GOVERNOR LINGLE RELEASES $300,000 FOR KE ALAHELE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER ON MAUI
For Immediate Release: July 9, 2008
HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle has released $300,000 to the Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) to develop a dedicated center that will provide science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and training to prepare Maui County’s workforce for future career opportunities.
MEDB will use the grant-in-aid to equip the Ke Alahele Science and Technology Center to offer technology workforce development programs in STEM fields. The funds will also be used to extend its program outreach to rural communities, including Lāna‘i, Moloka‘i and Hana.
“The Ke Alahele Science and Technology Center will support our Hawai‘i Innovation Initiative, which seeks to transform our economy to one that is based on the innovative capacity of our residents,” said Governor Lingle. “The Maui Economic Development Board has been a leader in promoting innovation and developing Hawai‘i’s advanced technology industries, and this grant will strengthen its programs to prepare our residents to compete successfully in the global economy.”
Since 2006, MEDB’s Ka Alahele Education Fund has helped to strengthen Maui County’s education-to-workforce pipeline for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. So far this year, more than $66,000 has been awarded to 19 recipients whose programs will impact over 1,000 students and educators in Maui County.
“One Ke Alahele grant helped to support ‘Iao School’s Botball team which placed fifth overall at the Hawai‘i Regional Botball tournament on May 10 on O‘ahu,” said Theodore E. Liu, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.
“This grant is a strategic investment for both the tech park in Kihei and for the State to nurture synergies among tech companies, economic development organizations and the education sectors,” said Yuka Nagashima, CEO and executive director of the Hawai‘i High Technology Development Corporation.
Jeanne Skog, president and CEO of MEDB noted that the state grant will enable their board to leverage partnerships from both the public and the private sectors to further enhance nationally renowned programs such as Women in Technology.
The state grant will be leveraged with a grant from the federal Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, as well as funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Maui County, A & B Foundation, and the Bank of Hawai‘i Foundation.
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For more information, contact:
Ted Liu
Director, DBEDT
Phone: (808) 586-2355
Lenny Klompus
Senior Advisor – Communications
Phone: (808) 586-7708
Russell Pang
Chief of Media Relations
Phone: (808) 586-0043
