Jennifer Thomas Staff Writer-Charlotte Business Journal

Central Piedmont Community College has received a nearly $231,000 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation to enhance its engineering technology programs.

That foundation makes charitable investments on behalf of Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE:DUK).

The grant will help the Charlotte-based community college purchase high-tech equipment needed to upgrade its lab facilities on campus. That will give students access to the most up-to-date equipment used by employers in the region.

"Placing state-of-the-art technology in our classrooms is another way to attract and compete for new business in North Carolina, and it provides a platform for existing business to retool and reinvest in our employees," Tim Gause, Duke Energy's district manager for the Charlotte area, says in a news release.

Annual projections are that at least 100 students enrolled in CPCC's electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and mechatronics engineering technology programs will use that equipment. Those programs provide a fundamental knowledge of basic technical skills for use in design, application, installation, manufacturing operation and maintenance of computer-based systems.

"The new advanced equipment will provide students access to the most advanced technology and ensure graduates have the most up-to-date technical skills to meet the needs of the region's work force for highly skilled technicians," says Chris Paynter, CPCC's dean of STEM -- or Science, Technology, Engineering and Math -- programs.

This grant is part of a $6.7 million investment in North Carolina's Community Colleges' by Duke Energy.

Individual community colleges can apply for funds through the Foundation For The Carolinas or the NC Community Foundation. Applications will be reviewed by a committee of representatives from Duke Energy, N.C. Community College System and N.C. Department of Commerce.

Jennifer Thomas covers retail, health care and education for the Charlotte Business Journal.