MiraCosta College is receiving a $150,000 grant from Nordson Corporation Foundation to develop a STEM Academic Support Center.
STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
“The world we live in is becoming more technically complex each and every year,” said Nordson Corporation’s Vice President of Advanced Technology Systems Joe Stockunas. “The STEM Academic Support Center at MiraCosta College will provide students with valuable skills that will enhance their employment possibilities and allow them to contribute to and take part in an integral part of our economy.”
The Nordson STEM Academic Support Center will provide STEM students with a dedicated space to study, collaborate and receive individual instruction. Another goal of the center will be to recruit historically under-represented students into the STEM field, as well as incorporate STEM-specific outreach strategies into schools and the community at large. In 2011, Nordson provided MiraCosta with $4,700 in support of the Summer 2012 STEM Camp, and in 2014, it provided MiraCosta with $16,000 in order to purchase a CO2 laser cutter for the school’s Machinist Technology Training Program.
The STEM Academic Support Center will be located inside the Library on the college’s Oceanside Campus, with construction to begin June 2017. The Center is expected to open in time for Fall semester 2017.