MCC receives $2.2 million grant

At a press conference held at MCC-Maple Woods on Wednesday, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced a $2.2 million grant that will be given to MCC as part of the state’s Training for Tomorrow initiative. The grant, funded by the Department of Economic Development, will cover curriculum development for both new and existing programs in four areas: animal health, supply chain integration, healthcare and small business operations.

The Training for Tomorrow funding, intended to help community colleges grow and create programs that will prepare students for jobs in high-demand fields, was open to community colleges across the state. MCC’s request was coordinated in partnership with a coalition of leaders from Cass, Platte and Buchanan counties, the local counties that were eligible for the funding.

Planning and development for the new programs is already underway. Over the next two years, more than 20 credit and non-credit courses, certificates and degree programs will be created across the district. Pat Lees, coordinator of the grant and manager of special projects for the Institute for Workforce Innovation, anticipates working with every campus on this project.

"We will be working together to develop the new curricula and grow some of our existing programs," said Lees. "This funding gives us the opportunity to create programs in emerging fields, like those that can serve the rapidly-growing businesses in the logistics industry and the Animal Health Corridor, as well as in existing in-demand fields, like nursing and allied health."
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