of trustees approved a memorandum of understanding between the college and the Foundation that defines the relationship between the two entities and specifies the primary ways in which the Foundation supports the institution.
In other action taken during the meeting, the board approved the purchase of the Gaumard Noelle 574 and Newborn Toby high fidelity birthing simulator for the nursing department at a cost of $47,233.
The Kansas Nursing Initiative Grant awarded $23,247 towards the purchase of the simulator. The college match for the purchase will come from student nursing lab fees that have been collected over the past several years.
The simulator will connect with current simulation equipment, allowing it to connect with the current software.
Stefanie Perret, the director of nursing at the college, informed the board that the goal is to have a state-of-the-art simulation center when the new technical education facility is built and become an accredited simulation center.