Yavapai Community College will hold a grand reopening ribbon cutting ceremony for Building “L” on the Verde Campus October 15 at noon. The celebration will be held virtually. The public may join in the celebration by going to Yc.edu/bldgL.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has selected Yavapai Community College’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) program for their Collegiate Training Initiative. This is a distinguished partnership of drone training programs nationwide.
In making the announcement, the Community College wrote that “The FAA’s UAS-CTI program recognizes institutions that prepare students for careers in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones.” The official FAA statement said. “In order to qualify for the initiative, schools must offer a bachelor’s or associates degree in UAS or a degree with a minor, concentration, or certificate in UAS. Schools must provide curriculum covering various aspects of UAS training, including hands-on flight practice, maintenance, uses, applications, privacy concerns, safety, and federal policies concerning UAS.”
The announcement makes Yavapai College’s drone program one of 41 collegiate programs in the national initiative. “This opportunity is going to provide more exposure to our students and our program,” YC Aerospace Science Professor Matt Mintzmyer said, “which will ultimately lead to more jobs and options for graduates of our program.”
CTI members will work with the FAA, as well as industry and government leaders, to develop training that coincides with emerging labor force needs. The collaboration will ensure that Yavapai College’s UAS students graduate with a state-of-the-art skill set that helps them pursue successful careers in drone production and operation and other related fields.
Established in 2016, Yavapai College’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program instructs students in the design, production, piloting and repair of drones. From its home on YC’s Career and Technical Education Campus near the Prescott airport, UAS students fly specialized industrial missions to learn the ever-expanding uses of drone technology. Yavapai College drones have flown a wide variety of community missions; photographing homes for real estate companies, inspecting solar panels for defects or agricultural fields for drought or drainage issues, or assisting first responders with the logistics of search and rescue.
Source: https://www.yc.edu/v6/news//2020/09/DroneFAACert.html Yavapai Community College public relations announcement.
A new CTE 10,000 square foot building will be going up on the Verde Campus over the next year that will house phase one of Yavapai Community College’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) expansion on the east side of Yavapai County. The $3.4 facility is intended to offer CTE training in electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and Vet Tech. The decision puts to rest for now the effort by the Community College to find a suitable location for CTE training on Highway 260 between Cottonwood and Camp Verde.
This is considered the first phase of the CTE expansion with the College prepared to expand the new building in increments of 10,000 square feet when needed. The vision is for a final building of at least 30,000 square feet for CTE training.
The College reported that it had made an offer in the spring to lease property for a CTE facility on Highway #260 but its offer was turned down when the owner found a buyer. Since then, a realtor hired by the College has sought out other possible east county locations for the CTE facility without success. Community College advocates and others on the east side of the County had urged a highway #260 site.
Locating the CTE facility on the campus had several benefits, according to the College. Among other benefits, it would reduce overall costs by providing access to existing administrative and support services.
The College found driving time from the Sedona and the Cottonwood areas to the Verde Campus about the same as locating a facility on highway #260. Locating the facility on the Verde Campus adds about 13-15 minutes to the campus drive for Camp Verde residents when compared to locating a facility on Highway $260.
The College pointed out that some high schools on the west side of the County make much longer drives to the CTEC facility over there for training than the distances high schools would drive on the east side to reach the Verde Campus in Clarkdale. (see video).
Although the video is not that clear, it appears the vote was 4-1 with Chair Deb McCasland dissenting.
The location of the new CTE building is shown on the diagram below, which was provided to the Governing Board at its Tuesday meeting.
A 28 minute unedited clip of the meeting devoted to this subject is provided below.
The Advanced Machinery lab in Building “L” on the Verde Campus is taking shape. The Machinery lab has 3D printers, robotics, CNC machinery and other item to help prepare Verde Valley students for the workforce. In this photo, electricians are installing electrical lines to operate the equipment in the lab.
