PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College has been awarded three federal grants totalling $730,000 to help with emergency planning, science and technology equipment and outreach.
The college learned of all three grants this month, and the money from each will all have to be spent in the next 1 ½ years.
“All three of these grants will provide our college the opportunity to improve the student experience and safety,” college President Tom Keegan said.
“They will also help us to be of service to our community and reach out to our community in terms of cultural enrichment.”
A $276,000 congressional-directed grant was secured by Rep. Norm Dicks and Sen. Patty Murray, Keegan said.
The grant will go toward the purchase of new science and technology equipment, he said.
Global positioning
Some of the equipment includes global positioning units for the fisheries program, 29 new computers for a new lab, and trinocular microscope — a microscope with an attached camera.
Nearly every department within the science and technology building will benefit from the grant, Keegan said.
“We are trying to provide a 21st century learning environment so that the students will have the kind of equipment they will be using in the field or when they move onto a university they will already have experience with that kind of equipment,” Keegan said.
“The bottom line is that we are trying to provide the absolute best learning environment for students.”
An additional $199,000 — also a congressional-directed grant — was given to the school to reach out to under-represented populations.
The funds will support new classes and curriculum to teach about other cultures and to students who are part of a minority population, Keegan said.
Two summer academies will also be developed for next year for young Latino and Native American students in the area, he said.
“Our goal here is to not only build a cultural awareness but to build a value for higher education and help them to see it as an important part of their lives,” Keegan said.
Welcoming poles
Another part of the cultural education will be through the carving of some cedar logs into welcoming poles at the Peninsula College longhouse, Keegan said.
When the longhouse was being built, some cedar trees had to be cut down to make room for the building, but the college saved the logs in storage with the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe for future use, Keegan said.
Once a sculptor for the welcoming poles — which has been identified as a use of a couple of the logs — is found, the college will hold sessions with the artist sculpting in public and possibly giving informational speeches about the art, Keegan said.
The third grant for $255,000 is for emergency management on campus, and is from the federal Emergency Management for Higher Education grant, Keegan said.
“This grant is fairly specific and will help us to develop more comprehensive, more refined emergency management strategies at all of our campuses,” Keegan said.
Types of emergencies
The strategies will reach across several different types of emergencies, Keegan said.
The grant was started in the wake of the April 16, 2007, shootings on the Virginia Tech campus in which 32 people were killed.
Emergencies such as campus violence will be addressed as well as the potential of a disease breakout in the community, a major disaster such as an earthquake or terrorism, Keegan said.
“But this will also address the college’s place and collaboration with local regional and state organizations as part of a regional emergency management plan,” Keegan said.
“For example, our gym on the Port Angeles campus is a site for a backup medical facility — as such the college is an integral part of emergency management in Clallam and Jefferson counties.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
