Media Releases
National Institute of Wood Finishing Launched at DCTC
June 13, 2007 -
Dakota County Technical College is proud to announce the establishment of the National Institute of Wood Finishing.
The Institute was established to serve as the permanent home to the United States' only accredited wood finishing program, as well as house various wood finishing workshops and customized training courses.
Leading the charge in establishing the National Institute of Wood Finishing is long-time, Smithsonian-trained DCTC Wood Finishing instructor Mitch Kohanek, who is serving as program director. While an instructor at DCTC, Kohanek has been featured in numerous national publications and has gained an outstanding reputation.
"The DCTC Wood Finishing program is already known in many parts of the country thanks to Mitch. It is our hope that by establishing the National Institute of Wood Finishing, we will be to provide an even more dynamic platform for teaching, research, and innovation that will make us the premiere center for wood finishing in the country," said DCTC President Ron Thomas.
DCTC originally started its Wood Finishing program in 1973. Since its start, the program has produced some of the nation's finest professional wood finishers, furniture restorers, spot repair artists, and pre-finishers. The graduates of this program have worked in shops both large and small, from commercial settings to museums. It is hoped that the establishment of the National Institute of Wood Finishing will help continue that tradition of success.
"Students will develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills that can be applied to an existing business or new start-up," said Kohanek. "Our goal is to fully prepare our certificate program students for the full range of business activities in which they might engage and to provide our short-course students with a customized training experience in a state-of-the-art facility."
The core nine-month certificate program is open to both in-state and out-of-state applicants, as are the short courses. The short courses will offer students a variety of topics and will feature nationally recognized experts such as Don Williams, a senior conservator at the Smithsonian and author of numerous scholarly works on furniture conservation, including "Saving Stuff".
"DCTC has a long history of working with business and industry. With the National Institute for Wood Finishing, we will be able to work with leaders in the finishing and refinishing industry to develop instruction that is based on the needs of the marketplace and offer career opportunities within a connected framework at the national level," said Thomas.
To learn more about the National Institute of Wood Finishing,visit its new Web site at www.woodfinishing.org or contact Mitch Kohanek at (651) 423-8571 or mitchell.kohanek@dctc.edu