The brand new nursing labs in Building “L” on the Verde Campus are in full operation. The nursing training equipment, some of which can been seen in the photos below, includes hospital beds and human health simulators.
Yavapai Community College Fire Science Program Interim Director Mikayla Baker expressed her appreciation to the City of Prescott and the Prescott Fire Department for the donation of a fire truck to the College at a handover ceremony July 21. “We are extremely grateful to the City of Prescott and the Prescott Fire Department for the generous donation,” she said.
Dean John Morgan said that “This generous donation immediately helps two of our YC programs: Fire Science, where our existing trucks are 30 years old or more, as well as our Diesel Program, where students can get the donated truck back to operational form in various Diesel Tech course.””
Students in the autobody, automotive paint, and upholstery curricula may also be called upon in the future to maintain the engine as needed.
Prescott Fire Chief Dennis Light explained that the donation came about when the College learned that the Prescott Fire Department was preparing to decommission one of its engines, which was past its service life. The Community College worked with the Fire Department and City of Prescott Fleet Services to provide the ways and means for transferring ownership. The transfer was approved by a unanimous vote of the Prescott City Council.
Chief Light said that “The Prescott Fire Department values its historic partnership with Yavapai College, and is hopeful that the engine donated will provide future students the best tools in which to learn and acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities to serve the quad-city area as a firefighter in the not too distant future.”
Yavapai Community College offers certification programs in Therapy and Service Dog Team Skills, and Service Dog training at its Chino Valley Center. These programs are described as providing foundational and advanced training. The College says they offer homegrown participants the opportunity “to train with their canine companions.” One may take up to 24 credits in the program.
The Community College recently announced that the Arizona Eastern Star Foundation and the Yavapai College Foundation together awarded the canine program a $2,500 grant to support increased training for service dogs and handlers.
“There’s definitely a need for a program like this,” said Anita Wulf, Past Matron and Service Dog Chairman of Arizona Eastern Star’s Golden Rule Chapter 1. “There are so many people who need a service dog who can’t afford one.”
Demand for service dogs – and the access and independence they offer – has been booming. But thousands of disabled Americans across the country lack the funding to acquire one. Yavapai Community College is believed to be one of the few, possibly the only community college, that offers a program directed at meeting these needs.
The Arizona Eastern Star Foundation’s grant will go directly to the Sage Canine Scholarship Fund, named after a local rescue dog. Sage was adopted by Yavapai Community College’s Canine Program Director Andrea Lloyd and became a model training partner for human and canine students alike.
The courses offered during various semesters by the Community College appear below.
Construction is all but completed on Building “L” on the Verde Campus. Facilities and ITS personnel are busily setting up equipment and deploying furniture throughout the newly renovated facility.
Below are two photographs taken from the August 2020 College Facilities Management Newsletter showing some of the internal deployment of equipment and furniture.
The building is no longer an active construction zone, so those interested in taking a walk through do not need to wear safety gear other than masks.
Cottonwood City Manager, Ron Corbin, briefly discussed a small gymnasium project involving the City and Yavapai Community College at the May 21 city budget meeting.
Corbin said that the City is working with Yavapai College to obtain a grant to support development of a small gymnasium project in the City’s recreation center. He also said that the City had talked with Verde Dean Tina Redd about providing transportation for students should the College decide to construct a Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center nearer Camp Verde. According to Corbin, the City seems prepared to offer bus transportation to the CTE site if one is chosen.
The information supplied the City Council by Mr. Corbin did not contain any specifics. You may view Mr. Corbin’s brief comments about working with Yavapai Community College on these two projects in the video clip below.
Yavapai Community College has donated 100 pounds of student-cultivated tomatoes and cucumbers to the Navajo Nation. The Nation has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The idea of donating the food to the Nation came from Yavapai Community College Horticulture Professor Justin Brereton. It was the result of him hearing about the plight of the nation. Well done Professor Brereton and all the students who helped grow the tomatoes and cucumbers this past semester.