---

Nissan Donates $50,000 to Houston College

11 December 1997

Nissan Donates $50,000 to Houston College

    HOUSTON, Dec. 11 -- Nissan Motor Corp. USA today donated
$50,000 to North Harris College, as part of the automaker's Nissan Neighbors
program, to help establish an innovative partnership designed to enhance
dealership technician training.
    "This program demonstrates Nissan's commitment to the Houston dealer
market for technical training and serves as a new resource of college-educated
technicians for our dealers," said Frederick Doerr, supervisor, field service
training at Nissan.  "It is a special association among Nissan, the college
and South Texas dealers through student sponsorships."
    The Professional Cooperative Apprenticeship Program (PROCAP) is Nissan's
national program designed to give prospective dealership technicians classroom
and service department training.
    Nissan's donation to North Harris College comes in addition to donations
of $100,000 worth of Nissan vehicles and specialized equipment to facilitate
training.
    The donation was made today at a ceremony at North Harris College, which
has been linked to Nissan's existing technician training program for the past
two years.  Fourteen South Texas dealers are involved in the program now, and
that number is expected to rise to about three dozen, said J.C. Fassino,
regional vice president for Nissan's South Central Region.
    "We have been extremely pleased with our association with North Harris
College in the past, and we're looking forward to an expanded program that
ultimately will benefit Nissan customers, college students, our dealers and
the corporation," Fassino said.
    A dozen students are expected in the first class at the training center
beginning in the fall of 1998, said Dr. Larry Brillhart, associate dean of
applied technology at the college.  The program has a maximum enrollment of 48
students.
    "Students will spend eight weeks of the semester working on campus and the
other eight (weeks) working at their sponsoring Nissan dealership," Brillhart
said.  The PROCAP program will occupy 15,000 square feet in a new $6 million
facility at the college, he added.
    "This new facility will allow us to more than double our current
automotive program," Brillhart said.  North Harris College is a member of the
North Harris Montgomery Community College District, which also includes
Kingwood College, Tomball College and Montgomery College.
    Nissan's South Central Region has headquarters in Irving, Texas.  It
services 177 dealerships in 11 states, and is among seven Nissan Division
regions in the United States.
    In North America, Nissan's operations include styling, engineering,
manufacturing, sales, consumer and corporate financing, and industrial and
textile equipment.  Nissan in North America employs more than 20,000 people in
the United States, Canada and Mexico, and generates more than 70,000 jobs
through more than 1,500 Nissan and Infiniti dealerships across the continent.
More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan
and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at http://www.nissan-na.com.

SOURCE  Nissan Motor Corp. USA