U.S. senator tours Harper College advanced manufacturing lab

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who in 2012 helped secure a $12.9 million Department of Labor grant to expand Harper College’s advanced manufacturing training program to other community colleges throughout Illinois, recently got to see some of the grant’s long-lasting effects firsthand during a tour of Harper’s Palatine, Ill., campus.

Harper led the federal grant and worked with 20 other community colleges to form the Illinois Network for Advanced Manufacturing and create educational plans that provide a clear pathway to industry-recognized credentials in advanced manufacturing. With its share of the funding, Harper acquired its first two CNC machines, which now support a CNC precision machining specialization in the manufacturing technology program, as well as a CNC apprenticeship program and a dedicated CNC lab.

Harper also built on its own model of working in close partnership with regional manufacturers to help employers fill critical job shortages at growing businesses. The Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Intl. (FMA), Elgin, Ill., for example, donated $500,000 toward the construction of the college’s 6,000-sq.-ft. FMA Metal Fabrication Lab, doubling the size of Harper’s manufacturing facilities. FMA’s member companies have loaned equipment to the lab valued at nearly $1 million.

Harper also works closely with Rolling Meadows-based Northrop Grumman, where students are hired as interns working in mechanics, machining, and electronics. Many have been hired full-time after completing their internship.

In addition to touring Harper’s advanced manufacturing and HVAC labs, Durbin met with college President Dr. Ken Ender and Illinois Sen. Ann Gillespie to discuss a variety of higher-education topics, including Harper’s Promise Scholarship Program, the region’s demographic changes, and the significant strides Harper has made in partnership with area high school districts to increase the number of students taking dual credit and decrease the number of students who need developmental education upon graduating.