South Dakota Mines Receives $10,000 from the Gene Haas Foundation to Support Manufacturing Students

The Gene Haas Foundation recently awarded South Dakota Mines $10,000 in grants to support student scholarships in manufacturing, and machine and metal processes training. 

The funds will be used for the university’s computer numerical control (CNC) machining program.

“The award from the Gene Haas Foundation will help us to continue to grow in the volume and quality of training and experience we can provide our students,” said Aaron Lalley, Ph.D., professor of practice in the Leslie A. Rose Department of Mechanical Engineering. “Productivity Inc. of Minneapolis, which provides exclusive CNC distribution of Haas Automation metal forming tools, has been a valuable supporter of the CNC machining program at Mines. Our transition to Haas equipment has allowed the students to gain experience on industry standard equipment that better prepares them for their careers.”

The Gene Haas Foundation’s primary goal is to build skills in the manufacturing industry by providing scholarships for CNC machine technology students. A portion of the funds may also be used to support the university’s participation in student competitions.

The foundation’s latest donation brings the total amount awarded to Mines for manufacturing scholarships to $30,000 since 2021.

In 1999, Gene Haas, Haas Automation founder and CEO, established the foundation to support the needs of the local community through grants to local charities. Seeing a growing need for skilled manufacturing employees industry-wide, the foundation expanded its mission to include support for manufacturing training programs throughout North America.

Since 1999, the Gene Haas Foundation has provided more than $175 million in grants to support CNC machining and keep the employment pipeline growing into the future.