SD DOE Press Release

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For Immediate Release: April 7, 2008
Contact: Mary Stadick Smith - (605) 773-7228

State Board of Education approves technical institutes’ facility plans

The South Dakota Board of Education approved the building project plans for Lake Area Technical Institute and Mitchell Technical Institute at a meeting last week.

“Technical education is extremely vital to the workforce needs of our region and the state,” said Deb Shephard, president of Lake Area Technical Institute. “These facilities will enable us to increase our enrollment capacity and provide our students even greater access to the latest technology in their fields. We are very excited for our students and their future employers!”

The $13 million, two-year project from Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown involves building additions on the campus to double the space devoted to Diesel Technology, LATI’s largest program. An expansion to Welding Technology and space devoted solely to Energy Technology are also part of the plan. Construction is set to begin fall 2009. In addition, a new facility for Automotive Technology will be built in 2009-10.

Mitchell Technical Institute’s $6 million proposal includes a 40,000-square-foot facility that will house its Utility Technologies programs and will enable MTI to add two more sections of instruction to meet increasing demand for workers in this industry. It also includes a 15,000-square-foot addition to the Technology Center, which will allow MTI to house those programs associated with telecommunications, computer based process and quality control systems in one central location.

South Dakota’s four technical institutes provide a range of programs designed to meet the workforce needs of South Dakota and the nation. The state’s technical institutes are located in Mitchell, Rapid City, Sioux Falls and Watertown.

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