Sept. 21—Northern New Mexico College’s efforts to revitalize its century-old El Rito campus took a step further this week with the announcement of a donation to support a new carpentry program set to open in 2025.
The $153,000 donation from Ralph “Butch” Clark III of Gunnison, Colo., will fund a faculty position for the first two years of the developing carpentry program, which will be offered at both the El Rito and Española campuses, the college said.
The school’s Technical Trades Program currently offers certificates and associate degrees in plumbing, pipefitting and electrical engineering. Many trade classes are taught in El Rito.
Last year, the school announced it would use a $700,000 state grant to modernize the South Dorm on its historic El Rito campus, with the goal of providing housing and food services for students. Construction on the project is underway, spokesman Arin McKenna wrote in an email.
Clark’s recent funding brings his total donation to Northern to $308,000.
He previously contributed to the renovation of a building that will soon be named Ralph E. Clark, III Technical Trades Center for Excellence, according to the college’s press release.
His donations have also funded the purchase of a specialized trade bus, which serves six area high schools. The bus — a teacher’s personal vehicle before Clark’s donation — provides high school students with access to up to three years of dual-credit trade programs.
The dual-credit program has been hugely successful, said Joe Padilla, Northern’s director and division head of technical trades. Many union programs offer direct admission for students right out of high school.
“We have 30 skilled workers retiring here — we have about seven to eight replacing them. So our plan is to get skilled workers back in the minds of the youth,” Padilla said.
He was proud that the university’s graduate program placed alumni in positions at companies such as Intel and at Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories.
Clark’s adviser, Luke Danielson, said the philanthropist realized the need for better vocational training when he was looking for an electrician for his ranch in Gunnison and found that all the local skilled workers were booked.
He had previously invested in education, partnering with Gunnison’s Western Colorado University to create the Coldharbour Institute, which teaches regenerative agricultural practices. But when he looked to invest in the crafts, he couldn’t find any programs in his area that matched Northern New Mexico College’s.
Clark was first introduced to the school when it reintroduced its Technical Trades Program in 2019. He visited the university and became determined to invest in the program and create a partnership between Western Colorado University and Northern, Danielson said.
Clark was drawn to the work of this small New Mexico university by a number of things: local government funding, union agreements and, above all, the holistic approach to community building.
Clark’s family has always been philanthropic, even donating $5 million to Western Colorado University. But Danielson said Clark’s time as an Air Force officer during the Vietnam War fueled his passion for helping others.
“His duties included notifying families and arranging funerals,” Danielson said. “He did a lot of family notifications and funeral arrangements. That was part of what really motivated him to try to be good to the world around him.”
Western Colorado University and Northern New Mexico College are jointly hosting a five-day “construction boot camp” in Gunnison in the spring of 2025 for students from both schools to contribute to Habitat for Humanity housing. Clark will help fund the initiative.
“Every community would love to have a Butch,” Danielson said.
