Grant funds to expand programs at New River CTC

May 2—New River Community and Technical College received $3.5 million in grant funding to expand its hospitality and tourism program and support construction costs for its new aviation program.

The funds were awarded to the college during an event Thursday by Gov. Jim Justice at New River Community and Technical College's Beaver campus.

The funds are derived from two sources — $3 million from the Governor's Contingency Fund for New River CTC's aviation program and $500,000 through a U.S. EDA grant distributed by the state's tourism office for the college's hospitality and tourism program.

"It's a lot of money, that's for sure, but it is absolutely the multiplier effect of these dollars, it's gonna be unbelievable. Just wait and see," Justice said.

The $3 million will be used to purchase equipment and renovate the college's new hangar at the Raleigh County Memorial Airport, which will support its new Aircraft Maintenance Technician School.

"This funding for aviation maintenance is life-changing in a way for this program," said New River CTC President Bonny Copenhaver. "It puts us over the top of the money that we were seeking, and it's very hard to find construction money ... We see aviation mechanics as a way of diversifying the economy of this part of south West Virginia."

Copenhaver said they're still waiting on Federal Aviation Administration certification before the program can begin. Copenhaver said they just made it off the FAA waitlist to start the certification process, which takes several months.

The $500,000 will expand New River's hospitality and tourism management program by creating three new fields of study — outdoor adventure and recreation, restaurant and tourism management and mobile food service/concession management.

Copenhaver said some of these programs will begin in the fall.

As part of the new programs, Copenhaver said students can choose either to pursue certifications within the field, which take less time to acquire, or to pursue degrees.

"It's always important, now especially, to offer points where a student can stop his or her education without becoming a dropout," she said. "... If you take it in little segments, we found it's much easier."

Copenhaver said this makes the course load more manageable for students who may have not stepped foot in a classroom for years or have to leave their studies due to life events.

"If their life changes, they actually have a credential, they can go to work," she said. "And then when they can come back to us and finish that associate degree, they can do that. And all of the credits built on each other."

Copenhaver said the programs were designed with input from the business community, and preliminary projects related to the new programs are already underway.

She said they're already working with The Market on the Courthouse Square in Hinton on basic kitchen training and offered community education classes in areas like composting and regenerative agriculture.

On the outdoor recreation side, Copenhaver said they're working with Beaver Coal to establish a trail around its campus, as well as Piney Creek and the local YMCA to build additional trails and for mountain bike skill development.

New River CTC's expanding outdoor and aviation programs follow proposed cuts to similar programs at West Virginia University Institute of Technology, with low enrollment cited as the cause.

However, Copenhaver said the programs at New River CTC will differ from those at WVU Tech because they're not all tied to a single degree.

"The programs that we are putting forward are actually skilled jobs, as opposed to just a general degree in a particular subject area," she said. "And because they're in smaller pieces, then it's not affecting the whole program. On that, it is very difficult right now to operate any program."