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Alita Newton, from left, Pat Newton, Dave Clausen, Carolyn Patrick, Tom Patrick, Montana State University-Northern Chancellor Greg Kegel and Northern Foundation Director Jim Bennett pose for a photograph Thursday outside of Northern's Cowan Hall with a facsimile of a $200,000 check donated for the effort to build a new building to house Northern's Diesel Technology Program.
Three Havre contractors and their families presented Montana State University-Northern with a $200,000 check Thursday for the campus' long-planned Diesel Technology Center.
David Clausen, Tom and Carolyn Patrick and Pat and Alita Newton presented Northern Chancellor Greg Kegel with the money in a check-passing ceremony on the steps of Cowan Hall.
"I guess we've all made our livings based out of this community for years and we always understood the importance of this school here, the college, especially the diesel program, a country-renowned program," said Clausen, owner of Clausen and Sons. "We just thought we would love to do our part to support the program and support our chancellor, and we understand the importance of the whole operation here and are very proud to be from this community and be able to help with this program."
He said that Northern's diesel program, which this fall had 287 enrollees, attracts students to Northern not only from north-central Montana, but from throughout the state and beyond.
Both Clausen and Sons and Patrick Construction have long histories working on campus projects.
Newton, who is a partner with Clausen and Sons, said the company now employs one graduate from and a current student in the diesel program.
Clausen said the trio decided to make the donation a few months ago, with each contributing roughly a third checkof the $200,000.
Kegel said that with the latest gift, Northern now has 94 percent of the $9.9 million needed for the project.
The proposed 3,200-square-foot structure will house laboratories and classrooms and be outfitted with the latest technologies. It will have the capacity to add future technologies and service more students. It will stand in place of the campus's Automotive Technology Center, which was built in 1953 and has been added onto five different times.
Most of the existing building will be demolished, though a portion will be spared and included in the new structure.
Though there was a groundbreaking ceremony on the site of the proposed new facility in May, no construction has yet taken place.
Kegel said the planning phase is near completion and the contract will soon go out for bid.
Kegel said construction crews should be on site in September.
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