Grant

June 24 - 28, 2013

$1,489,255 to the Great Falls College-Montana State University, Great Falls, Montana, to fund the renovation of an existing building, located on the campus of Great Falls College-Montana State University, for use as the Industrial Trades Training Center. When completed, the Center will provide classrooms for specialized training in welding, carpentry, and auto mechanics to address the state’s shortage of skilled, certified workers in these trades. Workers completing advanced welding training will be certified in U.S. and Canadian welding standards and may qualify for high demand, high-paying employment opportunities in industries such as the Canadian oil sands extraction and the Bakken Oil Fields in North Dakota and eastern Montana. This investment is part of a $2,978,510 project that the grantee estimates will create 120 jobs and leverage $24 million in private investment.
$1 million to the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation, El Paso, Texas, to fund the design and construction of the Biomedical Research and Technology Commercialization Center in a distressed area in El Paso. The Center will serve as a flexible hub to support multi-institutional and disciplinary transitional biomedical research, innovation, and commercialization supporting entrepreneurship and small business growth and development. This investment is part of a $1,337,480 project.