UAHT gets grant from Haas Foundation
HOPE – The University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana recently received a grant from the Gene Haas Foundation.
The $1,000 grant will be used to support scholarships and NIMS credentialing for students training on the new computer numerical control (CNC) machine which is built into the curriculum of the Industrial Maintenance Programs at UAHT.
A CNC machine operator, also known as a CNC machinist, implements the plans created by a CNC programmer to run a computer-numeric controlled machine. This is done by setting the machine and loading it with the right cutting tools as indicated by the program which was developed to produce a particular part. The work of a CNC operator results in precisely cut parts created to fill orders from a variety of industries. CNC operators may also have experience in machining or programming. NIMS sets industry skills standards, certifies individual skills against the standards, accredits training programs that meet NIMS quality requirements, and promotes innovative solutions, such as competency-based apprenticeship, to connect credentialed and work-ready individuals with employers.
In 1999 Gene Haas founded the Gene Haas Foundation. Haas initially formed the foundation to fund the needs of the local community. He is the owner Haas Automation, Inc., America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools, which he started in 1983. According to the Gene Haas Foundation website, ghaasfoundation.org, “Haas Automation is a now a billion-dollar company, and this extraordinary growth has all come in an era when American’s were being told that the United States doesn’t manufacture anything anymore. Those perceptions and decisions made in our education system regarding vocational education have led to dire statistics. A recent report called ‘The Skills Gap in U.S. Manufacturing 2015 and Beyond’ projects that ‘Over the next decade, nearly three and a half million manufacturing jobs will likely need to be filled, and the skills gap is expected to result in 2 million of those jobs going unfilled.’ Gene’s commitment to the importance of US 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.”
For more information about this scholarship or Industrial Maintenance Programs at UAHT, call 870-777-5722.
Carey Beevers, of Haas Automation, presents a check for $1,000 to Jennifer Bailey, UAHT Dean of Technical and Industrial Professions, to be used to support scholarships and NIMS credentialing for students training on the new Haas CNC machine.
Pictured left to right: Anna Powell, UAHT Director of Industry Outreach and Community Education; Carey Beevers, Haas Specialist; Jennifer Bailey, UAHT Dean of Technical and Industrial Professions; Scott Bittle, Industrial Maintenance Faculty