Diné College sets groundbreaking for $7.4 million math and science building at Shiprock campus
News Release
Diné College
Diné College will hold a groundbreaking for a $7.4 million math and science building at the Shiprock (New Mexico) campus on Monday June 28, 2021, at 10 am MDT.
Construction of the new math and science building will begin immediately July 2021 and the project is expected to be completed in March 2022. The funding for the Shiprock Math and Science Building (MSB) comes from a General Obligation Bonds that was passed by the New Mexico voters in November 2018 in the amount of $5 million and the New Mexico Capital Outlay funds in the amount of $2,407,615 million. Diné College works with the New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED) when soliciting funds for NM Capital Projects. Planning for the building began in 2014.
Read More
“Diné College would like to extend a heartfelt gratitude to New Mexico voters for allowing this project to come to fruition,” said Diné College President Charles “Monty” Roessel. “The new Math Science Building will be a state-of-the-art learning facility to train the next group of Navajo STEM leaders so that they may protect and better their communities, reservation and all native peoples. It will be the catalyst for students to seek educational advancement and success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematic (STEM) fields.”
The Shiprock Math and Science Building will be constructed on the south side of the Shiprock campus on the vacant lot. The math and science building will house the College's math and science departments, instructional classrooms for mathematics, science and science laboratories, support spaces such as student commons, hallways, electrical/mechanical rooms, restrooms, and other rooms which are necessary to fulfill Diné College's mission. Additionally, the new math and science building will have four faculty offices and three meeting rooms.
James Tutt, Dean of the School of STEM said each school year, the school represents about 43% of overall graduates. “Current Census data shows that the primary focus of jobs on the Navajo Nation are in the field of STEM,” said Dean Tutt. “With the anticipation of this trend continuing, Diné College’s position is to ensure our students are able to meet the workforce needs of the Navajo Nation.”
(Image: Diné College)
