Boise State University officials and directors for the Nampa Industrial Corporation announced today a $1,132,000 gift to Boise State to help fund a technical building on the BSU-West campus and boost work force development in the Treasure Valley.

The Center for Transportation and Construction Technology will be the second building on the 150-acre Nampa campus. An academic building will open there in June and, together, the two buildings will help form the foundation for a community/technical college in Nampa.
 

“The NIC is devoted to creating jobs in the valley and preparing a qualified work force for existing industry,” said Don Brandt, NIC president. “To provide a lead gift for a building where workers will be trained in technical fields made perfect sense for us.”

The cost of the technical building is estimated at $15 million. It will house transportation-related programs such as automotive and diesel technology and collision repair and refinishing, as well as construction technology programs, including welding, electrician, plumbing, refrigeration, heating and air conditioning and much more.

“For those of us who believe that the time has come for a community college in the Treasure 
Valley, we thank the Nampa Industrial Corporation for providing the visionary leadership to 
help us take the next step,” said Bob Kustra, president of Boise State University. “We are extremely grateful to Nampa’s business leaders who understand that the true beneficiaries of this gift will be our work force who will be afforded better job opportunities in the future.

“Nampa Industrial Corporation is fulfilling its economic development mission in Canyon County by supporting this building while providing a major boost to Boise State’s role in preparing students and current workers for the jobs of tomorrow,” Kustra added.

Founded in the late 1940s by a group of Nampa business leaders, the NIC’s mission has been to encourage industrial development — thereby creating jobs — in the Nampa area. The group has been involved in a variety of successful projects, including Centennial Golf Course and the Nampa Civic Center.

The NIC’s gift to Boise State is a 15-acre parcel of undeveloped land located north of Garrity Boulevard on 37^th Street. The property is appraised at $1,132,000. Boise State will sell the property and use the proceeds to help fund the technical building. Estimated completion of the building is fall 2007.

The Larry Selland College of Applied Technology, one of eight colleges at Boise State, currently offers more than 38 degree and certificate programs on the main campus in Boise and at the Canyon County Center in Nampa and is the only public technical college in southwest Idaho. The college is dedicated to preparing skilled technicians, craft workers or professionals requiring up to two years of college and prides itself on being flexible, responsive and market driven.

Southwest Idaho is one of the largest population bases in the nation without the services of a comprehensive two-year college. Several campus planning teams involving close to 100 faculty, staff and administrators are working to conduct a needs assessment, decide on instructional programs, explore fee structures and identify ways to deliver student services and more buildings on the BSU-West campus.
 

Community colleges differ from four-year universities by providing a low-cost, open admission education. Boise State turned away more than 700 students this year, and that number will likely continue to grow. A community college will provide core academic classes and technical training programs to students in communities across the Treasure Valley, allowing the Boise campus to continue on its course toward becoming a stronger metropolitan research university.

Contact:

Larry Barnhardt, dean, College of Applied Technology, (208) 426-2238, lbarnhardt@boisestate.edu