Gene Haas Foundation awards $12K to support machine tool students at Sussex County Community College
NEWTON, N.J. (Sussex County) – Sussex County Community College has received a $12,000 grant from the Gene Haas Foundation to support students in its Machine Tool Technology program, the college announced. The check was presented on Dec. 5 by Mark Harris of Allendale Machinery to Jason Fruge, dean of technical occupations at SCCC.
According to Stan Kula, executive director of the SCCC Foundation, the Gene Haas Foundation has contributed a total of $65,000 to SCCC since 2019 to help offset tuition and expenses for students enrolled in the program.
The college’s Machine Tool Technology (MTT) program — which will transition to the name Advanced Manufacturing — was launched in 2017 with support from local industry partner Thorlabs to address the regional need for trained machinists. Since then, the program has graduated 40 students, including eight in spring 2025.
“The Machine Tool Technology Program at SCCC enables students to acquire foundational and intermediate knowledge of machining, ultimately enhancing their skills in the field,” Dean Jason Fruge said. “Successful graduates of the MTT program can enter the workforce as industrial machinery mechanics, machinery maintenance workers, or millwrights. There are also career opportunities in the fields of construction, manufacturing, fabrication, sales, quality control, supervision, and machine-related self-employment.”
SCCC launched a new pilot program in fall 2025 that enables students from several local high schools to take concurrent MTT courses. The college will also provide professional development for high school instructors to strengthen classroom instruction. Additional early college offerings were introduced in summer and fall 2024 through partnerships with local districts.
The Gene Haas Foundation, based in Oxnard, Calif., focuses on strengthening the manufacturing workforce by supporting CNC machining students and helping fund skills competitions that emphasize engineering, design and CNC production.
SCCC is currently enrolling students for the spring semester, which begins Jan. 20. More information is available at sussex.edu/spring.
