The Oakton Community College Educational Foundation recently received one of the largest single monetary contributions in its history from an anonymous donor who gifted the foundation $100,000 with the specification the money support programs and scholarships in the college’s science, technology, engineering and math departments.
The college’s executive director of development, Mary Knight, said the donation came from a Winnetka area donor who has given to the community college in the past.
“It is seldom that we are asked to keep it anonymous, but if we get that request we certainly respect and honor it,” she said.
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She added that for donations of that magnitude, “there’s often a lot of thought behind the gift, so the donor often has a passion toward a certain area and in this case it’s for the STEM fields.”
STEM offerings at OCC include chemistry, biology, computer science, engineering, physics and mathematics courses.
“We have a variety of technical programs that train students for careers without necessarily getting a university degree,” said Robert Sompolski, dean of mathematics and technologies at OCC.
Sompolski said his department focuses on manufacturing, networking, computer science studies, engineering, and a nanotechnology training program, which is a joint venture with the college’s sciences division.
The program includes a 31-credit hour nanotechnology certificate, college-level nanotechnology courses, opportunities for hands-on experience with lab equipment and access to internships.
In addition to helping Oakton students land careers in the field, Sompolski said the program also provides equipment training to area high school students and faculty.
Demand for students with STEM related training is high, he said.
“For example, our nanotechnology training program is barely three years old, but we’re getting requests for interns and everybody who has gone through is getting a full-time job at the end of it,” Sompolski said.
Other STEM fields, including manufacturing, are in desperate need of skilled labor, he said. Part of encouraging students to train in those areas requires breaking down stereotypes of what these jobs entail, Sompolski said.
“Providing support for students to go into these areas helps break down those cultural barriers we have,” he said.
While the donation is specifically earmarked for STEM scholarships and programming at the college, Knight said the gift will help students across the board by freeing up funding for scholarships and programming in other college departments.
This year, she said, such a gift is especially needed due in part to the financial impact of the state’s budget impasse on the college’s funding. According to a news release published on the college’s website last fall, the budget crisis in Springfield has cost the college $6.1 million.
OCC, however, is dedicated to supporting students despite the budget issue, Knight said.
“If an EMT is called to your door, or your furnace needs to be repaired, it’s likely an OCC student will serve those needs because they’ve been trained and are in the community working,” she said. “We want to keep that uninterrupted by serving the community and training these students.”
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.