The power of giving property for hands-on instruction
Dan Powell, diesel and heavy equipment technology program coordinator at UAF's Community and Technical College, unloads engines donated by Airport Equipment Rentals at the Hutchison Insititute of Technology off Geist Road in May 2021.
Philanthropic support for education comes in many forms. While gifts of cash or pledges are common, donations of goods and services also deliver great support to students and researchers.
Over the years, UAF’s donors have made many nonmonetary, or “in-kind,” gifts that improve student success. Items such as equipment, books, computers or software — even vehicles and wellheads — provide opportunities for students to practice their skills and be better prepared for their future careers.
Most recently, Airport Equipment Rentals, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. and Aurora Management Group made generous donations to the university. Through these gifts, benefactors help the university strengthen programs, enhance hands-on learning opportunities and improve facilities.
Airport Equipment Rentals has provided a large cache of engines of varying sizes, makes, models and technology for educational aids within the UAF Community and Technical College’s diesel and heavy equipment technology program. This one-year program trains students to maintain and repair heavy equipment and trucks.
Engines representing more than eight manufacturers and 30 years of technology fill the UAF Community and Technical College diesel and heavy equipment technology program's work space in May 2021. Airport Equipment Rentals donated the engines.
Jerry Lee Sadler, owner of Airport Equipment Rentals, said students will be able to see the ins and outs of a wide range of diesel technologies, from pre-electronic injection to full-on electronic injection engines with exhaust treatment systems.
“The more we can show and highlight how the industry has evolved through proper classroom aids, the better we can all evolve as an industry here in Alaska,” he said.
Sadler said it’s a challenge not only to keep up with advancements in equipment but also to find and retain the skilled technicians to service those advancements. Sadler said Airport Equipment Rentals wants to build relationships with educational institutions in Alaska because of skilled labor shortages.
“Our industry is adding new features, automations and computers to the equipment faster than we can learn about them,” he said. “There are huge gaps in education, and demand for skilled technicians far exceeds the supply. The whole nation has seen a shortage in skilled labor, especially in the sector of diesel technology. Some 75,000 jobs by 2024 will need to be filled as mechanics reach their retirement age.”
Darren Snyder's children investigate one of the grow boxes donated by Aurora Management Group at the UAF Cooperative Extension Service's Juneau District office in late August. As of July 2021, Snyder had sent 34 such grow boxes to organizations across the state.
Another recent gift in-kind came from Aurora Management Group, which donated 32 grow boxes to the UAF Cooperative Extension Service. Though originally designed for flower production, the units have a variety of applications in food production.
Darren Snyder, associate professor of agriculture and horticulture at UAF, said the grow boxes will help the university and other Alaska organizations. They can use the boxes to conduct research, learn controlled-environment growing methods, teach science and encourage entrepreneurs. Snyder plans to partner with local schools and youth programs, such as 4H, to expand the benefits from these grow boxes.
Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., a longtime partner of UAF, makes both monetary and nonmonetary gifts to support its mission. The company donated a prover sphere, a ball used to separate gases and liquids in pipelines, for adult muskoxen at the Large Animal Research Station. Muskox calves love to play with yoga balls, which can’t withstand the force of an adult muskox. The prover sphere will provide many hours of fun for the adults.
A muskox mom and her calves meander at the Large Animal Research Station in 2019.
“Enrichment activities are vital for their mental health and well-being, so LARS is very excited for this donation,” said Sarah Barcalow, a research technician at the station.
Along with its gift in-kind to LARS, the company generously donated to the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. Rural Alaska Honors Institute Support Fund and the Alyeska Pipeline Alaska Native Scholarship.