April 2004 Timepieces/News Rolex Grants $1 Million to Watchmaking School Watchmaker is a major funding source for WOSTEP schools Rolex USA has donated $1 million to the watchmaking school at St. Paul College in St. Paul, MN. The donation, the school’s largest, calls for $200,000 annually for the next five years. The money will be used to buy equipment and hire a second full-time instructor for the program. Instructor Joe Juaire says it will “put our program on the map internationally.’’ The school is one of nation’s four watchmaking schools certified by the Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program and has 16 full-time and 16 part-time students. With the additional instructor, the student/teacher ratio will drop to 12-to-1. “The benefits of this grant will reach well beyond the five-year period,” says Charles Berthiaume, senior vice president of technical operations for Rolex. “Those who complete the watchmaking program have tremendous potential for advancement in the industry.” In 2000, Rolex donated $1 million to the WOSTEP-certified watchmaking school at North Seattle Community College and has opened its own school at its service center in Lititz, PA. For details about St. Paul College, call Juaire at (651) 846-1408 or visit www.saintpaul.edu. – by Michael Thompson