Hooke College of Applied Sciences to Provide Community College With Grant-funded Training

Grant Will Help Develop College’s Laboratory Technology Program

Westmont, IL (October 9, 2012) – Hooke College of Applied Sciences (HCAS) was selected as a training provider to fulfill part of a grant awarded to Waubonsee Community College (WCC) to develop a new laboratory technology program.

Dr. Bob Sobel, director of technology and innovation at FONA International, Senator Dick Durbin, Dr. Christine Sobek, Waubonsee Community College president, and Charles Zona, vice president and dean of Hooke College of Applied Sciences

The grant, awarded through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) initiative, promotes skills development in science, technology, engineering, and math.

In support of WCC’s grant application, HCAS will provide professional development to WCC faculty members on instrumentation and processes with an emphasis on polarized light microscopy and electron microscopy.

Charles Zona, vice president and dean of HCAS, said, “We have a history of partnering with educational institutions and we are pleased to have the opportunity to bring industry best practices to Waubonsee faculty.”

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin announced the $2.8 million grant on September 25 at WCC’s downtown Aurora Campus.

“Waubonsee Community College has built a solid reputation over many years of offering job training programs to the Aurora community,” said Durbin. “This grant gives the college the resources to build on that success.”

WCC developed the project proposal after researching local career needs and found more than 2,800 laboratory science-related jobs projected for the Aurora area.