Baton Rouge-based Performance Contractors has donated $1 million to Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond to help develop a new academic concentration in welding inspection and supervision that will meet the state’s need for a trained industrial workforce.
“Southeastern’s current and developing programs will help boost the workforce expertise in these important areas,” Performance Contractor co-founder and CEO Art Favre says in a statement. “We need well-prepared and trained industrial team members at the professional level, and Southeastern is committed to providing opportunity to students to become job-ready in those areas.”
Performance Contractors aims to help Southeastern’s Industrial Technology program develop the concentration. The donation will support the partnership.
The university’s intent is to use the partnership to renovate its classroom and laboratory space, upgrade equipment and increase student capacity, says Dan McCarthy, dean of the College of Science and Technology.
And while many of Louisiana’s technical and community colleges are graduating certified welders, there’s a great need for graduates at a more advanced level, says Anthony Blakeney, an Southeastern instructor of industrial technology.
Favre says he hopes the announcement will encourage other industry partnerships, making the university a significant hub for producing industrial specialists.
