Lehigh Carbon Community College has unveiled two key additions to the college and the community with the announcement of a $1.575-million endowment for technology scholarships from donors Lisa Scheller and Wayne Woodman, and the naming of the Lisa Scheller-Wayne Woodman Community Services Center.

The endowment gift will provide technology scholarships to students of Lehigh Career & Technical Institute and Carbon Career & Technical Institute entering any one of more than 40 technology fields at LCCC that can also matriculate to the bachelor of applied science in technical leadership, a joint program of LCCC and Bloomsburg University.

Keynote speaker U.S. Sen. Patrick Toomey said, "We're going to continue to create great jobs, great opportunities, great prospects for growth." He said technology scholarships will provide training during what he called a manufacturing renaissance across Pennsylvania.

It will "create an opportunity, for especially young men and women, to develop the training, the knowledge, the skills that will allow them to walk into and become really productive participants in this terrific economic revolution that's happening across the Commonwealth," Toomey said.

Ellen Kern, Chief of Staff for State Sen. Pat Browne and the Chair of the LCCC Foundation Board of Directors, presented citations and gifts to the Scheller family. State Sen. David Argall read from a Senate Citation.

Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15th) said that according to a study during the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009 by the National Association of Manufacturers, more than 600,000 jobs in manufacturing and industrial sector went unfilled because of a lack of skilled persons.

"Ultimately, the jobs will go to where the skills are. If the skill sets aren't here those jobs will not be in America. They will be in China or India or some other place, but they will not be here," said Dent.

"And that's why what Lisa and Wayne are doing here is so important. They're investing in human capacity, our human potential and helping to develop our human infrastructure right here in our community, right here at LCCC," Dent said.

LCCC recently conducted an Economic Impact Study, funded by the LCCC Foundation, which indicated students with an LCCC Associate Degree will earn approximately $500,000 more in their careers than a high school graduate. The study also indicated 95 - 99 percent of LCCC students typically stay in Pennsylvania.

LCCC president, Dr. Ann D. Bieber said the economic impact the endowment will have on the community will be a lasting one. "The generosity of Lisa Scheller and Wayne Woodman will greatly affect the students of the Carbon Career and Technical Institute, Lehigh Career and Technical Institute and Lehigh Carbon County Community College," said Bieber.

Lisa Scheller is CEO of Silberline Manufacturing. She is chair of the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners, serves on the board of directors of the Aluminum Association, and has previously held board positions in trade organizations and the Manufacturers Resource Center of the Lehigh Valley. She is a past member of the Board of Trustees of Cedar Crest College. Scheller participates in the Women Entrepreneurs Group and the World Presidents Organization.

Wayne Woodman is Senior Vice President of The Investment Group of Los Angeles and is the immediate past chairman of the Lehigh County Republican Party.

The Lehigh Carbon Community College Foundation, founded in 1975, has an endowment of more than $14 million. A volunteer board of 24 regional business leaders steers the LCCC Foundation to raise charitable funds supporting more than $350,000 in scholarships for LCCC students, and other activities that may be beyond the college's operating budget.

Lehigh Carbon Community College serves 13 sponsoring school districts in Lehigh and Carbon counties.

LCCC, founded in 1966, serves more than 7,500 students from Lehigh, Carbon, Schuylkill, and surrounding counties, offering more than 90 programs of study including healthcare, information technology, criminal justice, education and business administration.

From the main campus in Schnecksville and sites in Allentown, Tamaqua, Jim Thorpe and Lehigh Valley International Airport, LCCC offers two-year associate degrees, certificate and specialized diploma programs, and workforce training for students studying either full time, part time or online.