Funds sought for NIC science lab in Sandpoint

SANDPOINT — A science lab could be the key to unlocking higher education in Bonner County.

North Idaho College officials are intensifying fundraising efforts to raise $100,000 to install a science lab in the Sandpoint Events Center, the new facility acquired last summer for the school’s satellite campus. Once the lab is installed, local students will be able to earn a two-year associate’s degree without ever leaving the county.

The lab will also enable the college to introduce expanded health-related programs. Finally, North Idaho College is in the planning stages of a collaboration with Lewis Clark State College to introduce four-year degree programs locally, which will also require a fully-equipped science lab.

“We’ve got a good jump-start on (the fundraising),” said Tom Greene, NIC communications and marketing specialist. “There are some very generous folks in the community who recognize that this is a need.”

According to Greene, college officials have been contacting many of Sandpoint’s residents with the goal of raising the full amount by April 30. That will allow NIC to install the new science laboratory in time to introduce an expanded program in autumn of this year, he said.

The scientific center will have to be constructed to very specific requirements, according to Greene. As a “wet laboratory,” which often deals with hazard materials, special considerations must be made in ventilation and piping to allow for the safe handling of chemicals, drugs and biological matter in a liquid or volatile state.

Given the technological advantages offered by the new satellite campus, the only thing stopping the satellite campus from introducing a more diverse selection of courses is the lack of a science lab. In the absence of a locally-available instructor, classes can always be streamed live from Coeur d’Alene or elsewhere, but lab sciences, which are required to meet general education standards, need appropriate on-site equipment.

“Right now, students (in Bonner and Boundary counties) are having to drive down to Coeur d’Alene to satisfy that requirement,” Greene said.

For more information or to make a pledge, call the North Idaho College Foundation at 769-5978.