Looking Toward the Future
Hats off and a BIG "THANK YOU" to all who helped make NIACC's 100th anniversary a celebration to be treasured! As our anniversary year draws to a close, we share a collection of rich memories, recognition that the NIACC community has accomplished a great deal since the College's inception and a deep appreciation for alumni and friends who have made NIACC a nationally recognized institution.
This anniversary celebration began in June 2018 with an enthusiastic kick-off event at Friday Night Live and concluded with the spectacular Night to Shine Gala on June 8, 2019. Throughout the year, NIACC commemorated the anniversary by participating in 30 regional parades, fairs and community events across Northern Iowa.
We held a campuswide food packaging event where we prepared 40,000 meals for Iowans in need, wrote a history book, taught a four-hour NIACC history class for the Lifelong Learning Institute, honored the 100 most influential athletes and spent time celebrating with our students and staff.
Over the years, NIACC has grown from 28 students annually to 3,000. We've added hundreds of new for-credit and non-credit programs, and great ideas that include everything from advanced technical training in health care and robotics to high school dual enrollment opportunities, Continuing Education classes and the Performing Arts and Leadership Series. The College has built a new Diesel Training Center, added a STEM wing, and invested in new student housing, along with a high-tech Health Simulation Lab and new Student Learning Center.
The commitment to success shows in our graduates. NIACC job placement rates for graduates across the board are consistently high, at over 97 percent each year and the National Community College Benchmarking Project consistently places NIACC in the top 95th percentile for student completion. Your investment of time, money and energy into their successes has come back to all of us to enhance life as we know it in North Iowa.
We closed this year of celebration with a final "thank you" at the Night to Shine Gala and the recognition of NIACC's Shining Stars. It was certainly a night to be remembered!
The Shining Star award was created to recognize investments of significant time, energy and/or financial resources in NIACC. The award is intended for those who work to advance the institution and the region through voluntary support. This year's awardees included the Kinney-Lindstrom Foundation, the John K. and Luise V. Hanson Foundation, NIACC Foundation Board Member the late David McLinn, NIACC retiree and education champion Terri Tell, scholarship donors the late Delbert and Mary Lou Laudner, scholarship and Keeping NIACC First campaign donors Jim and Sue Johnson, Mary and the late Eugene Sukup and O. Jay and Pat Tomson, who were also the Honorary Co-Chairs of the most recent Keeping NIACC First campaign.
NIACC continues to be grateful to the many people—our alumni, faculty and staff, donors, partners, and friends of the College—who make us unique and, frankly, one of the best institutions in the country.
As our focus now turns to year 101, we begin a new dialogue about what students, alumni and friends of NIACC dream of accomplishing over the next 100 years. We will consider how NIACC can work with our regional partners and communities by adding advanced training and educational opportunities. We will continue to bring together old and new friends to learn about and launch cutting-edge initiatives that will not only impact our local economies but our national need for talented thinkers and visionary leaders for years to come.
If you would like to make a gift that supports NIACC for the next 100 years, please contact Molly Knoll at 641-422-4404 or foundation@niacc.edu to get started.
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