(left to right) Richard Marz, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA; Blake Richards, MP for Wild Rose; Bill Quinney, Chair of Olds College Board of Directors; Dr. Tom Thompson, President of Olds College.
Olds College will receive $5.836 million to upgrade and renew campus facilities in a second round of joint federal-provincial funding through the Knowledge Infrastructure Program (KIP).
“I am pleased to be able to deliver these funds, since Olds College had identified facility renewal as a top priority for its campus going forward,” said Blake Richards, the Member of Parliament for Wild Rose, who joined Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills Member of Legislative Assembly Richard Marz to announce the grants.
“In addition to renewing our riding’s education infrastructure, this funding will also help to create jobs and give our local economy another boost to recover quickly from the global recession,” Richards said.
“I am pleased at the ways in which the governments of Alberta and Canada have worked so closely together recently to address the needs in our post-secondary system,” added Marz. “This investment addresses some critical infrastructure needs at Olds College and poises the college to improve learning environments and facilities for its students.”
The funds are earmarked for the college’s Facility Renewal and Upgrading Project, which will increase the capacity to train students by creating better learning environments.
Olds College is a 96-year-old institution and eight of its 10 central campus buildings are 35-years of age or older and in need of repairs and upgrades. The funds will address a backlog of deferred maintenance projects at Olds College’s instructional and administrative buildings, while preventing further facility deterioration and increased future costs.
“This timely grant allows us to implement key components of our current business plan and ensure that our instructional buildings continue to be the fully functional learning centres Olds College is known for,” said Dr. Tom Thompson, President of Olds College.
“This new step in our continued success would not have been possible without the tenacious support of our MP, Blake Richards, and our MLA Richard Marz, who worked in concert with ministries in both the provincial and federal government. Together, they have all enabled Olds College to address many long-standing deferred maintenance issues and projects,” he said.
This marks the second time in two months that Olds College has received funding through KIP – part of the federal government’s two-year, $2-billion plan to repair and expand research and educational facilities at colleges and universities across Canada. KIP helps funds deferred-maintenance, repairs and expansion projects at post-secondary institutions.
In May, the college also received $1 million to complete overdue roof repairs to facilities, bringing recent federal-provincial investments in Olds College to $6.836 million over the past two months alone.
Canada’s Economic Action Plan sets out to stimulate the Canadian economy over the next two years and to improve the country’s long-term competitiveness through $12 billion in new infrastructure investment, which includes the $2-billion KIP.
For more information about the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, please visit www.ic.gc.ca/knowledge-infrastructure online.
This news release is also available online at www.blakerichards.ca
Contacts:
MP Blake Richards
Wild Rose
(403) 948-5103
MLA Richard Marz
Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills
(403) 556-3132
Comments on this entry are closed.