North Central Michigan College gets nearly $10 million in newly-approved bill

PETOSKEY — North Central Michigan College is getting a big payout: nearly $10 million to help build and expand its career and technological education programs.

The funding is coming to the college after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed and approved House Bill 4016 on March 8, a $1.3 billion supplemental appropriations bill. The bill also includes $630 million to Ford Motor Company for an electrical vehicle battery plant near Marshall and a $3.75 million for Northwestern Michigan College's aviation project.

The bill was passed in the Senate 22-16 on Feb. 28, and in the House of Representatives with a vote of 59-49 on March 1.

The $9,872,300 will contribute to the Career and Technical Education Enhancement (CATEE) project, including an expansion of the Health Education and Science Center and the technology building.

The funding comes after a recently-conducted space utilization study found that the college's health facilities are operating at 95 percent capacity. With a licensed practical nurse program set to launch in January 2024 and additional Fast Track career training programs being introduced at the college, the expansion comes at a crucial time.

More:North Central Michigan College announces new Fast-Track Healthcare Program

State Sen. John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs) advocated for the inclusion of North Central and Northwestern Michigan College’s inclusion in the billion-dollar bill.

The project has been in the works for about four years, said North Central's vice president for advancement Chelsea Platte.

"We have a flagship nursing program here and have since the college was founded, but we've been wanting to grow that program even more as well as add to our health care, health professional offering,” she said. “In addition, we've been offering manufacturing and engineering technology courses for some time ... but again, this is an area we've wanted to expand to meet local employer needs.”

She said that listening to the local community has been crucial in identifying what the college can do to assist in areas facing worker shortages, like HVAC technicians and auto technicians.

If all goes according to plan, Platte said, the goal is to begin construction in 2024 and have the building completed by 2025.

“This is a major undertaking, while the normal funding sources that the college has help us deliver education day-to-day, it really takes investments like this from outside sources to make transformational change happen,” Platte said. “We’re just very grateful for the state’s recognition of the importance of this project in Northern Michigan.”

The funding for the project will allow for the renovation of the North Central Technology Building, allowing for the inclusion of high-bay labs accommodating state-of-the-art technology, relating to robotics, automotive diagnostics, CAD, mechatronics and more. Construction will allow for a 4,000 square-foot addition to the building, bringing the total size of the new Emerging Technology Building to 10,000 square-feet.

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The plan also includes a 7,200 square foot expansion to the Health Education Science Center, accommodating the college's growing nursing and allied health programs and needs to meet regional and statewide requirements for health care graduates.

A 5,500 square-foot connector will also be added to the campus, connecting the Emerging Technology Center, Health Education Science Center and Borra Learning Center.

“CATEE will transform our ability to offer world-class education in areas that are critical to our region and our state,” said North Central President David Roland Finley in a press release. “Michigan depends on a highly educated, well-trained workforce in areas including nursing, allied health, automation, mechatronics, robotics, and many of the skilled trades that drive our economy.”

— Contact education reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN. 

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: North Central gets nearly $10 million in recently-approved bill